Wow. It’s already eighteen weeks along for Baby Agnew. It’s kinda hard to believe. Amanda has been doing spectacular. She is such a trooper, and she’s been doing great. She’s begun to feel some flips in her stomach down there. Whoever it is down there is starting to make his/her presence known for sure.
Which brings me to a critical point – we are getting the ultrasound on Wednesday and hopefully find out if it is a boy or a girl. So be sure to check back here on my blog on Wednesday night with the results. You can comment and submit your guess to what we’re getting if you like to. If you are right, you can babysit for us. If you are wrong, you can buy us some diapers.
How your baby’s growing:
Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She’s busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that you’ll likely start noticing more and more. Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin and her ears are now in position and stand out from her head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she’s born. If you’re having a girl, her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.
Your baby is growing rapidly. His bones are continuing to harden and the pads of his fingers and toes are formed. He even has his own set of fingerprints developing as well. Your baby is approximately 5.5 inches and weighs about 200 grams (7.5 ounces). Your baby can kick, swallow, and sleep. He also is developing his stomach, intestine and colon and the intestines collect meconium (the initial stool a baby will pass after birth). If the baby is a boy, the prostate will begin to develop this week as well. The skin is still a bit pink and transparent and his ears still stick out from his head. The four-chambered heart begins to build up muscle cells and is pumping between 25 and 30 quarts of blood per day.
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.
I don’t care if you baby is a boy or girl…please let me babysit. I will buy diapers, too. My bet is on it being a boy.