Pregnancy Guide: Week 20

Your baby is still learning to suck and swallow, so if a thumb is convenient, she may latch on to that. It’s good practice for breastfeeding or bottle feeding. If you have an ultrasound this week, you’ll be able to tell if you’re having a boy or a girl, if baby cooperates. If you still can’t feel kicks, keep waiting, because it will happen sometime in the next two weeks.

20 weeks pregnant is how many months?

At 20 weeks, you’re in your fifth month of pregnancy. Some would say you’re already a full 5 months pregnant, but others would say you have another week or two before that is true. Either way, you’re almost halfway done, or more if your baby decides to come earlier than week 40.

Your Baby at 20 Weeks

Your baby is getting heavier. Now that all her major systems have begun to develop, the main goal until delivery is to grow and mature. There’s still plenty of room to grow because your uterus is growing to accommodate her.

No, you don’t know whether you’re having a boy or a girl yet, but this week you can choose to find out. All reproductive organs are developed enough to see in ultrasound. Communicate with your scan technician about whether you want to know (or not), so they don’t spill the beans by accident, or keep it a secret when you’re dying to find out.

An ultrasound is an important part of baby’s development because it will give your doctor an idea of what else is going on in there, besides the gender. Your baby girl has a full-formed uterus and the vaginal canal has begun to form. She also has eggs and ovaries. 

Your boy will have testicles beginning the descent, and a penis will be visible.

Measurements that the technician takes will ensure that your baby is growing normally and that all bodily functions are as they should be at 20 weeks. If there are any concerns, your doctor will address those with you after she reviews the images.

How big is a baby at 20 weeks?

Your baby is 25.5 centimetres long and weighs 331 grams. She’s as big as a banana now.

Your Body at 20 Weeks

The reality of your pregnancy may just now be setting in, as people congratulate you and you spread the news. As you get bigger and feel more movement from within, the baby may feel more real to you now, or it may take until delivery for you to fully understand what’s happening.

People react to their pregnancies in different ways. Some fall in love with their baby from the moment they know it’s in there, and others need to hold and kiss their baby before they truly feel a bond. Either feeling is fine. There’s no right way to feel right now other than what feels right to you.

Regardless of how you feel, your bump is starting to look adorable. It’s round and you’re glowing, although that may just be sweat. Who knows? 

Your appetite is still strong, and you may need some maternity clothes to accentuate your bump. Pretty soon, you’ll be hoping to minimize it, so enjoy the cute clothes while you can. You may start thinking about shopping for your baby, including clothes and how many nappies you need to buy, or equipment for yourself such as a should you buy or rent a breast pump if you feel you may need one, and so on.

There’s a wide range of normal baby bump sizes at this stage, as there is at every other stage, so don’t compare yourself to your friends. Things like your pre-pregnancy size, your genetics, and your actual due date are all factors that contribute to how you’re growing.

You may currently be enjoying strong nails and hair. They’re growing faster than normal, and they’re thicker, fuller, and more radiant. Your pregnancy hormones are to thank for that, and for your luscious locks. Surges in circulation are carrying more nutrients to all parts of your body, including nail and hair cells.

Your nails and your hair will return to normal after you deliver your baby, so enjoy them while you can. They may be some of the only things you like about your pregnant body.

With nausea behind you now, you can make up for all that lost time by eating more, because you and your baby both need the nutrients. The key here is to eat plenty of nutritious food that fills you up. Grazing throughout the day is still a smart option, even though you’re not sick all day – your body still needs to energy and the nutrients.

Eating small meals more often will help with the heartburn and indigestion you feel now, and it will ensure that your baby gets a constant supply of the calories she so desperately needs to grow.

Symptoms

You could still be struggling with leg cramps, swelling in your feet and ankles, dizziness, heartburn, and headaches. New to this week, however, might be a changing belly button. If you’ve always had an ‘innie,’ and you start to notice that you have an ‘outie’ now, that’s totally normal. 

Your growing uterus pushes on your abdomen and could cause your belly button to pop out. It should go back in after the delivery.

Tips/Things to do

Think about whether you want to know what you’re having because you can find out this week. Communicate clearly at the beginning of your ultrasound whether or not you want to know so that the technician can act accordingly.

Be on the lookout for first movements from your baby because if you haven’t felt anything yet, you will in the next week or two. Those gas bubbles you felt this morning may or may not have been gas bubbles at all.

Continue to choose healthy foods to eat and stretch throughout the day to alleviate pain and cramping. Be careful not to stretch too much or you could injure yourself. If it hurts, stop doing it. 

Continue a normal exercise routine that’s safe for pregnancy, until you feel like you can no longer keep it up. Even a brisk walk can get your blood moving and stretch out your legs.

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