MONTH 6
Face, Hair, Lungs, Eyes, and Taste
Weeks 23 Through 27
This month is a time for exciting growth and development on the inside and out. By Week 23, your tiny tot is about 11 inches long from crown to rump, the size of a papaya. By Week 27, he or she has reached about 14 inches and weighs almost 2 pounds. Think about a head of cauliflower.
YOUR BABY’S DEVELOPMENT
• In Week 23, your baby’s hearing is more acute. His or her body starts to gain fat, but the skin is still translucent.
• In Week 24, your baby’s organs continue to develop. His or her gorgeous face is fully formed, and your little one might have hair.
• In Week 25, the bones are hardening, and hair continues to grow. The lungs are developing air sacs. Nostrils are opening. The vocal cords are forming.
• In Week 26, lungs have developed to the point where your baby begins to practice breathing. All oxygen goes through the placenta and umbilical cord until birth. Your baby’s eyes open and blink.
• In Week 27, lungs are continuing to develop as breathing matures.
CHANGES IN YOUR BODY
The changes from Month 5 continue into Month 6. You will be navigating a growing belly and the joys and pitfalls that go along with it. Your baby will be very active.
IDEAL NUTRITION
Your nutrition focus is foods to enhance your baby’s cell, brain, eye, organ, and bone development. The following nutrients will help achieve this.
• B vitamins: cell division, brain formation, nervous system development
• Calcium: bones and teeth
• Iron: maternal blood volume
• Magnesium: heart functioning, blood glucose regulation, blood pressure control
• Manganese: bone development, thyroid, blood glucose regulation, nervous system
• Omega-3s: brain, eye, nervous system development
• Potassium: nerve and muscle function
• Vitamin A: cell formation, bones, teeth, central nervous system, vision
• Vitamin C: iron absorption, healthy teeth and gums, immunity
• Vitamin D: calcium absorption
PROTEIN
Eggs
Meats
Nuts: almonds, cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, walnuts, and nut butters
Pork
Poultry
Seafood (fish and shellfish): salmon (wild and Atlantic), tuna, mackerel, herring, sardines in oil, halibut, cod, catfish, canned oysters
Seeds: sunflower, pumpkin, chia, hemp seed, and flaxseed
Tahini
Tofu and tempeh
DAIRY
Cheese
Enriched plant-based milks (rice soy, and almond)
Fortified dairy milk
Fortified orange juice and other juices
Yogurt
GRAINS/LEGUMES
All-bran cereal and other fortified breakfast cereals
Beans: soy, black, navy, pinto, kidney, white, great northern, black-eyed, pink, cranberry, Lima, and cannellini
Chickpeas
Corn and flour tortillas
Cream of Wheat
Edamame
Folic acid–fortified products
Lentils
Oatmeal
Peanuts
Wheat germ
Whole grains: quinoa, barley, brown rice, bulgur, and whole wheat couscous
VEGETABLES
Artichokes
Asparagus
Avocados
Baked potato with skin on and all other potatoes
Beets
Broccoli and broccoli rabe
Brussels sprouts
Butternut squash
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Dark, leafy greens: kale, collards, mustard, Swiss chard, bok choy, and turnip greens
Hearts of palm
Mushrooms
Pumpkin
Red bell peppers
Romaine lettuce
Snow peas
Spinach
Sweet potatoes
Tomatoes and tomato juice
FRUITS
Bananas
Cantaloupe
Citrus fruits and juices: oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, lemonade
Dried apricots and figs
Guava
Kiwi
Lychee
Mangoes
Papaya
Prune juice
Pineapple
Raspberries
Strawberries
FATS/OTHER
Brewer’s or nutritional yeast
Olive oil
Omega-3s
Molasses, blackstrap
Seaweed, kelp, spirulina