Community24 Weeks Pregnant
Your Pregnancy Week by Week
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Your Baby at 24 Weeks
Size: 11.81 inches (30 cm) - crown to heelWeight: 1.32 pound (600 grams)
While your baby has packed on about a quarter of a pound since last week, she's still long and lean - looking closer in size to an ear of corn than the little butterball you have pictured, coming weeks will allow your baby to pack on the pounds. He or she is beginning to lose their transparent skin as fat deposits are made.
Your baby's brain and lungs are starting to develop more fully, and taste buds are continuing to develop. Lung tissue is creating branches and developing the intricate structure that will allow baby to breathe. Also developing are special cells responsible for secreting surfactant - a substance necessary for flexibility of lung tissue and will be essential for breathing easy on his own.
Gaining weight at a rate of 6 ounces per week now, your baby has a well-defined face complete with eyelashes and eyebrows as well as a sense of hearing that is growing more finely-tuned by the day.
Mom at 24 Weeks Pregnant
Blurry vision is a common complaint of many expectant moms. And of course you guessed it, hormones
can lead to dry eyes during pregnancy so you may need to consider drops or wearing your glasses more
for the next few months to help ease any discomfort.Every woman dreads stretch marks, but for some women they may be a very real problem. While some women may only have a select few, others may be left with these scars from the knees to the breasts and back. Many advertisements claim to prevent these unsightly lines, but research shows that stretch marks are more hereditary than anything else - so you can moisturize till the cows come home, but don't expect it to make a dramatic difference in the end result. As your belly continues to grow, you may begin to have your first few appear if they haven't already.
You will be asked to take a glucose tolerance test (GTT) sometime between your 24th and 28th week of pregnancy. This screening test can help detect your risk for gestational diabetes. If you are diagnosed with the condition, it can be controlled either by diet and exercise or with added medication injections, and will disappear after the baby is born.
Some symptoms of gestational diabetes include fatigue, nausea, excessive thirst and frequent urination. Only a small percentage of moms to be will have gestational diabetes - between 2 % to 5%. Uncontrolled gestational diabetes can cause both delivery and transition difficulties for mom and baby and should be taken very seriously.
Braxton-Hicks contractions may start around this time as your body begins practicing for the big event. These irregular, painless contractions will occur more frequently as your pregnancy progresses and will not result in true labor, even though it may feel like it sometimes. That said, if you feel that you are contracting regularly, leaking fluid, bleeding, or the contractions are becoming painful, contact your doctor as soon as possible to rule out pre-term labor.
As with the weeks before, you have been able to say goodbye to most of the nausea and vomiting from early on, but this week may bring on more swelling in your feet and legs at the end of the day, as well as continued heartburn, and darkening and enlarging nipples. This week is going ot be one of your best as energy levels run higher.
Tips/Advice:
Make a to-do list. While it's still a bit early for full-blown nesting to begin, it's never too late to think about tackling a few of those projects you have been putting off. Ask your physician before you take on any tasks that might expose you and your baby to chemicals or fumes. Paint is one of the most common and is generally considered safe, but consult your doctor first.
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