# Day 130: Talk to the bump > Your baby's hearing is developing, and they may move more when you rub your tummy and talk. One minute today, hand on bump, out loud. - Series: Your fifth month of pregnancy, day by day (https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-5), day 130 of 280, 18 weeks + 4 days - Your baby this week: about the size of a bell pepper; around 14.2 cm from head to bottom - Canonical URL: https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-5/day-130 - Last reviewed: 2026-10-22 - Publisher: Chorevia (https://chorevia.com) - Cite as: Chorevia. "Day 130: Talk to the bump." Last reviewed October 22, 2026. https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-5/day-130 This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911. Eighteen weeks and four days. Talking to a bump feels silly for about ten seconds. Then it doesn't, and it's one of the few things you can do for your baby right now that costs nothing. ## Your baby Your baby's hearing is developing this week, along with feeling, swallowing and sucking ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-18/)). Already, by last week, they could react to loud noises ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-17/)). At around 14.2cm from head to bottom, they're wriggling and moving their arms and legs in there ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-18/)). ## Your body Early movements feel like bubbling or fluttering ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-18/)). The NHS says they're often first noticed between 18 and 24 weeks, and that your baby may move more after meals, during loud music, when you rub your tummy and talk, or while you relax ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-17/)). NICHD puts the start of feeling movement at 20 weeks ([NICHD](https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/pregnancy/conditioninfo)). Both are telling you the same thing: if you've felt nothing yet, you're inside the normal range. So today isn't a test of whether you feel anything. It's a habit worth starting before you do. ## Try today ### The tummy-talk minute - **Time:** 1 minute, any time you're sitting still 1. Sit back, one hand flat on the bump, and rub gently; rubbing your tummy and talking is one of the things the NHS lists as prompting movement ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-17/)). 2. Say the day's news out loud, in your ordinary voice. What you ate, who annoyed you, what the weather did. 3. Stop talking for the last fifteen seconds and just notice. Bubbling, fluttering, or nothing ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-18/)). 4. Do it again tomorrow. Same time if you can; it becomes a marker in the day. **Make it work:** Nothing felt is not a result, and not a worry; "often first noticed between 18 and 24 weeks" leaves you six weeks of normal ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-17/)). ## Watch for - **Normal:** not feeling movement yet, or feeling it some days and not others ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-17/)). Formal tracking doesn't begin until 28 weeks ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/prenatal-care-and-tests)). **Call your provider** later in pregnancy if the baby's movement stops or slows once you know their pattern; there's no set number that's normal, a change is what matters ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/maternal-warning-signs/index.html)). - **Normal:** puffy feet and ankles by evening; swelling is on the NHS's symptom list this trimester ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-19/)). **Call your provider** for sudden swelling in the hands or feet, or rapid weight gain; the OWH says it may signal preeclampsia ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/body-changes-and-discomforts)). - **Normal:** a stuffy nose. **Call your provider** for extreme swelling of your hands or face; that wording is the CDC's, on its urgent list ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/maternal-warning-signs/index.html)). ## For you Nobody is grading the content. The point isn't what you say, it's that the voice your baby hears most is yours, and that you've carved one still minute out of the day with your hand on your own body. Many women find it's the first moment all day they've thought about the pregnancy as a person rather than a to-do list. If you're the partner: your turn tonight. Hand on the bump, your voice, the news from your day. If the baby reacts to loud noises, they can hear you too ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-17/)). You'll feel ridiculous for ten seconds. That's the price. ## Sources - NHS. "Week 18." Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, Best Start in Life. https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-18/ - NHS. "Week 17." Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, Best Start in Life. https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-17/ - National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. "About Pregnancy." National Institutes of Health. https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/pregnancy/conditioninfo - Office on Women's Health. "Prenatal care and tests." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/prenatal-care-and-tests - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Urgent Maternal Warning Signs and Symptoms." HEAR HER campaign, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/maternal-warning-signs/index.html - NHS. "Week 19." Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, Best Start in Life. https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-19/ - Office on Women's Health. "Body changes and discomforts." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/body-changes-and-discomforts