As you begin your second trimester your little weighs in at a little over an ounce and at 3 ½ inches – about half of a banana. Impressive as the growth ha s been in the last few weeks, in the next four weeks your baby will grow to nearly a pound in weight! The body will finally start to catch up with the head and be more proportionate.
If you poke at your abdomen and the baby feels it, it will begin to root around as if looking to suckle. Their little face starts to resemble Mom and Dad as they continue to develop more normal looking facial features. Baby can hear sounds now and are able to feel pain. They have hair and eyebrows beginning to grow, as well as Lanugo – the fine hairs that cover the baby’s body and protect the skin. The baby now has unique fingerprints.
Inhaling and exhaling movements have begun and the torso is growing very quickly to make up the difference in body and head size. All nourishment is received through the placenta. The intestines continue their migration into the body from the umbilical cord.
At this point you may begin to feel “quickening”: a fluttering sensation in your abdomen. This is actually your baby moving around! It might be several weeks before you notice it, but some Mom’s notice this as early as 14 weeks.
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