17 Weeks Pregnant

Baby's Body Fat 

Your baby is about five inches long and more than three and a half ounces — the size of your open hand. Baby's body fat is beginning to form and will continue to accumulate through the end of your pregnancy.

How big is your baby at 17 weeks pregnant? About five inches long and more than three and a half ounces  — the size of your open hand. (Open the other one too and imagine your baby cradled in both your arms right after delivery!)  Body fat (baby's, that is) is beginning to form and will continue to accumulate through the end of your pregnancy.  By the time your baby is born, body fat will make up about two-thirds of his or her weight (and will make all those chubby parts especially yummy).
 
Your baby is almost certainly listening up by now. In fact, loud noises — the dog barking, the doorbell ringing — will actually startle your baby (and also get him or her used to such noises; for instance, fetuses who regularly hear a dog barking will become babies who sleep right through Fido's outbursts).  Your baby's eyes (which have fortunately finished their migration  to the front of his or her head) are making small side-to-side movements and can even perceive some light, though the eyelids are still sealed.  And since practice makes perfect, your baby is sharpening his or her sucking and swallowing skills in preparation for that first (and second…and third) suckle at your breast or bottle. In fact, most of the survival reflexes that your baby will have at birth are being perfected in utero right now.

And here's some proof that your baby is truly one of a kind (as if you needed any!). Within the next week or so, the pads on your baby's fingertips and toes will become adorned with completely individual swirls and creases (aka fingerprints).

Remember when you were so queasy you could barely stomach ginger ale and a cracker? Happily, your toilet-hugging days (and nights) are probably over.  And happily (and hungrily) these days it's more likely that you can't get enough to eat.  For most women, the second trimester not only brings relief from morning sickness, but also brings on a truck driver's appetite.  Don't be surprised if you suddenly feel hungry enough to polish off a 24-ounce porterhouse, a three-pound lobster (with lots of butter), or a whole tray of baked ziti at 17 weeks pregnant. And was that you who turned that extra large pizza into a personal pan?

I luckily didn't have much morning sickness, but that appetite is definite getting bigger and the pounds are starting to come on!!

	What is happenning now? You are now 17 weeks pregnant, which is the beginning of week 18. Your baby measures about 19 cm from head to toe (or 7.6 inches) and weighs about 280 grams (9.8 ounces). Your baby's skin is still fine, transparent and slightly wrinkled because they do not have fat layers yet. The many blood vessels flowing underneath their skin makes their complexion appear purple-red in colour. There is now plenty of fluid around your baby, allowing them to turn, twist and change position frequently. A few women feel their baby move for the first time at this stage, but most do not experience this exciting event (called quickening) until 20 to 22 weeks! Your baby now explores their own body with their hands and if you are having twins or triplets, they may try to locate each other, by touching and exploring their brother or sister.
	Physical changes Warm and sweaty. Pregnant women usually feel warmer and sweat more, due to increased blood flowing through their body. The pregnancy hormone progesterone also makes the tiny blood vessels in the skin (called capillaries) relax and dilate to become fuller and closer to the skin's surface, referred to as vasodilation. Vasodilation and increased metabolism slightly increases your body temperature. This may mean you prefer to sleep with only a sheet covering you, while your partner lies under blankets in the winter months!