Every pregnant woman loves a good reason to celebrate the progress of their pregnancy. Well, not to worry, there are plenty of pregnancy milestones to honor in every trimester of pregnancy.

Although it may seem like all 40 weeks are lumped together in one big blend of nausea and back ache sometimes, pregnancy is actually brimming with reasons to rejoice. Some of those reasons might seem tiny and others are huge, but overall, they are all memorable moments that you don't want to miss.

Here are the pregnancy milestones that you get to look forward to at every stage of your pregnancy.

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Pregnancy Milestones

Nine months seems like a long time to wait for the best day of your life. News flash – it's not.

Pregnancy flies by in the blink of an eye (for the most part) and ends up being a blur in your memory by the time your baby is one years old.

Thankfully, there are many pregnancy milestones to celebrate before your pregnancy ends to help you savor and remember all the best moments of this incredible time in your life.

First Trimester

During the first trimester it might feel like there aren't any pregnancy milestones to celebrate just yet. That's just not true.

Although you are in the early stages of your pregnancy, there are still a number of fun milestones to celebrate! Keep reading to find out just what they are.

Related Read: What To Do When You Find Out You’re Pregnant

1. Positive Pregnancy Test

It all starts here doesn't it? The moment that you looked down at that home pregnancy test, your whole life changed forever.

Although these moments are mostly full of disbelief and a lot of pacing back and forth around the house wondering what to do now that you are officially pregnant, it is a milestone that you should absolutely treasure.

Mark this day in your calendar so that you remember forever the day that you finally knew that you were growing a human!

Related Read: 26 Early Signs Of Pregnancy Before Your Missed Period

2. First Ultrasound

Although you already know that you're pregnant because you took at least 6 home pregnancy tests, the first ultrasound is the “pregnancy confirmation”.

Yep, it's really there. Your uterus really is hosting new life. You really are pregnant.

When I was pregnant for the first time, my mother made fun of me all of the time because every appointment I had and every milestone I met, I would call her and say “this is really happening”, or “it's really in there”. It's like I couldn't wrap my mind around the idea of becoming a mother until it was confirmed…a few times.

MAKE SURE that your ultrasound technician or provider prints out a couple pictures for you to keep. Yeah, maybe it's just a sac with no baby in sight. Or maybe it's a baby that looks like a grain of rice. Either way, the picture is so powerful.

My first ultrasound was at not-quite-6 weeks pregnant. We could not see heartbeat yet and honestly we could hardly see baby. But I treasure that sweet picture because I get to see how much my little bean has grown since then. It's an amazing way to celebrate this special pregnancy milestone.

3. Seeing the heartbeat for the first time

Your first ultrasound may have provided you with this milestone as well, but maybe not. It certainly didn't for me (in ANY of my pregnancies).

Every “first ultrasound” that I've ever received has ended with “come back in a couple of weeks and we might get to see the heartbeat!”. Those couple of weeks are kind of scary, I'll admit, but so worth it when you finally get to see that beating heart.

The magic is indescribable when you've been waiting weeks for your baby to give you a sign that everything is O.K and he/she finally does.

Celebrate this magical pregnancy milestone with a video of yours and your husband's reaction to hearting or seeing your child's beating heart for the first time. It's a memory that you never want to forget. I promise.

4. First sign of pregnancy symptoms

If you were trying to get pregnant or if you had a pretty good idea that you might be early on, the odds are that you found out that you were pregnant long before you ever felt any “different”.

You might have had weeks or even a month of pure bliss before any first trimester pregnancy symptoms start rearing their ugly heads.

Although no-one likes to be nauseated, fatigued, and miserable, somehow pregnant women long for those first sign. s of pregnancy and can't wait to start “feeling pregnant”. I know I did.

Take note of when that first trimester fog started to roll in. Journal your symptoms in your pregnancy journal so that you can keep track of when they started, how long they lasted, and how they changed over time.

Although this milestone might not be as fun as all of the rest, it is still a milestone that means so much to so many women waiting for a sign that their pregnancy is progressing normally.

Related Read: Important Pregnancy Must Haves To Help You Survive The First Trimester

5. Sharing the news

Sometimes it doesn't feel really, really real until everyone knows. When you can finally sing it from the rooftops and announce to all of your friends and family (and even make it facebook official), it starts to fell like this is actually happening.

It's no longer a sweet little secret between you and your hubby. Now it's real news out there for people to look forward to.

Make this milestone fun with a sweet pregnancy announcement photo or video to share with your family and friends and remember forever.

6. Your Loss Week

I hope that this one doesn't pertain to you. But it might.

Not everyone has a “loss week” in their pregnancy, thank goodness, but one in four of us do.

The most terrifying week of my entire pregnancy so far was the week that I had lost my previous pregnancy. I miscarried for the first time at 13 weeks. When I approached this week with my pregnancy after miscarriage, I could hardly sleep. I'll admit that it's a difficult week, overall.

Apart from being a fearful week, it can also be a blessed week and a pregnancy milestone absolutely worth celebrating. This week a year ago was one thing. This week now is something completely different. It's such a blessing to watch my pregnancy continue to progress, watch my baby continue to grow, and celebrate the fact that I will have many more pregnancy milestones to celebrate in the future.

Related Read: What You Need To Know About Your Pregnancy After Miscarriage

Second Trimester

Getting past the roughest (in my opinion) trimester of pregnancy is HUGE. Don't worry. The second trimester is so much easier and have so many more fun things to look forward to. You've made it. Now let's celebrate it.

Related Read: Your Second Trimester To-Do List: What To Get Done Between 14 and 27 Weeks

7. Second Trimester

The second trimester itself is it's own pregnancy milestone. It's absolutely one to celebrate for so many reasons!

First of all, your risk for miscarriage decreases exponentially. By far, most miscarriages happen within the first trimester so you can worry a little less at this point.

Second of all, where did that nausea go? Oh yeah, pregnancy symptoms typically ease up a little bit by this time. Likely your nausea, vomiting, fatigue, frequent urination, etc will all diminish for a while as you enjoy your second trimester.

Lastly, obviously we can just celebrate the fact that you've completed an entire trimester. There are only three, after all! Although the finish line still seems very far away, truly you are closer than you think!

8. Accepting that you need maternity clothes

I remember the day vividly.

Nothing was fitting right, my body wasn't mine anymore, but I didn't have the cute round bump that I could flaunt as a proud pregnant mama. It looked like I had a cinnamon roll too many every night for the last month…but I didn't look pregnant.

I was so upset that I had nothing to wear that I started to cry. Yes…cry. My husband finally said “ok, that's enough. Let's go shopping for some maternity clothes today.”

I was reluctant to buy maternity clothes because I didn't feel ready. But once I finally started wearing clothes that flattered my new body, I felt so much better.

Buying maternity clothing was a milestone that was the beginning of the rest of my pregnancy. It was a sign that my body was changing to accommodate my sweet, growing baby.

9. The “I look pregnant” moment

You've looked bloated and felt frumpy the last few weeks and now…what's that? A real baby bump? An obvious pregnant belly? Whhhaaat? Heck yes! Hello pregnancy milestone #9!

Both of my pregnancies, I think I was in denial about when I “looked pregnant”. I don't think I see in the mirror the same thing that everyone else is seeing. Sometimes I leave the house thinking that I just look like a have a little belly but then I get to work and my patient confidently says “oh, you're pregnant too!” or “how far along are you?”. Every time that happens I think “what? you can tell that I'm pregnant? I don't just look fat? Awesome!”.

One of my favorite pregnancy milestones for sure. Looking pregnant, for me, was when I started to love being pregnant.

10. First Flutters

Here's what I love, love, love about those first flutters.

You anticipate feeling your baby moving, you hold perfectly still in hopes that you'll feel something and then… was that a gas bubble? Or was that the baby moving? It was probably a gas bubble.

A week passes and then you start feeling a lot more “gas bubbles” than you remember feeling before. Could it be the baby? And then you accept it…”Its probably the baby. I think I'm feeling the baby move.”

Another week passes and you're sure. “I'm feeling the baby move! It's so amazing!”.

Just one more week passes and suddenly you're feeling constant movements. Every time you sit or lie down to rest, that baby is twisting and turning, kicking and jabbing all over the place.

The progression of those first flutters is so exciting!! Write down when you start feeling those gas bubbles that just might be the baby moving. Document the progression and watch how your baby gets stronger and stronger all of the time. It's absolutely amazing.

11. Twenty Weeks – The Halfway Point!

Twenty weeks is a time in my pregnancies that I look forward to from the beginning. It's a huge, obvious pregnancy milestone that most women know to look forward to.

If you thought that reaching the second trimester was huge, this is even bigger.

You get to officially find out the gender. Ok, yes, there are many circumstances in which you will find out the gender before 20 weeks but this is the point in time where most people find out. If you plan to know the sex of your baby before they come, now is the time that you get to start picturing your baby, naming your baby, and planning the nursery.
Your anatomy scan happens at around 20 weeks pregnant. This scan is important to make sure that your baby is growing and developing right on track. This scan is usually the most exciting ultrasound because the baby is big enough to look like a real baby but small enough to see the whole baby in the screen. So much fun!
Remember when you hit the second trimester and realized that your risk for miscarriage was significantly reduced? Well now your risk for miscarriage has gone away completely. Pregnancy loss is only classified as a miscarriage before 20 weeks of pregnancy. Is your pregnancy completely risk free? No. But you are far out of the danger zone at this point. Celebrate!

12. Someone Else Feels The Baby Move

It's one thing to feel the baby within your womb, but when it becomes strong enough to share with other people, you've really got something to rejoice about.

It's not like people don't believe you when you say that you can feel your baby move. I'm sure they do. But still, being able to share that feeling with someone else by letting them feel your stomach as your baby kicks is so special.

When your baby starts to get big enough to see the movements on the outside, or even get them recorded on video, you'll really start to feel like there is an actual infant in there.

13. Viability

Depending on a number of factors, viability is somewhere between 23 and 24 weeks!

Viability is when your baby reaches a point in it's development that could allow him to survive outside the womb (with a really good NICU team taking care of him).

Although delivering your baby at this point is still extremely dangerous and comes with many risks, you can put your mind at ease a little bit that if, for some reason, you were to deliver your baby at this point, he or she would have a fighting chance.

14. Buying Your First Baby Item

If you're anything like me, you waited to purchase baby items until after viability. I don't know if it's my nurse's superstition or what, but to me, that's what makes the most sense.

Once I buy my first item that will be for my new baby, something just changes in me. I realize that there will be a little human in this onesie very soon. An actual baby will sleep in this crib. I start to picture what life will actually look like once I start to fill the house with items that my baby will use.

And let me warn you, once you hit this milestone, it is difficult to stop yourself from going overboard! Buying that first newborn onesie is just the beginning of the snowball effect that will result in a full nursery.

Third Trimester

You'r in the home stretch! The third trimester has it's challenges but it is so exciting because the reality of having a baby is getting nearer and nearer. In this trimester, you are going to be a very busy mama.

All in this one 3 month period, you're going to have your baby shower, decorate your nursery, take prenatal classes, go on maternity leave, and the list goes on. Get ready for a trimester full of fun and exciting pregnancy milestones!

15. Third Trimester

Again, just entering the third trimester is a milestone of it's own.

The third trimester starts at 28 weeks and continues until you deliver your baby.

Making it to the third trimester is a huge milestone that you will be very aware of because you're suddenly going to realize that very soon you are going to be going into labor, having a baby, and bringing that baby home before you know it.

This is the final trimester of pregnancy and it is worth celebrating that you made it this far!

16. Having Your Baby Shower

Having a baby shower is such a blessing. I had no idea how helpful a baby shower would end up being until everyone left and I was left with an enormous pile of diapers and wipes that I would use for almost an entire year of diapering my baby.

The baby shower is a really huge milestone because it sets off a domino effect of events that will get you ready for your baby to arrive.

The baby shower triggers nesting. After your baby shower, you'll be able to:

Shop for what you still need
Wash, fold, and organize baby clothes
Finish your nursery
Figure out where everything belongs in your house now that you have more baby stuff then you ever thought you would ever need.

17. 34 Weeks

This is one of those pregnancy milestones that gets overlooked.

Working as a labor and delivery nurse has given me a huge appreciation for the 34th week of pregnancy. At 34 weeks, your baby has developed their lungs enough to do significantly better than any time before this point.

Most of your baby's organs are now fully developed and functional at this point and fat stores start to grow to give your baby the ability to regulate his or her temperature.

Although your baby is still more than a month preterm, this gestation is a really big milestone for your baby that you may not even realize. Congratulations baby, you're almost there!

18. 36 Weeks

I'm going to be honest with you. This milestone may not be a big one that everyone acknowledges, but again, as a labor and delivery nurse, 36 weeks is a significant milestone that I will celebrate when it comes.

Let me give it to you straight. When a pregnant woman comes in to labor and delivery in preterm labor, it is scary for her and her partner. But if she has made it to 36 weeks, it's no longer scary for her labor and delivery team.

At this point, your baby's development is pretty much finished – just missing the final touches that happen in the final weeks of gestation. Your baby looks pretty much like what he or she would look like if you delivered a couple weeks later…just a bit smaller.

Your baby has plump fat stores, soft, pink skin, and will cry at birth just as they would if they were term. The NICU team might still be present at your birth to be sure that baby is safe to be on his own with mama but most likely you will get to snuggle your 36 weaker and take him home with you as you would a term baby.

Again, no one desires a pre-term birth. It is always more desirable to allow your baby to reach full-term. But if you do end up going into labor before then, your heart can rest a bit knowing that your baby has a great chance at this stage of development.

19. Term

At 37 weeks you are officially “term”. This just means that you are no longer at risk for a “preterm” delivery or “preterm” labor.

It is perfectly safe to deliver your baby at 37 weeks and it is normal to start your labor process any time after this date.

Does this mean that pregnancy is useless after this and that your baby might as well just come now? No way! Your baby is still developing and perfecting his little lungs and brain function. Just because you're term, does not mean that there is no benefit to keeping that baby inside as long as your baby needs.

Celebrate this very exciting milestone by going out to dinner with the hubby, getting that last pedicure, and enjoying a little quiet me-time before that baby comes and makes those things impossible.

Related Read: Why “Me Time” for Moms Needs To Be Top Priority

20. Due Date

Did you know that only 5% of pregnant women deliver on their due date? It is an approximate time in which baby will be ready to make their grand entrance into the world.

The last few weeks leading up to your due date may make you feel like “it's going to be any day now!!” but the reality is that you might go right past that date without a single contraction (like I did).

Related Read: The Day I Became A Mother: Our Birth Story

Whether the baby comes or not, this date is a huge milestone that you have literally been looking forward to since milestone number one. On this day, write a letter to your unborn baby expressing how you are feeling and what you are looking forward to about meeting him or her.

Related Read: 17 Natural Ways To Induce Labor Yourself

21. Delivery Day!

This is it. The ultimate of all pregnancy milestones. The final pregnancy milestone.

Even more than your “due date”, the delivery day is truly the day that you have been waiting for.

Congratulations, mama, you've made it.

Get ready for this day before it happens by reading over these helpful posts:

Learn what to expect on your delivery day with these few important posts:

Pregnancy Milestones

I hope you are able to enjoy every pregnancy milestone with a full heart and an at-ease mind. Let these milestones come naturally and enjoy every stage of pregnancy that you are currently in. It is easy to constantly look forward to what is to come, but my hope for you is that you will treasure every stage for the beauty that is in each one.

What pregnancy milestones are your favorite to celebrate? Which milestone are you near right now? Let me know in the comment section below!

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Thank you so much for this, it’s helping me become mentally prepared and excited for my first baby. (We list our first very very early in the pregnancy, so technically this will be our second.) So I have been more nervous this time, but am letting myself get more excited.

Heather says:

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Congratulations, Beth! You totally should be excited and I am excited for you!

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21 Pregnancy Milestones to Celebrate in Every Stage of Pregnancy

Pregnancy Milestones