Week 24
Your baby is about 28.9 cm (11.5 in) long from crown to heel and weighs about 500 g (1.1 lb). Babies vary, and some will be a little bigger or smaller. The lungs are starting to make surfactant, a substance that will one day help them inflate, and the inner ear is giving your baby a sense of balance and position.
Your uterus now reaches a little above your belly button, and your appetite may be strong. This week covers eating for steady energy, setting up a safe sleep space, an itch worth reporting, time together as a couple and the early steps of planning child care. If your glucose test falls in the next few weeks, the food tips here are useful whatever the result.
Day 162 · 23 weeks 0 days
Your baby's lungs are preparing for air
Your baby's lungs have been growing since early pregnancy, but they are not ready for breathing yet. Right now, the airways are still branching, and tiny air sacs are beginning to form at their ends. Blood vessels are spreading around those sacs, so that one day oxygen can pass from the air into the blood.
Around this time, special cells in the lungs begin to produce surfactant. This slippery mix of fats and proteins coats the inside of the air sacs and stops them from collapsing each time a breath goes out. Without enough of it, breathing is hard work. Production starts slowly now and builds through the third trimester, which is one reason babies born very early need help to breathe.
Your baby also practises breathing movements, drawing amniotic fluid in and out of the lungs. These movements come and go in short bursts. They help the chest muscles and diaphragm grow strong, ready for the first real breath at birth.
Try this: Take five slow breaths, letting your belly rise as you breathe in, and imagine your baby rehearsing the same rhythm.
Day 163 · 23 weeks 1 day
Eating for steady energy
Whether or not you develop gestational diabetes, the way you build your meals can help your energy stay level through the day. Large meals heavy in sugar or white flour make blood sugar rise quickly and then dip, which can leave you tired, hungry and irritable.
A simple approach is to fill half your plate with vegetables, a quarter with protein, such as eggs, fish, chicken, tofu, beans or lentils, and a quarter with starchy foods, choosing whole grains where you can. Adding some fat, from nuts, seeds, olive oil or avocado, slows digestion and keeps you full for longer.
Eating smaller meals more often helps many people, especially as the uterus begins to crowd the stomach. Good snacks pair a carbohydrate with a protein, such as an apple with peanut butter, yogurt with berries, or hummus with whole-grain crackers. Water, milk and unsweetened drinks are better choices than juice or soda, which deliver sugar fast. You do not need to cut out treats. Having them after a meal, rather than on an empty stomach, softens their effect on your blood sugar.
Try this: Plan tomorrow's afternoon snack now, pairing a fruit or whole grain with something rich in protein.
Day 164 · 23 weeks 2 days
Setting up a safe place for your baby to sleep
A nursery can be as simple or as decorated as you like, but the one thing that matters for safety is where your baby sleeps. Experts recommend that for at least the first six months, your baby sleeps in their own crib, bassinet or play yard in the same room as you. Room-sharing makes night feeds easier and lowers the risk of sudden infant death.
The sleep space itself should be plain. Use a firm, flat mattress that fits snugly, with no gaps around the edges, and a fitted sheet. Keep everything else out: no pillows, quilts, bumper pads, sleep positioners or soft toys. Babies should always be put down on their back. Inclined sleepers and products that hold a baby at an angle are not safe for sleep.
Place the crib away from windows, blind cords, heaters and anything that could be pulled in. Aim for a comfortable room temperature, not hot. A wearable sleep bag is a safe alternative to loose blankets once your baby is big enough for one.
Decorating can wait or stay simple. A dim light for night feeds and a place to change diapers are often more useful than anything on the walls. Try this: Decide where the baby's sleep space will go in your bedroom, and measure it to make sure a crib or bassinet will fit.
Day 165 · 23 weeks 3 days
An itch you should mention
Mild itching is common in pregnancy, especially over the stretching skin of your belly. Usually it is harmless and eases with moisturizer, cool showers and loose cotton clothes.
There is one kind of itch to take seriously. Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy is a liver condition in which bile acids build up in the blood. Its main sign is itching without a rash, often intense, and often worst on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. It tends to be worse at night. Some people also notice dark urine, pale stools or a yellow tinge to the skin or eyes.
Cholestasis is uncommon, affecting roughly 1 in 100 to 1 in 200 pregnancies, though it is more common in some families and populations. It usually starts in the third trimester, but can begin earlier. It is diagnosed with a simple blood test. It matters because, in some cases, it can raise the risk of complications for the baby, so your care team will want to monitor you more closely and may suggest an earlier birth.
Call your care provider if you have itching on your hands or feet, itching that keeps you awake, or any yellowing of your skin or eyes.
Try this: If you are itchy, take a moment tonight to notice where, and whether there is a rash, so you can describe it clearly if needed.
Day 166 · 23 weeks 4 days
Make time for the two of you
Much of the talk in pregnancy is about the baby, the body and the plans. It is easy for a couple to slip into talking only about logistics. Yet your relationship is the setting your baby will grow up in, and keeping it close now pays off later.
The months after birth are often hard on couples. Sleep is short, roles shift, and there is little time alone. Partners who have talked through their hopes and worries beforehand, and who have practised dividing tasks fairly, tend to cope better.
It does not have to be grand. A walk after dinner, a meal out, an evening with phones away, or a weekend trip while travel is still comfortable all count. Talk about what kind of parents you each want to be, what you each found hard or helpful in your own childhoods, and how you might share night feeds and housework.
Not every couple is in the same place emotionally, and that is fine. Listening carefully matters more than agreeing on everything right away. For your partner: Plan a simple evening for the two of you this week, and take care of the arrangements yourself.
Day 167 · 23 weeks 5 days
Child care can need a long head start
If you will both return to paid work after parental leave, child care is worth thinking about now. In many places, good child care, especially for infants, has long waiting lists. Some families add their names before the baby is born.
Options vary: licensed child care centres, home-based care, a nanny or nanny-share, family members, or a mix. Each comes with different costs, hours, staff-to-child ratios and flexibility. Visiting a few places, asking how they handle sleep, feeding and illness, and talking to other parents can help you choose.
Child care is often one of the biggest costs of early parenthood. Add an estimate to the budget you started a few weeks ago. Check whether you are eligible for any government subsidies, tax credits or workplace benefits that reduce the cost.
If one parent plans to stay at home, or you plan to work different shifts, it still helps to have a backup for illness or emergencies. Talking it through now prevents a rush later.
Try this: Find two or three child care options near your home or work, and note their waiting list process and approximate fees.
Day 168 · 23 weeks 6 days
Your baby knows which way is up
Deep in your baby's inner ear, the vestibular system is now well formed. This is the part of the body that senses movement, gravity and position. It lets your baby tell which way is up and respond when you turn, bend, or roll over in bed.
You may notice this when you change position and the baby shifts too, or when a bumpy car ride sets off a flurry of kicks. Babies at this stage tumble and turn freely in the fluid, and they will keep doing so for several more weeks while there is still room.
This sense of motion is part of why gentle rocking soothes so many newborns. For months, your baby has been carried, swayed and rocked by your daily movements. After birth, being held and moved in a similar rhythm can feel familiar and calming.
The same system will later help your baby learn to hold up their head, sit, crawl and walk.
Try this: Next time you sit down after a walk, rest a hand on your bump and notice whether your baby wakes up once the movement stops.