The forty weeks of pregnancy are a time of tremendous growth for you and your baby. During this time, your baby goes from a single cell to a full grown newborn infant. This is my fourth pregnancy and I am still fascinated by the amazing process and changes the baby goes through during these months.
The First Trimester:
The majority of your baby’s development takes place during the first trimester. Much of it even before you know you are pregnant. For this reason, good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle are important for your health and your baby’s. By the time you are five weeks pregnant, the baby will have a brain with two lobes and a spinal cord. Arms and legs are beginning to sprout and the heart is beating.
By the tenth week, you baby has ears and eyelids. The tiny fingers and toes are beginning to form. Teeth buds also develop during this time. By the end of the first trimester, the kidneys begin to function and secrete urine. The baby will start to sprout fine hair. By this time, you will be able to hear your baby’s heartbeat through the Doppler at your doctor’s office.
The Second Trimester:
By the middle of the second trimester, your baby begins to hear sounds from outside the womb. Talk to your baby and sing. The baby will sleep and wake during this time. He or she begins to swim in the amniotic fluid. During this time, the baby’s eyebrows and eye lashes begin to grow. The baby now looks like a tiny human. You will begin to feel movement sometime during this trimester.
Another milestone of the second trimester is the ultrasound. You will get to see your baby and your doctor will determine that everything is progressing normally. In most cases, the gender of the baby can be seen. You may decide to find out or prefer to be surprised. Tell your technician if you don’t want to know, so they won’t slip and reveal the sex. I can never wait. I love knowing what I will have, but then I shake the Christmas presents too!
The Third Trimester:
By now, most of the internal organs and external features are fully developed and the baby spends most of this time growing. The baby will put on most of its weight and gain length during this time. The main exception here is the lungs. These continue to mature throughout this trimester. In the seventh month, the eyes open and close. The baby responds to sounds from outside and may jump if loud noises are heard. During the last month of pregnancy your baby is gaining a half pound per week. At the end of this trimester, your baby will be born!