20 Weeks

Over the last four weeks, our baby has grown an incredible amount, and has just about quadrupled his weight. He's big enough that we should be feeling fluttering or quickening quite regularly now. In fact, from his movements we may be able to tell if your baby is awake or asleep. Our baby is anywhere from 20 - 26 cm (8 to 10 inches) long and weighs 285-300 grams (10-11oz).

Our baby has started to practice breathing motions, even though his lungs are not yet mature enough to breathe enough air to allow him to survive outside mother's body. Lanugo (the fine hair) covers your baby's whole body, and hair on his scalp is beginning to grow. Our baby's ears are fully functional now and he enjoys the sound of uterine noise. All the organs and structures of our baby's body are formed and our baby is now entering a period of simple growth.

19 Weeks

This is an impressive week for growth! Our baby weighs approximately 250 grams (8-9 ounces) and is about 15 to 19 cm (6 to 7.5 inches) long.

If we are having a girl, her ovaries now contain primitive egg cells. Lanugo (a covering of fine soft hair) appears all over the baby's body. This fine hair will remain until birth draws nearer. Sometimes you can still see some on the baby's face and ears after birth. Also apparent is vernix, a milky white covering that protects our baby's skin from its aquatic environment. Can you imagine how wrinkled you'd get if you were in water for nine months? The placenta continues to grow and offer nourishment for our baby while the permanent teeth buds are forming behind the already formed milk teeth buds. Growth becomes rapid now and your baby begins to store iron for the production of red blood cells. Our baby can even dream!

18 Weeks

Our baby is growing rapidly. His bones are continuing to harden and the pads of his fingers and toes are formed. He even has his own set of fingerprints developing as well. Our baby is approximately 5.5 inches and weighs about 200 grams (7.5 ounces).

Our baby can kick, swallow, and sleep. He also is developing his stomach, intestine and colon and the intestines are collecting meconium (the initial stool a baby will pass after birth). If the baby is a boy, the prostate will begin to develop this week as well. The skin is still a bit pink and transparent and his ears still stick out from his head. The four-chambered heart begins to build up muscle cells and is pumping between 25 and 30 quarts of blood per day. 

17 Weeks

Our baby will begin to form fat this week. The fat begins to deposit under his skin and is important in heat production and metabolism. At delivery, fat will account for 2-6 percent of our baby's total body weight. This will help him maintain his body temperature when he is born. Our baby is approximately 5 inches long and weighs in at about 140-145 grams (5 ounces). This means that the baby now weighs more than the placenta.

If we were to get an abdominal x-ray (which isn't recommended and could be dangerous), our baby's skeleton would be visible. His movements are becoming stronger and more frequent now. Reflex movements are fully functional as our baby will regularly suck and swallow and loud noises outside the uterus may actually cause the baby to startle.

16 Weeks

Our baby's nails are well formed and some babies are even in need of having their nails trimmed at birth. Our baby is emptying his or her bladder every 40-45 minutes. The limb movements are becoming more coordinated and vigorous. The head is erect and the legs are developed. Both the gender and muscle movements are easily detectable with ultrasound. Our baby is approximately 4 inches long and weighs about 80-85 grams (3 ounces).

15 Weeks

Rapid growth of our baby continues at this point. The skin is very thin and the blood vessels can be seen clearly underneath. The scalp hair pattern is developing while fine hair (called lanugo) covers the baby's body. Our baby is approximately 12-14 cm (3.7 to 4.1 inches) and weighs about 50 grams (1.75 to 2 ounces).

Our baby's taste buds already look like a mature adult's and the amniotic fluid that surrounds it can smell strongly of curry, cumin, garlic, onion and other essences from a mother's diet. Our baby's bones continue to harden and retain calcium very rapidly. At this point in the pregnancy the placenta will begin to take on the job of hormone production to sustain the pregnancy, which was the job of your ovaries up to this point. Our baby's eyelids are now firmly shut, and will stay closed until the third trimester.