Mum
This is the last week of your first trimester. Chances are, you’re feeling more like a person and less than a sleep machine. You might even have enough energy to think about downloading some pregnancy apps. The jury is still out on whether mobile phones can harm your unborn baby. An experiment showed that mice exposed to active calls on mobile phones gave birth to ADHD babies, but most human studies returned inconclusive results (this is a fancy way of saying that the scientists haven’t the foggiest idea). Speak to your LMC about any concerns you may have about mobile phones, radio waves and wireless networks.
If you decide mobile phone apps are safe, you might want to check out one of the apps that takes a daily photo of your bump, then turns them into a movie. There is also a Baby Pool app that allows multiple users to bet on the baby’s gender, weight, due date, and more. Don’t forget to download one of the Pregnancy Pilates apps, together with some soothing meditation music.
Dad
The risk of a miscarriage is much smaller now than at the beginning of the pregnancy. Is it too early to start compiling and downloading a playlist of tunes that will soothe the infant into peaceful sleep? You could always also create a labour playlist for mum, and check out our BUMP&baby playlist for inspiration!
Baby
You are the size of a gherkin! The growth’s been mainly in the body, not in the head department, and as a result, your proportions are now more baby-like, with only a third of your total length being the head and two-thirds the rest. Oh, and you now have fingerprints (so don’t you go committing any womb-crimes in there), but your skin is still pretty see-through at this point. The promise of crying, and laughter, and your very first words starts now with the formation of your teeny tiny little vocal cords.
Things to keep in mind
- Eat more foods containing:
- Calcium: Broccoli, fortified foods such as soy milk, fruit juices, tofu, and cereal
- Magnesium: Spinach, nuts, seeds, beans, whole grains, and avocados
- Vitamin D: Egg yolks, fatty fish, sardines, and fortified milk
- When you’re carrying a baby at 13 weeks, your body needs all the support it can get. Your pelvic floor can weaken from pregnancy and labour, but you can do Kegel exercises to strengthen the area. They don’t take a lot of time or effort, and a regular routine during pregnancy can pay off with less urinary leakage after you give birth and enhanced sexual sensations. Sounds good!
- You and your partner may be hot and heavy between the sheets right now, but have some fun outside the bedroom too, so you can spend quality time with each other before baby makes three.
- If you have an older child, start preparing them for baby’s arrival.
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.
