Your baby

Your baby is now about 11.5cm long and weighs around 45g. He would still fit into the palm of your hand, but is now looking more like a baby with a proper neck and a button nose, which has an upward tilt for breathing during breastfeeding.

Now that your baby is beginning to move around more smoothly and rhythmically in the amniotic fluid, you may feel the very first fluttering sensations of your baby’s movements – although these can easily be mistaken for bubbles of wind!

These foetal movements, or ‘quickening’ as its traditionally known, can occur as early as week 14. If it’s your first pregnancy week it’s more likely to occur between weeks 18 – 22, whereas if you’ve been pregnant before you’ll probably feel the foetal movements earlier.

Your progress

Your uterus is now about the size of a grapefruit and growing rapidly. In fact, during your entire pregnancy, your uterus will increase by 20 times in weight and fourteen times in size!

Now that your energy is returning, you should be feeling less tired. However, you might be experiencing heartburn as your hormones loosen your body ready for the birth. If so, try peppermint tea or milk to neutralise the acids.

You may also find that your aversions to certain foods disappear during your second trimester. However, you may continue to find the smell of cigarettes, coffee or alcohol quite distasteful. This could be your body's way of preventing you from consuming anything harmful to your baby.

What to think about

If you’ve not already blurted out your news in the first surprised days, now’s probably the time you’re starting to wonder when you will announce that you're pregnant. Of course, some of your friends may have guessed pretty quickly, especially women with children who've ’been there, done that.’ But if not, you need to decide who to tell – and when.

Conventional wisdom suggests that you (and your baby's dad) shouldn't inform anyone until the end of your first trimester, or at least until after the baby's heartbeat has been detected. This is really only because of the increased risk of miscarriage during the early weeks - and to protect your own privacy during what could be an upsetting time. However, if you’re happy for people to know, there’s no reason not to let them in on your secret earlier.

Of course, you may still want to keep your pregnancy quiet at work. However if you work in an environment that exposes you to potentially harmful chemicals, germs or heavy pollution, then it’s best inform your employer as soon as possible. Another exception to the no-tell rule is if your pregnancy is making it difficult for you to perform your job. So if you need time off because you’re feeling awful, or need to go for another round of tests, it's probably time to let your boss know what's going on, if for no other reason than to quell the gossip.