Smile to mommy!

A miracle happens this week — your baby has a little face: eyes, nose, mouth, and ears which you will kiss many many times. Of course, it is difficult to say who he resembles more, mom or dad, but it looks less and less like a tadpole and more and more like a little human. The folds of the tissue on the head of the embryo turn into the jaw, cheeks, and chin and the small dimples on both sides of the head are not, alas, the dimples you'd hoped they'd inherit from you — they're actually ears. The small dots on the face in a few weeks will turn into shiny eyes.

Another achievement — a clear heartbeat. A small heart began to pulse somewhere at the end of the 5th week and now you can see it on the ultrasound. Your baby’s heart rate is 100 to 160 times per minute — almost twice as fast as yours. So inside you now have two hearts! Take advantage of the opportunity: you cannot only distill more blood, but also love someone with both hearts.

In addition, this week the baby curls into the classic fetal position — the same one you probably love to sleep in. It will curl up, legs pressed to its body. Yes, yes, it now has not only a tail, but also tiny legs. But there are no plans to run around yet — no wonder it settled so comfortably in your womb.

If you are expecting not one, but several babies, this will finally become clear in the 6th week. However, in the case when the twins are identical (turned out of one zygote), the ultrasound doctor cannot always determine at such an early date that the baby is not alone. The hearts of embryos can beat in unison, as one! Well, never mind, such cunning ones will sooner or later be discovered within a few weeks.

Planning an ultrasound this week? Then you will learn something else about the baby — its crown-to-rump size. Since the embryo is small and presses its legs to its abdomen, it is impossible to measure its entire height from crown to heels so doctors measure the length from crown to rump. Do not forget to take a printed picture with you — the first photo for your baby’s photo album. After several years, you will be enthusiastically telling the child that this pea in a bubble is him. Well, he is unlikely to believe it, of course.

Measuring baby:
Height (crown-to-rump) 0.079-0.19 in. (2-4 mm)