If you are 6 months pregnant, you will probably notice a lot of movement in your belly. Your baby is doing gymnastics in the uterus for several hours a day, training its muscles. By now, you will probably feel the fetal movements clearly. Although your baby sleeps for almost 20 hours a day, it makes itself felt again and again.
Have you already noticed a rhythmic throbbing in your belly? It could be that your baby has hiccups. You won't just feel this in the 6th month of your pregnancy: Your baby will have hiccups again and again until birth. In the third trimester, you might also be able to see this from the outside on your abdominal wall.
Your baby is also further developing its motor skills this month. It can now move its fingers in a coordinated way and often puts them in its mouth. Your baby is already sucking on its thumb: This trains the sucking reflex so it can drink from your breast later.
Since the fifth month, your baby's skin has been surrounded by vernix (Vernix Caseosa). This protects the skin from the amniotic fluid. At the same time, it has other beneficial properties. It prevents your baby from getting cold after birth. At the same time, it has an antibacterial effect and can prevent skin infections. At birth, the vernix is also an advantage, as it helps your baby glide better through the birth canal.
Size & weight of your baby in the 6th month of pregnancy
Do you feel like your belly is growing particularly fast now? You're quite right, because your baby is currently gaining weight and getting bigger and bigger. At the beginning of the 6th month, it weighs 300 to 350 grams and is about 25 centimeters tall. This is roughly the size of a large banana.
Over the course of the 6th month of your pregnancy, your baby will almost double its weight. In week 24, it weighs 550 to 600 grams and is about 29 centimeters tall. This corresponds to the size of a corn on the cob. However, it is possible that your baby is slightly larger or smaller. The values mentioned represent only the average.
You can feel your baby clearly now and want to start setting up the nursery? For your baby to sleep well after birth, it needs to feel secure. That's why we developed our sleep aid, the automatic baby hammock from swing2sleep. It offers your baby a cozy nest where it can rest as best as possible.
Expectant mom: How your body changes in the 6th month
In the 6th month of your pregnancy, your belly is slowly getting so big that it can restrict you in everyday life. Picking things up from the floor or tying your shoes can slowly become difficult. Be careful not to carry heavy loads anymore, as your pelvic floor muscles are already heavily strained by the weight of the uterus and your baby.
Your belly is growing: This can lead to you having to adopt a new sleeping position. You should no longer sleep on your stomach, and lying on your back is also not good for you and your baby. Ideally, you should sleep on your side. For this, you can buy a pregnancy pillow that offers you the best possible support. If you suffer from heartburn, you should sleep on your left side to relieve the stomach.
It is also not unusual for you to feel a large appetite in the sixth month of your pregnancy. Your baby is now gaining weight rapidly: Your body needs energy for this. Many women therefore crave high-calorie, hearty foods from the 6th month of pregnancy onwards.
You should have gained around four to seven kilograms so far. Always keep in mind that while you have an increased calorie requirement, you don't have to eat for two. The healthier and more balanced your diet, the better you and your baby will feel.
6 months pregnant: Common symptoms & complaints
Most pregnant women can enjoy the 6th month: You feel good and your belly doesn't bother you too much in everyday life yet. However, a pregnancy is accompanied by various symptoms and complaints in all months.
We summarize for you what to expect when you are 6 months pregnant:
Leg cramps:
From the 6th month of pregnancy, many pregnant women suffer from leg cramps. These occur if you do not consume enough magnesium. During your pregnancy, you have an increased magnesium requirement. Your gynecologist can tell you whether you should take a magnesium supplement for leg cramps.
Development of hemorrhoids:
It is not unusual for pregnant women to suffer from hemorrhoids. These occur when veins in the rectum expand significantly. Hemorrhoids manifest as pain during bowel movements and can also lead to bleeding. You can treat them with ointments.
Stretch marks & itching:
Your belly and breasts grow due to the pregnancy and stretch. This can lead to stretch marks in the 6th month. Itching can also occur: This is triggered by the intense stretching of your skin. In both cases, oils for pregnant women are advisable.
Back pain:
Especially in the last months of pregnancy, many women suffer from back pain. Your muscles are heavily strained by the weight of your baby, while your ligaments loosen. Many women fall into a hollow back as a result, which causes additional pain. Try to strengthen your back with gentle exercises.
Hard belly:
If you notice every now and then that your belly is hard, it is probably not yet contractions. It could be that you have overexerted yourself and your body is reacting to it. Remember to take it easy during pregnancy and take enough breaks.
In this phase of pregnancy, many expectant mothers feel good and suffer from less severe symptoms. However, if you suffer from more severe complaints, that can also be normal. Every body is individual and copes differently with the stresses of pregnancy. If one of the symptoms becomes very severe, you should contact your doctor immediately.
What else is important in the 6th month of pregnancy
If you are 6 months pregnant, further examinations with your doctor are due. This time, however, he will not examine your baby, but you. During the 6th month, your doctor will examine your blood and urine to detect complications early.
For example, you will be tested for gestational diabetes. This is a sugar disease that occurs during pregnancy and can be very dangerous for you and your baby. Your doctor will also check if you might have pregnancy poisoning (preeclampsia). Your blood pressure will also be measured as part of the prenatal check-up.
You can use the second trimester wonderfully to make important purchases. Set up the nursery and buy the first furniture and baby clothes. Also, inform yourself about the upcoming maternity leave and other legal issues. You can also discuss topics related to birth and the time afterwards with your midwife.
Automatic baby hammock from swing2sleep: Provides your baby with a natural sense of security
After birth, you surely want to offer your baby a cozy place to sleep where it can rest as best as possible. For more than 30 years, we have been working on this mission: We developed our automatic baby hammock to offer your baby a natural sense of security.
You place your baby in the skin-friendly hammock: There it lies closely embraced. It knows this feeling from your womb – your baby feels particularly secure in the automatic baby hammock and finds it easier to fall asleep. This is ensured by the innovative automatic baby hammock motor, which rocks your baby to sleep with gentle up and down movements.
The motor is equipped with state-of-the-art sensors and adjusts the intensity of the rocking to your baby's needs. Before it wakes up, the hammock can rock it back to sleep. This makes it easier for your baby not only to fall asleep but also to stay asleep.
