Whoa! You are now winding up the first trimester with 12th week of pregnancy. Your pregnancy symptoms will start cooling down a bit. By now your bump has not shown off yet but your waistline is thickening and you may start feeling uncomfortable wearing tight clothes. The increased blood flow and increased level of estrogen may make your face to start glowing and give you a beautiful look. But it can be worse for other women who may develop freckles and dark spots which may stay up to some weeks after delivery.
During this 12th week, morning sickness and fatigue may start fading. Your frequent visits to the toilet will also reduce because the uterus has moved from the pelvis into the abdomen. This should be a good time to start doing Kegel exercises to strengthen your vaginal muscles in readiness for delivery and to speed recovery after birth. Since you have been battling with low sex drive, your partner can now smile because very soon your libido will be skyrocketing once again!
Common Pregnancy Symptoms at 12th Week
Although morning sickness and fatigue have reduced and you are regaining your energy, there are other symptoms that you may experience from this week. These symptoms include:
1. Bloating
This is due to the progesterone hormones relaxing the intestine muscles, hence slowing down digestion and enabling gas to build up.
2. Headaches
This can be caused by hormonal changes and low blood sugar levels. Other causes of headaches during this stage of pregnancy can be:
• Cutting down on caffeine if you have been taking it.
• Stress
• Dehydration
• Cold or flu
If the pain persists, it’s advisable to see a doctor. Remember it’s wrong to do self-medication during pregnancy.
3. Increased sense of smell
Your nose is getting very sensitive even to the slightest smell from your neighbors’ kitchen. Some common smell like the smell of onions when cooking might even make you throw up.
4. Excessive saliva
Oh my God, this is a very annoying pregnancy symptom! It makes you feel like spitting out saliva every minute. This symptom can be reduced by chewing sugarless chewing gum. The good news is that it’s likely to go away in your second trimester.
5. Increased discharge
You will notice an increase in a clear vaginal discharge. This helps in cleaning and protecting the vagina from infection. But if the color of the discharge is brownish, yellowish or pinkish then it’s time to see a doctor because it could be an infection or even a preterm labor!
6. Dizziness
Hormonal changes in your body this week can make you feel dizzy. It’s advisable to take a lot of water and a healthy balanced diet with fruits. Take small portions of meals frequently. But if the dizziness is severe call a doctor right away.
Your Two Babies At 12th Week
Babies’ face now looks more human and it’s slightly over 2 inches and can weigh half an ounce. It has all the body parts although some parts may not have matured. The fingernails, toenails, and bones are forming and he/she can be able to open and close the fingers as well as curl the toes. The eyelids have also fully formed but it will remain closed until late second trimester. The babies’ skeleton is now made from cartilage which is slowly hardening into bone.
Two babies are also developing reflexes and they can hear sounds and make some movements. If you poke your belly while looking on an ultrasound, you will be able to see two babies making some movements and you can even hear the heartbeats. Although you will see your babies in the ultrasound, it’s difficult to tell their gender at week 12. So you may have to wait up to week 20 to know if they are boys, girls or both.
Their intestines have also grown and they extend into the umbilical cord. The kidneys start excreting urine into his bladder which is peed out into the surrounding amniotic fluid. Their brain is also developing very fast. During this week, you can decide to have your babies’ health checked by doing a genetic test to determine any risk of birth defects.
You can use pregnancy calculators to show you where you are in your pregnancy in terms of the number of weeks your pregnancy has and your due date. This is done by simply entering your last period date and the length of your menstrual cycle.
