What To Expect At 19 Weeks Pregnant: What It's Really Like!

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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.

Episode Transcript

(00:05):
Hi, I'm Stephanie Poole, founderand CEO of Birth Prep Academy.
I'm on a mission to helppregnant moms prepare for their
first hospital birth.
I'm sharing revealingconversations about what it
really takes to successfullytransition into motherhood.
So join me.
Here to discover things likewhat to expect in childbirth,

(00:27):
how to prepare for your birth.
We'll also talk aboutbreastfeeding and so much more.
I'm so grateful to share it allwith you right here on Oh Baby,
the podcast created for pregnantmoms preparing for their first
hospital birth.
Let's get started.
Hey there, mama.

(00:47):
You are officially 19 weekspregnant, which means that
you're only one week away fromthe halfway mark.
Yep, that's right.
But did you know that yourbaby's hearing is now sharp
enough to recognize your voice?
That means talking to your bellyisn't just cute.
It's actually wiring theirlittle brain.

(01:10):
And your uterus.
Well that's grown up to yourbelly button now.
So if you suddenly feel likeyour abs have disappeared, you
are not alone, my friend.
Also, are you craving weird foodcombos?
Well, your body might be tellingyou something important.
We're gonna hop into all of thatand then some hold tight because

(01:34):
this week is packed with weirdpregnancy changes and cool baby
milestones.
I'm gonna break it all down foryou now.
If you are already thinkingahead to breastfeeding, then
check the link in my descriptionfor my program.
Teach me how to breastfeed.
It is the ultimate step-by-stepguide for first time moms who

(01:57):
want to start theirbreastfeeding journey.
Confident I.
And prepared.
The link is in the descriptionbox below now with all of the
house cleaning work out of theway.
You know what I'm gonna say?
Let's go through our weeklychecklist just to make sure you
got everything you need to enjoythis week's video.

(02:17):
Um, comfy spot on the couch.
Check your favorite snack inhand.
Check.
Now, if you got your snack, thatmeans you absolutely need
something to wash it down within your favorite mug.
Of course, check.
And I'm doing roll call for themost awesomest mommy, which is

(02:38):
in the building, right?
Check.
And I can say that confidently,because you showed up today.
You're here, you're ready tolearn.
So let's dive in.
Alright, let's start with yoursweet baby.
Your baby is growing like crazyright now.
Here's what's happening insidethat belly of yours.
Your baby is about six incheslong, about the size of a

(03:01):
Nintendo Switch controller or amango, but.
Here's a fun fact.
Their proportions are now morebaby like than ever, so they
don't look like that littlealien on your ultrasound
anymore.
They look more and more likeyour sweet baby every single day
at 19 weeks.

(03:21):
Their inner ear bones.
Have developed meaning that theycan hear you now and not just in
muffled voices.
Okay.
They can actually detect yourvoice.
Yes.
Talking to them actually doessomething.
They also can hear yourheartbeat.
They've been vibing to this eversince day one.

(03:43):
They can even hear loud noisesoutside the womb.
So let's say that you greetsomeone with a hearty hello or
the dog is barking, or you'revacuuming and they can hear you
as you vacuum.
They actually can detectspecific sounds now because of
the development in their ears.

(04:04):
And here's a crazy fact.
If you listen to the same songthroughout pregnancy, your baby
will very likely recognize itafter birth, and they'll
actually find it soothing.
So go ahead and sing yourfavorite Beyonce song or that
nice jazz number that you loveto hear.

(04:28):
Go ahead and put it on becauseyour baby is definitely
listening and we'll be jammingout to it soon.
All right, let's talk about howstrong your baby is getting.
So your baby's muscles and bonesare getting stronger and
stronger as the days go by.
They're kicking, rolling, andstretching literally all day

(04:49):
long, even if you don't feel ityet.
In fact, did you know thatbabies start practicing their
first reflexes in the womb?
You know right now they'repracticing things like sucking,
grasping, and even yawning.
Yep.
Your baby is in there stretchingand yawning like a tiny, sleepy

(05:10):
Pilates instructor.
Okay, so we've talked about yourbaby.
Now let's talk about you,because some of these symptoms
this week might be catching youoff guard.
The first symptom I wanna talkabout is, you know, why does
your nose feel like it's arunning faucet You might even be
feeling like you have this neverending stuffy nose.

(05:33):
Well, we've talked about it insome of my previous videos, but
in case you're new here,welcome.
That particular symptom isactually called pregnancy
rhinitis.
And guess what?
It affects up to 30% of pregnantwomen.
It's caused by extra blood flowand swollen nasal passages, and

(05:53):
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 wannatalk about is if you seem to be

(06:14):
running hot all the time, if yousuddenly 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 babycomfy.

(06:35):
So here's a few things that youcan try to keep yourself cooled
off.
The first thing is to layer upwear breathable fabrics that are
loose so that you can strip downwhen you need to.
The second tip that I have foryou, and I've tried this
personally myself, is frozengrapes as a snack.

(06:55):
Absolutely amazing and they workreally quickly to help cool you
down, along with just having acold smoothie.
Both of those are delicious, sotry them for your next snack
whenever you need to cool offquickly and you find yourself
heating up from the inside out.

(07:15):
The next symptom I wanna talkabout is the weird, wild, and
sometimes creepy dreams.
Yes, that's right.
Let's be real.
Pregnancy dreams are next levelStrange.
You might dream about having ananimal baby, which is actually
pretty common, believe it ornot.
Or maybe you had a dream thatyour partner turned into a giant

(07:38):
burrito.
I don't know.
But these types of dreams happenand they are completely normal.
I just want you to understandwhat's going on here.
So you have hormones, right?
Uh, a surge of hormoneshappening in your body right
now, and you are also havingdisrupted sleep cycles.
So as your body grows, yoursleep cycles are becoming more

(08:02):
and more disrupted.
It's kind of hard to get a goodsound quality sleep during the
night, and so that equals yourbrain being in overdrive, which
results.
In some of those weird, wild andsometimes creepy dreams, but
don't worry, it's completelynormal.

(08:22):
So here's what I want you to do.
Drop your weirdest pregnancydream in the comments.
I guarantee you are not alone,and I wanna chat about it.
All right now.
I know that you're not evenhalfway through pregnancy yet,
so you might be wondering whydoes she keep talking about
breastfeeding?
Well, it's because most momswait until after birth to learn

(08:47):
how to breastfeed and then theystruggle.
As a matter of fact, did youknow that the first 72 hours
after birth are absolutelycrucial for establishing milk
supply?
And you might think, well, I'lljust learn at the hospital, but
hospitals are not structured tohave time to teach you
everything that you know rightfrom the beginning.

(09:10):
Breastfeeding challenges alsohappen pretty fast, so if you're
not prepared, it can feeloverwhelming.
What's the solution?
Start learning now before youever go into labor.
What can you learn about thisweek?
You can learn about how milksupply really works so that you
don't stress about not makingenough milk later.

(09:33):
You can also take time to learnhow to get a deep latch so that
you avoid pain when you'restarting to latch your baby.
Also, I want you to have a planfor cluster feeding because it
will happen my friend.
That's exactly why I created,teach Me How to Breastfeed so
that you can go intobreastfeeding feeling confident

(09:54):
and prepared right from day one.
I want you to skip the strugglesand start strong, so.
Again, check the link and thedescription.
All right, now we've kind oftalked about what's happening
with the baby, what's happeningwith you, why it's important to
breastfeed.
So as a recap, I want you toopen your phone and get into the

(10:16):
Notes app, right?
And here are a few things that Iwant you to kind of check off
this week.
First off, I want you to talkand sing to your baby like crazy
because their little ears arelistening.
The next thing I want you totry, prenatal stretches,
especially side stretches tohelp with rib expansion.

(10:39):
I want you to work on stayingcool.
If you're overheating, I wantyou to reach for your cold
snacks and loose clothes.
They are game changers.
Now, we just talked about whylearning about breastfeeding is
so important, so I want you tostart learning about
breastfeeding now because yourfuture you will.
Thank you.

(11:00):
And the last thing is to checkthe description box below.
There's some really goodresources to help you get
started with preparing for yourbirth.
All right, mama, you are almosthalfway through your pregnancy.
I am so doggone proud of you.
If this video was helpful, hitthe like button so that other
new moms can find this video.

(11:21):
Be sure to subscribe and turn onnotifications for the next video
that's gonna be dropping soon.
And if you're ready to hop intopreparing for your birth Again,
check the link in thedescription box below.
There's tons of good resourcesthere for you.
All right.
Now finally, we agreed we're allgonna meet in the comment

(11:43):
section and tell me either yourweirdest pregnancy symptom or
your weirdest pregnancy dream.
I wanna chat with you in thecomments, so meet me there.
All right, see you next time forweek 20.
Pregnancy updates.