Baby at week 18 - courtesy of BabyCenter.com
As I’ve written about before, my wife and I are thrilled to be expecting our third child (whom we’ve affectionately dubbed “Junior Constantino”) in June of this year and this week marks the 18th week of gestational or developmental age for Junior.
I work for a biotech company that manufactures medicines for pre-term infants as well as toddlers and children, so I’m keenly interested in the development of our baby while he/she sublets my wife’s uterus.
And to keep on eye on what’s going on in there, we signed up for weekly updates on the baby’s development from a fantastic web site, www.BabyCenter.com – here’s the weekly update:
Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He’s busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you’ll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead.
His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they’re still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he’s born.
If you’re having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you’re having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.
Here’s a link to a very cool animated video produced by the fine folks at BabyCenter.com that shows the baby’s development for weeks 15-20 – check it out!!!
http://www.babycenter.com/2_inside-pregnancy-weeks-15-to-20_10308111.bc
For those keeping track at home, here’s the baby’s growth trajectory on the trusted fruit/vegetable scale:
Week 18 – Bell Pepper
Week 17 – Turnip
Week 16 – Avocado
Week 15 – Apple
Week 13 – Lemon
Week 12 – Lime
Week 11 – Fig
Week 10 – Kumqut
Week 9 – Grape
We’ve scheduled the next ultrasound for Tuesday, January 24th when Junior will be 19 weeks – that’s when we are hoping to find out the baby’s gender or level of modesty. Either way, we can’t wait until Tuesday to get another picture of our newest addition to the family.
It’s a very exciting experience, and we’re humbled everyday by this miracle that’s drawing ever closer to reality.
Question: Did you or would you want to find out your baby’s gender?
