Your Pregnancy Week by Week: 18 Weeks

The following information -- and much more -- can also be found in the free weekly email Lamaze Pregnancy Week by Week. Sign up now to receive helpful information for your stage of pregnancy. Subscribers will be given the opportunity to complete a Lamaze Parent Satisfaction Survey after their pregnancy and receive a Lamaze Toys coupon. We want to hear about your birth experience and the impact that childbirth education may have had so that we can continue to make sure parents have the information they need for the safest, healthiest birth possible.

You're in week 18 of your pregnancy!

Do you find yourself shedding tears while watching a touching news story? Have you woken up from some strange dreams lately? Emotional changes are normal experiences for most pregnant women. This week you will discover why these emotional changes occur and what to do if you feel these changes are negatively impacting your life and your relationships.

What's New with Baby

If you or others often talk or sing to your baby, she is now starting to recognize voices. The nerve connections in your baby's brain are continuing to form, and she's developing her different senses. Your baby is also active with lots of activities, like yawning, hiccupping, swallowing fluid, and playing with her umbilical cord. She's grown in size, and is about the length of a bell pepper (14 cm), weighing about 190 grams.

What's New with You

Your body is providing a safe and nurturing home for your little one. As your body creates that safe place, you're likely experiencing the changes associated with this process, including an increase in bodily fluids. Increased vaginal discharge, sweating, and nasal congestion are all signs that your body is doing exactly what it needs to do to prepare for pregnancy and birth. These occurrences will begin to fade in the first few weeks after birth.

Story from a Mama who has been there

'Keeping a journal helped me track what I was feeling and what was happening to my body. It was such an exciting time, and I knew that I would want to go back and re-read the little details of my first pregnancy. Now that I'm pregnant with my second, it's been fun to read through my journal entries and remember what I went through the first time... and realize how different it is now!'

'I am nervous, excited, terrified and so in love with this little person all at the same time. My worries are all over the place, too. One minute I wonder if he's moving around enough, and the next I'm thinking about how we're going to pay for college.'

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