• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Pregnancy Logo 2018

Pregnancy Magazine

Pregnancy and infancy news, tips, and reviews

“Great
  • Pregnancy
  • Labor & Delivery
  • Baby
  • Breastfeeding
  • Buyer’s Guide
  • mom

How your baby grows and changes in the second trimester

by Emme Lukasik Leave a Comment

By the time your second trimester begins, your baby has already progressed remarkably. What started as a mere clump of cells has grown into a tiny being who can now stretch, hiccup, and even sigh in your womb. Over the course of your second trimester, your baby’s growth will only gain speed as he or she races toward delivery day. Let’s take a look at some of the changes your little one’s making during these three months:

Measurements: At the start of your second trimester, your baby will weigh about 1 ounce and measure 3-4 inches in length from crown to rump. By the end of this trimester, your little one will weigh 2.5-3 pounds and measure almost 10 inches in length.

Breathing: While your baby doesn’t breathe in utero, he or she will begin practicing the movements around week 14 to prepare for life in the real world. By week 17, he or she is breathing out amniotic fluid and you may notice his or her tiny chest rising and falling on an ultrasound. By week 26, your baby can inhale and exhale.

Movements: Your little one will begin bending and flexing fingers, hands, feet, and toes. While you may not notice it yet, your baby is pretty active in there – flipping, kicking, and rolling around. If you’re a first time mom, you may not pick up on these movements until week 20 or later.

Protective layer: Your new son or daughter is developing a layer of very fine hair that covers his or her entire body. Once born, your baby may appear to be covered in tiny soft feathers. This is called lanugo. It helps keep your little one warm and to regulate body temperature. Your baby will naturally lose this in the weeks after birth.

Hearing: Your baby’s hearing develops by week 17. Between weeks 17-20, he or she can hear your voice and heartbeat–and may even startle at loud noises outside of your body. Later on, around week 23, your baby will improve at telling the difference between noises happening inside and outside of your body.

Reproductive organs: If you’re growing a little girl, her ovaries will produce more than 2 million eggs in the second trimester. This number will decrease drastically before birth. If your baby is a boy, his prostate gland starts forming at week 18.

Touch and taste: Around week 18, your little one begins to develop his or her unique fingerprints. Just a few weeks later, your baby’s tongue begins to develop tastebuds. Between weeks 20-22, your baby’s brain advances to allow your little one to experience touch. Take a look during the anatomy scan and you may see your baby rubbing his or her cheek or even sucking a thumb. Your little one may even respond to your touch now. Try giving your belly a gentle poke while you talk to your baby. You’ll be surprised to find your little one just might respond with a kick!

Survival: By week 24, your baby has a 25 percent chance of surviving outside the womb, thanks to the production of white blood cells and the partial development of baby’s lungs.

Teeth: Around week 25, your little one’s permanent teeth begin to form within the gums–though you won’t see them until your child turns 6 or 7 years old and loses his or her baby teeth.

Spine: Your baby’s spine starts to take shape slowly over the course of the second trimester to support your little one’s body as he or she continues to grow.

Facial features: At week 25, your baby’s nostrils take shape and open. A few weeks later and he or she can open his or eyelids and may even respond to a bright light shone outside your body. During this time, your little one is accumulating fat beneath his or her skin, resulting in a chubbier and rounder appearance.

Read more: The first trimester: How your baby takes shape

Filed Under: Pregnancy

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Peaceful Discipline by Sarah Moore

More to See

parent coaching

Parent Coaching: 3 Ways to Create a More Joyful Home

By Sarah Moore

The perfect workout for pregnant women (sponsored)

By Isa Herrera, MSPT CSCS

how to be a good mother

How to Be a Good Mother: 5 Ways To Raise Children with Love & Respect

By Sarah Moore

Aligned Parents webinar

By Paul Banas

Footer

Copyright 2023 Pregnancy Magazine Group

Emails powered by Wishpond: PregnancyWishpond

Dedicated WordPress hosting: PregnancyFlywheel

WordPress Theme: PregnancyTheme

This website provides information of a general nature and is designed for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for an examination by your healthcare provider. If you have any concerns about your own health or the health of your child, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. Please review the Terms of Use before using this site. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by the Terms of Use.

 

Recent

  • A Beginner’s Guide to Gentle Parenting: 5 Ways to Lead with Love
  • How to Be a Good Mother: 5 Ways To Raise Children with Love & Respect
  • Best Parenting Books: 28 Books That Will Change Your Life for the Better
  • Aligned Parents webinar
  • How to make sure your home is ready for the new addition to your family

Search

© Copyright 2023 Pregnancy Magazine Group · All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT