A flush of color is spreading beneath your baby's skin. Tiny blood vessels called capillaries are forming in the dermis and filling with blood. This turns the baby's previously pale, translucent skin into a healthy, rosy pink hue, regardless of what their permanent skin tone will be after birth.
🍼 What's Happening With Your Baby
Now the size of an eggplant, your baby's nostrils, which have been plugged shut with tissue to protect the developing respiratory system, are finally opening up.
The vocal cords are functioning. If the baby were surrounded by air instead of fluid, they would be able to cry.
The brain is growing so rapidly that the skull bones are separating slightly to make room. These gaps (fontanelles) will remain open to allow the head to compress during childbirth.
🤰 What You're Feeling This Week
Welcome to the unglamorous side of the second trimester: hemorrhoids. These are essentially varicose veins in the rectum, caused by the heavy uterus pressing on pelvic veins and exacerbated by the straining of pregnancy constipation.
Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) might rear its head. This is a sharp, grinding pain in your pubic bone when you walk, climb stairs, or turn over in bed, caused by the hormone relaxin loosening the pelvic joints too much.
Your hair is likely looking fuller and thicker than ever. Pregnancy hormones prolong the 'growing' phase of your hair cycle, meaning you are shedding far less hair daily than you normally would.
The Capillaries Bloom
The circulatory system is fine-tuning itself. The formation of capillaries means the baby can efficiently transport oxygenated blood to the very edges of its skin and tissues.
✅ What To Do This Week
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Treat hemorrhoids early — Don't suffer in silence. Increase your fiber and water intake immediately, use witch hazel pads, and ask your doctor for pregnancy-safe topical creams.
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Keep your knees together — If you are suffering from SPD (pubic bone pain), keep your knees glued together when getting out of the car or turning in bed to stabilize the pelvic joint.
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Avoid sitting on the toilet for long periods — Straining or lingering on the toilet increases the pressure on the rectal veins, making hemorrhoids significantly worse.
"The aches are becoming more specific. The pubic bone, the lower back, the ribs. Your skeleton is physically making room, bending and stretching to accommodate the life within."
— A Note From Your Body, Week 25