18th week of pregnancy

Week eighteenth of pregnancy is almost middle of second trimester. Almost reaching the second half of pregnancy, which is seems to slower than the first half. If you have any fear of pregnancy, console yourself. Women are giving birth for millenniums. The morning sickness starts to reduce and eventually will disappear. What’s more, most of the mothers feel energized during this trimester. The baby growth will be rapid causing some sleep disrupts. A warm water shower and also milk with honey will help to get a sound sleep. And it is time for you, to search for the baby name, as you need to kill time.18th week of pregnancy

Baby’s development:

By this week your baby has grown up to five and half inches long and is seven ounces inweight.
In most of the cases your baby starts to kick and rolling in this week only. It is quite exhilarating to feel that actually.
Your baby is fully grown now; most of his features like eyes, ears and nose have developed.
The heartbeat is quite stable at this stage.
The muscles are stronger and hands and legs and nicely proportioned and well placed.
By the end of this week your baby has also developed yawning and hiccupping skills and you will start feeling it soon.
Your baby has also developed his fingers and toes and now like every human he has his own unique set of foot prints and finger prints.
In case the baby is a boy, this week marks the beginning of prostate development. In girls, the uterus and fallopian tubes are fully formed by the end of the week.

Mother’s development:

You are bound to gain a little weight again this week because your baby is still growing and your uterus is become larger and larger to accommodate your baby.
This is the time when you will have a constant backache this is because of the growing size of your uterus which is causing the center of gravity of your body to change and causing your back to shift its position thus causing the backaches. Your muscles are also aching because of pregnancy hormones.
Flatulence continues to trouble pregnant women. Same is the case with varicose veins, bleeding gums and stretch marks. If these problems aggravate, one must consult the doctor and get proper treatment.
Leg cramps are a common problem during the 18th week. The mother’s sleep at night may be interrupted by shooting pain in the ankles .Stretching before sleeping helps in reducing the pain.
As the body requires extra fluid to support the baby as well as the mother, there may be mild swelling in ankles and feet (due to gravity, fluid accumulates there) .This can be avoided by keeping the legs elevated for most of the time.
Skin, hair and nail changes are a part of this period. Eczema, pimples and redness pose a nuisance for the mothers.

Complications:

One may experience dizziness and swelling in feet during this week. This can be avoided by not standing for too long and taking proper rest.

An ultrasound test must be conducted between the 18th and 20th week to detect any anomalies and keep track of the baby’s growth.

Tips for Complications:

Eat healthy to ensure that you have a good and healthy pregnancy and give birth to a strong and healthy child. If your baby is not moving much you shouldn’t be afraid because it may take some time to start the kicking and rolling. If this is your first pregnancy then you need to be calm about the whole situation and not freak out if something is taking time to happen and in case this isn’t your first pregnancy then it is advisable that you do not compare your first pregnancy with this one because they are never the same.

Emotional attachment with the baby:

By this week your baby must have kicked for the first time. It surely is a really exhilarating moment for you. You are bound to get more emotionally attached to your baby by the end of this week. This will be the most exciting week of your pregnancy for both you and your partner. Feeling your baby kick is one of the most memorable moments of your life.

How Dads can help:

When you wife is in 18th week of her pregnancy it means that it is time for her to rest more. Make sure that she doesn’t move around much by getting everything she needs and making it available to her. You have to take care of her and make sure that if she has any serious complications then medical care is given to it. This is the time when your wife expects you to be fully cooperative with her and understand her emotionally make sure you are doing that.

Tip of the Week:

Indigestion is quite common in pregnancy. This can be avoided by following some simple instruction like eat slowly, chew thoroughly, take small meals to fit your changing digestive system. These few simple steps will help you to overcome the problem of heartburns.

This will put an end to your 18th week of pregnancy and now you are even closer to give birth to your little, loved one.