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Day 174 of 280 · 24 weeks + 6 days

A pound and a half

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 8 sources · Plain-text version

What 1½ pounds feels like in your hands, why you're hungry, and why the NHS still says no extra food until week 28.

Size this week
about the size of a corn on the cob
Length this week
around 30 cm from head to heel
A woman in a loose grey t-shirt and leggings at a kitchen counter in morning light, lifting a bowl off a small kitchen scale with both hands, a clear 24-week bump.

Twenty-four weeks and six days, the last day of week 24. Today is about weight: your baby's, and the number on your own scale, which are not the same thing.

Your baby

A single husked corn on the cob on a plain white linen cloth, soft daylight.

Around 30cm long from head to heel, about the size of a corn on the cob; everything is in proportion, but your baby is smaller than a baby who's been in the womb for longer (NHS). The Office on Women's Health gives the weight: at 24 weeks, about 12 inches and about 1½ pounds, with the lungs formed but not yet working (OWH).

Your body

You may feel very hungry, but you don't need extra food until week 28, and you're likely putting on weight (NHS). The pace most women see is about 1 lb (0.5 kg) a week for the rest of pregnancy after the first trimester (MedlinePlus).

Where it goes is the useful part. Of a 35 lb (16 kg) gain, the baby accounts for about 8 lb (3.5 kg) and fat stores for 5 to 9 lb (2.5 to 4 kg) (MedlinePlus); the placenta alone will weigh about 500g by the end (NHS). So the 1½ pounds your baby weighs this week is a small share of what the scale shows, and most of the rest is the equipment that keeps the baby growing.

Try today

  1. The pound-and-a-half

    Time: 5 minutes

    1. Put a bowl on the kitchen scale and add rice, flour or sugar until it reads 1 pound 8 ounces.

    2. Lift the bowl with both hands. That is about what your baby weighs this week (OWH).

    3. Keep adding until it reads 8 pounds: roughly the baby's share of a 35-pound pregnancy by the end (MedlinePlus). Lift that too.

    4. Pour it all back in the jar. There is nothing else to do.

    Make it work:

    If weighing yourself is a sore point, leave your own number out of it. The CDC's advice is to track weight gain with your provider against the range for your starting weight, not against anyone else (CDC).

Watch for

  • Normal

    light spotting is on the NHS's list of earlier symptoms that may continue, with the note to seek advice for any bleeding (NHS).

    Call your provider right away

    about any bleeding now; MedlinePlus says to treat bleeding in months 4 to 9 as a potential emergency (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    headaches, on the NHS's symptom list for this week (NHS).

    Call your provider

    for a headache that won't go away or gets worse over time (CDC).

  • Normal

    a moment of dizziness, also on that list (NHS).

    Call your provider

    for dizziness or fainting (CDC).

For you

The hunger is real and so is the rule, and holding both is the job this month. The CDC's line is plain: don't try to lose weight if you're already pregnant, because some weight gain is needed for a healthy baby (CDC). Fill the hungry hours with the foods the CDC lists, whole grains, vegetables, fruit, low-fat dairy and lean protein, and limit added sugars and solid fats (CDC).

Tomorrow is week 25 and a new vegetable.

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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