When you enter your 21st week, you fall right into the middle of your second trimester. During this time, many mama's often feel more comfortable and connected to their growing baby. The middle of the second trimester is often considered the "sweet spot" as you may begin to feel better physically, such as no longer feeling symptoms of nausea and morning sickness. Enjoy this time, you deserve it!

In terms of your baby's development during these four weeks, your baby is quickly growing as they build muscles and key organs to help them thrive after birth. You may start to feel more regular kicks and rolls while your belly will continue to grow as your uterus expands. Now is an important time to start preparing for your little one's entrance into the world, with research on things such as childcare, baby gear, and starting a registry.

21 WEEKS

Your baby is now 11 ounces, which is close to one pound, and your baby is roughly the size of a pomegranate. Exciting developments are happening as your baby's key organs such as their heart, lungs, and kidneys are getting stronger. In addition, your baby's taste buds are forming. Your baby can now taste flavors while swallowing small amounts of amniotic fluid, which reflects your diet. As a fun fact, researchers have found that babies who were exposed to certain tastes in utero via the amniotic fluid were more eager to eat those foods with those same taste buds after birth. Eat your broccoli, mama!

In addition, your little one's nervous system is progressing, helping your baby make coordinated movements. Your baby's position may change week by week, as they still have plenty of space to move around. As your pregnancy continues, your little one may begin to settle into a regular position, often head down, to get ready for birth.

22 WEEKS

At 22 weeks, your baby has officially hit the 1 pound mark! Your baby is now roughly the size of a grapefruit. Your baby's muscles are getting stronger every week now. Your little one is now moving a lot and responding to sound, melody, and rhythm. If you consistently sing and talk to your baby, those sounds may later soothe your newborn. How sweet! In additon, your baby now has a more consisent sleep-wake cycle, spending around 12-14 hours sleeping. Your little one needs its beauty sleep!

At this point, you are most likely past any morning sickness-congratulations! You still may be getting leg and foot cramps, though, and mild swelling of your ankles and feet. You may also have heartburn more often as your uterus presses on your stomach. Your skin may be feeling dry and itchy, which can be helped by slathering lotion on your belly and breasts.

23 WEEKS

At 23 weeks, your baby is around the size of a mango-how sweet! By this week, your baby might start to get startled by loud or sudden noises. In addition, your baby's skin remains transparent and hangs loosely. Their lungs are developing rapidly, and their heartbeat is getting stronger and louder. The lungs are starting to make a substance called surfactant. Surfactant allows air sacs in the lungs to inflate and keeps the lungs from collapsing and sticking together when they deflate.

Maybe the most exciting development is that your little one's fingerprints and footprints are now formed! Ridges that are formed in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet will create the foundation for fingerprints and footprints.

On your end mama, you may experience increased hunger, more pronounced baby kicks, and forgetfulness. You may also begin to experience Braxton Hicks contractions which feel like a tightening of the abdomen for roughly 30-60 seconds at a time. A tip is to focus on eating nutrient-dense foods and to stay hydrated, which help reduce swelling. At this point, it can be a good idea to start thinking about your maternity leave plan.

24 WEEKS

By week 24, your baby is now the size of a large turnip. Hair has begun growing on their head, eyelashes and eyebrows. Your baby's inner ears, which control balance, are now fully developed, and your little one's nostrils are opening. Your baby is starting to make white blood cells, which will help it fight off disease and infection. Soon your baby will begin to gain more body fat, similar to how they will look as a newborn.

For mama, you can expect to gain around a pound per week this month. This is also the time when a standard glucose screening for gestational diabetes is typically preformed.

As your belly continues to grow, you may feel a bit unbalanced when moving, as well as more side aches and backaches. This is normal, and you deserve to give yourself rest! In addition, your heart rate may be higher now as your body prepares to pump more blood.

Work Cited

1. healthy.kaiserpermanente.org. (n.d.). Second Trimester: Weeks 21 to 24 | Kaiser Permanente. [online] Available at: https://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/health-wellness/maternity/second-trimester/weeks-21-24.

2. Mayo Clinic (2020). Fetal development: What happens during the 2nd trimester? [online] Mayo Clinic. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/fetal-development/art-20046151.

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