30-week fetus - Image courtesy of BabybondWant to see a bigger pic?Your baby now weighs nearly 1.3 kg or 3lbs. The soft, fine early hair called lanugo that has been protecting your baby’s skin in the womb is beginning to disappear and she may now

it moisturised in her watery environment. You’ll probably be able to see traces of this vernix when you first hold your baby.The umbilical cord and placenta are continuing to develop to support your ever-growing child, and now your placenta and baby are now

descending back into the pelvis shortly before birth. You may see a dark line of pigmentation, the linea nigra, forming along the midline of your abdomen. Your 12-week scan should enable you to hear the baby’s heart beat and be reassured that everything

! By the end of this week the eyelids are almost covering the eyes.The gender of your baby, already established at the time of conception, will now begin to make its mark as the sex organs begin to form, testes first for the boys and ovaries for the girls

All pregnant women find it reassuring to feel their babies move and whether noticeable movement starts as early as 16 weeks as a fluttering sensation or the first 'kick' doesn't happen until 20 or 21 weeks, by the time most women are into the second

in the amniotic fluid, building up her muscle strength for after the birth. In a few weeks' time though, the space she'll have to move around in will gradually shrink as grows and bulks up with fat deposits, filling out your womb. So the kinds of movements you

Image of 34-week fetus courtesy of BabybondWant to see a bigger pic?Your baby is about 47 centimetres long and weighs 4.5lbs, over 2 kilos. It’s around this time that she will turn to face downwards. The new position will put more strain on your

. Did you miss out on what was happening to your baby last week? Take a look at fetal development - week 27. Your baby now weighs around 900 grams or 2lbs. She is probably now at the peak of her activity, before the space she has to play in begins

26-week fetus - Image courtesy of BabybondWant to see a bigger pic?Your baby is now nearly 40 centimetres long and weighs about 900g, nearly 2lbs. Her lungs are continuing their rapid development and your baby is practising breathing - inhaling

Image of 18-week fetus courtesy of BabybondWant to see a bigger pic?Your baby is now over 15 centimetres crown to rump and weighs 225-250 grammes, around half a pound. The nerves and spinal cord are now being coated with a fatty matter called myelin