Your Budding Maternity Wardrobe
Clothing getting tight?
This week, you may notice that your tummy is beginning to expand a bit. Though most women will still fit in their regular jeans for several more weeks, some women experience discomfort.
Now may be the time to invest in a belly band or similar clothing addition. This stretchy band can be worn over your pants, so that you can either leave your pants unbuttoned or move into some comfortable maternity pants, while still keeping them from sliding down off of your waist.
Belly bands come in very handy throughout pregnancy, and are a wonderful modern accessory to the almost any mom’s maternity wardrobe.
Your Baby’s Development
This week, your baby is about the size of a raspberry. “Cute little raspberry” does sound like a nice name to affectionately call your new little one. Teeth buds are forming in that tiny little mouth, and though you can’t feel it yet, your baby’s arms and legs are moving!
Pregnancy Dreams: Worries and Expectations
Strange dreams are common throughout pregnancy. Even if you don’t normally remember your dreams, you may find yourself with a very vivid dream world during pregnancy.
Dreams are just a way for your mind to deal with your anxieties and expectations in life. And, pregnancy is certainly a time of great worries and expectations, especially for you first time parents!
Husbands are not immune. They too can experience very weird and vivid dreams during your pregnancy. It can be good to share with each other and laugh about their silliness.
Here are some common themes that pop up in pregnancy dreams:
The Baby
Don’t be alarmed if you dream of having multiples, a particular gender of baby (even if you have already found out the sex of your baby), or even of giving birth to an animal or an alien.
Your Spouse and Family Members
Anyone you are particularly close to may make an appearance in your dreams. Even just casual acquaintances, complete strangers, or your distant cousin have the potential to make a debut.
Unless you normally like to contemplate the meaning of your dreams, don’t feel that you have to take stock in the details. Sometimes, our dreams just don’t make sense.
Sexual Dreams
Sex can also be a common occurrence in pregnancy dreams, partly because of the increase in blood flow to your genital area.
This can be a good thing, since it also means you may be more sensitive or aroused, increasing your libido. If not, don’t worry. The hormones of pregnancy can do all kinds of silly things to our bodies. Either extreme is normal.
Vanessa integrates EMDR, sandtray, and attachment-focused approaches in her work and is completing credentials toward Registered Play Therapist and EMDRIA certification. With a background as a certified birth doula and a passion for making healing accessible, she writes and teaches on the intersection of trauma, neurodevelopment, and story-based therapy.
