Welcome to your 22nd week of pregnancy! This is the best time to fall in love with your bump, you can now feel your baby growing bigger and bigger by the day. This is now the time to talk to your baby, sing to him, and caress your bump with nice moisturizers. You might even get a bit of flutter in response.
At this stage, you can do some fun activities with your unborn baby, try pointing a flashlight at your tummy and see if you get any movement in response. Although the baby’s eyelids are still firmly shut, he can still perceive darkness and light by now!
This could be the time when you get to say “watch your language” to pretty much everyone! As your baby’s ears are now starting to hear and process the voices around your bump and sounds inside your body like breathing, heartbeat, and even your tummy rumbling.
Your baby’s nervous system is now developing his senses which means his fingers are learning to grab things at his reach like his nose, ears, or even the umbilical cord.
Changes Happening in Your Body by Your 22nd Week
During your second trimester and up until the end of your pregnancy, your bump will keep on growing bigger and bigger, and as happy as many women are with this rapid growth, the less excited they feel about their stretch marks.
Stretch marks are normal to have at this stage, they are caused by your hormones and the rapid skin stretching. However, rest assured, they are completely harmless to you and your baby.
Unfortunately, there is not much that you can do to stop them from appearing or even heal them, but you can try massaging the affected areas with non-scented moisturizers till after the delivery.
Those marks normally fade to silver after birth while your body is trying to go back to normal. If you still face any issue with them after giving birth, you can ask your doctor about the safest ways to have them removed.
On the other hand, your breasts might be leaking a little, that’s completely natural as your breasts are preparing to feed your baby soon! A quick fix for the leaking breast problem is using breast pads. They will come in handy during the entire breastfeeding period.
Piles Trouble?
Piles or hemorrhoids are swelling around the anus and rectum or even on the inside. Piles symptoms include pain while trying to poop, itchiness, blood spots, or mucus. Anyone can happen to get piles, but they are quite common with pregnant ladies.
Due to the pregnancy hormones relaxing the walls of your blood vessels causing you all of that swelling. On the plus side, there are always ways that you can avoid piles, you can start by drinking lots of water and eating high-fiber meals like vegetables, fruits, and wholemeal bread.
If it has already happened and you are in pain then you can try these simple home remedies:
- try using a moist toilet roll
- try not to stand up for too long
- try sitting on a towel dipped in cold water to ease the pain
Symptoms of the 22nd Week of Pregnancy
It is quite normal to have random aches every now and then during pregnancy, however, since this is the easiest trimester of the three, you should not be feeling much pain, if you feel like your pain might be serious, do not hesitate to contact your doctor or midwife.
Common pregnancy symptoms this week could include:
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Tiredness
- Sore breasts
- Leg cramps
- Stretch marks
- Thicker hair
- Swollen gums
- Urine infection
- Bloating or constipation
- Spotty skin
- Feeling too warm
- Greasier skin
- Piles
- Vaginal infection
- Thicker hair
Your Baby’s 22nd Week Development
Your baby’s 22nd week brings you some good news! Your baby finally weighs about 1 pound and is about 11 inches in length! Which is basically the same size as a baby doll or a papaya fruit.
Your baby’s lungs are not developing rapidly and your baby is about to do some breathing exercises in your belly. He is now swallowing a bit of the amniotic fluid which will stay in his bowels until after birth.
On the other hand, your baby’s taste buds are now developing and he might be influenced by what you eat! So make sure you eat some fresh vegetables and fruits every day for your baby’s nourishment.
This Week’s Tips
Exercise, Exercise, Exercise!
Researchers have proven that women who work out during her pregnancy help their babies-to-be to become even stronger and smarter, working out during pregnancy does not only boost your energy and muscle power but also boosts your baby-to-come mental and physical power!
Get Ready for Braxton Hicks
Braxton hicks are painless squeezing feelings in your abdomen, those contractions are not dangerous at all, some women might get confused thinking they are going into labor now! But in fact, those contractions are preparations for the real thing but they are never strong enough to get you into real labor. So do not panic if you suddenly felt them.
Do Not Use Beauty Fillers
You might want to do some refill or fill at your dermatologist but that might not be the best choice as filler injections are not surely safe and their effect on pregnant women and their babies are not conclusive yet. Besides, by your 22nd week, you will be naturally glowing without the need for any cosmetic products.