18 Weeks Pregnant!

Mommy will be induced about 2 weeks early due to gestational diabetes and producing large babies!  If so, this is the halfway mark for the pregnancy.  It is flying by!  

How big is my baby at 18 weeks?

At 5½ inches long from crown to rump and 5 to 6½ ounces in weight — about the size of that boneless chicken breast you're making for dinner — your baby may be large enough now or anytime in the next few weeks for you to feel twisting, rolling, kicking and punching in the womb.

Baby is yawning

Now for the skill of the week: The art of the yawn has been mastered by your baby, along with hiccupping, which you may feel soon, too!

In fact, you might catch a glimpse of that adorable yawn and all those other fetal movements at your ultrasound this month.

Baby's nervous system is maturing quickly

Something you won't see on the ultrasound — but you'll learn is in working order — is your baby's nervous system, which is maturing rapidly when you're 18 weeks pregnant.

A network of nerves, now covered with a substance called myelin that helps speed messages from nerve cell to nerve cell, are forming more complex connections.

And those in the brain are further developing into the ones that serve the senses of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing.

Speaking of hearing, your baby's is growing more acute and baby can finally fully hear you this week, making your little one more conscious of sounds that come from inside your body. Meaning you could both be listening to each other hiccup!