Sixth week

By now the beating heart can be seen with special instruments, it is still outside the baby’s body, but its four chambers are beginning to form. The mouth is still closed, but the digestive tract is developing downward from the mouth cavity. By the end of the sixth week, hollows appear where eyes and ears will form; the beginning of internal genital organs (testes or ovaries) have appeared; the brain is growing rapidly; and the entire backbone has been laid down. There is even a skeleton, though it is mostly made up of cartilage, not yet real bone. A “tail” extends from the spinal cord; at this stage, the human embryo resembles that of a pig, rabbit or elephant. It is now ¼ of an inch length.

Seventh week

The embryo has become a fetus. Its heart is now within its chest cavity. The tail has all but disappeared. Nasal openings are breaking through. Eyes can now be perceived through closed lids. Little buds signal the beginning of fingers and toes and delicate little muscle fibers are starting to form. The fetus is ½ an inch long and weighs 1/1000 of an ounce.

Eight week

Human facial features, particularly the jaws, are becoming well defined. Teeth are already formed although they erupt much later after birth. Fingers and toes are present and external ears form elevations on either side of the head. In boys the penis begins to appear. The fetus is now 7/8 of an inch long and weighs 1/30 pf an ounce.

Ninth week

The baby’s face is now completely formed. The clitoris appears in girls. Your baby now resembles a miniature human, slightly more than one inch in length, weighing 1/5 of an ounce.

Tenth week

Your baby’s eyes have moved from the sides of its head, where they were originally, to the front. In males, the scrotum appears, major blood vessels have almost reached final form. The heart waves are similar to those of an adult. The baby looks top – heavy, for the head is almost half its entire size.

End of third month

Upper and lower eyelids have met and fused and tear glands are starting to appear. Primitive hair follicle are forming and so are the beginnings of vocal cords. Finger nails are already present and your baby can close his fingers to make tiny fists. He can also open his mouth purse his lips and squint up his face. He is now three inches long and weighs about one ounce.

Fourth month

Your baby’s heartbeat is now audible to the doctor’s stethoscope. Its brain looks like a miniature adult brain. Sweat glands are forming on palms and soles and the skin is thickening into various layers. Your baby now has eyebrows and eyelashes, has grown to six ounces and 81/2 inches in length. It is at this time that many babies

Fifth month

Your baby’s muscles are active now, and by the mid point of pregnancy (20 weeks) you will probably have felt “quickening”- the baby’s movements. There is hair on his head. He is skinny, but fat is beginning to be deposited under his translucent skin. Twelve inches in length, he weighs about one pound.

Sixth month

Your baby’s skin is wrinkled and has developed a cheese-like protective material called “vernix” which will remain right through birth. The eyes are open and will soon be sensitive to light (although color and form won’t be perceived until long after birth). Your baby can now hear sounds and wonder of wonders-with skin ridges fully formed on palms and soles your baby now has fingers and footprints,. Length, 14 inches. Weight,2 pounds.

Seventh month

Fine downy hair covers your baby’s body. Taste buds have developed. The male fetus’s testicles have descended into the scrotum. By the end of this month your baby is about 16 inches long and 31/2 pounds in weight. Its organ systems are now adequately well developed so that even if born prematurely, it could probably survive. But the next two months will be periods of growth and maturation to ensure a healthy entry into the world.

Eighth month

The baby is getting plumper, and the skin is somewhat less wrinkled as fat takes up the slack. He may now weight more that five pounds and may be about 18 inches in length. His fingernails are long, extending beyond the fingertips.

Ninth month

The baby’s skin is red but smooth; it looks polished. The only downy hair remaining now is on arms and shoulders. On the head, the hair is about one inch long. The deposit of subcutaneous fat continues. Bye the end of this month, what began from an egg cell measuring 1/0200 of an inch in diameter and the husband’s sperm cell only 1/80,000 the size of the egg, will emerge a bouncy little infant some 20 inches in length and weighing an average of 7 pounds.

The last eight weeks of pregnancy

Particularly if this is your first baby, you and your husband will probably have many questions about what is going to take place. This sheet has been prepared to give you both an idea of what to do ad what to expect.

For instance, it is a good idea to pack an overnight bag about a month in advance. Babies often arrive as much as two weeks earlier (or later) than their approximate due date. Include: nightgowns, a bathrobe, slippers, toilet articles, maternity brassieres, reading material. The hospital will supply all of your baby’s needs …… until you are ready to take him home.

The essential Layette

With enough diapers and receiving blankets, you could manage with no other clothing for the baby! So, unless your budget is generous, don’t buy more than what you really need.

Firm crib mattress. Folded pad can be used for bassinet. Water – resistant mattress protector.3 or 4 waterproof pads, 11x18 inches. 6 quilted pads, it a 18 inches. 3 crib sheets. Use pillowcases or make them from old bed sheets. 3 or 4 cotton baby blankets, to add or remove for warmth as necessary.

You may use the gifted woolen blankets for the baby’s crib and carriage.

Bath

Soap dish, mineral oil, pure un medicated soap (any brand), talcum powder, absorbent cotton, enamel or rubber bathtub.

What to expect as Delivery Nears

Lightening

During pregnancy, the uterus rises gradually out of the pelvis into the abdomen. By week 34 or 36, it will be right up under your ribs (shaded area). After that, it starts to descend and your baby’s head drops to the pelvis (outlined area). You will most likely know when this has happened because breathing will seem easier… and increased pressure in the pelvic area may cause more frequent urination.

Show

One of the signs that labor has started is the passage of a small amount of mucus, tinged with blood from the vagina.

False labor

The painless, irregular contractions you have been having until now may at times become painful during the last eight weeks of pregnancy. Unless they are regular, closer together and more intense, don’t he fooled… they are not the real thing. To relieve the pain, try changing your position. Walk about if you have been resting, sit or lie down if you have been on your feet, with pains that wakes you out of sleep, you will be able to doze off again. (Real labor will keep you awake. A show of blood also means that labor is real). In all cases, consult your physician if you have any doubts about your pains.

Rupture of the Membranes

A slow trickle or a gush of fluid from the vagina indicates the rupture of the fluid filled bag that surround the baby. Called amniotic fluid. This may take place during the first few hours of labor or not until the very end. Dry labor, which really do not deserve this name, simply mean that membranes rupture much before labor has begun. As you approach term, pressure of the baby’s head on the bladder may cause an uncontrolled gush of urine. Your doctor can make a simple test with chemically treated paper to identify whether the fluid is urine or amniotic fluid.

Timing labor Pains

In the beginning, cramp like labor pains are far apart and short lasting. You will feel them first in the small of the back, then in the front. Your doctor will tell you when to call him – either when the membranes rupture, or when contractions become rhythmic. By keeping a record of the frequency and intensity of your pains, you will be able to time the pain accurately when they are coming ten to fifteen minutes apart.