At week 13, you have entered the second trimester of your
pregnancy. You will feel relieved that the risk of miscarriage has dropped
drastically. Even if the baby is still small, your tummy does not tell the same
story it tells a different story to the world. If you can see through the
stomach like a scanner will do, you will see a fully formed baby with a unique
fingerprint, even if it is half the size of bananas.
When you reach the stage when you are 13 weeks pregnant, you
are right in your second trimester. The first trimester is the riskiest phase,
after that point you can start to relax a little bit and not think that every
little ache and pain is a sign of trouble. At this stage, your morning sickness
starts to ease and you will begin to feel more like yourself again. You're
probably still using your normal clothing or ordinary clothes with elastic
bands. You're still not big enough to justify the use of maternity clothes.
These important elements, however, come after the child's birth and your
stomach does not return to its normal size.
In addition to her belly growth, you will notice the bumps
forming on her breasts. However, there is no risk to your health and it is
quite natural; this helps to make the first milk called colostrum which is
needed in feeding your baby after birth.
You will notice changes in the size of your bra with the
breasts becoming larger due to increased secretion of a hormone called estrogen
in your body. The breast may also feel lumpy, but this is normal because the
mammary glands are prepared to start milk production. You May also notice that
you start to get stretch marks on the stomach, hips, and buttocks due to
stretching of the ligaments. You can use lotions that contain vitamin E to
prevent the stretch from becoming larger; the lotion helps to keep the skin
soft and subtle. Your body will absorb the vitamin E and passes it on to the
baby.
The baby growing inside you is about three inches long and
weighs only 20 grams. The head may seem a little higher than the rest of the
body, but this will change in the coming weeks. The fingers and fingerprints
are unique. The baby swallows some amniotic fluid in its sucking and swallowing
movements, the kidneys and urinary tract are functioning and in this process,
it will carry this fluid out of the body. The whole body is covered with fine
soft hair strand called lunago.
In the thirteenth week, the eyelashes and eyebrows begin to
develop at this stage and start the baby starts growing hair on his head. The
eyes are also in the right place, but the baby still cannot see because the
eyes are closed. However, he/she can sense light through closed eyelids. If you
shine a flashlight on the abdomen and focuses on what you feel you can even
feel movement as the baby away from the light. The ears begin to look at the
man, rather than a stranger.
One thing you will be able to feel is the baby hiccup. Since
the baby can suck and swallow at this stage of pregnancy, it will get to a time
where the baby swallows too much amniotic fluid. You May feel a slight sense of
shock when it happens. At this stage, your baby has grown a length of about 4
inches and weighs about two ounces.
In the thirteenth week, the baby’s growth becomes a little
bit faster, hence you should ensure that your diet is full of healthy food at
this stage and ensure your diet comprises of nutritional needs for energy. Even
if you are the type that has an unusual desire for junk foods, try to stay away
from eating too much junk food at this stage because it might make you feel
like you are still hungry. You can be happy that morning sickness is gone, but
can still come up when you least expect it.
The Child's skeletal system would have been developed in the
thirteenth week and also the building and development of the brain will begin.
The baby skin is still wrinkly in the thirteenth week; the child also at this
stage will begin to develop fat and fill out. The baby has fingerprints at this
stage of development and that the arms are fully developed, the legs are still
pretty low in relation to the body. Even if the baby weighs about one ounce and
takes only about 3.5 inches, you will soon start to feel small fluttering
movements to win as he/she moves.
Now that you have a little bit of energy, the
thirteenth week is a good time to start exercising and walking to build your
muscles. You should also begin to eat more salmon because it is a good source
of omega-3 fatty oils, which are good for you and for your baby. This article wouldn't have been made possible without http://www.manyweekspregnant.com/13-weeks-pregnant/ as a reference.
