Welcome to Week 17 of Your Pregnancy!
Your Baby in Week 17 of Pregnancy
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The pads on your baby’s fingers and toes are starting to fill in by week 17 of pregnancy. The pad is underneath the fingerprint area and those little fingers and toes are now starting to form in to their normal shape. The pad also works as protection for fingers and toes that get a lot of use and abuse in future years. The skin that develops over the pads is slightly thicker than in other areas of the body, providing more protection for outside encounters, such as splinters, paper cuts and scratches.
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Before week 17 of pregnancy you probably started to feel your baby moving every so often. But if are you now starting to feel a constant, repetitive motion, then it might be hiccups! And this time, they don’t belong to you. Hiccups are completely normal and a little funny to feel for the first time. The severity of the hiccups will determine how much you can feel them. You don’t need to worry about providing any cure for your baby’s hiccups as they will go away soon enough. Of course, the next bout is right around the corner!
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Your baby’s eyes are completely forward by week 17 of pregnancy and in the place where they will be permanently. They will still need to grow and develop, but their position is determined. Whether they have cat-like eyes, wide-set eyes or close-set eyes, you will have to wait and see a few more months! The eyelids remain tightly closed and they won’t begin to flutter open for a few more weeks yet.
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Week 17 of pregnancy is a very important week for bone growth! The cartilage is starting to transition over into forming the hard bone material. The bones will continue to grow in density and harden for several more years, but this is an important time for their formation and development.
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Your little one is now working on their gum line. The permanent tooth buds will form behind where the baby tooth buds developed. There are more permanent teeth than baby teeth, so they will need more room to develop later on. Right now, drinking milk is important for the bone formation, as well as getting strong enamel in place for when those teeth will grow.
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The ears have now made their way to their final position around week 17 of pregnancy. They will start to grow outward this week and will start to look like actual people ears! They are listening to everything that is going on around them, even though they may not be able to fully process the sound. They are certainly in there practicing though!
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Your baby has now grown substantially and the average fetus at week 17 of pregnancy is between seven and nine inches long, from the top of the head to the legs. Since baby doesn’t completely stretch their legs much, measuring is done from the crown, or top of the head, to the rump. So, that measurement is closer to four or six inches right now.
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The baby’s hair pattern is evident on its scalp during week 17 of pregnancy. The pattern on the scalp will show where a widows peak may be, where a cowlick, or even two, will swirl the hairs as they grow. Some people will swear by early patterns that they show male baldness too. The hair is faintly growing in, but the pattern where the hair will grow is more pronounced by hair follicles and skin development in that region.
Your Body in Week 17 of Pregnancy
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It is around this time at week 17 of pregnancy that you’ll probably be showing more so it may be impossible to avoid tummy rubs by those excited by or amazed with your pregnancy. A five- to 10-pound weight gain is typical by now and you may also be noticing an increase in appetite. Just make sure you eat healthy!
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Make sure your baby’s foundation for growth is strong by drinking lots of calcium and eating dairy products for their bones. Doing so will also help your bones remain strong.
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Why do you always have to provide a urine sample when you visit the doctor? It’s for your good health! The nurse takes the little cup and sticks a dipstick in it. That little dipstick is measuring the sugar output in your urine. When you have repeated excess sugar in the urine, it may be a sign you have developed gestational diabetes. If you have developed diabetes in former pregnancies, you may be at higher risk of developing it this time. Your doctor will monitor your condition, so don’t you worry about it! Testing a urine sample is purely a preventative measure and is routine for every woman, so don’t worry about it!
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The baby that is supposed to be tiny in there may feel like a fleet of soldiers marching around sometimes. From this point on, your baby will become more active and you will be able to feel more and more sustained movement from within. This is typically the time in the pregnancy that new moms begin to truly bond with their baby within because the movements make everything all the more real.
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At times, it seems like you may be feeling constant movement by week 17 of pregnancy – and you very well might be. There is turning, kicking, somersaults and what feels like high aerobic activities going on inside your tummy. The activity level will settle down as baby grows and has less room to tumble around in. However, it isn’t a guarantee that those quiet times will be when you want to sleep!
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While meconium may sound like a funky little word, it’s actually kind of, well, gross. Meconium is the substance that makes up your baby’s first bowel movement. It is sticky and tar like, and often green or dark black. This week, the baby starts to build up some meconium in their bowels. The meconium won’t be pushed out until after delivery, so don’t worry about that yet!
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