You're 22 weeks pregnant!

Medically reviewed by Carissa Stephens, RN, CCRN, CPN & Adda Bjarnadóttir, MS, LN

What's going on with you this week?

Welcome to week 22, a pretty sweet spot to be in as far as pregnancy is concerned. Energy levels are good, nausea should be completely gone, and you have a ton of things to look forward to.

Your baby is growing at a rapid pace at this point, so things might be getting a little tight and crowded in your belly. This is only the beginning though, as your belly will continue to expand as your uterus does, and that bump will get bigger and bigger.

Pop goes the belly button

Speaking of your belly expanding, you may notice another change in that area of your body — your belly button popping out. If you've always sported an "innie" it can be quite a shock to see your belly button pop out like you're a well-cooked turkey on Thanksgiving (and what's better than that?!).

As your uterus gets bigger, it pushes your abdomen forward, and eventually your belly button may pop out from the pressure. Some can find themselves now with a full outie, while others may just end up looking like there's no innie or outie at all. (An in-betweenie?)

It's totally normal and nothing to worry about. After you give birth, your belly button will likely return to normal. Some do find that their new belly button gets easily irritated. If that's the case for you, try wearing a belly band to help protect your sensitive button.

The first rule of Pregnancy Club is: You do not talk about hemorrhoids

This is a very bad rule. Up to 50 percent of women develop hemorrhoids during pregnancy, yet hemorrhoids don't get nearly the coverage that morning sickness gets.

You may find the topic pretty embarrassing, but hemorrhoids can be just as terrible to deal with as your typical pregnancy nausea, so let's get into it.

Hemorrhoids are veins inside or outside of your anus that have become swollen due to various reasons, including increased blood flow, increased pressure on your veins, and constipation.

Luckily, there are many home remedies that have been found to be effective. Getting enough water and fiber in your diet is important, and soaking in a sitz bath can be a real miracle worker. If you do decide to try any medication, whether topical or oral, make sure you talk to your healthcare provider about it first.

Real talk — are you freaking out about your weight?

When you're pregnant, it's really easy to focus a lot of energy on how much weight you are (or aren’t) gaining. After all, you get weighed in at every single doctor's appointment, and there are tons of graphs and stats online telling you exactly how much you should be gaining at every stage of your pregnancy in order to avoid complications. Not to mention the fact that strangers on the street feel like it's totally cool to comment on your pregnant body at will.

And, listen, the weight gain recommendations do exist for a good reason — you want your body to be properly prepared for a healthy pregnancy and an uncomplicated birth. That said, it's not a great idea to weigh yourself every day or compare yourself to every other person in your prenatal yoga class.

A little louder for those in the back row: Do not weigh yourself every day. Do not compare your pregnant body to someone else's.

Some women carry their weight differently, so you can't really tell much from looking at a person. Additionally, some women gain their pregnancy weight at a steady pace, while others gain it in spurts here and there.

The only thing you should really be focused on is making sure that your diet is healthy so that you and your baby get the nutrients you need. Staying active will also help keep your mind clear and hopefully keep some of the aches and pains at bay.

Leave the weight tracking up to your healthcare provider. They’ll let you know if there's any reason to be concerned about your gaining too much — or too little — weight during your pregnancy.

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Eat

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole. A fantastic recipe for busy weeknights, this casserole is high in protein and contains fruits and veggies that will up your fiber intake.

Ice pops. If you simply can't take us telling you to drink water again (we mean well, we swear), try getting the water you need by eating a fruit-sweetened ice pop after dinner.

Drink

Watermelon Raspberry Coconut Water. Hydrating properties, vitamin C, magnesium — coconut water is a superdrink and this one is pretty delish.

Shop

A belly band. If your new outie belly button is feeling sensitive, try wearing a belly band over it.

A sitz bath soak. Throw some of this into a warm bath to help relieve hemorrhoids.

Tucks Hemorrhoid Pads. These handy items can help provide pretty immediate relief to hemorrhoid symptoms.

Do

Look into childbirth classes. Your healthcare provider will have information on classes and any local hospital or birthing center will as well.

Keep that bump moisturized. Add this to your daily self-care routine.

Love

…your growing baby!

Your baby is almost 11 inches long — about the size of a delicious papaya.

At this point, your baby weighs almost 1 whole pound!

You can't tell yet what color eyes your baby will have, but eyelids, eyelashes, and eyebrows are all present and accounted for.

Your baby can hear sounds, and those sounds will become clearer to them over the next few weeks.

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