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Month 1- Conception
The father's sperm and mother's egg joins. This is called fertilization. The baby is called a zygote and is about the size of a single grain. Cell divison is also beginning at this stage. Arm and leg buds form. The parts of the face (eyes, ears, nose, and mouth) begin to take form. The heart also begins to beat. -
Month 2- Fetus
The baby is about one inch long. The lining of the placenta is beginning to devlop. Brain waves are now being detected and the blood circulation from the heart is extablished. Evidence of organs (liver, pancreas, lungs, and stomach) are showing. Gentials are present, but the gender cannot be distinguished yet. Irises are developing. Fingers are able to curl and taste buds and tooth buds are forming. The fetus can also hiccup! -
Month 3
The baby can smile now. It also makes faces and can practice breathing in amniotic fluid. The baby weighs about one ounce. The baby is moving more, but is not felt by the mother. The baby can hear sounds and moves as the mother moves. -
Month 4
The baby is about 8 inches. The mother can feel the movements made by the baby. The finger nails are formed and it sucks its thumb. The umbilical chord is critical. -
Month 5
The weigth is about 15 ounces now. The baby's head shifts to a head-down position to prepare fore birth. The hearing is acute. The eyebrows develop and so does the fine hair and vernix. -
Month 6
The baby gains another pound. The eyes are open and it begins to distinguish between light and dark because the uterus allows some light in. Hand coordination increases and can move the thumb more. Small fat desposits that retain heat begins to develop. -
Month 7
If the baby is a boy, the testes will probably begin descending. It is beginning to regulate its own body temperature. The skin is wrinkled from floating in water. Eyelashes are developing and fat deposits are continuing to develop under the skin. The baby weighs about two to four pounds and the mother may be experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions. -
Month 8
The baby weighs about four to six pounds. Distinctive behavioral traits become recognizable. This includes sleep and crying. The irises can now dilate and contract in response to light. It is beginning to produce surfactant, which helps breathing after birth. It coats the alveoli in the lungs. -
Month 9- birth month
The baby should weigh about 5 to 7 pounds. The organ systems are completing development for birth and the baby will gain his/her "fat cheeks." The mother's antibodies pass through the placenta to provide immunity to the baby from measles, chicken pox, whooping cough, etc. This should be the month that the mother gives birth to a baby around 7.5 pounds at an average of 20 inches long.
