Congratulations on your pregnancy! With your hormones slowly taking over your mind and body, it is time for you to stay relaxed and have a positive outlook towards the growing fetus in your womb. By this time, you might already be experiencing the early pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness, nausea, backache, etc. where as the little embryo inside you has started developing and growing at a galloping speed. So, here is a week-by-week pregnancy description, right from the time you start your ovulation till the week you deliver your baby.
First Trimester
The first trimester of your pregnancy begins soon after your last menstrual cycle. After the process of fertilization and implantation occurs, the embryo which is currently just a two layered ball of cells, starts undergoing development at a rapid speed, developing the various parts of your baby. The major developments taking place during this trimester include, formation and functioning of heart, earlobes, eyes, eyelids, nose, hands, legs, intestine, brain, lungs, and more.
This week you are not yet pregnant, but almost getting prepared for pregnancy. You will ovulate and your egg will meet the sperms for fertilization.
Congratulations! Your small egg has successfully fertilized with a sperm and formed a blastocyst, a ball of hundred cells, growing an multiplying at high rate.
Your little baby is now made of two layers, while the primitive placenta is developing in the womb to provide nutrition to you baby for 9 months.
Pregnancy blues are on the cards this week. Discomfort, tiredness, sore breasts are just a few signs that you will notice currently.
This week, while you are busy with pregnancy symptoms like morning sickness, your baby’s ears, nose and mouth begin to take shape in you.
A little tadpole – this is how your baby looks like this week. The growing embryo has a small tail, with his hands and feet taking shape in this week.
This week, your baby’s little tail bone is almost gone and his brain is forming millions of primitive neural pathways. Also, the external genitals begin to form.
At 9 weeks, your baby looks more human and keeps developing at a rapid speed. This week, your little one’s heart is now 4 chambered and the valves begin to form.
With your baby growing rapidly, this week his body tissues and organs are growing and maturing. You baby has also started swallowing amniotic fluid this week.
Your baby is now busy making small movements like opening and closing his fists. The bones are also growing stronger now!
Every week, your baby learns new things. He will now learn to open and close his tiny fingers while his mouth makes sucking movements.
This week your baby’s fingerprints are developing which form his unique identity for life. Also, the skin of your baby is very thin, giving you a glimpse of his organs and blood vessels.
Second Trimester
As you enter into your second trimester, your baby is almost 3 1/2 inches in length and weighs around 1 1/2 ounces. His heart pumps a major 25 quarts of blood each day and his tiny fingers develop their unique fingerprints. Your baby also has the ability to hear every sound around him, while his rubbery soft bones are now hardening by depositing a major amount of calcium each day. Your baby’s kicks and punches are the major attraction of this trimester, something that you will behold all your life.
You are now in your Second Trimester of your pregnancy. This week your baby learns how to suck his thumb, frown, squint and also pee.
At 15 weeks, your baby learns to pass the amniotic fluid through his respiratory tract and nose. Another important development this week is the formation of taste buds.
Your baby’s growth spurt is now about to increase. He will add weight and length quickly. The body looks more developed and stronger.
This week onwards, your little bub can move his joints as he wishes. He is growing taller each day and his sweat glands begin to develop this week.
Flexing his arms and legs, you can now experience your baby’s movements more clearly this week onwards. The nerve cells now form a myelin sheath around them.
Your baby’s brain is now forming folds which will be responsible for his senses such as vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste. The body now looks more proportionate.
Size of a small banana, your baby this week starts developing meconium. He keeps practicing his swallowing and limb activities.
Kicks and punches are all that you will be experiencing now. Your baby now develops a proper sleeping and activity pattern.
You are 22 weeks pregnant and your little bub now has distinctive eyebrows, eyelids and lips. Tiny tooth buds are also developing in his little mouth.
Dance! Tap your feet and make smooth dance moves! Your little baby in this week can feel you dance and will squirm beneath your clothes in response.
At 24 weeks, your baby’s lungs are developing numerous respiratory branches which produce surfactant that help the baby breathe air after birth.
With the passing weeks, your baby is growing and maturing at a higher speed. He is also adding up weight along with length, giving him a more newborn like look.
This week, your baby’s ears are becoming more sensitive with the increasing network of nerves in the ears. This increases his ability to hear the sounds around him.
Weighing about 2 pounds, your baby this week now follows a proper sleep and wake-up pattern by closing and opening his eyes.
Third Trimester
This is the last trimester of your 9 month long pregnancy. As your baby enters into this trimester, he has a healthy weight of around 2 1/4 pounds. His skin which was previously wrinkled now starts to smooth out due to the depositing fat beneath his skin. The brain of your baby matures and keeps adding billions of neurons until the baby is born. It is in this last trimester that your baby develops his lustrous hair, toenails and fingernails.
You have entered the last trimester of your pregnancy! This week, your baby can see light through your womb and react to it by squirming inside.
Maturing each day, your baby now is growing bigger and consumes a large amount of your nutritional supplements, especially calcium.
Size of a cabbage, your little baby’s eyesight keeps developing this week. After birth, he can see objects kept at a few inches distance from his face.
Your baby is active, healthy and moving a lot this week onwards. He can now turn his head, legs, hands and body to the sides, disturbing your sound sleep.
With just about 7 weeks left before you deliver, your baby now gains more fat beneath his skin that allows his to survive easily after birth.
This week, your baby’s skin becomes less wrinkled due to the depositing fat beneath the skin layer. Also, the skeleton hardens making your baby stronger for birth.
As you near the last weeks of your pregnancy, your baby keeps maturing a little more each week. His nervous system and lungs mature, preparing him for a healthier life after birth.
At 35 weeks, your baby’s kidneys are fully developed and functioning. All his organs are now working in sync and perfectly.
Adding more weight to his body, your baby at 36 weeks now starts shedding his soft layer of hair and Vernix Caseosa from his body.
With your nearing due date, your baby is now getting into the birth canal head first, preparing you for birth. However, your baby is still considered as pre-mature if born before week 39.
Your little bub has matured completely and can survive easily without medical assistance outside your womb. He is strong, healthy and waiting to see the outside world.
At 39 weeks, your baby is considered full term and is ready to make his grand appearance into the outside world.
All set for birth, your baby now weighs almost around 7 pounds and is 20 inches long (depends on individual baby growth). You may have to rush to the hospital any time soon now!
Stay prepared for your delivery and hospital stay this week. You may experience vaginal discharge which may be a sign of labor.
Most babies are born before 42 weeks. After this week, the chances of stillbirth and injury during childbirth increase.