Week 17

Welcome to Week 17 in the Baby Smith pregnancy blog. Laura is feeling much better now that she is into her 2nd trimester. The morning sickness has gone away, with the occasional sickness here and there. We think we might have felt the baby kick over the weekend but we are not sure. From a soon-to-be father's point of view, this is such an amazing time! I've had cousins and friends who have been pregnant, but it makes it more real when it is my child. Seeing Laura progressing each week, knowing that our child is growing inside of her is amazing!!!

Our baby's weight has doubled in two weeks and now weighs about 3.5 ounces! The crown-to-rump length of our growing baby is 4.4 to 4.8 inches. If you spread your hand out opened wide, you can see about how big our baby is right now.

Huge changes continue to take place within our developing baby. This week fat begins to form and will continue to do so until he/she is born. Fat is important to the body's heat production and metabolism. Right now, at 17 weeks, water makes up about 3 ounces and fat 0.018 ounces of the baby's body. In a baby at term, fat makes up about 5.25 pounds of the total average weight of 7.7 pounds. The placenta is continuing to grow at an amazing rate. The placenta will continue to develop in tandem with the fetus and it will weigh more than a pound at birth! By this week, the placenta is large and well established with a network of blood vessels that exchange nutrients and waste.

The eyes are facing more forward. The ears are now close to their final position.

Our baby is more flexible with ability to move head, mouth, lips, arms, wrists, hands, legs, feet, and toes. Fingerprints are also forming now.