Your baby
Now and then your baby can be very active indeed. And usually that is at exactly the moments when you are lying quietly. So when you are stretched out on the sofa in front of the television in the evening, when you have just got into bed, or when you wake in the morning, you have the best chance of enjoying your child's kicking.
That is not so surprising. When you are busy, your movements rock your child to sleep. And besides, you simply notice the kicking less when you are occupied.
Your child sleeps for by far the greater part of the day — and already in a favourite sleeping position. That position differs from baby to baby: chin on chest and knees drawn up, one leg stretched out, or a hand on the head. After the birth you will be able to see for yourself which position your baby liked best, because in those first weeks he or she will still prefer to lie that way.
You
From now on you will really start to get bigger, putting on about half a kilo a week. Your bump is already firm, though not yet very large. Getting bigger is of course part of being pregnant, yet all those kilos piling on can still come as a shock. This is definitely not the moment to start dieting. On the contrary: dieting is not good for your baby, who needs all those nutrients right now.
So do not fret about your weight for now. If the kilos really are piling on fast, take a look at your eating habits. Perhaps, when you feel peckish, you could have fruit or raw vegetables a little more often instead of a snack. And drink plenty of water: it takes the edge off hunger without adding a gram.
Planning your maternity leave
If you work, you are entitled to at least 16 weeks' leave: 6 weeks of pregnancy leave before the due date and at least 10 weeks of maternity leave after the birth. You choose when your pregnancy leave starts, but no later than 4 weeks before the due date. If your baby arrives after the due date, your leave simply carries on: the days between the due date and the birth are added to the 16 weeks, and the 10 weeks of maternity leave only start on the day of the birth.
Do you run your own business? Then you are entitled to a pregnancy and maternity benefit from the UWV. All the rules are on rijksoverheid.nl (in Dutch).
Enjoy being together
If this is your first child, a great deal is about to change. So do enjoy the fact that there are still just the two of you. A meal out, another holiday together, plenty of going out? It is all still easy to do.