Pregnancy Week 17: Signs That You Are Doing Too Much

In Week 17 of pregnancy Baby’s heart is fine tuning, while you may be feeling less than comfortable with how over-familiar strangers are becoming these days.

Your Baby in Week 17 of Pregnancy

In addition to continuing to grow rapidly – Baby is now about the size of your palm – this week they will begin to gain something else – baby body fat. From now on, Baby will begin to gain weight every week right alongside you. By the time he or she greets the world fat will make up 2/3 of their weight.

The heart that has been beating rather randomly up until now is now being completely regulated by the brain and has settled into a regular rhythm. On average at this point a baby’s heart will beat at a rate of between 140 and 150 beats per minute, about twice as fast as yours does.

Baby is also listening for sure now. Sudden loud noises – dogs barking, doorbells – may actually even startle them, but it is all practice for living out in the big wide world where such things will be louder to them – and more commonplace.

Your Body in Week 17 of Pregnancy

By now your ‘bump’ will have become more obvious. With that you will often find that people become a little more ‘hand on’ than you might like. There is something about a baby bump that people are drawn to touch. Some Mums to be do not mind this too much, but many feel uncomfortably like their personal space is being invaded a little bit too often.

Speaking up can be hard though as most of us really do not like offending people and most of the belly-touchers you will encounter will probably not even realise what they are doing! You do have every right to ask them not to, but if that is too much for you try just stepping back a little more during face to face conversations. That should convey the same message.

Possible New Pregnancy Symptoms in Week 17 of Pregnancy

After weeks and weeks of barely being able to face food most women find that by Week 17 their appetites are back in a big way. This is natural. Your body is taking cues from Baby, who is now requesting more nourishment as they begin to build their own store of body fat.

Many women also find that their sensitivity to certain common allergens is at an all time high. Some find that things that had never affected them before, like pollen or cat dander, have begun to do do now. Others find that their increased sense of smell means that even the lightest spritz of fragrance – on themselves or someone else – can trigger sneezing fits and snuffles. Often these new found allergies fade away once Baby is born.

Week 17 Pregnancy Tips – Don’t Overeat for Two

Now that your appetite has returned, where the thought of any breakfast at all might have made you queasy just a few short weeks ago the idea of a first one followed by a second one probably sounds like a pretty good one most days. And this is where the pregnancy eating balancing act really begins.

As just mentioned, it is Baby behind this increase in appetite. However they are interested in having you deliver more nutrients to them, not more empty calories. Those will not go to Baby, but they will affect you, leading to more weight gain than than necessary. Eating for two should not be taken literally.

Sticking to a healthy diet while still satisfying a naturally increased appetite is tough. The people around you may not be too much help either. After weeks of seeing you barely touch a thing on your plate your loved ones will just be delighted to see you eating again, especially your spouse, and so will think nothing of piling you up with seconds at the slightest indication that you would welcome such things.

The trick is to fill up on healthy foods that won’t add empty calories. By now, hopefully you have been paying enough attention to your diet that you know what those are. However, you do not have to become a rabbit. Occasionally giving in to a craving for a less healthy, but comforting, food is OK, as long as it is just once in a while.

Watch for Signs You Are Working Out Too Much

At this point in their pregnancy, many Mums to be are spending an increasing amount of time worrying about how they will lose the weight they are gaining after Baby is born, even though they are not even quite at the half way point in their pregnancy journey yet.

Part of this is natural and part, unfortunately, thee days is due to the pressure some women feel when they read all about how Miss Celebrity X lost all her baby weight in three weeks. Sometimes this leads Mums to Be to decide to increase the amount of exercise they take now, so that there is less weight to lose in the first place.

Physical fitness is important during pregnancy but not overdoing things is just as important. The point of ‘working out’ during your pregnancy should be to make sure that your muscles stay nice and toned and that you remain flexible. The point is not to burn calories off because you think you over-indulged a little on the weekend. Exercising to the point of exhaustion is counter-productive right now and can lead to more serious complications that can be bad for you and bad for Baby.

Sticking to both a healthy diet and a sensible exercise program is a must for the healthiest pregnancy possible. Your doctor will be expecting to see a small weight gain every week now and that is what Baby needs too. The weight will come off once baby is born (especially if you breast feed) so stop worrying about it so much and concentrate on enjoying your pregnancy as much as possible instead.