At 24 weeks pregnant, you should be approximately halfway through your gestation and experiencing some of the typical late-pregnancy discomforts like leg cramps and backaches.
At this stage, your baby is considered viable – meaning they would survive if born at any moment. They’ve started developing hair and eyebrows, as well as being able to make tiny fingerprints on their fingers and toes!
Weight
At 24 weeks, your baby is increasing! She or he now measures approximately the size and weight of a cantaloupe and weighs about 1.3 pounds. While still transparent to some degree, your fetus will begin gaining weight as pregnancy fat builds over time and looks cuter every day! Her or his skin wrinkles out, their eyelashes and eyebrows develop (although without pigment), and their nostrils open so she or he can practice breathing the amniotic fluid circulating within her mother’s uterus. Also, by this stage, your baby may start developing their sense of taste while their brain develops rapidly – they even possess a startle reflex and will react by jumping when loud noises come.
By now, you have likely experienced your baby kicking for some time now – their kicks are a sure sign that everything is developing at an expected rate. If the fetus is upright and close to the cervix at this stage, but transverse or changing positions is not uncommon either; often, you can tell which way their kicks and punches come from!
At this stage of your second trimester and closer than ever to giving birth, uncomfortable pregnancy symptoms often surface at this time, including swollen feet and hands. At this stage, your doctor will likely order a Glucose Challenge Screening Test, which involves drinking sugary liquid and waiting an hour or two for blood to be drawn to detect gestational diabetes and ensure healthy glucose levels during gestation.
Height
At 24 weeks, the baby’s skin slowly becomes less see-through as she gains adorable pregnancy fat. Their eyes, eyebrows, and head of hair have started filling out, although pigment has yet to develop. She may even startle at loud noises if she sets her hearing in utero!
Their growing bodies have now put on over 1 pound, mostly from baby fat accumulation and expanding organs, muscles, and bones. Additionally, they’ve gained about 6 ounces per week to maintain a healthy weight after birth. You might notice your belly button has changed from inward-facing to outward-facing due to pressure from their expanding organs, muscles, and bones; you might also have noticed it has moved away from you as your uterus pushes against it – wait and see. Don’t be alarmed – let people know you don’t appreciate this kind of attention if it makes you uncomfortable!
At this point, the baby is usually upright, with their bottom resting near your cervix, although they can still shift around often. If they’re lying transversely, you might be able to tell from where their kicks and punches come.
At your 20-week anatomy scan, healthcare providers measure fundal height – the distance between your pubic bone and uterus measured in centimeters – as an easy, quick, and inexpensive way of monitoring a pregnancy and picking up on any potential problems early. Your blood pressure will also be taken, and they might offer gestational diabetes testing if none had already been identified on previous scans.
Nostrils
At 24 weeks, your baby should be roughly the size of an ear of corn. Their nostrils should be open so they can “practice breathing” by inhaling amniotic fluid through their tiny noses. As your little one develops more proportionate features – eyes and lashes in particular – their skin may still appear see-through, but this should change as they grow and mature.
If your baby experiences a nosebleed, squeeze the soft parts of their lower nose together for about 10 minutes to maintain constant pressure and stop further bleeding. If necessary, apply petroleum jelly (Vaseline).
Fingerprints
At 24 weeks pregnant, you have reached the halfway mark in your second trimester and should begin experiencing discomfort in your ribs, back, breasts, and butt due to hormone-induced muscle and ligament loosening; your belly button may have also changed from an indented shape into an outie as your swelling uterus pushes everything in its path.
At this stage, your baby should have become increasingly opaque and rosy as their see-through skin thickens with each passing day. Their eyelashes, eyebrows, and head of hair have begun filling out while their baby fat has accumulated nicely – and by now, they may even have started making tiny finger and toe prints! It truly amazes us how fast our children change!
Fingerprints may provide insights into their health during gestation. Studies conducted in Atlanta and New York by experts have discovered that differences in ridge patterns of your baby’s thumb and pinkie digits correlate with later risk for diabetes; researchers measured differences in number of ridges on two digits to calculate risk; those who showed standard glucose tolerance had lower differences than those who developed diabetes later on.
At this stage, your baby will most likely be in a transverse position with its bottom close to your cervix and moving around frequently as it prepares for birth outside. If tingling or numbness in fingers and wrists occurs, which could be a sign of carpal tunnel syndrome, elevate hands by gently massaging in circular motions until symptoms subside.
Toeprints
At 24 weeks, your baby’s skin should become less see-through, and they should start gaining some of that adorable baby fat! Their eyes, eyebrows, and head of hair have also begun filling out, although their locks won’t have any color yet. Studies show that babies at this stage often exhibit startle reflexes, so loud noises may make them jump!
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