During your second trimester, you begin to show, morning sickness finally starts to abate (usually) and you start to gain both weight and energy. Somewhere in the middle of the second trimester, you are likely to feel that little guy or girl moving around inside you for the first time.
But what is the second trimester like for the little one inside of you? He or she is undergoing lots of change, and fast. Here’s what it looks like from the inside during your second trimester:
- Around the fifteenth to sixteenth week, those cute little earns will start to work. You’d better watch what you say, because before long, they’ll catch everything. For now, though, she will begin to hear and recognize your voice, and will also become familiar with other comforting sounds within your body, such as your heartbeat and breathing. Many believe that white noise helps babies sleep after they are born because it reminds them of the noises inside your womb while they are developing.
- By the seventeenth week, your baby is rolling around like a little acrobat inside of you, tumbling and kicking. Around this time she’s also likely to discover how yummy her thumb is. Some babies can stick their whole hand in their mouth at this stage. She’s also figuring out how to swallow, preparing herself for a lifetime of interesting tastes.
- By week eighteen, he weighs about half a pound, and your baby is ready to make himself known. Many moms can feel their baby moving around at this point, though the exact time when you feel baby move around varies from pregnancy to pregnancy.
- When week nineteen rolls around, your baby will start to develop a substance that’s kind of like wax to cover her body. This coating, which is called vernix, not only protects her delicate skin, but it also makes it easier for you to deliver her into this world (though still not easy by any means).
- By week twenty, your baby (who, by the way is about 9 inches long by now) will be moving around a lot more, exploring his rather limited environment. He may move suddenly if he’s startled (usually by something loud).
- By week twenty two or twenty three, your baby is likely to get her first little case of the hiccups. This will feel kind of like she is doing jumping jacks inside of you.
- By the sixth month (twenty fourth week), your baby has begun to sweat. He could actually be born and survive outside of your womb with the right medical attention and care.
- Having put on a lot of weight (relatively speaking), your baby will weigh about a pound and a half at the end of the second trimester and will begin seeing, hearing, feeling and even tasting. He’ll recognize familiar voices, especially yours, and he’ll be able to distinguish one voice from another.
