What to expect at 23 weeks pregnant

Your baby

Although your baby is starting to develop some fat stores, the skin looks wrinkly and is still translucent enough to see the organs and veins. Senses are also developing rapidly, your baby can now sense your movement and its hearing is sharpening up – so now is the time for you and your partner to get talking to bubs and even singing and playing it music.

If your little one is a boy he will now have a form of sperm in his testes which form inside the abdomen before they descend into the scrotum, usually before birth but sometimes after.

How you’re feeling

You’ve got the need. The need to pee. Yep remember that frequent urination that you found so annoying in the first trimester? Well, it’s set to make a comeback pretty soon if it hasn’t already.

Make sure you don’t limit your water intake as you and your baby need all the hydration you can get. You can try and limit how much you drink at night to manage how many times you’re getting up during the night. Just remember to make sure you’re getting plenty during the day.

Weekly tip

Have you been doing your Kegels? Well if you haven’t yet, get started ASAP! Your pelvic floor muscles are responsible (and vital) for supporting your bladder, uterus and bowel – as well as sexual function and they take on a lot of the hard work during childbirth.

It’s vital that you start doing exercises to strengthen them during pregnancy and then keep them up after giving birth. This will prevent urinary incontinence and other problems associated with your pelvic floor after birth.

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