11/19/2004
An update for the raspberry this week
Here’s the update I got today: Your baby isn’t much bigger now than last week in actual size — another quarter inch at most — but that’s almost double what he was last week. He’s now
the size of a raspberry. If you had a window into your womb, you’d notice his eyelids forming, the tip of his nose developing, and his distinct, slightly webbed fingers and toes.
Your baby still appears to have a small tail (actually, it’s an extension of his tailbone), which will disappear in the next few weeks. But that’s the only thing getting smaller. Now almost half an inch long — roughly the size of a raspberry — he
has elbow joints and distinct, slightly webbed fingers and toes. In his oversized head, both hemispheres of his brain are developing. His teeth and the inside of his mouth are forming, and his ears continue to develop. Eyelid folds partially cover his tiny peepers, which already have some color, and the tip of
that nose you’ll be tweaking someday is emerging. His skin is paper-thin and his veins are clearly visible.
Your little one also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. His liver is busy producing red blood cells, and a loop of your baby’s growing intestines is bulging into his umbilical cord,
which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from his tiny body. You can’t feel his gyrations yet, but your baby is like a little jumping bean, moving in fits and starts around his watery home.
12/03/2004
the raspberry is a grape!
Nine Weeks! (we think…)
Your new resident is nearly an inch long — barely the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce, but he’s poised for rapid weight gain now that his basic physical structure is in place. He’s also starting to look more and more human. His embryonic “tail” is now completely gone and his body parts — including organs, muscles, and nerves — are kicking into gear.
His eyelids are fused shut and won’t open until 27 weeks. He has earlobes, and by week’s end, the inner workings of his ears will be complete. His upper lip is fully formed, too, and his mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The tips of his
fingers are slightly enlarged where his touch pads are developing. All major joints — his shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles — are working, enabling your baby to move his limbs. As for his heart, it has divided into four chambers now, and the valves have started to develop. External sex organs are there, but won’t be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks.
Thought you might enjoy seeing my weekly update on the the baby. It’s my friday morning treat:) Well, that and a peppermint steamer and an almond scone. Have a great day! Althea
12/10/2004
It’s a kumquat!
10 weeks (estimated)… Our ultrasound is on Dec. 21, so hopefully we’ll have a better date (and a photo!) after that.
Taken from http://www.babycenter.com/mybabycenter/110.html
Your baby’s started growing tiny fingernails and toenails and can now kick and swallow — pretty impressive for someone the size of a walnut. Within the next few weeks, your featherweight baby will more than double in size, from just over an inch to nearly 3 inches. At your next prenatal appointment, you may be able to hear her heart beating with a stethoscope-like instrument called a Doppler.
Your baby is no longer an embryo! Though she’s barely the size of a kumquat — just an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, she now has completed the most critical portion of her development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in her body rapidly grow and mature. Her vital organs — the liver, kidney, intestines, brain, and lungs — are now in place and starting to function (although they’ll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy). Her liver continues to make blood cells, and the yolk sac, which previously supplied these cells, is no longer needed and begins to disappear.
During the next three weeks, your baby’s length will more than double to nearly 3 inches. Her head is proportionately smaller now than it was a few weeks ago, but it’s still almost half the length of her entire body. Her forehead temporarily bulges with her developing brain and sits high on her head; it will later recede to give her a more human appearance. Each day, more minute details — including tiny fingernails, toenails, and peach-fuzz hair.