Our Girl Is A Butternut Squash

Your baby is growing rapidly now. This week she weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is getting bigger to accommodate her growing brain — which is busy developing billions of neurons. Every day, about 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in your baby's skeleton, which is now hardening. With this rapid growth, it's no surprise that your baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester.

As your baby continues to grow, she takes up a larger portion of your uterus. You may not feel that your body can handle your growing baby, but it will compensate by allowing your uterus to extend underneath your rib cage. Your baby’s eyes are becoming more mature, and now she can tell the difference between light and dark. Babies at 29 weeks can even follow a light source with their eyes. Once your baby is born, she will spend a great deal of time with their eyes closed. This is completely normal. Newborns only have the ability to focus on objects a few inches from their faces. While “normal” adult vision is 20/20, a newborn’s vision is 20/400.