WHAT’S GOING ON WITH BABY?
Your Baby at 14 Weeks Pregnant
Baby’s growth and size
Baby is kicking off week 14 with a decent growth spurt! Measuring around 3.5-4 inches and weighing 1.5-2 ounces, baby is getting their growth on.
What’s new developmentally?
Lanugo (that peach fuzz hair) is continuing to grow all over baby’s body. Lanugo will protect baby’s skin and keep them warm while they are in uteruo.
Baby’s eyebrows and eye lashes are starting to grow, and their facial muscles are working well enough to allow baby to smile! Baby is working on developing their grasp reflex this week and will be testing it out – there’s a lot going on in there!
Fun facts about your week 14 baby
- Baby is developing their sense of smell and taste
- Baby can suck their fingers or thumb – you might even catch it on an ultrasound
- Baby is beginning to hear so make sure you and your partner are talking or singing to baby throughout the day
WHAT’S GOING ON WITH MAMA?
Week 14 of Pregnancy
Week 14 pregnancy symptoms
- Increase in energy – you might be up for some of these pregnancy-safe exercises
- Increase in appetite
- Constipation
- Varicose veins
- Round ligament pain
- Hair and nail growth – thank you, hormones!
- Baby bump – try this hair tie trick if you aren’t quite ready for maternity clothes
- Bleeding gums
- Sinus congestion or rhinitis – safe OTC medications for pregnancy
- Leg cramps
How should I be feeling at 14 weeks pregnant?
Welcome to your second trimester, mama! If you are like most, you have been in survival mode the last 13 weeks. Hopefully things will start looking up for you during this “honeymoon” trimester of pregnancy.
While you are experiencing relief from some early pregnancy symptoms, you might be noticing some new ones appear.
As your uterus grows up and out of your pelvis, you might start experiencing round ligament pain in your groin. And as your abdomen grows and expands in pregnancy, the muscles and ligaments around your belly get stretched and can cause pain, too.
For relief, make sure you always change positions slowly, try a warm bath or shower, and wear a support belt. My personal favorite is this one from Motif medical.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
More Week 14 Info
14 weeks pregnant ultrasound
By 14 weeks you should have already had your first trimester ultrasound. You may opt for an additional ultrasound done between weeks 11 and 14 to assess your baby’s risk of chromosomal abnormalities.
These chromosomal abnormalities can indicate things like Down syndrome (trisomy 21), Edwards’ syndrome (trisomy 18), Patau syndrome (trisomy 13), and a few others. This particular ultrasound, commonly referred to as the Nuchal Translucency (NT) scan, should be completed between weeks 11 and 14.
During the ultrasound, the technician will measure baby’s neck and the length of clear space in the tissue at the back of baby’s neck. Often, when more fluid is present in this space, it will be larger.
What is important to remember is that this is a screening tool, not a diagnostic test. Based on the results, your provider will recommend further follow-up testing if necessary.
14 weeks pregnant brown discharge
Usually, brown discharge during pregnancy is normal and does not indicate a problem. To be safe though, any and all vaginal bleeding during pregnancy should be promptly reported to your OB provider.
Irritation is the most common cause of brown discharge in pregnancy. Increased blood flow in pregnancy can make your cervix extra sensitive and vascular. As a result, things like sex or a pelvic exam can cause irritation and make it bleed a little bit.
Even though it’s usually benign, I still recommend notifying your OB provider of vaginal bleeding in pregnancy just to make sure there’s nothing else going on!
14 weeks pregnant baby movement
Those first fetal movements are called quickening. Quickening can feel different for everyone and might be difficult to pinpoint at first, especially if it’s your first baby.
Even though baby begins moving around 12 weeks, it might be 16 or 20 weeks before you can actually feel the movement. Some things that impact when you feel quickening include the location of your placenta, activity level of baby, and if you’ve had a baby before.
An anterior placenta can muffle baby’s movements, making it harder and taking longer to feel the movement. Mamas that have been pregnant before usually know what to look (or feel) for when it comes to those first baby movements and can usually detect quickening earlier than first time mamas.
WHAT’S GOING ON WITH YOUR BUMP?
14 Weeks Pregnant Belly
TIPS & RESOURCES FOR WEEK 14
Tips for 14 Weeks Pregnant
- Continue taking your prenatal vitamin – taking it at night or with food might help it go down easier – these are the ones I took during my pregnancy
- Aim to drink 10 glasses of water a day (easier said than done, I know)
- Consider investing in a pregnancy pillow – I have a couple on my Amazon Storefront to help you narrow your search
- Familiarize yourself with pregnancy safe exercises and the benefits for whenever you feel ready to get your body moving
- Review foods to avoid during pregnancy
- Establish healthy sleep habits
- Start applying lotion or stretch mark cream daily
- Make a point to check in with your mental health – it’s never too early to start doing this
- Sign up for MLN Weekly Pregnancy Updates to stay up to date on everything going on with your pregnancy. So much good information and it’s all free!
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