Your baby is now approximately 14 inches long and weighs around 3 pounds.

Your baby is starting to learn new skills like sucking and swallowing. Your baby’s eyes are developing and she can now tell the difference between light and dark. Once your baby is born, she will spend a great deal of time with her eyes closed. This is normal as newborns only have the ability to focus on objects a few inches from their face.

Your growing baby now takes up a larger portion of your uterus. You probably feel like your body can’t handle your growing baby, but it will compensate by allowing your uterus to extend underneath your rib cage. There is still plenty of room for your baby to move around, so you may feel lots of kicking.

You have approximately 10 weeks left in your pregnancy, it’s time to start thinking about the different kinds of pain relief available to you when you deliver and what kind of birth you would ideally like. Some parents write a birth plan, as it helps them to feel more in control of the labour. Complete the birth plan on your profile page and print it off. Your birth plan should cover what kind of pain relief you want, what position you want to be in during delivery and what you want to happen after baby is born.

As your belly beings to expand, the skin is being stretched quite tightly, so it can start to feel itchy. Gently rub a moisturizing cream into your belly, such as aqueous cream or calamine lotion. Occasionally, you may get itchy feet or palms – this is thought to because of higher levels of hormones during pregnancy.

At this stage of pregnancy many women report an increasing number of backaches. This is very much related to weight gain and the baby’s growth. Try to evaluate your posture. Proper posture can alleviate the back pain that you are experiencing.