Watch Me Grow!

In this follow-up article in our series, we tell you exactly how your baby is developing in the second trimester of your pregnancy

Nine months: It may seem a long, slow journey, but each week there’s something happening fast and furiously inside your burgeoning belly. Not only is your baby growing but your own body is changing to keep up. Here’s a look at all the stages of development in weeks 14 to 27.

WEEK 14

Baby’s on the move! Not jerky twitches like in the previous trimester, but smooth movements—though you won’t feel them yet until the next few weeks. The neck is getting longer, making the head stand more erect. Baby’s covered in a downy coating of hair called lanugo, for warmth. The eyebrows are filling in, too. The intestines are producing meconium: the waste that’ll be excreted in baby’s first bowel movement after birth.

WEEK 15

Growing faster every week, baby now starts looking more like a… well, baby. The ears are on the sides of the head and the eyes are nearing the front of the face. There’s kicking, curling of toes, and movement of the arms and legs.

WEEK 16

The backbone and tiny muscles in the back are growing stronger, so baby can straighten out the head and neck even more. Facial muscles are developing, so baby can make a few frowns and squints. The eyes are working now, making little side-to-side movements and perceiving light. The eyelids are still sealed, though. The skin is translucent, with no baby fat yet. Tiny bones in the ears are in place, so your baby can actually hear your voice.

WEEK 17

Body fat is beginning to form. Baby’s heart is now regulated by the brain, and beating 140 to 150 times per minute—almost twice as fast as yours. Finger- and toe prints are beginning to form. And your little one is already practising breathing, sucking and swallowing motions.

WEEK 18