22 Weeks - Pregnancy

Baby

You’ve made it to the end of the fifth month, soon to be moving into the third trimester. Your baby weighs almost 1 pound now, and is about 11 inches long. She looks just like a miniature newborn baby. Her skin is translucent and will be wrinkly until she gains her fat stores later in the third trimester. Her eyes, eyelids, and eyebrows have fully formed, although she still lacks the pigment in her iris that makes up her eye color.

Your baby can hear all the sounds in your body, as well as conversations on the outside. She can hear you as you talk to her, read to her, and sing. Any consistent patterns that she hears, such as a song or story, she will most likely remember after she is born, and will be soothed as the song or story reminds her of being safe and secure in utero.

Her body is still well covered in vernix (the white cheese-like coating which protects her skin from the amniotic fluid), and will be so until after she is born and bathed. Her fingernails have grown to the end of her fingertips and her teeth buds are already beginning to form. If your baby is a boy, his testes are beginning to descend to the scrotum.

This week, your baby’s brain is rapidly developing, as the neurons are firing away, making new connections. The brain will expand until your child reaches the age of five.

Mom

As your stomach muscles grow and expand to accommodate your growing uterus, you may begin to get an itchy belly, and maybe some stretch marks. Stretch marks, or striae, is a form of scarring caused by rapid weight gain or pregnancy. This scarring occurs in the dermis, the elastic middle layer of skin. When the dermis is constantly stretched, it can break, leaving stretch marks. Stretch marks start out as a red or purple color, and eventually fade to a silver or white. If you are genetically inclined to get stretch marks, you WILL most likely get stretch marks. However, there are some things you can do to minimize your chances.

-Drink lots of water – hydration makes your skin soft and less prone to breaks

-Limit Caffeine – have water instead

-Consume healthy foods – Include zinc rich foods, such as nuts or fish and protein foods like eggs. Also foods rich in vitamins A,C, and D – such as carrots, oranges, and milk

And, you may as well lather up in belly butter too. This can soften skin, which may prevent some breaks in the dermis.

As you keep your second trimester energy up, you may want to get started on the nursery. Just remember to leave the painting to your husband or partner. Paint fumes are bad for you and your baby.

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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.