By the end of week 14, your baby is around the size of a pear – it's going fast now! Be extra diligent with your SPF during pregnancy, since most pregnant women will produce more melanin due to hormones.
Hair all over
During week 14 of your pregnancy, your baby will start to get covered in very fine hair all over their body. This hair is called lanugo, and it helps regulate your baby’s body temperature; as your pregnancy reaches around 7 to 8 months, the hair will normally shed by itself, but sometimes the hair will still be present at birth. It disappears on its own within a few weeks, so no worries.
By the end of week 14 of your pregnancy, your baby will be the size of a pear. 🍐
Remember that SPF
During pregnancy, most women will experience changes in the pigmentation of their skin due to hormones. Maybe you’ve already noticed that your nipples have darkened? Maybe your birthmarks or freckles seem darker? Then your body is most likely producing more melanin, which is the substance in our bodies that gives color to our hair, eyes and skin. It is also the substance that causes our skin to tan when exposed to sunlight, to protect our skin against UV-rays.
Due to this, you might already have, or will get, a straight line running down your stomach. This is called the “linea nigra” and is also related to hormonal pigment changes. Some women also get darker spots on their face, particularly on the cheeks and forehead. This is called chloasma or sometimes “the pregnancy mask”. Most of these pigment changes to your skin will fade after you give birth, and don’t worry, they are perfectly natural.
If you want to minimize the appearance of pigment changes or dark spots while you’re still pregnant, remember to use a high SPF sunscreen when you’re going outside, like our Bambo Nature sunscreen in SPF50. Sun exposure will darken your skin even further, as UV rays trigger your skin’s production of melanin.
I’ll take the Nutella-dipped pickles, please
We’ve already mentioned cravings during pregnancy, and if you have them, chances are they will only get stronger during the 2nd trimester of your pregnancy. Cravings come in many forms; some women will crave larger amounts of normal food they already liked, such as chocolate, apples, oranges or chips, some will suddenly find themselves wanting food they’ve never liked before, like extremely spicy foods. And some will crave strange combinations, like marshmallows with bacon or sausages dipped in jam. This is a safe space, we’re not judging.