# Day 181: Smaller plates

> Twenty-five weeks and six days. Fullness and heartburn after meals are common now; today you eat from a smaller plate and go back if you're still hungry.

- Series: Your sixth month of pregnancy, day by day (https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-6), day 181 of 280, 25 weeks + 6 days
- Your baby this week: about the size of a courgette; around 34.6 cm from head to heel
- Canonical URL: https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-6/day-181
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-22
- Publisher: Chorevia (https://chorevia.com)
- Cite as: Chorevia. "Day 181: Smaller plates." Last reviewed October 22, 2026. https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-6/day-181

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-five weeks and six days, the last day of week 25. If dinner has started to sit just under your ribs for an hour afterwards, that isn't in your head. There is less room in there than there used to be, and today's change is on the table.

## Your baby

Around now your baby is around 34.6cm from head to heel, about the size of a courgette, a zucchini in the US ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-25/)). Urine now makes up most of the amniotic fluid, and that fluid has two jobs: it cushions your baby and keeps their temperature steady ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-25/)). Inside that cushion your baby is very active, and a loud noise can make them jump and kick ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-25/)).

## Your body

Burping, fullness, heartburn, bloating and nausea after eating are common around now, because your baby is taking up space your stomach used to have ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-25/)). Digestion also slows in pregnancy, which is why heartburn is often worse at night ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000559.htm)).

MedlinePlus's first suggestions are plain: eat small meals, avoid spicy and greasy foods, and don't lie flat right after a meal ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm)). Its heartburn page adds two more: avoid eating within 3 to 4 hours of bedtime, and raise the head of the bed about 6 inches (15 centimeters), because extra pillows don't work well ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003114.htm)). If it comes 2 or more days a week, it's worth treating ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003114.htm)). Ask your provider what to take; check before starting any medicine, over-the-counter ones included ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/pregnancy.html)).

## Try today

### The small-plate rule

- **Time:** 1 minute at each meal

1. Put the side plates where the dinner plates usually live.
2. Serve every meal today on one. Small meals are the first thing MedlinePlus suggests for heartburn ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm)).
3. If you're still hungry when it's empty, go back for a second small plate. That's part of the rule, not a break from it.
4. After eating, stay upright for a while rather than lying flat ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm)).

**Make it work:** This is about how much arrives at once, not about eating less. The NHS says you don't need extra calories until the third trimester, which starts at week 28, but you don't need fewer either ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-25/)).

## Watch for

- **Normal:** a burning feeling behind the breastbone after a big meal or when you lie down ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-25/)). **Go to the ER** for vomit that is bloody or looks like coffee grounds, black or maroon stools, or burning chest pain with squeezing or pressure; MedlinePlus says to seek urgent care for these ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003114.htm)).
- **Normal:** a bloated, overfull feeling after eating ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-25/)). **Call your provider right away** for constant, severe abdominal pain, or pain that comes with bleeding or fever ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000580.htm)).
- **Normal:** earlier symptoms carrying on into these weeks ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-25/)). **Call your provider** about any vaginal bleeding; the NHS says to seek advice ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-25/)), and MedlinePlus says bleeding from the fourth month on should be treated as a potential emergency ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003264.htm)).

## For you

One timing note if you exercise: MedlinePlus says to wait at least 2 hours after eating before you do ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm)). If your walk or class usually comes straight after dinner, try putting it before the meal for a week and see how your evenings feel.

If you're the partner: serve both of you on the small plates, so the rule belongs to the household and not to her. Then take the clearing up, so the after-dinner hour can be spent sitting upright with her feet somewhere comfortable.

## Sources

- NHS. "Week 25." 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-25/
- MedlinePlus. "Problems sleeping during pregnancy." National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000559.htm
- MedlinePlus. "Common symptoms during pregnancy." National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm
- MedlinePlus. "Heartburn." Medical Encyclopedia, National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003114.htm
- MedlinePlus. "Pregnancy." National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/pregnancy.html
- MedlinePlus. "Aches and pains during pregnancy." National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000580.htm
- MedlinePlus. "Vaginal bleeding in pregnancy." Medical Encyclopedia, National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003264.htm