17 Weeks Pregnant – Pregnancy Symptoms and Baby Development

What’s new this week?

Your body

By this week, your uterus will have grown to the point where it’s approaching your belly button — and it’ll keep going up, pushing your bowels and other organs out of the way to make room to expand. It will end up being a tight fit there, but one your body is designed for. One problem you should be aware of: Around this time, you may notice an increase in vaginal discharge. The discharge is usually thicker than usual and clear or milky white in color – and rest assured, it’s perfectly normal. Of course, it is also possible to get a vaginal infection during pregnancy, so call your doctor if you experience a yellow or bloody discharge, a bad smell, or itching or irritation. Otherwise, know that this discharge is just part of the pregnancy treatment. (Read here What should I wear when I’m pregnant?)

DID YOU KNOW?

5 inch

Height of your baby

3½-5 ounces

Weight of your baby Gewicht

pear

Size of your baby

your baby

At this point, your little man is starting to grow eyebrows and grow more hair on his scalp — and he’s starting to develop a layer of fat under his skin. It provides much-needed warmth after he is born and leaves the house at 99.6 degrees (temperature in your baby’s environment is about 1 degree warmer than your temperature) where he has lived so cozy. From now on, your baby is going to pack as much of this inner insulation as possible. This week, meconium (which will be your baby’s first bowel movement) is also starting to collect in his colon; it is waste that he has filtered out from the amniotic fluid he has ingested. Bizarre to think about, but true. Your baby’s umbilical cord will also become longer and thicker in response to all the rapid growth that is happening now. (At this point, your baby and placenta are almost the same size.) So much is happening!

Your life right now

How’s this for an excuse to have a big, juicy burger: Even if you haven’t had an iron deficiency in the past, anemia can set in during pregnancy. Many prenatal vitamins (that you should still be taking) contain this important mineral. But if yours doesn’t, make sure you eat enough iron-rich foods, such as meat, fish, and poultry, which provide the type of iron your body uses most effectively; fortified breakfast cereals, beans, eggs, nuts, dried fruit, peas, dark leafy greens like spinach — and yes, even the occasional cheeseburger. Improve iron absorption by combining iron-rich foods with foods rich in vitamin C, such as citrus fruits, tomatoes and peppers. While anemia probably won’t hurt your baby (it gets what it needs from your blood), it can leave you feeling exhausted and weak. So get your daily dose of about 30 mg! (Read here Diet tips to eat healthy during pregnancy)

Moms Like Me/ I wish I had known

“Every mother will want to tell you her birth story. Kindly listen and then erase them from your memory! I heard so many horrible birth stories when I was pregnant with DS. I don’t know why, but these moms just feel it necessary to scare FTMs. Women I didn’t even know thought they should tell me what happened to them!” – newmom2b2