Chorevia

Day 112 of 280 · 16 weeks

Pulling faces

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 7 sources · Plain-text version

Sixteen weeks. Your baby is making faces nobody means yet, a growth spurt is coming, and today you take the first of a weekly photo series that's just for you.

Size this week
about the size of an avocado
Length this week
around 11.6 cm from head to bottom
An East Asian woman in a fitted grey t-shirt and leggings stands side-on against a plain bedroom wall, small bump just showing, while her partner takes a photo on a phone held low, soft daylight.

Sixteen weeks. A new week, a new fruit, and the first day of a small habit you'll be glad of later: one photo, same spot, every week.

Your baby

One whole dark-green avocado on a plain white linen cloth, soft daylight.

Around 11.6cm from head to bottom, the size of an avocado (NHS). In US measures, at 16 weeks the baby is about 4 to 5 inches long and weighs almost 3 ounces (OWH). Your baby is starting to pull faces, but a smile or a frown is random at this stage, with no muscle control behind it yet (NHS). The hands can form fists and may punch around inside the womb (NHS); you won't feel any of it yet.

Your body

Another growth spurt is about to start, and kicks may be felt from week 17 onwards (NHS). "May" is doing real work in that sentence; the OWH's version is simply that you may feel movement before the second trimester ends (OWH).

What does change visibly from here is your shape. The second trimester is when the abdomen expands, and stretch marks, carpal tunnel syndrome and darker patches on the face are common alongside it (OWH). The NHS says you'll probably have put on some weight over the past few weeks (NHS). A photo a week turns that from a vague worry into a record you chose to keep.

Try today

  1. The first bump photo

    Time: 3 minutes, then 1 minute a week

    1. Pick a spot with a plain wall and daylight, and stand side-on. The same spot every week is what makes the series work.

    2. Wear the same top each time, something fitted enough to show the shape. Keep it, washed, for the next 24 weeks.

    3. Take the photo, and name the album by week: "16 weeks" today, "17 weeks" next time.

    4. Set a weekly reminder for this day and time, so the series doesn't depend on remembering.

    5. Back the album up somewhere that isn't only your phone.

    Make it work:

    Leave the scales out of the frame. This is a record of a shape, not a measurement; the weight conversation belongs at your appointments (NHS).

Watch for

  • Normal

    no movement you can feel yet; kicks may start from week 17 (NHS).

    Call your provider

    , later in pregnancy, if after 28 weeks you count fewer than 10 movements within two hours (OWH); for now there is nothing to count.

  • Normal

    slightly swollen hands and feet by the end of the day, which is on the NHS's list of common symptoms (NHS).

    Call your provider

    or seek care immediately for extreme swelling of your hands or face (CDC).

  • Normal

    moods that swing, which the NHS lists among the symptoms that can carry on from earlier weeks (NHS).

    Call your provider

    as soon as possible if you think you have depression; it is common and can be treated (CDC).

For you

These photos are for you, not for anyone's feed. You may find you like them more at the end than you expect to now: most skin colour changes of pregnancy fade within a few months after birth (MedlinePlus), and the series will be the only place that shape exists.

If you're the partner: you take the photo. Hold the phone low, at bump height, and don't post it. If you'd like to share one, ask, every time; a yes about week 16 is not a yes about week 30.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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