18 weeks

This week I'm 18 weeks! Almost halfway through! The baby weighs a little over 5 ounces and is 5 1/2 inches long. About the size of a sweet potato! I keep reading (and people keep asking) about the movements of baby. I haven't felt anything yet, but I really am trying to! Baby's ears are completely formed and facing forward, so baby can hear my unique heartbeat, the blood going through the umbilical cord, and voices now. This week is also the beginning of ossification, the hardening of baby's bones. The parts of the brain that receives and processes nerve signals are developing. Baby is also developing yawning and hiccuping skills and his own unique set of fingerprints and toe prints. If baby is a boy, his prostate gland is beginning to develop, and if a girl, the fallopian tubes are developing. Baby's taste buds are beginning to develop and can distinguish sweet from bitter. Grow baby grow!