Welcome to your second trimester!
At 13 weeks, you're officially a third of the way through your pregnancy which may feel slightly unbelievable when you're only just getting used to being pregnant in the first place.
For some mums-to-be, the start of the second trimester brings a welcome easing of those early pregnancy symptoms. The nausea may finally be starting to settle, your appetite might be returning. You may even have a little more energy.
Or... not yet.
Pregnancy doesn't flick a switch at week 13, and there's no guarantee you'll suddenly wake up glowing and ready to take on the world. You can still feel sick, tired, bloated or generally not quite yourself. And while some symptoms ease, new ones can crop up, headaches, indigestion, constipation or little stretching pains around your growing tummy are all common around now.
Your shape might be changing too. Perhaps there's the beginning of a bump that sticks around for more of the day, or your usual clothes are simply starting to feel a little less comfortable. If you've been pregnant before, you may find you're showing earlier this time. Sure, it might not be a glamorous stage of life right now, but you’re a third of the way through it, so honestly, well done you.
However you're feeling, you've made it through the first trimester. That's a huge first in itself.
What is your baby doing at 13–14 weeks?
At 13 weeks, your baby is about 7.5cm from head to bottom roughly the size of a peach growing to around 8.5cm by week 14.
Their head is becoming rounder and more in proportion with their body, and they may even be sucking their thumb – practising the sucking reflex they'll eventually need for feeding.
By 14 weeks, they're kicking away in there while the placenta works around the clock, delivering oxygen and nutrients through the umbilical cord. Don’t forget: you’re growing a whole other organ too.
You may not be able to feel any of this yet. But there's something rather wonderful about knowing that while you're getting on with an entirely ordinary Tuesday, your baby has this whole secret world of activity going on inside you.
What changes in the second trimester?
The first trimester was intense: symptoms, appointments, waiting for your scan. The second trimester can feel like a change of pace.
Perhaps you're deciding when to tell work or planning what maternity leave might look like. You and your partner might have started wondering whether you'll find out your baby's sex at the next scan. A name gets mentioned and, for the first time, you both think: actually... Or perhaps you've started a Pinterest board, saving things you love for later on.
Maybe you're not thinking about any of this yet and that’s completely fine, you’re already busy growing a tiny human.
When do you need to tell work you're pregnant?
If you haven't told your employer you're pregnant, this may be one of the first practical decisions on your list.
You don't have to tell work at 13 or 14 weeks. You normally need to tell your employer at least 15 weeks before the week your baby is due.
But there are reasons you might want to tell them sooner. Once your employer knows you're pregnant, they should assess any risks to you and your baby at work. Telling them also means you can take time off for antenatal appointments.
There's no perfect moment. You might be ready now, or you might prefer to keep your news to yourself a little longer.
When should you start buying things for your baby?
So, when do you actually need to start buying things?
The short answer? Not yet, unless you want to. You’ve got time.
At 13 or 14 weeks, there's no need to start buying the big things. But you might find yourself noticing them in a way you never did before. You see a stylish pram being pushed through the park. A tiny baby snuggled into a carrier. Now you’re wondering what you'll might choose for your own baby.
When you’re ready to start looking more seriously, our Buying for Baby service can help you work out what you need and what will work for you.
When you’re ready to start looking more seriously, our Buying for Baby service can help you work out what you need and what will work for you.
What can wait until later in pregnancy?
There are still months before your baby arrives and plenty of milestones to come: a growing bump, those first flutters becoming baby kicks, another scan and all sorts of little moments you can't plan for.
So, for now, there's no need to race ahead. Your baby is busy growing, and you can take the rest as it comes.
