Our Little Monkey

Time is flying by and baby is developing fast! Baby is about the size of a naval orange (or almost the size of a softball)! Here's how the baby is developing...

• Baby is now covered in a fine hair called Lanugo, which will help keep the baby warm until a few weeks before birth. He/she is also developing hair on the eyebrows and head.
• His/her skin is transparent and blood vessels are visible through the skin. 
• Fingers & toes are visible and they each have fingernails and fingerprints!
• Eyes and eye lids are present. (Some books say they cannot open them, but I swear I saw him/her blink in our last ultrasound.)
• He/she has a nose and mouth. 
• Vocal cords are developing.
• Baby has a separate esophagus & trachea so he/she can swallow, absorb and discharge fluids and well as practice breathing with it's developing lungs.
• Brain is present and developing.
• Heart is present and developing with both a right and left chamber.
• Toothbuds are present.
• Baby has taste buds and can taste what I eat!
• Baby is moving and wiggling (not just reflexes anymore) - maybe even doing somersaults, making fists, sucking it's thumb and frowning!

 (example of the Lanugo)

Since he/she is now covered in hair with ears, eyes, nose, mouth that can frown and suck it's thumb I envision a little monkey wiggling away in there. I'm still not feeling anything, but sometimes when I lay very still I sike myself into thinking I do.

In the next couple of weeks baby will start using his/her ears. He/she will be able to hear what's going on around us and will jump if startled. Ruggs has made a date with baby for their first one on one :)

Speaking of ears - I think inanimate objects that have ears on them is adorable! While shopping for a friend at Babies R Us I picked up baby's first blankey! It's a neutral color so it'll work for either a boy or girl...

 

Week 15: Naval Orange

Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now out measure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements.