Week 17 - 18
December 23rd, 2006 at 9:27 pm (Stages of Pregnancy)
Your baby measures about 19 cm long from head to toe (or 7.6 inches) and weighs about 280 grams (9.8 ounces).
Your baby’s skin is still fine, transparent and slightly wrinkled because they do not have a layer of fat yet. The many blood vessels flowing underneath their skin makes it appear purply-red. The scant whiskers of hair on various parts of your baby’s body have now become a fine layer of down covering them all over (called ‘lanugo’). This hair helps protect your baby’s skin and is only shed a few weeks before they are due to be born.
Your baby will now explore their own body with their hands and if you are having twins or more they may try and locate each other, by touching and exploring the body of their brother or sister. There is plenty of fluid around your baby at this stage, allowing them to turn, twist and change position frequently.