You are seventeen weeks pregnant now. You may be feeling your baby moving a little more noticeably now. If you haven’t felt your baby move yet, hang in there. It won’t be too much longer. Some moms don’t feel baby moving until they are 20 weeks along or more. Your partner may be anxious to feel your baby move too. How can you share your baby’s first kicks with daddy? In this week’s newsletter we are going to talk about the daddies. How can you help daddy to connect with baby and share in the pregnancy experience? If your partner is feeling left out, we are going to give you some tips on getting him involved in your pregnancy.
What Is Going on with Mom & Baby
Baby is the size of an onion!
Baby: Baby’s crown to rump length is around 13.5 cm. (about the size of an onion). Your baby weighs about 150-200 grams. Your baby has fine hair called lanugo forming on her head and body. Your baby is forming enamel on her teeth now. Your baby is beginning to develop fat underneath her skin as well.
Mom: You may be having more aches and pains now. You may be experiencing pain on the sides of your abdomen called round ligament pain. This is caused by your expanding uterus and your ligaments stretching. You may also start having problems with heartburn, if you haven’t already.
This Week’s Pregnancy Checklist
- Look at your options for different travel systems.
- Start pricing bassinets and/or playpens.
- Complete pre-admission hospital paperwork.
- Read information on hiring a doula for the birth of your baby.
- Read information and reviews on options for breast pumps.
- Take a new belly picture for your scrapbook or journal.
Sharing Your Pregnancy With Daddy
Some daddies really get excited about their partner’s pregnancy. Other dads are less involved, especially if this is not their first baby. What can you do to share your pregnancy with your partner and help him to feel involved? Here are a few tips.
Include him in your appointments - Don’t make him feel guilty if he doesn’t want to go, but invite him to your appointments. If he can’t make it, fill him in on how your appointment went. Learn about pregnancy together: he may not know all there is to know about pregnancy. Tell him how many weeks along you are. If you learn something about your baby’s development, share it with him. Share any information with him that your doctor gives you on your changing body. Learn about pregnancy together.
Talk about the big day - Let him share some of his feelings on what he would like included in your baby’s birth. Write your birth plan together. You don’t have to bore him or overwhelm him with every detail, but ask his thoughts. See if there is anything he feels strongly about and would like included in your birth plan.
Let him make decisions too - Sometimes us mommies want to have the final say on everything. Let him make decisions too, perhaps decisions on some things he feels very strongly about. Listen to him and be reasonable. He wants to be involved in your pregnancy too.
Making a Daddy Memory Book
Include your partner in your pregnancy by creating a daddy memory book. Create a journal or scrapbook just for daddy. This will be something you can give to your baby once she is older, but you can share with your partner during your pregnancy. Here are a few ideas for things to put in your daddy memory book.
- Take pictures of your partner touching your belly. Take a picture of daddy feeling your baby kick for the first time.
- Record any baby names daddy comes up with. Your baby may enjoy reading these later.
- Ask your partner’s feelings before you have your ultrasound. Does he want to know baby’s gender? Does he have any feelings about what gender baby will be? Record these in your daddy memory book.
- Ask your partner if he has songs that makes him think about the baby. Write these down in your memory book or make a scrapbook page with the song lyrics.
- Take pictures of your partner on the big day before your baby’s birth. Have him write down his own version of your birth story to record in your daddy memory book.
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