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🌿Second Trimester•Weeks 14-27
Week 17 of Pregnancy
Your baby is the size of turnip
📏
Length
5.1 inches
⚖️
Weight
5.9 ounces
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Size Comparison
Turnip
👶 Baby Development
- •Baby can move all joints freely including fingers, wrists, elbows, and knees
- •Skeleton is transforming from soft cartilage to hardened bone tissue (ossification)
- •Sweat glands are developing all over baby's body
- •Hearing is developing rapidly - baby can hear your heartbeat, voice, and stomach gurgles
- •Baby practices breathing movements regularly, inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid
- •Umbilical cord is growing thicker and stronger
- •Brown fat begins forming to help regulate body temperature after birth
💭 Common Symptoms
- •Increased appetite as your body needs more calories for baby's rapid growth
- •Baby movements become more noticeable and frequent throughout the day
- •Possible heartburn and acid reflux as uterus pushes on stomach
- •Vivid, strange dreams due to hormonal changes and pregnancy anxieties
- •Increased sweating due to hormonal changes
- •Possible nasal congestion and stuffiness
- •Growing belly that may affect your balance
🥗 Nutrition Tips
- •Eat plenty of calcium (1000mg daily) through dairy, fortified plant milks, leafy greens, and almonds for bone development
- •Include foods rich in phosphorus like poultry, fish, eggs, and whole grains which work with calcium
- •Stay hydrated with 10-12 glasses of water daily
- •Eat 5-6 small, frequent meals to manage heartburn and maintain energy
- •Avoid lying down for 2-3 hours after eating to prevent heartburn
- •Include vitamin D-rich foods or supplements (600 IU daily)
- •Eat bland foods if heartburn is severe
✅ To-Do This Week
- •Continue tracking baby movements - you should feel them daily now
- •Research birthing options including hospital birth, birth center, or home birth
- •Start thinking about nursery design, color schemes, and furniture placement
- •Consider scheduling maternity photos for 28-32 weeks
- •Discuss birth preferences with your partner
- •Start reading pregnancy and parenting books
- •Sign up for hospital tours
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Did You Know?
Your baby can now hear sounds from outside your body, including your voice, your partner's voice, music, and even the dog barking! They're learning to recognize familiar voices.