26 week update

How your baby's growing:
Feel like your baby is bouncing off the walls? It's no wonder -- her living quarters are getting pretty snug these days. Your baby now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches, from head to heel. The nerve pathways in her ears are developing, which means her response to sounds is growing more consistent. Her lungs are developing now, too, as she continues to take small breaths of amniotic fluid — good practice for when she's born and takes that first breath of air.

To support the fetus's growing body, the spine is getting stronger and more supple. Though no longer than the span of the average adult hand, it is now made up of 150 joints and some 1,000 ligaments.

You can also compare bellies now if you have the opportunity, for example at the pool or childbirth classes. Of course, the size of one's pregnancy belly says nothing about the size of the baby inside. A baby who sits forward can be smaller than a baby who sits more to the back or who lies across the uterus. Very tall women may have a very small "basketball belly" with a very large baby. Even your increased weight says nothing about the size of your baby. It really doesn't matter how much weight you gain. On average, during the pregnancy you will gain 35 pounds (15 kilos)-including those women who lose weight and those who gain 100 lbs (45 kilos)! Those extra pounds are not all in your belly. They are divided up approximately as follows:


baby 7 ½ pounds (3400 grams)
placenta and membranes 1 ½ pounds (650 grams)
amniotic fluid 1 ¾ pounds (800 grams)
uterus 2 ¼ pounds (1000 grams)
extra blood 2 ¾ pounds (1250 grams)
breasts 1 ¼ pounds (500 grams)
extra fat supply 5 ¼ pounds (2400 grams)
extra fluid 4 ½ pounds (2000 grams)