Baby Development – 18 Weeks

𝗕𝗮𝗯𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

▶ 𝗦𝗶𝘇𝗲 & 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. 
Your baby at 18 weeks is the size of a cucumber. Your baby is 7 ounces (200 grams) in weight and 5 ½ inches (14 centimeters) long from head to bottom.

▶ 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲 & 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀.
He or she can now stretch, yawn and make facial expressions. As this happens, the unique swirls of your baby’s fingerprints and even toeprints will start to develop on the 18th week.

▶ 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁. 
Baby’s ear are in their final position. Your baby will begin to hear as his or her ears start to face forward.

▶ 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. 
As baby is growing in size, he or she will continue to move. This time, you will start feeling the movement so watch out for those hand or feet!

▶ 𝗡𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺. 
A substance called myelin is covering your baby’s nerves, which makes for faster delivery of messages from one nerve cell to the other. This allows the brain network to form complex connections and further develop the senses of hearing, sight, touch, smell and taste. At this stage, babies hear the sounds from your body such as the stomach’s rumblings and your heartbeat. Your doctor may tell you that babies don’t start hearing vowels of languages until the 23rd week but as early as now, and if you haven’t started the habit yet, read or sing to your child now. Studies say the sound of the mother’s voice relaxes a baby and sets the foundation for early language development.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀

As your baby grows, you will experience a hodgepodge of physical changes and emotional developments.

▶ 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀. 
As he or she tries out his or her muscles, you will also develop food cravings that can go from acceptable to weird to gross. You may be experiencing odd cravings for food that you did not even like when you were not pregnant. Science has not pinpointed a single reason for these odd food cravings but one hypothesis leans on hormones, which is logical because hormones go on an overdrive and crazy shifts in a pregnant woman’s body. One research says that a substance called Neuropeptide Y (NPY), an appetite stimulant, increases in the body of a pregnant woman. Whatever is the cause of these cravings, remember to just take everything in moderation.

▶ 𝗕𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘁. 
Water retention is making your feet bigger. Relaxin, a pregnancy hormone, is the culprit for doing its job of relaxing your pelvic joints in preparation for giving birth. It loosens the ligaments in your feet and the foot bones to spread.

▶ 𝗕𝘂𝗯𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
If you’re a first time mother, then expect to shed a tear or two from excitement and happiness as you can slowly feel your baby moving inside your belly. It will initially feel like a bubbling sensation which you may mistaken to be wind or constipation. You will also feel a fluttering sensation.

▶ 𝗔𝗯𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻. 
The pain should be bearable. It can be constipation or wind. Or it can be a result of your abdominal ligaments stretching as your uterus grows to make room for the baby.

Aches and pains are inevitable but remember, you have 22 weeks more to go and it will come by so quick. Before long, you will be rocking your sweet baby in your arms as you hum a sweet lullaby.

In between all these experiences and emotions, Madam Partum is here to walk you through your pre-partum journey. Breathe in between those weeks of seeing your doctor and preparing the baby’s room by scheduling a pre-partum massage with us. Book your pre-partum massage via whatsapp at 81660070 or call us at 62 933 933 for more information about pregnancy journey.