# Day 151: Homemade

> No extra calories yet, but better ones. Today one takeaway night becomes a simple home meal, and the recipe gets kept.

- Series: Your fifth month of pregnancy, day by day (https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-5), day 151 of 280, 21 weeks + 4 days
- Your baby this week: about the size of a carrot; around 26.7 cm from head to toe
- Canonical URL: https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-5/day-151
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-22
- Publisher: Chorevia (https://chorevia.com)
- Cite as: Chorevia. "Day 151: Homemade." Last reviewed October 22, 2026. https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-5/day-151

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.

Twenty-one weeks and four days. Today is about dinner: not more of it, just a better version of one night a week.

## Your baby

Around 26.7cm long from head to toe, about the size of a carrot ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-21/)). Your baby is moving around a lot now, and getting ready for life outside by developing sucking and breathing skills ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-21/)). Next week's NHS page adds a detail that fits today: the taste buds are developing, and may be influenced by what you eat ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-22/)).

## Your body

The NHS is plain about food this week: a varied, healthy diet, no extra calories until the third trimester at week 28, and a suggestion to swap takeaways for homemade meals, choosing wholegrain, low-fat and low-sugar options, with 5 portions of fruit and veg a day ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-21/)). US guidance counts it differently: the CDC puts the second trimester at about 340 additional calories a day, with a diet high in whole grains, vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy and lean protein, and limits on added sugars and solid fats ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/maternal-infant-health/pregnancy-weight/index.html)). Both are in the sources; the shape of the plate is the same in each.

Indigestion and heartburn are on this week's symptom list ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-21/)). MedlinePlus's advice is small meals, fewer spicy and greasy foods, and not lying flat right after eating ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm)). A home-cooked plate makes all three easier to manage than a delivery bag does.

## Try today

### The takeaway swap

- **Time:** 30 minutes, once this week

1. Name the night that's usually a takeaway. That's the one you're swapping, just this week.
2. Pick one simple meal with a wholegrain, a vegetable and a protein in it; the NHS's words are wholegrain, low-fat, low-sugar ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-21/)).
3. Cook it together, or the partner cooks while you sit. Keep the portion ordinary; there are no extra calories to fill until week 28 ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-21/)).
4. Write the recipe on a card and put it where the menus live. If it worked, it's next week's swap too.

**Make it work:** If heartburn follows dinner, eat earlier and smaller, and stay upright afterwards ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm)).

## Watch for

- **Normal:** indigestion and heartburn after meals ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-21/)). **Call 911** or go to an emergency room for severe chest pain or shortness of breath that does not go away; MedlinePlus says it can be a serious complication ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm)).
- **Normal:** going off a food, or feeling queasy now and then; earlier symptoms can continue ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-21/)). **Call your provider** for severe nausea and throwing up, and seek care if you can't drink for more than 8 hours or eat for more than 24 ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/maternal-warning-signs/index.html)).
- **Normal:** bloating and constipation ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-21/)); 8 to 9 cups of water a day and fibre from raw fruit, vegetables and whole grains help ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm)). **Call your provider** before using a laxative; MedlinePlus says to ask first ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm)).

## For you

Cooking together is one of the few pregnancy jobs that's equal. Nobody's body is doing it; two people chop. If you're the partner, take the knife and the washing-up, and let her sit on the stool and talk.

Don't turn this into a diet. The NHS's own words are "swap", not "give up", and 5 portions of fruit and veg a day is the whole target ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-21/)). A good takeaway next week is still a good takeaway.

## Sources

- NHS. "Week 21." Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, Best Start in Life. https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-21/
- NHS. "Week 22." Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, Best Start in Life. https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-22/
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Weight Gain During Pregnancy." Maternal and Infant Health. https://www.cdc.gov/maternal-infant-health/pregnancy-weight/index.html
- MedlinePlus. "Common symptoms during pregnancy." National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Urgent Maternal Warning Signs and Symptoms." HEAR HER campaign, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/maternal-warning-signs/index.html