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What is my baby doing?
During the nine months of pregnancy your baby will go through many changes.
First trimester
2 Weeks (Day 14):
- Fertilized ovum is a layered disc on the wall of the uterus
- The layers will form every organ and tissue
- Mother misses her first period
4 Weeks:
- The embryo is now .75 - 1 cm in length and weighs 0.01 oz
- The embryo is starting to develop eyes, ears, nose, spin, mouth, digestive tract and nervous system
- The simple tube shaped heart starts to beat
- Arms and leg buds are forming
8 Weeks:
- Your baby is now 2.5 cm (1 in) in length and weighs 8g (0.25 oz)
- All the organs are formed
- The heart beats 40 - 80 times/minute, pumping blood
- Facial features are now formed and the head is large in comparison to rest of the body
- The limbs are well developed and the arms bend at the elbow
12 Weeks:
- Swallowing reflex is mastered by thumb sucking
Second trimester
16 Weeks:
- The baby is 10 - 17 cm (6 in) in length and weighs 120g (4oz)
- The face looks more human as the nasal septum and palate close, the head has some hair and the ears now stand out from the head
- You may be able to hear the heart beat with a stethoscope now
- You may be able to feel the baby move now, or closer to 20 weeks
- The baby's hand can grasp, and it is now kicking actively
20 Weeks:
- Your baby is 25 cm (10 in) in length and weighs 220g (10 oz) He is about half his birth length
- Eyebrows and lashes appear
- The skin is very thin, covered with lanugo (fine downy hair) and the oil glands appear
- The baby has his own routine of sleeping, turning and kicking and he has a favorite position inside the uterus
- You may be able to feel the baby move or feel his hiccups
24 Weeks:
- Your baby is 28 - 26 cm (12 in) in length and weighs 600 - 900g (1.25 - 2 lb)
- Eyes open between now and 26 weeks
- Skin is red and wrinkled and the body looks lean
- Primitive breathing movements begin
- Baby touches his or her own face, arms, legs, body, the insides of the amniotic sac and the umbilical cord
- Meconium collects in the bowel and will be your baby's first bowel movement
28 Weeks:
- The body is still lean but is less red and wrinkled
- The baby can now store iron, calcim and other nutrients
- The baby is begining to be able to regulate his own body temperature
Third trimester
32 Weeks:
- Baby is 38 - 43 cm (16+ in) and weighs 1.8 kg (4 lb)
- Fat is developing as an insulation to help protect against temperature changes at birth
- Iron is beng stored in the liver
- The baby is aware and responds to sound
- The baby has developed the sense of taste (sweet and sour)
- When the eyes are open the pupils respond to light
- Baby responds to pain
- In a boy, the testicles may begin to descend into the scrotum
36 Weeks:
- The baby is about 48 cm (18 in) in length and weighs 2000 to 2600g (4 to 6 lb)
- Skin is pinker and smoother, as more fat is formed
- Lanugo is mostly gone and the fingernails have grown to the tips of the fingers
- Continues to gain immunity from the mother's antibodies which can give protection for up to 6 months
40 Weeks:
- Babys lungs are mature
- There is varying amount of hair on its head
- Fingernails go beyond the finger tips
- Arms and legs are flexed
- Eyes are slate coloured
- Testes are now in the scrotum of most baby boys
- Labia majora is well developed on the baby girls
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