Your baby is now about 26 centimetres long and weighs about 500 grammes or 1.1lbs. He’s rapidly bulking up now, with bone mass, muscle, organ growth and fat. His skin is wrinkled but will begin to smooth out over time as he develops more muscles and puts on fat. Permanent teeth buds are now appearing in your baby's gums.
Your baby’s chances of survival if born prematurely have increased by 3-4% every day over the last week, and 24 weeks is commonly seen as the time when the fetus becomes viable, meaning that he’ll have a decent chance for survival in intensive care if born prematurely at this time.
What’s happening with Mum?
As your baby bulks out it’s a very easy time for you to put on extra weight too without really realising it. To keep weight gain under control make sure that you are eating a well-balanced diet and try and avoid sugary and fatty snacks. Step on the scales regularly to check that you’re putting on weight within established guidelines and, if you can, continue to get suitable exercise to keep yourself in good physical shape for labour.
Your pregnant body will be needing lots of iron, not least to help you create more red blood cells, and if you don’t have enough chances are you’ll be feeling very tired, if not exhausted. Make sure you’re taking in plenty of iron in your regular diet and take an iron supplement as well to be sure.
NB: All pregnancies are different and fetal growth rates vary, this is meant only as an approximate guide to development. If you have any concerns about your developing pregnancy then speak to your doctor.
Feeling over-tired, headachey and dizzy? - If you're feeling run down and tired you might be running low on iron, talk to your doctor about getting it checked and make sure you're getting the RDA.
Cutting the caffeine - You might be finding it hard to cut back on coffee, particularly if you're tired all the time. So here's a reminder why you should avoid relying on caffeine as a pick-up during pregnancy.
Hard-working heart - 
i have recently been getting a pounding heart at night, it sometimes wakes me up and feels like my heart is banging against my rib cage. i'm sure its to do with pregnancy but have no idea what's causing it.
Becca gets some answers on the forum.
You can join in the discussions and share pregnancy experiences and advice with other ThinkBaby members in the pregnancy folder.
Pregnancy blogs - Don't forget to update your pregnancy blog with what's been happening this week.
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