BABY GROW

Nobody can tell exactly when your baby was
conceived. But fertilization usually occurs
about two weeks after the beginning of your
last menstrual cycle.

Within a few hours after the egg is penetrated
by the sperm in the fallopian tube, the egg
begins to divide. In the next three to five
days, a cluster of up to 50 cells floats down
the fallopian tube to the uterus, where it
continues to develop. By the tenth day, the
ovum is firmly implanted in the uterine wall.
Here it burrows little finger-like projections
called "villi" into the blood supply of the
uterine lining from which it will take its nourishment... and begins the miraculous growth
that will make it a real live baby.

Second Week After Fertilization
As the cluster of cells begins to elongate, a
water-tight sac forms around it, gradually
filling with fluid. This will serve to
cushion the growing life from shocks.
Next to this, a tiny yolk sac forms,
preparing to produce little blood vessels.
Now the placenta--the round, flat
membrane that will lie inside the uterine
wall--begins to develop. Joined to the
umbilical cord, it will take over the job of
the more primitive villi, bringing food,
water and minerals from the maternal blood
to the fetus, and carrying fetal waste to the
blood.

Third Week
The cell cluster is now a hollow structure filled with fluid, measuring only about 1/100 of
an inch in diameter (the thickness of a heavy pencil dot). But already there are primitive
lung buds...a tube that will be your baby's heart...and a thickening that is the beginning of
the central nervous system. The cluster begins to curl up now so that it will fit in its
compact home as it grows.



Fourth Week
A primitive face is taking form, with large
circles where eyes will appear. The mouth,
lower jaw, and throat are developing.
Little tubules foreshadow internal organs
such as the gallbladder, liver, and stomach.
Blood corpuscles are taking shape, and the
circulation is beginning. The tiny "heart"
tube will be beating 65 times a minute by
the end of this week. The embryo as it is
now called, will be 3/16 of an inch in
length by the end of the week. In one
month, the single fertilized egg has grown
10,000 times bigger than when it started.

Fifth Week
By the end of this week, ears begin to develop from two folds of tissue, buds emerge that
will become arms and legs, and your baby's eye lenses begin taking form. There is a tiny
depression where the nose will be and an equally tiny thickening that will be the tongue.
Eight to ten vertebrae of the backbone have been laid down. The brain, spinal cord, and
nervous system are well established. Your baby's primitive blood vessels have begun to
function.

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 beginnings of 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 1/4 of an inch in 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. The fetus is 1/2 an inch long and weights 1/1000 of an ounce.

Eighth Week
Human facial features, particularly the
jaws, are becoming well defined. Teeth are
being formed. 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 no 7/8 of an inch
long and weighs 1/30 of 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-yeavy, 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 follicles are forming and so
are the beginnings of vocal cords.
Fingernails 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 weights 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 is 8 1/2 inches in length. It is at this time that many babies start to such
their thumbs.



Fifth Month
Your baby's muscles are active now, and by the midpoint 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 finger- and footprints. Length, 14 inches.
Weight, 2 pounds.
Seventh Month

Fine downy hair covers your baby's body. Taste buds have developed. The male's
testicles have descended into the scrotum. By the end of this month, your baby is about
16 inches long, and 3 1/2 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
Baby is getting plumper and plumper, and the skin is somewhat less wrinkled as fat takes
up the slack. He may now weight more than five pounds, and may be some 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. Deposit of
subcutaneous fat continues. By the end of this month, what was begun from you egg cell
measuring 1/200 of an inch in diameter, and your husband's sperm cell, only 1/80,000 the
size of the egg, will emerge as a bouncy little infant some 20 inches in length, and
weighing an average of 7 pounds.