By week 16, your baby can hear sounds from outside the womb, so you can already talk and sing to your baby now, as well as play music and lullabies.
Look who’s talking
By week 16 of your pregnancy, your baby can hear sounds from beyond the womb and will even react to loud noises with small jumps and movements. There are already small amounts of hair on the head, eyebrows and eyelashes.
By the end of week 16, your baby measures around 13 centimeters and weighs around 180 grams. Keep in mind, fetal length is generally measured from head to bottom; If you could stretch out your baby’s legs, it would actually measure around 18 centimeters by this point.
Tchaikovsky, anyone?
As mentioned above, your baby will be able to hear sounds from outside the womb from around week 16 of your pregnancy, and that also means the voices of you, your partner and your family. Talking to your baby is a great idea, as studies suggest that babies can actually recognize sounds and voices they heard inside the womb and find them relaxing after birth; the same principle goes for music and melodies.
So, practice singing those lullabies, talk soothingly to your baby and start playing your favorite music.
To know or not to know
Soon, your midwife will be able to determine the sex of your baby during a scan, so it’s a great idea for you and your partner to decide whether you want to know the sex of your baby beforehand.
There are pros and cons to both choices, and ultimately, the decision is entirely yours. But we’ve collected a few points to maybe help you with your decision:
Knowing the sex:
- It might get easier to find the right baby name if you can eliminate half of the (many, many) options.
- If you want a gender reveal party or a gender-themed baby shower, this option is also for you.
- If you want to dress your baby in traditional boy/girl colors and style, it’s probably good to know beforehand.
Not knowing the sex:
- You might have no problem at all finding favorite names for both boys and girls – or maybe you want to go with a gender-neutral name?
- There can be many expectations and thoughts about who the baby will be based on their gender; if you don’t know, nobody will be able to make those kinds of assumptions.
- It’s a surprise! If you’re the kind of person who absolutely loves surprises, this is the ultimate one.