19 Weeks Pregnant: What To Expect

EP 89:

Welcome to another episode of Oh Baybee!—your go-to podcast for pregnancy tips, birth prep, and breastfeeding guidance for first-time moms!

This week, we’re diving into Week 19 of pregnancy, and spoiler alert: things are getting real. From why your baby can now recognize your voice to that never-ending stuffy nose (yes, it’s a thing!), we’re covering everything you need to know at this stage.

✨ Inside this episode:
 ✔️ What your baby is doing this week
 ✔️ Weird but normal symptoms
 ✔️ Why you should start breastfeeding prep NOW (before baby arrives!)
✔️ Actionable tips to stay cool, comfortable, and confident

🌟 Pregnancy Tip of the Week: Your baby can hear you—so start talking, singing, and bonding early!

🎁 Ready to feel 100% prepared for birth and breastfeeding?
Grab my all-in-one course, The Bump to Bundle Blueprint—the only step-by-step guide you need to confidently prepare for labor, delivery, and nursing like a pro!
 

🔔 Don’t forget to follow the podcast for weekly pregnancy updates and subscribe for fresh, evidence-based advice with a relatable, real-mom twist.

Transcript

0:05

Hi, I'm Stephanie Poole, founder and CEO of Birth Prep Academy. I'm on a mission to help pregnant moms prepare for their first hospital birth. I'm sharing revealing conversations about what it really takes to successfully transition into motherhood. So join me. Here to discover things like what to expect in childbirth, how to prepare for your birth. We'll also talk about breastfeeding and so much more. I'm so grateful to share it all with you right here on Oh Baby, the podcast created for pregnant moms preparing for their first hospital birth. Let's get started. Hey there, mama. You are officially 19 weeks pregnant, which means that you're only one week away from the halfway mark. Yep, that's right. But did you know that your baby's hearing is now sharp enough to recognize your voice? That means talking to your belly isn't just cute. It's actually wiring their little brain. And your uterus. Well that's grown up to your belly button now. So if you suddenly feel like your abs have disappeared, you are not alone, my friend. Also, are you craving weird food combos? Well, your body might be telling you something important. We're gonna hop into all of that and then some hold tight because this week is packed with weird pregnancy changes and cool baby milestones. I'm gonna break it all down for you now. If you are already thinking ahead to breastfeeding, then check the link in my description for my program. Teach me how to breastfeed. It is the ultimate step-by-step guide for first time moms who want to start their breastfeeding journey. Confident I. And prepared. The link is in the description box below now with all of the house cleaning work out of the way. You know what I'm gonna say? Let's go through our weekly checklist just to make sure you got everything you need to enjoy this week's video. Um, comfy spot on the couch. Check your favorite snack in hand. Check. Now, if you got your snack, that means you absolutely need something to wash it down with in your favorite mug. Of course, check. And I'm doing roll call for the most awesomest mommy, which is in the building, right? Check. And I can say that confidently, because you showed up today. You're here, you're ready to learn. So let's dive in. Alright, let's start with your sweet baby. Your baby is growing like crazy right now. Here's what's happening inside that belly of yours. Your baby is about six inches long, about the size of a Nintendo Switch controller or a mango, but. Here's a fun fact. Their proportions are now more baby like than ever, so they don't look like that little alien on your ultrasound anymore. They look more and more like your sweet baby every single day at 19 weeks. Their inner ear bones. Have developed meaning that they can hear you now and not just in muffled voices. Okay. They can actually detect your voice. Yes. Talking to them actually does something. They also can hear your heartbeat. They've been vibing to this ever since day one. They can even hear loud noises outside the womb. So let's say that you greet someone with a hearty hello or the dog is barking, or you're vacuuming and they can hear you as you vacuum. They actually can detect specific sounds now because of the development in their ears. And here's a crazy fact. If you listen to the same song throughout pregnancy, your baby will very likely recognize it after birth, and they'll actually find it soothing. So go ahead and sing your favorite Beyonce song or that nice jazz number that you love to hear. Go ahead and put it on because your baby is definitely listening and we'll be jamming out to it soon. All right, let's talk about how strong your baby is getting. So your baby's muscles and bones are getting stronger and stronger as the days go by. They're kicking, rolling, and stretching literally all day long, even if you don't feel it yet. In fact, did you know that babies start practicing their first reflexes in the womb? You know right now they're practicing things like sucking, grasping, and even yawning. Yep. Your baby is in there stretching and yawning like a tiny, sleepy Pilates instructor. Okay, so we've talked about your baby. Now let's talk about you, because some of these symptoms this week might be catching you off guard. The first symptom I wanna talk about is, you know, why does your nose feel like it's a running faucet You might even be feeling like you have this never ending stuffy nose. Well, we've talked about it in some of my previous videos, but in case you're new here, welcome. That particular symptom is actually called pregnancy rhinitis. And guess what? It affects up to 30% of pregnant women. It's caused by extra blood flow and swollen nasal passages, and when they come together well. That gives you that stuffy nose, that kind of feels like a faucet. So here's your mom tip solution, which is to use a humidifier at night and stay it with me. People stay hydrated. All right. That second symptom that I wanna talk about is if you seem to be running hot all the time, if you suddenly feel like you're cooking from the inside out, well, it's not just your imagination. Your metabolism is in overdrive, your heart is working 50% harder. Your body is literally. Heating up to keep your baby comfy. So here's a few things that you can try to keep yourself cooled off. The first thing is to layer up wear breathable fabrics that are loose so that you can strip down when you need to. The second tip that I have for you, and I've tried this personally myself, is frozen grapes as a snack. Absolutely amazing and they work really quickly to help cool you down, along with just having a cold smoothie. Both of those are delicious, so try them for your next snack whenever you need to cool off quickly and you find yourself heating up from the inside out. The next symptom I wanna talk about is the weird, wild, and sometimes creepy dreams. Yes, that's right. Let's be real. Pregnancy dreams are next level Strange. You might dream about having an animal baby, which is actually pretty common, believe it or not. Or maybe you had a dream that your partner turned into a giant burrito. I don't know. But these types of dreams happen and they are completely normal. I just want you to understand what's going on here. So you have hormones, right? Uh, a surge of hormones happening in your body right now, and you are also having disrupted sleep cycles. So as your body grows, your sleep cycles are becoming more and more disrupted. It's kind of hard to get a good sound quality sleep during the night, and so that equals your brain being in overdrive, which results. In some of those weird, wild and sometimes creepy dreams, but don't worry, it's completely normal. So here's what I want you to do. Drop your weirdest pregnancy dream in the comments. I guarantee you are not alone, and I wanna chat about it. All right now. I know that you're not even halfway through pregnancy yet, so you might be wondering why does she keep talking about breastfeeding? Well, it's because most moms wait until after birth to learn how to breastfeed and then they struggle. As a matter of fact, did you know that the first 72 hours after birth are absolutely crucial for establishing milk supply? And you might think, well, I'll just learn at the hospital, but hospitals are not structured to have time to teach you everything that you know right from the beginning. Breastfeeding challenges also happen pretty fast, so if you're not prepared, it can feel overwhelming. What's the solution? Start learning now before you ever go into labor. What can you learn about this week? You can learn about how milk supply really works so that you don't stress about not making enough milk later. You can also take time to learn how to get a deep latch so that you avoid pain when you're starting to latch your baby. Also, I want you to have a plan for cluster feeding because it will happen my friend. That's exactly why I created, teach Me How to Breastfeed so that you can go into breastfeeding feeling confident and prepared right from day one. I want you to skip the struggles and start strong, so. Again, check the link and the description. All right, now we've kind of talked about what's happening with the baby, what's happening with you, why it's important to breastfeed. So as a recap, I want you to open your phone and get into the Notes app, right? And here are a few things that I want you to kind of check off this week. First off, I want you to talk and sing to your baby like crazy because their little ears are listening. The next thing I want you to try, prenatal stretches, especially side stretches to help with rib expansion. I want you to work on staying cool. If you're overheating, I want you to reach for your cold snacks and loose clothes. They are game changers. Now, we just talked about why learning about breastfeeding is so important, so I want you to start learning about breastfeeding now because your future you will. Thank you. And the last thing is to check the description box below. There's some really good resources to help you get started with preparing for your birth. All right, mama, you are almost halfway through your pregnancy. I am so doggone proud of you. If this video was helpful, hit the like button so that other new moms can find this video. Be sure to subscribe and turn on notifications for the next video that's gonna be dropping soon. And if you're ready to hop into preparing for your birth Again, check the link in the description box below. There's tons of good resources there for you. All right. Now finally, we agreed we're all gonna meet in the comment section and tell me either your weirdest pregnancy symptom or your weirdest pregnancy dream. I wanna chat with you in the comments, so meet me there. All right, see you next time for week 20. Pregnancy updates.