Fourth Month

Welcome to the second trimester! While you probably think about your pregnancy in terms of months, your doctor measures your growth in weeks, and at week thirteen you cross that magic divide into what many practitioners see as the “golden period” of pregnancy. Though some women still have occasional “green” days, especially in the fourth month, most report that in their middle trimester daylong nausea subsides and their appetite for food – and sex – returns. Most mothers also get much of their energy back this trimester.

The fourth month marks the beginning of more rapid growth for you and for baby, as your more rapid weight gain will begin to reflect. This month you will probably begin to look pregnant, and your expanding bust and waistline will mean you are most comfortable in the maternity wear that just a month ago seemed impossibly big. And, even though the intense emotional and physical challenges of the first trimester have begun to dissipate, the next few months will call for adjustments of their own.