At a glance
Chat, sing, laugh – baby can hear you
Stay smiling - get baby in tune with your moods and spread the happy vibes
Get your ‘OMMM’ on - yoga is great for de-stressing
Eat like Popeye - lean meat and green veg contain plenty of iron
Baby's development at 24 weeks pregnant
Your baby at 24 weeks is now the size of a cantaloupe melon, and a clever one too. Her brain connections are getting more adept at receiving signals from the receptor and sensory organs. This means she is gradually starting to store sensory experiences - like the taste of your favourite spicy burger with extra jalapenos. She’ll even store the memory of your scent so when she’s out in the world it will be the smell she loves most - awww! And not only can she hear sounds, she can even tell the difference between the sounds inside mummy’s tummy like heartbeats, coughs and gurgles and those new sounds from the outside world, like dad’s voice, music, noisy traffic, and vacuum cleaners.
You can chat away to baby all day long, try talking to baby in belly. Tell her what those sounds are, talk to her about what you’re doing and what music you’re listening to, or introduce her to Daddy and other family. Believe it or not, she’ll be taking it all in.
Changes in you and your body at 24 weeks pregnant
When you’re happy, baby is happy and when you’re stressed, she feels that too. So it’s extra important to ramp up the good vibes and lower the bad ones. Here’s a few ideas for managing your pregnancy moods:
- Take it easy and try not to overdo thing. Ask your partner, family or friends for help – that’s what they’re for.
- Avoid stressful situations at work
- Leave the heavy housework to others
- Try not to cram too much into your social diary
- De-stress with gentle exercise like yoga or swimming
- Make time for yourself maybe have a go at meditation if you haven’t already. The Headspace app is great for this
Even if you still feel perfectly fit, remember that growing a baby takes extra energy so when you can, put your feet up and enjoy precious moments bonding with that little human inside you.
Nutrition at 24 weeks pregnancy
Baby gets her iron straight from you, so there’s a chance you could develop anaemia in pregnancy if your reserves are being used up by her. Make sure you eat lots of iron-rich foods like lean meat, green leafy vegetables, dried fruit and fortified breakfast cereals. If you’re feeling tired all the time there’s a chance it could be low iron levels so check with your GP.
Bump mythbusting
By now, your 24-week pregnant belly should be looking like a lovely neat dome and people will know you’re pregnant and you’ve not just eaten all the pies. Expect lots of friendly smiles from strangers and maybe even a few unprompted belly pats. baby-name suggestions. You can be pretty sure there’ll be an aunty offering to predict the baby’s sex for you.
Some people believe you can tell by the way you’re carrying your bump –up high it’s a girl, lower down, it’s a boy. Sorry aunt Flo, that’s just an old-wives tale. How your baby is carried depends on all sorts of things like your body type, weight gain and fitness level.
