At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, your baby is about
the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, she'll go through a tremendous
growth spurt, though, doubling her weight and adding inches to her length. Her
lower limbs are much more developed now. Her head is more erect than it has
been, and her eyes have moved toward the front of her head. Your baby's ears are
close to their final position, too. Some of her more advanced body systems are
working, including her circulatory system and urinary tract. Her heart is now
pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating her total blood volume
through her body many times. (By the end of your pregnancy, this will increase
to about 190 quarts.) The patterning of her scalp has begun, though her hair
isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, her eyes are moving (slowly), and she's
even started growing toenails.
Yes. We don't have scientific proof that pets sense their owners' pregnancies, but I've seen plenty of examples of this in my ten years as an animal trainer.
Your pets probably don't understand that in nine months there will be a new baby joining your family, but dogs and cats do detect differences in your mood, posture, behavior, and body chemistry that clue them in to the enormous change you're going through.
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It's common for dogs to go on alert and become overprotective of their expecting owner from the very beginning of her pregnancy. I've worked with dogs that growled, barked, or blocked doors with their bodies to prevent other family members — even the husband — from coming into the same room as the mom-to-be!
Other dogs will treat their pregnant owner with more attention and care than usual. One woman I worked with had a difficult pregnancy and ended up on bedrest. Her dog refused to leave her side, and had to be forcefully pushed outside to go to the bathroom.
Here is as progress update on the baby courtesy of BabyCenter.com:Head to bottom, your baby's 3 1/2 inches long — about the length of a lemon — and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. Her body's growing faster than her head, which now sits upon a more well-defined neck. By the end of this week, her arms will have lengthened and will be in proportion to the rest of her body. (Her legs still have some growing to do, though.)
She's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair all over her body (called lanugo). Her liver starts secreting bile this week, a sign that it's already functioning properly, and her spleen starts contributing to the production of red blood cells. She's also producing and discharging urine into the amniotic fluid, a normal process that she'll keep up until birth.
You still can't feel your baby's movements, but her hands and feet (which are now half an inch long) are more flexible and active. Thanks to brain impulses, her little facial muscles are getting a workout as she squints, frowns, and grimaces. She can grasp now, too, and she may be able to suck her thumb.
