Chorevia

Day 132 of 280 · 18 weeks + 6 days

The partner's playlist

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 5 sources · Plain-text version

Hearing is developing and loud music may get a wriggle. Today the partner picks three songs for the bump, and we talk about finding a way in.

Size this week
about the size of a bell pepper
Length this week
around 14.2 cm from head to bottom
A man sitting cross-legged on a living-room floor beside his partner on the sofa, she in a loose hoodie with a small bump, a small speaker between them, evening lamplight, no screens visible.

Eighteen weeks and six days, the last day of this week. Today's task belongs to the partner, if there is one. If there isn't, it's yours, and it's a nice one.

Your baby

A single red bell pepper on a plain white ceramic plate, soft daylight.

Hearing, feeling and swallowing are developing this week (NHS). The week before, the NHS says, your baby could already react to loud noises, and may move more during loud music (NHS). Around 14.2cm from head to bottom, bell-pepper sized (NHS).

Your body

The NHS lists stretch marks, tiredness and sleep problems among this week's symptoms (NHS). On the sleep: your kidneys are filtering extra blood and making more urine, and the growing baby presses on the bladder, so night-time bathroom trips multiply (MedlinePlus). Side sleeping with knees bent is likely the most comfortable position, and MedlinePlus is clear that "It is best not to sleep flat on your back" (MedlinePlus). Short daytime naps can make up lost sleep (MedlinePlus).

Try today

  1. The partner's playlist

    Time: 15 minutes to choose, 10 minutes to play

    1. Partner: pick three songs. One you love, one that was playing at a moment that mattered to the two of you, one that's just loud and happy.

    2. Play them near the bump, at ordinary room volume, while she sits back. Loud music is one of the things the NHS says may get a baby moving (NHS).

    3. Write the three titles on the back of a scan photo or in the pregnancy notes, with the date.

    4. Play the same three once a week until the birth. No claim here about what it does for the baby; the claim is about what it does for you.

    Make it work:

    Keep the speaker at a normal distance; there's nothing in the sources about holding it to the belly, so don't.

Watch for

  • Normal

    waking at night and struggling to settle; sleep problems are on this week's list (NHS).

    Call your provider

    before taking any sleep aid, including over-the-counter and herbal products (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    being tired.

    Call your provider

    for overwhelming tiredness, which the CDC lists as an urgent warning sign (CDC).

  • Normal

    there is no normal amount of bleeding now.

    Call your provider

    about any bleeding; the NHS says it needs medical advice (NHS), and MedlinePlus says bleeding in months 4 to 9 should be treated as a potential emergency (MedlinePlus).

For you

If you're the partner: a lot of this pregnancy happens inside someone else, and it's easy to end up as the person who carries bags and drives to appointments. That's real work. But the baby can react to sound now (NHS), which means there is, for the first time, something that reaches them directly from you. The playlist is a small way in. The tummy-talk minute from two days ago is another.

If you're the one carrying: let the playlist be theirs. Don't edit it. You'll get the final say on nearly everything else for the next five months, and that's as it should be. This one, let go.

Next week your baby starts putting on weight, and the notes go on through the rest of your fifth month.

Sources

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.

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