Depending on their gender, where there was just a swelling in between their legs, a clitoris or penis is fast developing. She now weighs about 180 grams and is about 20 centimeters tall and you can feel her fluttering more.
Your Baby can now hear clearly. In fact your environment right now may form baby’s sleeping patterns after she is born. For instance, if you spend most of your day in a place with blaring horns or loud music, baby learns not to be startled by noise. After birth, these are the babies that are able to sleep through noises in their surroundings. She can also sense your touch. Rub your belly as often as you can.
Your changing body
As your belly continues to bulge, you are now noticing signs that your center of gravity has shifted. When 17 weeks pregnant you might stumble on your feet a few times. If you have held onto them for this long, now is the time to put those kitten heels and wedgies in storage and start shopping for comfortable flats. You may also feel occasional pain in the legs also known as sciatic nerve pain caused by pressure on the nerve by the growing baby. During this week it is best to prop your legs with pillows when lying down and avoiding standing in the same place for too long.
You will also notice that you are now having more vivid dream, memories. The myriad of emotions and the fact that you now feel more deeply explain the dreams as well as the constant sleep interruptions at night. At 17 weeks pregnant your appetite has also grown because the baby at this point is also rapidly growing. Don’t be tempted to suppress this urge because of your weight gain, remember that the baby needs this nourishment. Use the food in Kenya to foster healthy eating habits instead. But, you can also do pregnancy exercises.
Sweating at this stage is quite normal as this shows there is an abundance of fluids in your body.
This week’s tip: This is the ideal time to start the Kenyan baby names search. Start discussing with your partner the criteria which you will use to choose a name for your little one.