14 Weeks - Pregnancy

Baby

This week, your baby has fully developed sex organs, although they will be difficult to see on your pregnancy ultrasound. In boys, the prostate gland is developing. In girls, the ovaries have formed and have moved down into the pelvis.

Your baby is 3 ½ inches long, crown to rump (head to butt) and weighs about 1 ½ ounces. Her skin is very translucent, although she is beginning to develop a downy, very fine hair called lanugo over her body for insulation. She will have this hair until she develops enough fat deposits to regulate her temperature, usually shortly before she’s born.

This week, your baby is strengthening her muscles by moving and kicking a little more. She is becoming more flexible and stronger every day. She is even practicing moving her facial muscles, as she frowns, grimaces, and squints.

Mom

The fourteen-week mark brings good things - the end, or at least a marked decrease, in morning sickness and a renewed energy as you begin your second trimester. Your uterus is now about the size of a small melon and can be felt about an inch and a half below your belly button. You may be forced into maternity clothes this week, if you haven’t made the move already. Not to worry. There are so many cute maternity clothes out there now; you don’t have to sacrifice your personal style because you’re pregnant.

Another good thing is that the need to urinate every hour or so will decrease, as your uterus begins to expand up into your belly. You may still be constipated, as the progesterone continues to wreak havoc on your digestive system. You may also continue to feel bloated and gassy. You can thank your hormones for this.

If you never had big breasts before, you will probably notice a difference now. This could be a good thing or bad. Now you need a new bra, right?

The best thing about the second trimester is that it is time to chow down. Now that the morning sickness begins to subside, you can begin to eat again. Reward yourself for going through that miserable first trimester sickness with a big ole’ banana split! You deserve it. Although you will probably have food aversions throughout the whole pregnancy, your stomach probably won’t rebel as much as it did during the last few weeks.

One mom says that she always loved to eat red meat. “Give me a big, juicy cut of filet mignon. I was in heaven.” But, when she got pregnant, she didn’t want a thing to do with red meat, whatsoever. Your body has a way of balancing the vitamins and minerals it needs, by making you crave certain foods, and staying away from others. Many moms say that in pregnancy, they are grossed out by foods they normally loved pre-pregnancy.

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PLEASE NOTE

This should be used as a general guideline and is for general information and educational purposes only. Please remember that all pregnancies develop at different rates. If you have questions about your baby's development, please contact your doctor or midwife.