With 19 weeks down, you lot're entering pregnancy month five.

Become ready for some exciting pregnancy milestones, like feeling babe's first kicks if you haven't already and the 20-week ultrasound, or anatomy scan, where you'll become to meet your baby up close.

Your Infant at Week 19

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At half a pound and six inches long, your babe is near the size of a juicy mango. And that'southward pretty sweet!

On the development docket this week: a total baby body wrap. Your footling i gets a caput-to-toe coating of vernix caseosa, a white cheesy-looking substance fabricated up of lanugo (that downy hair), oil from his glands, and expressionless skin cells. Maybe not a recipe for your favorite spa treatment, but just the right one for your fetus.

This waterproof mixture protects your baby's skin from his 24/7 bath — the amniotic fluid — and lubricates the birth canal. Without information technology, baby would look positively prune-y at birth and would have a much tougher time getting out the door. Don't be surprised if y'all see vernix remnants on your newborn right after delivery, especially if he makes an early debut.

On the looks side, your baby's monkey-similar appearance of yester-week is yesterday'due south news now that his legs have gone through a growth spurt and are finally in proportion to his artillery. Those longer legs, coupled with the strengthening of cartilage into bone, will make your fiddling i's kicks and jabs more powerful.

Add together to that the newly-formed neurons that are sending better commanding messages from the brain to the muscles and you've got a formula for stronger, meaner, and more controlled movements, allowing your acrobat to have his trunk for some serious test-drives — and for y'all to start feeling them. In the coming weeks y'all'll feel plenty of flutters, kicks, jabs, twists, stretches, and punches. And no matter when y'all begin feeling them or what they experience like, all your babe's movements are leap to be moving.

At a Glance

Skin coating

Your baby's sensitive skin is now covered in vernix caseosa, a greasy, white, cheese-like coating that protects his skin from existence wrinkled at nascence.

Just exhale

Your babe'south lungs are developing, with the master airways (called bronchioles) starting time to form this week.

Feel that kick?

You may be able to feel baby move for the first time this week, just don't panic if yous don't. You will soon!

nineteen weeks pregnant is how many months?

If you're 19 weeks meaning, yous're in month v of your pregnancy. Only 4 months left to get! All the same have questions? Here'southward some more data on how weeks, months and trimesters are cleaved downwardly in pregnancy.

How big is my infant at nineteen weeks?

Six inches long this week and just over a one-half pound in weight, your baby has gone through a bit of a growth spurt.

Vernix develops

Your niggling i may take a cheesy varnish this week.

Say what? You read that correct — a protective substance called vernix caseosa (vernix is the Latin discussion for "varnish"; caseosa means "cheese") now covers your fetus' skin. It's greasy, white and made upward of that featherlike hair known as lanugo, oil from your baby's glands and dead pare cells.

This waxy "cheese" may not audio likewise appealing, but information technology'south there for good reason: Vernix protects your baby'south sensitive skin from the surrounding amniotic fluid. Without it, he'd wait very wrinkled at nascence — sort of what you'd look like if you lot soaked in a bathroom for 9 months.

The vernix sheds every bit commitment approaches, though some babies — especially those born early — will withal be covered with it at nativity, so yous might get a look at your babe's start anti-wrinkle foam.

Your Body at Week 19

19 weeks pregnant woman

Leg cramps

There's naught like getting into bed at the stop of a long, exhausting day — especially when y'all're meaning. Aching for a proficient night'south sleep — literally, if your back's been acting up again — you throw back the covers and prepare to happily drift into dreamland.

Merely if you're similar many expecting moms, something may be keeping y'all awake tonight — also what color to paint the nursery: leg cramps.

These painful spasms that radiate upwardly and down your calves are very common during the 2nd and third trimester. While these cramps tin can occur during the mean solar day, you'll discover them — oh, baby, will you notice them! — more at night.

No 1 knows for certain what causes them, though there are plausible theories ample. It could be that your leg muscles are but fatigued from carrying around all the extra weight of pregnancy. Or that the vessels that conduct blood to and from your legs are compressed by your growing uterus at nineteen weeks meaning.

In that location's also speculation that it may be somehow related to diet or non being fully hydrated, though this hunch hasn't been substantiated by studies.

Whatsoever the cause, you'll need a quick fix when a leg balk does strike — especially when it'south continuing (or lying) betwixt you and a good night's sleep. So here'south one for you: Straighten your leg and gently flex your talocrural joint and toes dorsum toward your shins.

Feeling baby'southward kicks

Your sister said babe kicked by this point in pregnancy — and and then did your best friend — but so far, you oasis't felt a thing. Except those gas bubbles this morning … those were gas, weren't they?

Perhaps, peradventure not. Those offset tiny kicks can be felt many different means — more often than not starting between calendar week xviii and week 22, though it can be a week or two after if this is your first pregnancy.

Sometimes yous might experience similar something is swimming inside y'all (which it is!), while other times those first fetal movements may experience more like bufferflies in your tummy.

Once your baby grows bigger, you'll be able to easily tell what those little kicks feel like, then there won't exist whatever mistaking them for something else. Learn more than about fetal movement during pregnancy.

Pregnancy Symptoms Week 19

Increased ambition

Having a hard fourth dimension staying away from the fridge (and cupboards and pantry)? Continue tempting junk foods out of the house and instead make full your kitchen with nutritious goodies — merely do occasionally allow yourself to indulge in some treats so that you don't end up bingeing on them later on. Read More than

Stretch marks

It'south estimated that nearly 90 percent of women develop stretch marks during pregnancy, then you're not alone. While at that place is no proven cure, moisturizers such every bit cocoa butter can help ease the dryness and itching associated with stretched peel. Read More

Constipation

If you can't seem to get regular, take a expect at your supplements and medications: Some of them, such as atomic number 26, can make constipation worse. Ask your practitioner to aid you come up with some alternatives until your digestive system gets back on track. Read More than

Faintness or dizziness

Your growing uterus may put pressure on your blood vessels — among other parts of your trunk — reducing blood flow to your brain and causing yous to experience light-headed. Fifty-fifty though dizziness is common, don't ignore it — take it like shooting fish in a barrel and sit or prevarication down as soon as you start to feel woozy so that you lot don't hurt yourself or the baby. Read More than

Backaches

As your uterus grows, you may notice your center of gravity shifting forrard, putting extra pressure on your lower back. Avoid straining your dorsum further by letting others lift heavy loads for you. If y'all absolutely must elevator something, stabilize yourself past assuming a wide stance, bend at the knees, non at the waist, and slowly lift with your artillery and legs, non your back. Read More

Stuffy olfactory organ

Is the swelling in your nasal passages making information technology hard for you to breathe? Here's how to blow your nose without damaging nasal membranes and causing a nosebleed: Utilize your pollex to close one nostril and blow gently out the other side. Read More than

Tips for You This Week

Ask about yeast infections

With and so much going on down there already, the terminal thing you need is an itchy yeast infection when y'all're significant. Unfortunately, you're especially likely to get them during pregnancy, thanks in part to college estrogen levels that crusade an overgrowth of yeast.

Another downside: Yeast infections are harder to command during this time. Talk to your physician nigh the best treatment.

Consider back up hose

If you're struggling with edema, or swelling, you might observe it useful to invest in a pair of support hose. Full pantyhose (with actress tummy room) or genu- or thigh-highs that aren't tight on top are proficient choices. Put them on in the morn earlier the daily swelling starts so they can practise their job more effectively.

Also helpful for edema, every bit well equally for leg and dorsum pain during pregnancy: a comfortable pair of shoes.

Rethink 3D ultrasounds

It'due south tempting to book an appointment for a 3D or 4D sonogram at your local prenatal portrait center, especially if you've seen those stunning in-utero baby photos and videos online.

Just even though there is no reliable scientific evidence showing that ultrasounds are harmful to a developing fetus, the potential risks of the technology are unclear. The American Higher of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) says that ultrasounds should only exist performed by qualified medical professionals — and for medical reasons. So steer articulate of the elective ones for now, no matter how tempting they look.

Increase your fiber intake — gradually

Eating a good for you amount of fiber can help y'all become when y'all have to go. The downside: Calculation likewise much fiber to your diet as well chop-chop tin trigger bloating, cramping and gas (and let's face information technology, you probably already take enough of that).

If you're trying to fit in more fiber than ever, increase your intake slowly and gently — for instance, a sprinkle of chia seeds in your breakfast cereal or a snack of trail mix in the afternoon — then that your body has fourth dimension to adjust to its new normal.

Plump upward your pillows

You lot may non have snored in the past, just now that you're pregnant, you can't seem to get a practiced dark's slumber.

Usually, snoring during pregnancy is more than annoying than serious (it's ordinarily caused by an uptick in nasal congestion, which tin can kickoff effectually week xvi), merely occasionally, information technology can exist caused past a chronic condition called obstructive slumber apnea. Ask your wellness care provider about it and get tips on what to do for relief.

Make a sandwich

Wraps, paninis, double-deckers — no matter what type of sandwich you require, get in a healthy one, with lean poly peptide, cobweb and whole grains. Fill up it to bursting with greens so you optimize your lunch.

Just forgo any sprouts as they can harbor bacteria, and skip traditional lunch meats, which contain nitrates and nitrites, for more creative solutions.

Keep things moving

Eight to 10 full spectacles of fluids — h2o, vegetable or fruit juice, broth — each mean solar day volition help keep solids moving through your digestive tract at an impressive rate and keep your stool soft and easier to pass.

Prune juice is tops in the category since it'south a mild laxative. Attempt to drink some when yous're actually clogged, and if you take trouble taking it straight, blend it with other fruits and juices into a smoothie.

Some other time-honored manner to become things moving: Turn to warm liquids including that health-spa staple, hot water and lemon. They'll help stimulate peristalsis, those abdominal contractions that assistance y'all go.

From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author ofWhat to Await When You're Expecting. What to Look follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic enquiry institutions and highly respected health organizations. Learn how we proceed our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy.

  • What to Look When You're Expecting, 5th edition, Heidi Murkoff.
  • WhatToExpect.com, 3D and 4D Ultrasound During Pregnancy: Baby's First Photos, April 2019.
  • WhatToExpect.com, What Sunscreen Is Safe During Pregnancy?, May 2020.
  • WhatToExpect.com, Edema (Swelling of the Ankles and Feet) During Pregnancy, October 2020.
  • WhatToExpect.com, Yeast Infections During Pregnancy, June 2021.
  • WhatToExpect.com, Pregnancy Nutrition Chart: 33 Essential Nutrients for Pregnant Women, June 2020.
  • WhatToExpect.com, Snoring During Pregnancy, March 2021.
  • WhatToExpect.com, Ultrasound During Pregnancy, April 2021.
  • WhatToExpect.com, How Much Water Should Yous Beverage During Pregnancy?, December 2020.
  • WhatToExpect.com, What to Swallow for Tiffin During Pregnancy, March 2021.
  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Ultrasound Exams, June 2020.
  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Guidelines for Diagnostic Imaging During Pregnancy and Lactation, October 2017.
  • Food and Drug Administration, Ultrasound Imaging, August 2020.
  • Mayo Clinic, Childbirth Classes: Get Ready for Labor and Delivery, September 2020.
  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Vaginitis, September 2017.
  • National Institutes of Wellness, National Library of Medicine, Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery,  Evaluation of Various Therapeutic Measures in Striae Rubra, Apr-June 2016
  • KidsHealth From Nemours, How Can I Relieve My Pregnancy Leg Cramps?, April 2015.
  • Mayo Clinic, What Causes Leg Cramps During Pregnancy and Tin They Be Prevented?, Apr 2021.
  • Science Direct, Vernix Caseosa: Formation and Functions, December 2014.
  • National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, How the Lungs Piece of work, October 2020.
  • National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, Journal of Cutaneous and Artful Surgery,  Evaluation of Various Therapeutic Measures in Striae Rubra, April-June 2016
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