Pregnancy Week by Week - Week 21-24

Month 5

If you haven’t told everyone yet, you might not be able to hide it for much longer as your bump will be very visible at 5 months pregnant.

Your baby starts the month at the size of an acorn. As the weeks progress, your clever bundle of joy grows into a courgette, a cauliflower and finally a whole aubergine.

With a bigger bump comes a host of new symptoms you may be struggling with, including:

• Sleeping problems. Your expanding stomach can make it pretty difficult to find a comfortable position in bed. The baby may also get into a habit of kicking during the night, and nightmares and frequent toilet trips can make sleeping hard. If you are having trouble sleeping, try taking naps during the day or do something relaxing before bed like reading or having a bath. Extra pillows between the knees and against your back will give you more support and help you feel more comfortable.
  
  
• The increased weight and pressure from your baby bump will no doubt affect your back. Your ligaments will also be stretching in preparation for labour, which can stress the joints in your back and pelvis. While back pain may be unavoidable during pregnancy, there are things you can do to ease this and reduce any aches. Getting plenty of rest is probably the best thing you can do, as well as taking a warm bath or getting a soothing massage. Making sure you have good posture, e.g. bending your knees when you pick something up, will also help reduce backache.
  
  
• Swollen feet. The pressure on your blood vessels can cause your ankles, legs and feet to swell up. This is caused by excess fluid in the body, so drinking plenty of water will help flush it out. You should also avoid standing for long periods, and try to put your feet up as much as you can.
  
  
• Braxton Hicks contractions. You may have heard of these before, where you start having random, painless contractions. This is not you going into labour, but your body’s way of preparing for the birth and practising for the real thing. This is more common in the later stages of pregnancy, but some women do experience them as early as 5 months.

Shopping

Finding out the sex of your baby can give you a better idea of what you want to buy, although there are a lot of gender neutral options out there too.

People often make the mistake of buying a lot of cute things for their newborn, forgetting to get bigger clothes as they grow. They will soon be growing out of all their tiny outfits, so do get a range of sizes and ask family and friends for bigger clothes.

DO

• Go on holiday. Week 27 is the last time you can travel without a doctor’s note, so you may want to think about booking a holiday before the baby arrives.
  
  
• Attend antenatal classes. These can seem overwhelming at first, but there is so much knowledge to be gained from these classes. Plus you will meet other parents going through exactly the same thing as you, and you can get advice and ask questions if you need to.

DON’T

• Avoid your doctor. Checking in with your doctor is always a good idea, especially if you think you may be at risk of preeclampsia or gestational diabetes.