Your baby

Your baby is now about 20cm from crown to rump and 28cm from head to toe. This week, your baby’s eyelids open. Although your baby’s eyes can move from side to side, he has a limited visual range.

Your baby continues to grow in preparation for the journey of birth. Your baby's lungs are developing surfactant, a substance that will help his lungs to expand after birth. The heart beat is now strong enough to be picked up with a stethoscope. And in the bowel, meconium, your baby's first stool, is developing.

All the little details are coming to completion too. The fingernails are now completely formed. The first teeth are forming in the gums and your baby’s taste buds can distinguish between sweet and bitter.

Your progress

As your pregnancy progresses, you may be experiencing swollen or achy feet. This is known as oedema. The vast majority of women suffer from swelling of the ankles and feet at some stage during their pregnancy with no cause for alarm. However, it is one of the classic signs of the potentially serious condition known as pre-eclampsia, therefore your midwife will check for swollen feet and ankles at your regular antenatal check-ups.

Oedema is usually worse at the end of the day, especially if you have been standing up for long periods of time. Try to literally ‘put your feet up’ whenever you can. You may also find that support tights help to ease the condition. But be sure to let your doctor know of any swelling you experience.

To add to the joys of pregnancy, you may suffer from heart burn more as the weeks go on. If you’ve never experienced it before, it’s a burning sensation from the bottom of the breastbone to the lower throat, which is caused by both hormonal and physical changes in your body. Try to avoid eating spicy or fatty foods, eat several small meals during the day and not too soon before bedtime. A glass of milk may also help ease discomfort during the night.

What to think about

Now that you can feel your baby is kicking, squirming and hiccuping inside you, you may be appreciating fully for the first time that your baby is a real, living person that will soon be in your arms…

But what if you’re worried that your baby's movements seem late in starting? There's probably nothing to be concerned about. If this is your first pregnancy, you may feel your baby move weeks later than experienced mothers, and if you're overweight it may also take longer to detect movement. Sometimes, the placenta can be located toward the front of the uterus, making it harder to feel baby movements until the baby gets larger.

You can expect that in time your baby's kicks and movements will get progressively stronger, and will soon get so sharp you won't be able to ignore them. But babies have their own cycles of being alert and awake or being sluggish and sleepy. Typically, kicks get stronger up until about 28 weeks, or so, and then they become less frequent as it becomes more crowded inside and your baby goes into hibernation.

During later pregnancy, your midwife may recommend that you make a "kick chart" by counting how many kicks and movements your baby makes in a given amount of time, such as within 30 minutes. It’s very reassuring to count those signs that your baby is on the move again!