No sleep for you!

This week, your baby is constantly letting you know she’s there with all of her kicking! She has grown significantly, became stronger, and is now the size of a large banana — up to 11 inches (27 cm). Fortunately (or maybe not from your perspective), there is still enough space in the uterus to tumble and have fun, and she still feels free to move about. Her arms and legs have become proportionate, like those of a newborn, and her movements are more coordinated. The fact is that the baby’s brain continues to evolve, and now she’s not just jerking uncontrollably but doing real dance moves and flips (yes, when it seems like you have indigestion, this is it) and honing her martial arts skills.

But why does she get super active precisely when you want to relax? Even if it seems to you that your little acrobat never sleeps, she actually does. She sleeps about 18 hours a day — the same as a newborn baby. At this time, her heartbeat slows down, and her movements become almost unnoticeable. Well, if your levels of activity do not match, you have to get used to it, as currently you cannot even re-educate your little one. True, there is one way to calm the baby — try to stroke your belly and sing a lullaby (there is a chance that after birth the baby will also react to your singing and calm down faster). And you should try to calm down too, because the sound of your slow heartbeat and breathing also lulls your little one.

Your baby’s body is also hard at work not sleeping and continues to improve. Prior to this, only the liver and spleen of the fetus worked hard, producing blood cells, but now the bone marrow begins to help them. The taste buds in the tongue are so developed that by swallowing the amniotic fluid (and she does it all the time, learning to swallow and training her esophagus), the baby can probably taste what you have eaten. So eat less hot, bitter, sour, and salty food — do not upset the baby! Don’t overindulge on chocolates either, or else she will get used to it ...

More good news — the baby has real eyebrows! Now her face is even more human and plump (as fat continues to accumulate), so it’s not surprising that you can’t wait to see your beautiful baby.

Measuring a baby:
Height:
Crown-to-rump: 7 in (18 cm)
Crown to heels: 10.5 in (26.7 cm)
Weight 0.79-0.84 lbs. (360-380 g)