Your Baby
Over the next four days, fingernails, toenails, and hair follicles will appear (these are all specialized parts of the top layer of skin) and your baby will assume a more upright posture. The average rate of growth until birth is .06 inch (1.5 mm) in length per day, but the baby will begin to grow even more rapidly from this point.
Your baby’s head now makes up more than half of its length. By the end of this week, your baby will measure nearly 2 inches in length (5 cm). He or she stands about as high as the short side of a credit card.
By the end of this week, about 3 tablespoons (30 ml) of amniotic fluid bathes your baby. This fluid is re-newed every three hours.
The baby’s bones and muscles are growing rapidly. The baby’s developing body begins to attain proportions more like a newborn baby’s.
Did You Know?
From now until birth, your baby is technically called a 'fetus.' The fetal period is a period of rapid body growth, with a relative slowdown in the growth of the head. Periods of continuous growth typically alternate with prolonged intervals of absent growth. The word fetus comes from the Latin meaning 'offspring.' |
You
Your uterus is now about the size of a small grapefruit. Consistent with pigmentation changes during pregnancy, you may notice that your moles, freckles, recent scars,
or dark birthmarks are darkening along with your vagina, cervix, and vulva. This is quite predictable and temporary.
You may find your appetite increasing now that some of the nausea and discomfort has stabilized. If food isn’t your friend yet, look for some relief by Week 19.
Consider This
The darkening of the nipples in preparation for lactation may make it easier for the baby to spot the food source. |
