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Your Developing Baby in Second Trimester: Weeks 13 - 28

 
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At 16 weeks:

- Muscle tissue and bone continue to form, creating a more complete skeleton.

- Skin begins to form. You can nearly see through it.

- Meconium (mih-KOH-nee-uhm) develops in your baby's intestinal tract. This will be your baby's first bowel movement.

- Your baby makes sucking motions with the mouth (sucking reflex).

- Your baby reaches a length of about 4 to 5 inches and weighs almost 3 ounces.

At 20 weeks:

- Your baby is more active. You might feel slight fluttering.

- Your baby is covered by fine, downy hair called lanugo (luh-NOO-goh) and a waxy coating called vernix. This protects the forming skin underneath.

- Eyebrows, eyelashes, fingernails, and toenails have formed. Your baby can even scratch itself.

- Your baby can hear and swallow.

- Now halfway through your pregnancy, your baby is about 6 inches long and weighs about 9 ounces.

At 24 weeks:

- Bone marrow begins to make blood cells.

- Taste buds form on your baby's tongue.

- Footprints and fingerprints have formed.

- Real hair begins to grow on your baby's head.

- The lungs are formed, but do not work.

- The hand and startle reflex develop.

- Your baby sleeps and wakes regularly.

- If your baby is a boy, his testicles begin to move from the abdomen into the scrotum. If your baby is a girl, her uterus and ovaries are in place, and a lifetime supply of eggs have formed in the ovaries.

- Your baby stores fat and has gained quite a bit of weight. Now at about 12 inches long, your baby weighs about 1½ pounds.

For more resources on pregnancy click here.

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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.