Pregnancy Calendar

Week 23

• this week your baby is about 8 inches long and weighs about 1 pound (450g)!
• since you first found out you were pregnant, let's say at 3 weeks (5 weeks after LMP), your baby has grown from 1.5mm(6/100ths of an inch) to 200mm (8 inches), increasing it's height over 100 times and it's weight over 500 times!
• during the next month your baby will rapidly gain weight, but at this point he still looks wrinkled because he doesn't have much fat under his skin
• if you could see your baby at this stage he would appear dark pink or red due to the many small blood vessels carrying blood beneath the skin
• around this time your little one will begin to have rapid eye movement (REM), just like adults do during sleep
• you may be the victim of much speculation regarding the size and shape of your belly - "too big", "too small", "carrying high it's a boy", "no, carrying high it's a girl"...
• don't let it annoy or worry you, every woman is unique, and you can't tell anything about the baby inside by looking at the belly outside
• enjoy all the love pats from your little one, as you get further along, you may be able to play games with her, you poke your belly, she kicks back :)

Week 24

• your baby is now about 8.4 inches (210mm) in length and weighs around 1.2 pounds (530g)
• once a baby reaches the 22nd week, it could possibly survive outside the womb, depending mainly on how developed its lungs are
• your baby reacts now to sound and it's never too early for you to start talking to your little one - don't worry if it feels strange to talk to your belly, it will seem more normal as the weeks go on
• there is now around 12 ounces (400ml) of amniotic fluid surrounding your baby, cushioning your baby and allowing her to move
• you may find that your baby is more active while you are sitting or lying down, after a meal, or (groan) when your bladder is full (no, that is not a trampoline little one :)

Week 25

• baby measures around 8.8 inches (220mm) long and weighs in at about 1.5 pounds
• while earlier in pregnancy babies of the same age tend to be about the same weight and height, as they grow in the womb, there tends to be a larger range of measurements, so those given are just averages
• your baby could be smaller or larger, depending on a variety of factors, such as genetics, nutrition, how big you and your husband were at birth...
• your uterus is about the size of a soccer ball
• one of the highlights of your prenatal visits is listening to your baby's heartbeat, like a fast running washing mashing, wub-wub wub-wub wub-wub...
• fetal heartbeats range from 120 to 160 beats per minute
• some people say a heartbeat at the upper end of the range indicates a girl, while a slower beat means you'll have a boy, but don't paint the nursery based on a heart rate

Week 26

• baby now weighs about 1.75 pounds (850g) and is around 9.2 inches (230mm) long from the crown of the head to his rump, with a standing height of around 12 inches
• while your baby is still pretty lean, he's putting on weight quickly
• you can probably feel your uterus about 2.5 inches above your belly button
• your doctor likely measures your belly at each visit now and the measurement in centimeters usually corresponds with the number of weeks after your last period, for instance, at this, your 26th week after your last period started, you would measure about 26cm or 10.5 inches from the top of your pubic bone to the top of the uterus
• don't worry about measuring a little small or a little big if your doctor isn't concerned about it - if the measurements aren't what they should be, an ultrasound may be done, just to make sure your baby is growing well, and that there's only one of them in there!
• little fingernails are present now