Week 21: Baby Can Taste
Your baby's taste buds are fully formed, and they can taste the flavors of what you eat through the amniotic fluid. Baby might prefer sweet flavors!
Medically reviewed by Samantha L. Fox, RN, BSN, MSN
Nursing Informaticist · United States Navy Nurse Corps · Last reviewed
Your baby is the size of a...
🥕 Carrot!
👶 Baby Development
- ✓Taste buds fully developed — baby tastes your food!
- ✓Eyebrows and eyelids are fully formed
- ✓Baby has a firm grip
- ✓White blood cells are being produced
- ✓Bone marrow starts producing blood cells
- ✓Movements are more coordinated
💊 Common Symptoms
- •Braxton Hicks contractions may begin (practice contractions)
- •Stretch marks becoming more visible
- •Spider veins or varicose veins
- •Increased appetite
- •Backaches and pelvic pressure
- •Easier breathing as baby shifts position
🩺Clinical Context — From a Nurse's View
Braxton Hicks practice contractions can begin around now — irregular tightening across the abdomen lasting 30-60 seconds, not painful, not progressing in frequency or intensity. They're more noticeable when you're dehydrated or have been on your feet a long time. The differentiator from real labor: real contractions get longer, stronger, and closer together over time and don't stop with rest and water. Before 37 weeks, regular contractions (more than 4-6 per hour, especially with low back pain, pelvic pressure, or any vaginal fluid leak) is preterm labor and earns a call regardless of how it 'feels.' The stretch mark question comes up a lot now — there's no proven prevention. Cocoa butter, vitamin E oil, and bio-oil hydrate the skin and feel nice but don't change the genetics that determine whether your dermal collagen will tear. Save the money on expensive creams.
Written by Samantha L. Fox, RN, BSN, MSN — Emergency Department nurse, US Navy Nurse Corps officer.
🚨 When to Call (or Go to the ER)
- !More than 4-6 contractions per hour before 37 weeks — call
- !Any vaginal fluid leak (water breaking) — call
- !Vaginal bleeding — call
- !Severe headache, visual changes, RUQ pain — call (preeclampsia)
- !Decreased fetal movement after established pattern — call
✅ Normal — Even If It Feels Worrying
- ✓Occasional irregular Braxton Hicks tightening
- ✓Stretch marks deepening
- ✓Spider veins or varicose veins
- ✓Heartburn after meals
✅ To-Do This Week
- Start eating a variety of flavors — baby is tasting them!
- Research postpartum recovery products
- Begin nursery shopping
- Practice relaxation techniques for labor
- Ensure you're getting enough iron and calcium
- Start a birth plan document
🩺 Questions for Your Doctor
- ?Are Braxton Hicks contractions normal this early?
- ?How do I tell Braxton Hicks from real contractions?
- ?Is the baby's growth rate appropriate?
- ?Should I be doing anything special for stretch marks?
- ?Am I at risk for gestational diabetes?
- ?When is the glucose tolerance test?
📚 References
- [1]ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 234: Prediction and Prevention of Spontaneous Preterm Birth. Obstet Gynecol. 2021;138(2):e65-e90.
- [2]ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 222: Gestational Hypertension and Preeclampsia. Obstet Gynecol. 2020;135(6):e237-e260.
Editorial review: Samantha L. Fox, RN, BSN, MSN. Last reviewed: see footer.
Your baby is the size of a...