What happens in the 26th week of pregnancy? Your baby is having regular periods of rest and activity and its patterns of movement are becoming more familiar to you. Some pregnant women find their baby is very active in the middle of the night - enough to wake them from a deep sleep.
Your baby in the 26th week of pregnancy:
- You are now entering your six and a half month mark
- Your baby's height is 14 inches and weighs a little over 1 and 2/3 pound
- Until now the baby's eyes were under wraps, quietly developing beneath fused eyelids
- But now the eyes are fully developed and for the first time ever, they are opening so the little one can see what the world looks like even though there is not much to see right now
- The irises are still pretty pale and pigmentation comes in over the next few months
- The color of your baby's eyes may not be clear until he's at least six months old
- The nerves around your little ones mouth and lips are getting a lot more sensitive now
- Already the baby will try to mouth whatever comes near those lips including the umbilical cord
- Your baby becomes more responsive to sound as the nerve pathways are becoming more and more developed
-Your little one can now easily make a fist, suck his thumb, clasp his hands together, and even play with his or her toes
Your body in the 26th week of pregnancy:
You are probably feeling your baby move in different ways now as the space in your tummy is getting more and more crowded! Those somersaults and twists and turns are more likely to be solid kicks, and you might frequently see a foot or elbow shape poking out!
Some women find their body changes alarming and unattractive and others see it for what it is. Pregnancy is nothing if not biological. How a mother feels about it all doesn’t really make much difference to the ongoing changes her body is going through.
Your total blood volume has increased by around 25% since the start of your pregnancy. But it won’t peak until closer to 35 weeks. All that extra circulating blood will mean you may notice your fingers and ankles swelling by the end of the day.
More Braxton Hicks contractions this week, which are making your uterus harden at irregular intervals. Don’t worry unless they become painful and regular, or you start having lower back pain as well. You will find they are more frequent after bending over, standing up, after having sex and if you climb a flight of stairs.
If you feel lightheaded or as if you are going to faint, put your head between your legs and call out to someone to stand near you. If you have no choice, then sit on the floor until you return to feeling normal. You won’t be the first pregnant woman to do this and you won’t be the last.
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