Pregnancy calendar - Week 25

You're 25 weeks pregnant and your not-so-little baby is growing even more as you approach your third trimester and is now about 34cm long and 1lb 6oz in weight. They might just be able to recognise your partner’s voice by now, and you might like to play soothing music to them. Your baby’s brain starts to get ready for conscious thought, making connections that mean they’ll start to remember things from their time inside you.

Weight gain during pregnancy is inevitable and your baby’s growth and development depend on it. So don’t worry about having a ‘perfect’ celebrity-style bump. The amount of weight you gain can depend on your pre-pregnancy weight – if you had some weight to lose beforehand, you should try to eat a sensible, balanced diet and not put on too much weight during your pregnancy.

Because there’s no single size, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to weight gain. But as a general rule, if you’re a healthy weight before pregnancy, you should aim to put on between 25 and 35 lbs during the nine months. Aim to gain 15 to 25 lbs if you’re overweight. But remember, pregnancy is not the time to diet – you’ll have space and time to deal with any excess weight in the months after your baby is born.