Welcome to the second trimester of your pregnancy, so you still are in the ‘quiet months’ area right, however the fourth month of pregnancy is going to be of lot more importance to you in terms of your self realization of your child’s movement in your tummy, a very happy feeling every woman loves to experience.
In fact it is from this fourth trimester that one begins to really feel pregnant, till now only the tell tale signs and medical tests confirmed your pregnancy, but from now on you are going to feel that smaller being in your tummy that is moving across the span of your stomach, WOW!
The Baby
Your baby would begin growing very quickly from now on. Eyes begin taking their right place, joints like the ankles and writs formation begin. Although the head is still twice the size of the rest of the body in the beginning of the month, the other parts would soon grow to make up to the right sizes to be achieved.
The ears are slowly taking their place in the sides of your baby’s head, the neck is slowly elongating making space for the prominent chin. The ears and eyes now enable your child to become sensitive to external stimuli like sound. in fact if you poke your abdomen slightly your baby would try to move away!
The body of your body would be covered by very fine hair, which medically is called ‘lanugo’ and sheds off by the time of birth. Eyebrows and hair on head are in the beginning stages of growth, bones slowly are getting stronger and at times the baby even sucks his thumb.
Your Body
You are slowly going to feel small changes in your lower abdomen, clothes get tighter. By the end of this month you might well lose a definite waistline which defined your shape earlier. your abdomen actually begins to grow upwards filling your upper abdominal region.
By the last week of this month your uterus would be round halfway up between your pubic bone and navel.
Small movements of your baby gives a feeling of bubbles moving around in your tummy, this movement called ‘quickening’gives you immense pleasure.
Since your uterus is pushing your stomach up you might have an urge to urinate more often, and with the baby growing in size you would seem to be a little breathless frequently. Do not panic because this is because of the increase in the amount of blood being pumped by your heart so as to meet the increase in oxygen requirement for both you and your baby.
Other Generally Felt Health Problems
- fatigue, due to faster pumping of blood.
- Constipation, heartburn, flatulence and other stomach and digestion related problems that are due to changing hormones and pressure felt by the growing uterus try to take small quantities of food at shorter intervals.
- Bleeding gums, pain in your teeth and general dental problems, this again due to reducing vitamins and minerals especially vitamin C and D – take supplements as advised by your physician.
- Swollen ankles, achy feet and varicose vein – weight increase is the main culprit here- do not stand for long times, take rest whenever possible.
- stretch marks – nothing much can be done, however use of certain oils are said to reduce these marks.
- Hair growth or loss – depending on persons this change occurs, some may find that their hair is growing robustly while others experience a thinning problem. make sure to follow a good hair care regime ad regular oiling.
- Skin becomes lighter or darker again depending on your genes and hormones. Avoid using chemical based products to conceal them, o for natural products.
Tip of the Week
Ask your partner to go along with you for the check up, he is going to love to hear the first heart beat sound of your baby.
Plan your diet including more fiber rich fruits and vegetables, they are going to help you in reducing constipation. You have to drink lots of fluids either water or fruit juices so as to keep hydrated and relieve from flatulence and fatigue throughout the day
Get a comfortable pregnancy pillow and begin leaning towards the left side while sleeping, this helps in regulating your blood flow better.
If you seem to get varicose veins get those support socks so that the veins do not bulge out of proportion. You can begin walking on a medium pace from now on so that your body gets the required exercise.
