25 Weeks Pregnant

When being 25 weeks pregnant or at 23 weeks of conception, while subcutaneous fat forms, the wrinkled skin starts to stretch and the fetus starts to resemble more and more with a newborn. His hair grows increasingly more and if you could see it, you could probably notice what color and texture will have his hair.

The baby is now capable to respond to familiar sounds, such as your voice, by moving. His senses become more and more sophisticated, so if you put a light straight towards your belly, he`ll turn his heard, which means his optic nerve is functional.

The Mother`s Body

The uterus has almost the size of a soccer ball and his bottom can be sensed at half the distance between the breastbone and navel.

While the hair of your baby grows, your hair will also look richer and brighter than ever, but this doesn`t happen because you have more hair growing. During pregnancy, the increased level of estrogen prolongs the growth phase of hair, which leads to the elimination of less hair and the thickening of the hair`s base. Also, some women notice their hair becoming brighter and having different texture (for instance, curly hair becomes rather straight). After giving birth, the cycle of growth/rest resumes, so you`ll notice you`ll lose more hair. Still, not all women will experience big changes in their hair before and after giving birth. These changes are more obvious at women with long hair.

It`s not surprising at all that you experience back pain while being pregnant, and this happens because your uterus becomes larger and you change your center of gravity on one side, while on the other side due to a hormone – relaxin –  which relaxes the ligaments in the pelvis. Back pain is one of the most frequent pregnant signs and can appear in early pregnancy, persisting and even getting worst while the pregnancy develops. If this pain is severe or if it lasts more than 2 weeks, visit your doctor and talk with him about it. It`s possible that he`ll recommend you medicine against pain such as acetaminophen (tylenol) or other types of therapy.

It`s important to know that back pain can often be a sign of premature birth, especially if it`s experienced during the second or third trimester of pregnancy and before it wasn`t experienced. In addition, if it`s accompanied by vaginal discharge, fever or burning when urinating, this can be a sign of urinary infection which needs to be diagnosed and treated immediately. If you are concerned regarding your back pain, visit your doctor right away.

What You Should Do this Week?

When your doctor will harvest blood samples for the glucose tolerance test between weeks 24 and 28, he may harvest a second tube for checking if you have anemia. If the test suggests that you have anemia through iron deficiency (the most frequent type of anemia), the obstetrician will recommend you to start taking iron supplements.

Advices for an Easier Pregnancy

You`ll notice that it becomes more and more difficult to move due to your increased belly. If the doctor didn`t recommend to avoid practicing physical exercises, it`s best if you continue working out, but be sure you are following all the rules of safety:

• Don`t practice exercises until you feel exhausted and stop if any pain appears, you are feeling dizzy or you are starting to breath heavily.
• Don`t lie down on your back and avoid contact sports, such as exercises with a high risk of losing your balance.
• For each hour of easy physical exercise, drink 250ml of water.
• At the beginning and end of each session of exercises, do warming and relaxation exercises.

25 Weeks Fetal Development

The development if relatively slow and regulate, and the fetus`s length has now reached 32cm and his weight at around 750g. His bones are starting to harden and you`ll notice he begins sucking his thumb. His skin gets more vernix, a layer which protects the baby from the acidity of the amniotic liquid and helps in maintaining the body temperature after birth. Since this week, the baby is now able to cry. From this moment, he has high chances to survive a premature birth. His skin is thin and delicate, but the little one continues to grow and tends to occupy all the space from the uterus. Now he`ll also develop his taste buds being able to make the difference between a sweet taste and a salty one. He also has his fingernails and toes completely developed, and his eyes can now open completely.

The brain continues to develop rapidly, while the little one`s body start to accumulate more and more pressure.

Can I Hold my Other Child if I`m Pregnant?

At the beginning of your pregnancy, if you don`t experience any back pain, perhaps it`s fain to keep your other child in your arms. Still, after the month 4 or 5, it`s best if you`ll avoid holding him if you can sit.

It may be difficult to explain to him while you cannot hold him anymore, but there are other methods that you can use to still making him special. Be creative!  You can put him on your lap and hug him. Encourage him to walk on his own and using a baby stroller when going for a walk. If he`s almost asleep, ask your life partner or other member of your family to put him to bed so you don`t have to.

If from time to time you need to pick him up, bend your knees and try keeping your back straight. Wear shoes with small heels and a back support belt to reduce the tension against your back.

Advices for the Father

While the belly of your partner increases, she`ll find it more and more difficult even to cut her fingernails, not to talk about her toes. Make her a nice surprise and give her a voucher as a gift for a session of pedicure. She`ll feel even more spoiled if you give her a foot massage.