Key facts about your baby
- Your baby is now around the size of a sweet potato, or about 14cm (5.5 inches), weighing in around 190 grams.
- The brain can now start to process the sounds that the ears are sending to it.
- If your having a girl, all her reproductive organs are fully formed by week 18.
- The nervous system is maturing rapidly. This is the beginning of the process known as myelination, which is the formation of the protective cover of myelin around the nerves. This is an important development in your baby’s central nervous system. The myelin serves to insulate the nerves of the brain and spinal cord to allow transmission of impulses along nerve cells. Without this protective layer of protein and fatty substances, diseases like Multiple Sclerosis can take over.
Whats happening with you
- Healthy foods should be part of your daily routine now as the Morning sickness should have subsided a lot.
- You may have low blood pressure in 2nd trimester.You may feel dizzy if you stand up too fast or get out of bed too fast. So, just slow down when trying to stand up or get out of bed.
- Also, when you lay down, it’s now best that you lie on your side instead of lying flat on your back. This is because your growing uterus can compress one of your major veins when lying flat on your back. The danger is that the blood flow to your heart can be decreased. So, try different positions and use pillows under your hip to prop up your upper leg when you lay on your side.
