Chorevia

Day 150 of 280 · 21 weeks + 3 days

A seat for the partner

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 4 sources · Plain-text version

Your baby can hear voices from outside the womb now. Today the partner books their own seat at the antenatal class, or a session of their own.

Size this week
about the size of a carrot
Length this week
around 26.7 cm from head to toe
A couple on folding chairs in a bright community hall, she in a loose sweater with a small bump, he leaning in to listen, other pairs softly blurred behind them.

Twenty-one weeks and three days. Your baby has started listening to the world outside, and today's job belongs mostly to the person who shares that world with you.

Your baby

One whole orange carrot with the leaves trimmed, on a plain pale wooden board, soft window light.

Around 26.7cm from head to toe, about the size of a carrot, and now heavier than the placenta that feeds them (NHS). The NHS says your baby is now able to hear sounds and voices outside the womb (NHS). The hearing itself began weeks ago, with your voice, your heartbeat and the sounds of your digestion (NHS). What's new is the outside: a second voice in the room reaches in now too (NHS).

Your body

You may feel less steady on your feet as the bump grows; your centre of gravity has shifted and your joints are looser (NHS). Tiredness is common, and the NHS suggests naps to make up for poor sleep at night (NHS).

On this week's to-do list: pelvic floor exercises, and antenatal classes, with a suggestion to consider inviting your partner (NHS). Classes can be online (NHS), and the NHS says they're useful even if you've had children before (NHS). The whooping cough vaccine, usually offered around week 20, is available from week 16 to week 32, so there's time if it hasn't come up yet (NHS).

Try today

  1. The partner's class seat

    Time: 10 minutes, the partner's

    1. Find the class you chose on day 97 and check whether a partner's place is included. Antenatal classes are on the NHS list for this week, partner invited (NHS).

    2. If it is, the partner books it today under their own name and puts every session date in their own calendar, not just hers.

    3. If it isn't, ask the class or your provider whether a separate partners' session exists, and book that instead.

    4. The partner writes down the one question they most want answered at the first session, and brings it.

    Make it work:

    If evenings out are too much right now, online classes count (NHS). Two people on one sofa with the laptop is still a seat each.

Watch for

  • Normal

    dizziness is on the NHS list of common symptoms this week (NHS).

    Call your provider

    for dizziness or fainting; it's on the CDC's list of urgent maternal warning signs (CDC).

  • Normal

    feeling hot (NHS).

    Call your provider

    for a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher (CDC).

  • Normal

    tiredness that a nap helps (NHS).

    Call your provider

    about any bleeding; the NHS says to seek medical advice (NHS).

For you

If you're the partner: this one is yours. The class is where your questions get answered, the ones you haven't asked out loud. What the first hours look like. What you'll be asked to do. What "call now" means in your house. The NHS puts inviting you on this week's list (NHS); the booking is the easy part, and turning up is the rest.

If you're carrying the baby: you don't have to be the one who organises this. Let the booking be theirs, and take the nap the NHS recommends instead (NHS).

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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