Your Baby’s Development's body starts to catch up to the head. Eyes, which start out on the side of the face, move toward the center and the ears move toward the side of the head. The sex organ growth also takes place.
Welcome to your second trimester where your tummy is getting bigger, your body increases blood flow increases. The ligaments that hold up your uterus stretch to accommodate your growing uterus.
2.6 to 3.1 inches
.5 to .7 ounces
Week 14
Baby begins to practice inhaling and exhaling movements. The eyes, ears, and neck continue to develop. The hands are becoming functional, and baby learns to move them. At this point, little one is receiving all nourishment from the placenta.
You're finally starting to look pregnant. The top of your uterus is rising up from below your pelvic bone and into your abdomen.
3.2 to 4.1 inches
1 ounce
Week 15
The bones are getting harder as Your Baby’s Development takes in nutrients from Mom, namely calcium. Lanugo, a very fine hair, covers the body and will continue growing on the baby until around the 26th gestational week of pregnancy.
You may notice swollen or bleeding gums. You may experience constipation as your pesky hormones cause your bowel muscles to relax and work less efficiently and your uterus presses on your intestines.
4.1 to 4.5 inches
1.75 ounces
Week 16
The baby continues to grow and take up more space in the uterus while showing a decided flair for movement. You, therefore, may experience movements for the first time, called fluttering.
Your heart is pumping more blood than it did pre-pregnancy. This increased blood volume is causing a few quirky side effects. Dark veins are appearing in your breasts and the tissues in your vaginal area have swelled up.
4.3 to 4.6 inches
2.8 ounces
Week 17
While most of Your Baby’s Development's organs are in place, he's still very thin and lanky. During week 17 Your Baby’s Development starts to form fat. The tiny heart is pumping as much as 25 quarts of blood a day!
It's 'round about this week that you might feel a light flutter as Your Baby’s Development's bones begin to harden. You may also have noticed an increase in your hunger as Your Baby gets bigger and hungrier.
4.4 to 4.8 inches
3.5 ounces
Week 18
Your baby is nearly half a pound now and very human looking. Pads are forming on the fingertips and toes, and the eyes are looking forward rather than out the sides of the head. If your baby is a boy, his prostate gland is beginning to develop.
Your baby starts moving. You may also be experiencing an ache or shooting pain on one or both sides of your lower abdomen. This is called "round-ligament pain." It's common between weeks 16 and 20 and usually disappears.
5 to 5.6 inches
5.25 ounces
Fetus at 18 weeks after fertilizationImage Source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregnancy
Week 19
The sebaceous glands start producing vernix caseosa, a covering that protects the delicate fetal skin from the amniotic fluid. Myelination of the spinal cord also takes place.
As your uterus continues to push forward, your back is starting to bend. You may be noticing several skin changes including patches on your forehead, cheeks, nose and chin.
5.2 to 6 inches
7 ounces
Week 20
This is halfway through the pregnancy, and the baby has as much sleep and awake time as a newborn. The scalp hair begins to grow and skin forms two layers including epidermis and the dermis. If your baby is a girl, her uterus is starting to develop.
You're belly button may have popped this week, and you may notice a dark line from your navel to you pubic bone. You're probably feeling the baby frequently now as the movements become stronger.
5.6 to 6.4 inches
9 ounces
Week 21
The different organ systems developed during the crucial embryonic phase start to perform their duties, prepping the baby for survival outside the womb. Your Baby’s Development may start swallowing small amounts of amniotic fluid, absorbing most of the water, and passing the rest through to the large bowel.
You might have notice that your breasts have begun to leak a yellowish fluid. This nutrient rich fluid is called, "colostrum," and it's precursor to breast milk. Leakage during pregnancy happens to some women, and it's a perfectly normal.
7.2 inches
10.5 ounces
Week 22
Eyelids, eyebrows, and even fingernails have developed. By now liver, with some help from Mom, is starting to break down bilirubin, a substance produced by red blood cells.
You'll probably be gaining weight more steadily now as your baby continues to fill out. You may notice stretch marks on your belly, hips, buttocks, breasts.
7.6 inches
12.25 ounces
Week 23
Your Baby starts practicing breathing by taking in and expelling small amounts of amniotic fluid. The pancreas also produces insulin, important for the breakdown of sugars. Your Baby looks like a small doll with all the facial features of an infant at birth.
Your uterus is pressing down on your bladder weakening your muscles and causing urine leaks.
8 inches
16 ounces
Week 24
With all of the rapid organ development, and in-womb practice, Your Baby may be able to survive outside the womb. The baby's once wrinkled skin has filled out with weight gain, and there is little space left inside the womb.
Many women find that around this time they begin to have an increasingly hard time sleeping (for long periods of time that is). Frequent urination, anxiety, and general discomfort may affect you.
8.4 inches
1.2 pounds
Week 25
By this time Your Baby open eyes and the retina form different layers which can sense light levels and send messages to the brain. Also, the once smooth surface of the brain starts to form grooves and indentations.
Now you may be noticing pigment changes galore: a line from your navel to pubic bone, darker freckles, moles, and nipples. You may even experience something called the "mask of pregnancy," where the skin darkens on the sides of your face and around the nose.
8.8 to 10.4 inches
1.5 to 2.7 pounds
Week 26
Your baby eyes open and the retina form different layers which can sense light levels and send messages to the brain. Also, the once smooth surface of the brain starts to form grooves and indentations.
Your uterus is now very large in size, if so, you may be experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions. These intermittent contractions are a way of helping your body prepare for labor.
14.02 inches
1.68 pounds
Week 27
During this week, the brain continues its rapid growth, and the lungs continue to grow. Eyelids begin to open, and the retinas begin to form. Also, the once smooth surface of the brain starts to form grooves and indentations.
You're on the threshold of your third trimester! And if it seems like you're getting bigger by the minute, well, you are. In the third trimester you'll gain an average of 1 pound a week. Your expanding uterus is now pushing against your organs.
