The grow must go on! No wonder I’m getting so big, I’m now housing a wonder baby (that weighs nearly a pound and measures nearly a whole foot in length). The baby’s future in the circus as a world-famous tight-rope-walker is secure: her inner ear is now developed to the point that she has her own sense of balance. Lucky for my little explorer, balance also promotes physical dexterity, which has her actively feeling out her surroundings—where skin, body parts and umbilical cord are the big sensory experiences. My foot-long baby, is looking a bit like an oversized raisin right now as more and more wrinkles are showing up each week. Not to worry, all that excessive wrinkling is just her skin’s way of planning ahead for the time when she’ll start piling on that irresistible baby chub.
The baby has fully formed fingerprints and loud noise can wake her up. She may begin kicking and turning around, too. The baby’s heartbeat can be heard with a stethoscope. Her nose is taking on a more defined shape as cartilage (the soft bone) appears. Her lips are becoming more distinct, and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath her gum line. Her eyes are developed, though the iris (the colored part of the eye) still lacks pigment.
The senses the baby will use to learn about the world are also developing daily. Taste buds have started to form on the tongue and the brain and nerve endings are formed enough so that the baby can feel touch. She may experiment with this new sense of touch by stroking her face or sucking on a thumb, as well as feeling other body parts and seeing how they move.
Posted Monday, April 30th, 2007
