Pregnancy life changes in week 21

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Twenty-one weeks pregnant! You must be totally excited about the whole thing. By twenty-one weeks, your baby must have grown about 27cm in length and would weigh nearly 360g. However, this will not be the weight of all the babies. The weight and length vary for different babies. Now is the time when they start to gain more and more weight. They also start to lay down some fat, which will provide them with that cute chubby newborn look the minute you first set your eyes on them!

As of now, their eyebrows and eyelids must have formed and it’s likely for them to blink. And guess what? They would have already developed the taste buds and will be able to taste a variety of various flavours depending on what you’re having and what’s going into the Amniotic fluid. The baby will be swallowing this fluid now as they exercise their technique.

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The skin of the baby will also be looking a bit different now, as it will have achieved a coating of a white, waxy substance which is known as Vernix caseosa. This will protect their body from the consequences of bobbing around in amniotic fluid for such a long time! You will apparently see areas of it still on your baby even when they are born.

See how your baby is developing

  • The eyebrows of the baby are starting to grow in.
  • This is also the time when the lips of the baby become more distinct.

Your baby will now weigh nearly three-quarters of a pound and is just about 10 1/2 inches long, which is roughly the length of a carrot. You may shortly feel as though the baby is practising martial arts as her first fluttering movements turn into full-fledged nudges and kicks. You may also find a pattern to its activities as you get to understand the baby better. In other developments, if at all you’re having a girl, the vagina of the baby has started to form.

How Big is Your Baby This Week?

The skin of the baby now reacts to touch. If you apply pressure on your tummy, he may move away or perhaps push back.

Baby’s Length: The baby will be about 10.51 inches in length.

Baby’s Weight: The size will go upto 12.70 oz.

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A glimpse inside your womb

Eyelid: The eyelids and eyebrows of the baby are now fully developed.

Uterus: Since the growing uterus applies some pressure on the inferior vena cava (which is the large vein that delivers blood from the legs to the heart), you may produce varicose veins in your legs.

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How your life’s changing

You’re possibly feeling quite comfortable these days. You’re not too huge yet, and the common discomforts linked with the early pregnancy are, gone (atleast a part of it). If you’re feeling okay with it, then just relax and enjoy it while you can, since the third trimester may carry a new list of complaints.

For some of them, due to the increased oil production, they may produce acne. This might even be worse for some of them. If that’s the case, be careful about washing well by using a gentle soap or perhaps a cleanser two times a day, and also make sure that any makeup you apply is oil-free. Moreover, you should not take any oral medications for the acne. Some of these medications are very dangerous during pregnancy. You should not use any topical acne products without asking your healthcare provider. So make sure that you keep these things in mind.

Varicose veins are yet another thing that you might suffer from, during the pregnancy. As your pregnancy advances, there’s developing pressure on the veins present in your legs. Higher progesterone levels, which may make the walls of your veins to relax, can create the problem more worse. You’re more prone to get varicose veins if any of your family members have them. Also, they tend to get serious with each successive pregnancy and as and when you age. To assist in preventing or minimising the varicose veins, you can exercise daily, prop up your feet and legs whenever you can, sleep on your left side, and also wear maternity support hose.

You may also find the so-called spider veins, which is a group of tiny blood vessels adjacent the surface of your skin, especially on your legs, ankles or face. They may have a spider- or sunburst-like design with little branches spreading from the centre; they may appear like the branches of a tree, or they may be a combination of thin separate lines with no specific pattern. Though they may be a bit deformed, spider veins don’t produce discomfort and generally vanish after delivery.