Mum
Your feet and fingers may swell up around this time of your pregnancy. If you’re in the habit of wearing rings day and night, keep an eye on it and take it off before it’s too late. (hack: use soap if you need a little help taking it off) If you want to continue wearing it, try your little finger or put it on a chain around your neck.
Dad
If you want your baby to recognise your voice after they are born, talk and sing to the belly. This way, you’ll feel closer both to your baby and your partner. If you are worried they won’t be able to hear over the noise that mum’s heartbeat and digestive system make, invest in a simple daddy-to-baby telephone. It’s made of wood or metal, and it’s shaped like a trumpet. In the olden days, elderly people would hold it to their ear to hear better. Traditionally, you’d put the narrow end on the bump and listen to the baby’s heartbeat with the other, but you can also put the wide end on the bump and speak into the narrow neck.
Baby
You are the size of a corn on the cob, and you’re still very skinny – nothing like those chubby babies in photo calendars. Not to worry though, you will start plumping up soon. Your lungs are splitting into bronchia and bronchioles, and developing the air sacs.
Things to keep in mind
- If your glucose tests have come back showing that you have gestational diabetes, don’t worry. Try to take things easy and follow your doctor’s instructions for managing it.
- Continue to eat well, take your prenatal vitamins, stay hydrated, get a little exercise, and spend time doing things you enjoy with people you care about to stay physically and mentally healthy during pregnancy.
- Begin (or continue) to do pelvic floor muscle exercises and look into perineal massage .
- You may have noticed a newfound flexibility with all that relaxin in your system, but take it easy when you’re stretching so you don’t hurt yourself accidentally.
- Now that you (hopefully!) don’t feel nauseous anymore, you might be more hungry. Be thoughtful about what you’re eating and when, to avoid heartburn and indigestion. Eat small meals more often and limit drinks containing caffeine, and foods that are rich, spicy or fatty to avoid heartburn and indigestion.
- If you haven’t started talking and singing to your baby, now is the time. It can feel sort of odd at the beginning, so if you’re not sure where to start you can try reading books out loud or singing along to songs as they play.
Photos in the bumpandbaby.co.nz/week-by-week/ are by Lenart Nilsson. Lenart's series was bought to fame when his photo, considered the greatest photo of the 20th century, appeared on the cover of Life magazine in 1965. “Everyone interprets images differently, depending on their social, cultural and religious background. In the digital era, I believe it is more important than ever to go back and take a look inside ourselves. What better way of doing that than with these photos?” ~ Jane Stene, art gallery director and curator of Lenart's definitive black and white series, told the The Guardian in 2019. It is Lenart Nilsson's wish that his images are never used for political debate about pro-life.
