You are Out of the High Risk Period at 13 Weeks Pregnant
When you reach the stage when you are 13 weeks pregnant, you are just into your second trimester. The first trimester is the riskiest stage, so after this point you can start to relax a little and not think that every little ache and pain is a sign of trouble. At this point your morning sickness is starting to ease up so you can feel more like yourself again. Many women hold off telling anyone outside the immediate family that they are pregnant until they have reached the 13th week. Up to this point, you do not show any signs of a belly bump or if it is there it is not very big. You are probably still wearing your normal clothes or ordinary clothing with elastic waistbands. You are not yet big enough to warrant wearing maternity clothing. These larger clothing, though, will come in handy after the baby is born and your stomach is not back to its normal size.
You do notice a change in your bra size with your breasts getting larger due to the increase in the estrogen hormone in your body. They may also feel lumpy, but this is normal because the mammary glands are getting ready to start producing milk. You may also notice that you are starting to get stretch marks on your stomach, hips and buttocks due to the stretching ligaments. You can use lotions containing Vitamin E to help prevent these stretch marks from becoming any larger because it helps to keep the skin soft and supple. Your body will also absorb the Vitamin E and pass it on to the baby.
The baby growing inside you is about three inches long and weighs only about 20 grams. The head may look slightly larger than the rest of the body, but this will change in the coming weeks. He/She has fingers and unique fingerprints. Although the baby does swallow some amniotic fluid in its sucking and swallowing movements, the kidneys and urinary tract are functioning and this will carry this fluid out of the body. The entire body is covered with a fine filament of soft hair called lunago.
You have a renewed interest in lovemaking at this stage. Many couples expecting their first baby wonder if it is safe to have intercourse, and it is as long as you do not have a history of miscarriage or have had recent vaginal bleeding. It is normal to experience a milky discharge from the vagina in the 13th week of your pregnancy.
At 13 weeks, the babys eyes are shut and the bones are starting to become more solid. The intestines are all in place attached to the umbilical cord. The sockets for the teeth are in place in the gums and the vocal cords are developed. The baby does not make any sounds though because it is encased in the sac of amniotic fluid.
You will start to have more energy at this point and will not have to lie down as frequently during the day. Your trips to the bathroom won’t decrease though and you will start to need to go more often.
For more information on what happens at 13 weeks pregnant, 16 weeks pregnant and 25 weeks pregnant, visit http://www.PregnancyHut.com
