Week 30: What's happening this week

Our baby's a bit more than 15 1/2 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means he can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

>> Read more about this week

Week 29: What's happening this week

Our baby is growing rapidly now. This week he weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is getting bigger to accommodate his growing brain — which is busy developing billions of neurons. Every day, about 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in his skeleton, which is now hardening. With this rapid growth, it's no surprise that your baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester.

>> Read more about this week

Week 28: What's happening this week

By this week, our baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to her heels. He can open and close his eyes, which now sport lashes. This movement is more of a reflexive blink than a deliberate opening and closing, but it won't be long before he's batting those beauties at us! Only 12 more weeks, we aer officially in our third trimester.

>>Read more about this week

Week 27: What's happening this week...

Our baby is really starting to get big. This week he weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14.4 inches long with his legs extended. He now sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. He may suck his fingers, and although his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with assistance — if he were born prematurely. Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on.

>> Read more about this week

Week 26: What's happening this week

Our baby now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber), from head to heel. His weight will more than triple between now and birth as he rapidly puts on baby fat. He'll need that fat to help adjust to colder temperatures outside the womb and as a source of energy and calories in the first days of life. It's not uncommon for newborns, especially those who are breastfed , to lose weight (sometimes as much as 10 percent of their birth weight) in the first week after birth.

>> Read more about this week