Update on Baby Horak - 18 Weeks Pregnant

This week our baby is hitting the height chart at five and a half inches long (crown to rump) and probably weighs about five ounces.  The new skill of the week (drum roll please…): The art of the yawn has been mastered by our baby. In fact, we might catch a glimpse of that adorable yawn when we get an ultrasound next Monday. We'll also catch a glimpse of all the movement our baby's doing — twists, rolls, kicks, and punches. Our baby is finally big enough for me to start feeling those movements a little bit!

Our baby's nervous system is maturing rapidly at this time. Nerves, now covered with a substance called myelin (which speeds messages from nerve cell to nerve cell), are forming more complex connections. And those in the brain are further specializing into the ones that serve the senses of touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing.