Week info 12 & 13

WEEK 12
Your baby can swallow by now, and he might even get the hiccups! He's a whopping 3 inches long, and his head, which was half the size of his body last month, is now just a third as big as the rest of him. He's also less hunched over. His face is almost fully formed, and his nose, eyelids, and ears are almost completely developed. He's even got an upper lip.

Blood has started to pump through your baby's umbilical cord, carrying nutrients and oxygen from your body through the placenta to support your baby. The umbilical cord also works in reverse to rid your body of the baby's waste products now that his kidneys are excreting urine.

All of the major organ systems have finished forming by the end of your 1st trimester, so now they only need to grow. Your baby has opposable thumbs too, and his motions are more purposeful. In fact, some researchers say they can detect variations in personality even this early, such as whether your baby will be active or calm, a thumb sucker or not. Most of his motions right now are reflexes, but his muscles are starting to respond to his brain signals; he can kick and curl his toes. If you could prod your baby's hands right now, they would probably close because of reflex. He'll be holding your finger with a good, firm grip before too long.


WEEK 13
Your baby-to-be is almost done with the first trimester! In the first trimester, he went from a collection of cells to a fully formed individual in a matter of a few weeks. In the coming weeks, his basic body structure will add tissue -- and every part of his body will become more defined. He'll also become stronger. Sometime this trimester you might also be able to feel your baby kick and wiggle!

Probably one of the most important happenings this week is that your baby-to-be has a functioning kidney and urinary tract system. In other words, he's starting to pee in utero. This is normal and helps his body systems begin to process what he ingests.

Your baby's body skeleton is also adding layers to the rudimentary beginnings of bone. Tissue in his arms, legs, and face will be added to in the coming days. In fact, your baby's arms and legs are more proportionate to the size of the rest of his body.

Another change you can begin to see in the sonogram image is the relation of your baby's head size to the rest of his body. Up until now, his head overshadowed the rest of his body by half. Now, as his body has elongated, his head is only 1/3 the size of his growing frame.