18 Weeks Pregnant

Now that you are eighteen weeks pregnant, you are probably feeling more comfortable with your pregnancy. You have probably told everyone that you are pregnant by now. If this is not your first baby, your other children may be feeling very anxious about the new baby. How can you help your kids to prepare for the new baby? Maybe they are very excited and looking forward to being a big brother or sister or they could be angry, jealous or anxious about no longer being the baby of the family. In this week’s newsletter we are going to give you some ideas for “big brother” and “big sister” projects you can do with your kids. We are also going to talk about what to do when your other kids are not happy about the new baby.

What is going on with mom & baby

Baby: Baby’s crown to rump length is around 15 cm. Your baby weighs about 250 grams. Your baby’s bones are hardening. She can suck and swallow now. The pads of your baby’s finger tips and toes are forming. If you notice little jerky movements it could be because your baby has hiccups.

Mom: You may notice a thick whitish vaginal discharge known as leukorrhea. You may notice your gums bleeding when you brush your teeth. This is a common complaint for pregnant moms. Now that your belly is getting bigger, you may have to be more creative with sexual positions during intercourse.

This week’s Pregnancy Checklist

  Purchase a crib for your baby’s nursery.
  Purchase a video tape for recording your baby’s ultrasound (if your doctor allows this).
  If you have other kids, help them make a special craft for the new baby.
  Sign up for a childbirth preparation class.
  Design a memory page or scrapbook page for your ultrasound photos.
  Take a new belly picture for your scrapbook or journal.

“Big Brother” and “Big Sister” Projects

Here are some fun ideas of things you can do with your kids to help them prepare for their new baby brother or sister. Kids love crafts and projects These are a lot of fun to do and will help your little one to get excited about being a big brother or sister.

Big Brother and Big sister tshirts - Purchase some fabric paint and help your kids to write “I’m going to be a big brother” (or sister) on the shirt. Then let him decorate it with paint, glitter, or whatever he wants. You can also buy already printed shirts but your kids will probably have more fun making their own.

Make a door hanger- Take a piece of cardboard and cut a hole at the top so that it can hang on your doorknob. Get some markers or craft paint, glue, glitter, beads, buttons or other decorations. Write “Big Brother’s room” or “Big Sister’s room” on the door hanger in marker. Let your child write his name on the door hanger and decorate it however he wants. Hang it on his door so he can admire it.

Getting ready for baby bag - Purchase a baby doll from the dollar store for you child and have her create her own list of things to do to get ready for the baby. Kids love to pretend shop and buy from pretend shopping lists. Then take a pillow case or tote bag and have your child fill it with all the items you would need for a new baby such as diapers, baby powder, a rattle, or baby lotion. You can have them decorate the bag and keep it handy for the day the new baby comes home.

Make an “our family book” - Purchase an inexpensive photo album. Take photos of every family member. Then take construction paper and make a biography page for each family member. It can be a very simple page with the family member’s birthday, favorite things to eat, favorite color, and other little things about them. Your child can give the new baby the book when she arrives and help make a page for the baby.

2.5
Average: 2.5 (2 votes)
 

0 comments

Most recent

Sign in to leave a comment!

Today on JustMommies

Pilgrims Unit Study

In this unit study you will learn about the Pilgrims' voyage from England to America on the Mayflower.

Cloth Diapering Basics: Beginner’s Guide to Cloth Diapering

If you are thinking about starting your baby off with cloth diapers, you may have lots of questions on how to get started.

Fertility Boosting Herbs

Long before modern medicine developed the drugs and high-tech procedures we’re all familiar with today, practitioners treated many ailments with herbal remedies, including infertility.

Castor Oil to Induce labor

So you've reached 40 weeks of pregnancy and baby has not arrived. You had hoped to go in labor on your own and the idea of a medical induction does not appeal to you.

Article Tools

Print this article

Email this article

RSS

Bookmark and Share

From the Message Boards

June 2009 Playroom

those who have started solids

Did you have trouble with your LO spitting food out, like the tongue reflex? If so how long did it...

August 2009 Playroom

sitting up?

over the last two weeks Hunter has been trying to sit up. If I prop him up in the bf pillow, or if...

January 2009 Playroom

Changed my username...and an update

Finding a username is hard! Everything I put in was already taken! So I had some fun and came up wit...

Trying to Conceive after Loss

No way! What's the chance of that???? (pg mentioned)

As you know I've been feeling extremely tired these past few days. My bbs have also been burning li...

Am I Pregnant

Confused

I need some advice.... I took a few pregnancy test that all have very faint lines, they all showed...

» Check out the friendliest message board for moms and moms-to-be!