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Week 14 of Pregnancy

Do you get cravings at 14 weeks pregnant or is it just our imagination I am not sure whether I did ever get cravings even during my second pregnancy. I seemed to fancy a variety of different foods at different times during the pregnancy but the one that lasted the longest was peanut butter on toast and a love for the smell of coltar shampoo.

The Fetus

The baby is about 3.5 - 4 inches (10 - 11 centimetres) long (from crown to rump). The fetus may be able to grasp, frown, squint and it may even be able to suck its thumb.
The little ones skin now begins to be covered in fine, downy hair called lanugo which usually disappears before birth. The hair on the head and the eyebrows will now be starting to grow.
The baby now has unique fingerprints and the hands are becoming more functional. The baby's blood is beginning to form in the bone marrow. The eyes and ears are still slowly moving into place on the head. The baby's chin is no longer resting on it's chest as the neck is now getting longer.

The placenta will now supply the baby with food and oxygen via the umbilical cord. There are three coiled blood vessels. One takes supplies to the baby and the other two remove what is not needed.

The Mother

Hopefully you will start to feel your energy returning and you should be feeling less tired. Heartburn could be experienced around this time and throughout the rest of the pregnancy. Peppermint tea or milk is said to help to neutralise the acids. Your uterus will have grown to about the size of a grapefruit.

Health

You may experience some constipation as the baby grows and pushes against your bowel and your intestinal muscles are working a lot slower than before you were pregnant. If this happens increase the fibre in your diet.

Try and keep up the exercise but just be sensible and follow a few simple guidelines: Don't do any form of impact exercise like running or aerobics. Don't let your heart rate go over 140 beats per minute. Don't stretch too much in case you hurt your ligaments. Don't get too hot as your baby can't regulate their own body temperature.

My Experience at 14 weeks pregnant

This was the first week that the nauseous had lifted. I was still extremely exhausted in the evenings and I still did have an odd day of feeling quite unwell but in general I had begun to feel a lot better.

Not sure whether I had any cravings but I had a fondness for cheese on toast and peanut butter on toast. I also started smelling things. It seemed that my sense of smell was very acute and some smells were really appealing. I often found myself standing in the shower for ages smelling coltar shampoo. I have read that you can get cravings for all sorts of objects not just food but we will see. I will keep you informed as to whether the cravings continue or not.

If you have had any funny cravings please let us know we would love to hear from you and i am sure our other readers would be interested to know too.

week 13
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