Your baby is now the size of a turnip! She is 5 inches long and weighs 5 ounces now. That's even more than the placenta weighs.
Though no new structures have formed this week, she has developed
fat deposits under her skin that will account for about 2-6% of her
total body weight at her time of birth, just 23 weeks from now!
Her skeleton, which up until this point has been made up of flexible
cartilage, is now hardening into bone. Another exciting event…her sense
of hearing begins to develop this week!
Mom
Now that your little
one is measuring in at 5 inches, chances are you have more weight
higher up and out in front of your body than you are used to. It may be
time to put away those high heels and put on some cute new flats. If
nothing else, it's a good excuse to go shopping!
Not sure where to place
your seatbelt now that you have a little belly? Keep the lap portion of
the belt under your belly, and be sure that it is snug against your
hips. Trauma to your abdomen could be harmful to your baby, so it's
important to always wear your safety belt while driving.
Speaking of driving, it might be a good time to test-drive some
names for your little one. If you're having trouble deciding on a name,
or having trouble getting your partner to agree with a name you love,
there's still hope! The birth is still some months away and feelings
towards certain names might change before then. If you’re stuck on
picking a name, try the following exercise.
You and your partner should each come up of a list of about 5-10
names. Trade lists, and try not to automatically reject any name. Take
turns talking about what you like and dislike about each of the names
and most maybe most importantly, try saying them aloud. After
discussing the names, you might find that the name you love is the name
of an ex-flame or a childhood pet and it might be easier to understand
why they rejected it. Try not to make any decisions about the names
until you revisit the lists in about a week's time. Who knows, maybe
after a week, a name that you initially rejected might start to grow on
you, or a name you were absolutely set on might not feel like such a
good fit.