My uterus is now the size of a soccer ball and that’s what it looks like I’m smuggling under my shirt these days! I’m more fatigued than usual but have trouble sleeping through the night due to joint pain, especially in my hips. I no longer have trouble with ANY of the foods or drinks I couldn’t stomach in my first trimester.
The baby has passed the one pound mark and is almost a foot long. She looks like a miniature newborn and the development of her face is more or less complete. She looks almost exactly as she will at birth. Her eyes are still shut, but eyelashes are well developed, hair continues to grow on her scalp, eyebrows are visible, and her taste buds may be working. Her unique hand- and footprints are forming, too.
The baby’s pancreas, essential for hormone production, is developing steadily. She has developed seven million eggs in her ovaries, but by birth she will have only one million eggs. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily. (The lungs are the last organ to fully develop before birth.)
Fetal researchers say babies move about 50 times an hour even while sleeping. Every day now I’m feeling occasional kicks, twists, turns, swishes, rolls, and even hiccups. Lately, Will has been able to feel a couple of big kicks and some hiccups. The baby is aware of my movements now, too. She can hear more and more now, and can even be startled by loud, sudden noises.
