24 Weeks Pregnant

Here is some exciting news - from right now the baby has a 39% chance of survival outside the womb! I hadn't realised this, very comforting to know. It's amazing how much the odds go up each week, if the baby hangs in there just 3 more weeks it's up to 90%!

Odds of a Premature Baby's Survival by Length of Pregnancy

Length of Pregnancy	Likelihood of Survival
23 weeks	17%
24 weeks	39%
25 weeks	50%
26 weeks	80%
27 weeks	90%
28-31 weeks	90-95%
32-33 weeks	95%
34+ weeks	Almost as likely as a full-term baby
Sources: March of Dimes, Quint Boenker Preemie Survival Foundation

Your baby now weighs more than 600g. She is starting to fill the space in your uterus (womb). From crown to heel she could measure 30cm. Though your baby still has little body fat and her skin is thin and fragile, she's well-proportioned. Her brain is growing rapidly, tastebuds have fully developed, and her footprints and fingerprints are continuing to form. Inside her body, her lungs are developing branches of the respiratory tree as well as cells that produce surfactant. This substance will help her air sacs inflate once she reaches the outside world.
- BabyCentre.co.uk

Your baby weighs more than a pound and a half right now and sports a crown-to-rump length of about eight and a half inches (standard letter size!).
 
Wondering what (and who) your baby will look like?  If you had a baby cam at 24 weeks pregnant, you'd almost be able to tell by now.  That beautiful face (though still tiny) is almost fully formed.  What's still missing from the picture is the fat that will be piled on under baby's skin.  Until those fat deposits are made, that very tender skin is still very transparent, which means a close look would let you see clear through to all the organs, bones, and blood vessels. Fortunately, that see-through look won't last much longer. Babies at this stage of fetal development are gaining about six ounces each week — with much of that gain coming from fat, in addition to growing organs, bones, and muscle.
What's been playing on your little rocker's stereo system these days?  All kinds of sounds can be heard by your baby in your womb: from air exhaling from your lungs (deep breath now), those gastric gurgles produced by your stomach and intestines, your voice and your partner's (which your baby will be able to recognize at birth), and even very loud sounds such as honking horns, barking dogs, or a wailing fire truck.
- WhatToExpect.com

23 Weeks Pregnant

Fetal development - 23 weeks pregnant



Your baby now weighs a little more than 500g and measures about 29cm from crown to heel. His hearing is established and he can make out a distorted version of your voice, the beating of your heart and your stomach rumblings. Loud noises your baby has often heard in the uterus (womb), such as the barking of a dog or the roar of a vacuum cleaner, probably won't bother him when he is born.

Some people swear by the theory that unborn babies prefer classical music. So you could put on a relaxing CD of Bach or Mozart for his enjoyment – and yours!

In addition to advances in your baby's hearing, his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing. And as he gets bigger you may be able to see him squirm underneath your clothes!

BabyCentre.co.uk
 
Week 23 of Pregnancy: Fetal Weight Gain

At eight inches and slightly over a pound, your baby is the size and shape of a small doll when you are 23 weeks pregnant. (But then, you already knew that you were carrying a living doll, didn't you?) This week marks the beginning of some serious weight gain. Your baby's weight in the next four weeks alone should double (and you may feel as though yours is too).
 
You have probably heard your developing baby's heartbeat through a Doppler a number of times already (though you never get tired of hearing it), but by now you can also hear it through a standard stethoscope. What a heart throb! 
 
Your baby's skin is reddish in color now because of the developing blood vessels underneath (remember, the skin is very thin still). It also hangs loosely from his or her little body at this point. That's because the skin grows faster than the fat develops during fetal growth. But don't worry.  By the time your baby is born, he or she will be pleasantly plump and filled out — from chubby cheeks to chubby toes.           

WhatToExpect.com 

22 Weeks Pregnant

Fetal development - 22 weeks pregnant


Your baby now weighs almost 430g, measures about 28cm long from crown to heel. Your baby's legs aren't curled up so tightly to her tummy now. This means she can be measured from the top of her head to her heels, instead of her bottom. She is proportioned like a newborn, albeit a thinner version since her baby fat hasn't yet developed.

Although she's getting heavier every day, her skin still appears wrinkled and translucent because she needs to gain more weight. Her lips are distinct and her eyes are formed, though the coloured part (the iris) still lacks pigment. The pancreas, essential in the production of hormones, is developing steadily.


Even this early, the first signs of teeth appear in the form of tooth buds beneath her gum line. Before you know it, your baby will be born, and soon after, her first teeth will come through.
BabyCentre.co.uk
 
Week 22
Your developing babyYour baby’s facial features are now very well developed. If you could see him now you could make out tiny closed eyes (his eyelids are still fused together), a little button nose and mouth, eyelashes, eyebrows and hair on his head.

This week your baby is about 27cm long and now that he isn’t so curled up he is measured from his head to his heel, whilst in early pregnancy when his legs curled up he was measured from his head to his bottom, which is called crown to rump. As your baby’s nervous system starts to mature so do his bones, which makes him wriggle and somersault repeatedly. From now on though, these moves are very deliberate as he practises stretching, thumb sucking, hiccups (which you may feel) and grasping his hands together or tugging on the umbilical cord. All these movements will help him to improve his coordination and fine motor skills once he is born.
Gurgle.com

Week 22 of Pregnancy

Guess what? At 22 weeks pregnant, your baby has finally broken the one-pound mark. How heavy is that? Hold a one-pound box of sugar in your hand the next time you're in the grocery story (and expect people to ask you why you're grinning from ear to ear). Is the box eight inches long? That's about the length your baby is too!  

This week, your sweetie is making more sense of the world as he or she develops the sense of touch. In fact, your little one's grip is quite developed by now — and since there's nothing else to grab in utero, he or she may sometimes hold on tight to that umbilical cord (don't worry — it's tough enough to handle it). The sense of sight is also getting more developed. Your fetus can now perceive light and dark much better than before (even with those fused eyelids). But remember — unless you're shining a flashlight over your belly (which you can do, by the way), it'll be mostly dark for your baby inside that cozy womb of yours.
Moving up from the eyes, the eyelashes and eyebrows are well formed now — and even more hair is sprouting atop that cute little head. You'd be quite surprised, though, if you could see your little one up close and in color. Hair at this stage of fetal development has no pigment, so it's bright white.
WhatToExpect.com/

21 Weeks Pregnant

At about seven inches in length and almost 11 ounces in weight, your baby is about the size of a large banana.

By 21 weeks pregnant, your baby swallows at least several ounces of amniotic fluid each day —  not only for hydration and nutrition, but also to practice swallowing and digesting — skills your baby will need as soon as he or she arrives in your arms. And keep this in mind: The taste of the amniotic fluid differs from day to day depending on what you've eaten (spicy enchilada one day, sweet carrots another). And that smorgasbord of tastes won't be lost on your baby. That's because your little one has very developed taste buds already. In fact, researchers have noted that babies who were exposed to certain tastes in utero via the amniotic fluid were more eager to eat foods with that same taste after birth. Want your baby to eat his or her broccoli later?  Eat yours now! 

Your developing baby still has a great deal of room in your womb — though like anyone who lives in one space for a long time, this tenant will soon begin to feel cramped. Until those uterine walls start closing in, however, there's plenty of space for twisting, turning, and even an occasional somersault (so that's what you were feeling last night!). 

With all that belly dancing going on, it's hard to believe your baby gets any sleep at all. But believe it or not, your fetus sleeps as much as a newborn, perhaps 12 to 14 hours per day! (Now if only you could get some sleep!)
-WhatToExpect.com

Your baby now weighs about 360g. Up until now he has been measured from crown to rump but from this point on the measurement will be from crown to heel – and this week he is about 27cm long. Your baby’s eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed, and he can now blink. If you’re having a boy, testes will descend from the pelvis into the scrotum in the coming weeks.

Inside pregnancy video: a 3D animated look at a baby in this week of pregnancy. Take a look!

 

Your baby can now hear your conversations. If you talk, read, or sing to your baby, expect him to hear you. You could try your own little experiment. Some people think that newborns respond when read to from a book they heard frequently in the uterus (womb). If you want to, pick a book now and read it out loud. Make sure you won't mind reading it over and over once your baby is here. You never know, it may be your baby's favourite bedtime story for a long time after birth!
-BabyCentre.co.uk

 

20 Week Anomaly Scan

We had our anomaly ultrasound on Monday – 20 weeks and 4 days. It was funny – I didn’t convert the amount you’re supposed to drink from pints to ml right and so when they went to look at the baby it was squished at the top and couldn’t move because I drank WAY too much! After a quick bathroom break they tried again and the sonographer started laughing because the baby was going berserk kicking me in the bladder! Neil says it was peeved at me.

The baby kept wriggling through the scan so the sonographer said she had a hard time keeping up with it, but she got there in the end and got all her measurements done. She said everything looks normal, so we are very happy and relieved!

I think this baby is going to have a huge personality! After all that dancing around in there, she tried to take the picture but the baby refused to move on its side and stop facing us. She tried everything, but no dice. It was determined to do scary baby face at us! But as Neil said, if went x-rayed our faces we’d look pretty odd ourselves so I tried not to think it was scary. All in all we ended up with a rather unorthodox photo, but a lot of laughs and a healthy baby!

It all feels more real now, I’ve started getting a bump and feeling the baby kick last week. It’s a funny feeling, like getting poked from the inside or how your tummy feels when you go over a bump fast in the car. I like it though, it’s reassuring to know my little fidget baby is in there and doing well!

 This is the original scan

 I added label to make it easier to see!

Mom's interpretation v1

Mom's interpretation v2