Week 17: What's happening this week

Our baby weighs about 5 ounces now, and is around 5 inches long — about the size of a large onion. The umbilical cord, the lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker. Our baby can move his joints, and his skeleton — until now, rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden into bone. Some of it will remain cartilage for years after Little Mc's born. A newborn's skeleton has 300 parts (a combination of bone and cartilage). As our child grows, some of these parts harden and fuse together. By the time our baby reaches adulthood, he'll have just 206 bones.

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Week 16: What's happening this week

At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, your baby is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, Little Mc will go through a tremendous growth spurt, doubling in weight and adding inches to length. The patterning of her scalp has begun, though hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, the baby's eyes are moving (slowly), and Little Mc's even started growing toenails. The fingernails and toenails will continue to grow, so don't be surprised if the baby needs them trimmed soon after birth.

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First Flutter

Mike and I were told that in the next few weeks there was a chance we would start feeling the baby move. Well, yesterday I felt the "flutter." To be honest, since it is the first pregnancy and first time I think I felt movement, maybe it makes more sense to say there is a 50/50 chance I felt the baby move. Either way, we are excited to be hitting this next phase of feeling the movement of our little one.

Week 15: What's happening this week

At around 4 inches long, crown to rump, our baby now weighs about 2 1/2 ounces. Little Mc's busy inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, which will help the air sacs in his lungs develop. Sweat glands are appearing, and although the eyelids are fused shut, Little Mc can sense light. If you were to shine a flashlight at your tummy, our baby would most likely move away from the beam. In about a month + we may be able to find out whether our baby's a boy or a girl !

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Week 14: What's happening this week

We made it to the second trimester! This is a big milestone because it marks the end of a critical development period. All the basic structures of our baby's body are formed now. Head to bottom, our baby is just 3 1/2 inches long — about the length of a lemon — and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. Little Mc's starting to develop an ultrafine, downy covering of hair all over her body called lanugo . Thanks to brain impulses, the baby's little facial muscles are getting a workout as L.Mc squints, frowns, and grimaces. The baby can grasp now, too, and may be able to suck his/her thumb.

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Week 13: What's happening this week

My belly is starting to be noticeably bigger, but our baby is still tiny. Little Mc is about 3 inches long — roughly the size of a jumbo shrimp — and weighs about an ounce. The baby's tiny, unique fingerprints are already in place. The kidneys and urinary tract are functional, and Little Mc's starting to excrete the amniotic fluid he's been swallowing. As you start your second trimester, most of your baby's critical development will be completed and your odds of miscarriage drop considerably.
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