Natural Pregnancy Week 16

You are 16 weeks pregnant! Can you believe it?

The top of your uterus (called the fundus) is about halfway between your pubic bone and navel. Your doctor or midwife will probably begin measuring this at every appointment.

Did you know? The measurement of the top of the fundus from the pubic bone usually corresponds in centimeters with how many weeks pregnant you are. For example, if you are 16 weeks pregnant, the fundus will measure roughly 16 cm from the pubic bone. Of course, there are always exceptions to this rule.

Does your skin look better than ever? Hair thicker? Nails growing faster?

Yes, there are some added beauty perks to being pregnant! You can thank all of those wonderful hormones that are at work to help grow and sustain your baby.

Keep eating nutritious pregnancy foods and you will be rewarded even more! Some people may even remark that you are “glowing”.

You may be able to credit that glowing appearance to a higher blood volume. You are producing 50% more blood, resulting in more blood circulating through your body. This is part of the reason why pregnant women look so full of life!

You may also notice that your breasts are a little more full and may even go up a cup size or two. These added curves up top along with a belly bump and wider hips may be very enticing to your partner.

Your Baby's Development

In the next few weeks, your baby will go through a major growth spurt. He will double in weight and grow considerably in length as well.

Right now, your baby is approximately 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and weighs about 3 1/2 ounces. This is about the size of an Avocado.

Other developments this week:

His ears and eyes are officially in their final positions
The urinary and circulatory system are beginning to function
Your baby’s heart pumps approximately 25 quarts of blood per day. This amount will increase to 1,900 quarts per day by week 40.
Your baby has toenails!

Feeling Your Baby Move

Some mommies can feel their baby move as early as 16 weeks, especially moms who have been pregnant before. This may be partly because they know how it feels and what to pay attention to. However, the majority of women don't feel baby move until 18 weeks or more.

If this is your first baby, don't be surprised if you don't feel anything until 20 weeks or more. It can be hard to wait and frustrating to hear of other moms feeling their baby move earlier, but it's totally normal.

What Does it Feel Like?

Those first movements that you feel of your baby in the womb (called “quickening”) are described differently depending on who you ask. If this is your first baby, you may even struggle to come up with a description of what it feels like. That's because it usually feels different from anything you've ever experienced before!

Women have described it as feeling like:

Flutters
Gas bubbles
Popcorn popping

Once you feel your baby move for the first time, get ready for those little movements and kicks to become a constant reminder of the life inside of you. Later in your pregnancy, your baby may be so active that you wish they would stop moving so that you can get some rest!

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Vanessa Pruitt, PLMHP, MS

Vanessa is a Provisionally Licensed Mental Health Practitioner in Nebraska and holds an MS in Clinical Psychology. She is a certified trauma professional with a special interest in helping people heal from trauma, complex trauma, feeding and eating disorders.

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