← Back to All Weeks
🌿Second Trimester•Weeks 14-27
Week 16 of Pregnancy
Your baby is the size of avocado
📏
Length
4.6 inches
⚖️
Weight
3.5 ounces
🍎
Size Comparison
Avocado
👶 Baby Development
- •Head and body proportions are becoming more balanced
- •Eyes are moving from sides to the front of the face
- •Ears are in their final position on the sides of the head
- •Muscles are getting stronger, allowing for more coordinated movements
- •Nervous system is functioning and connecting muscles to brain
- •Baby's heart is pumping about 25 quarts of blood per day
- •Tiny fingernails and toenails are growing
💭 Common Symptoms
- •You may feel first flutters or "quickening" - the first fetal movements (more common in second pregnancies)
- •Backaches may begin as your center of gravity shifts forward
- •Increased clear or white vaginal discharge (leukorrhea)
- •Dry, itchy eyes from hormonal changes
- •Growing belly and possible "popped" appearance
- •Possible round ligament pain with sudden movements
- •Increased appetite and cravings
🥗 Nutrition Tips
- •Eat foods rich in vitamin A (700 mcg daily) like carrots, sweet potatoes, and leafy greens for eye development
- •Include DHA-rich foods (200mg daily) like salmon, sardines, walnuts, and flaxseeds for brain development
- •Stay hydrated with 10-12 glasses of water to support increased blood volume
- •Eat magnesium-rich foods like almonds, spinach, black beans, and avocados to prevent leg cramps
- •Include complex carbohydrates for sustained energy
- •Eat small, frequent meals to maintain blood sugar
- •Add probiotic foods like yogurt and kefir for digestive health
✅ To-Do This Week
- •Watch carefully for first baby movements - they may feel like gas bubbles, flutters, or butterfly wings
- •Schedule your anatomy scan for 18-20 weeks if you haven't already
- •Start prenatal yoga classes or swimming which are excellent for pregnancy
- •Research and schedule interviews with potential pediatricians
- •Consider a pregnancy support belt for back pain
- •Start sleeping on your left side with a pillow between your knees
- •Take weekly belly photos to document growth
💡
Did You Know?
You might feel your baby move for the first time this week! First-time moms often describe it as butterflies, bubbles, or tiny flutters. Second-time moms tend to recognize the sensation earlier.