PREGNANCY
Week 22
Week 25
Your baby resembles the size of a papaya by week 22.
Length: 28 cm
Weight: 430 g
Your baby’s lungs are developing rapidly in week 22 and will
begin making a protein called surfactant which will help him
breathe independently once he’s born.
By now your baby weighs as much as a big mango.
Length: 35 cm
Weight: 660 g
Baby is developing a firm grasp and may reach out and
grab the umbilical cord and play with it. He can also stick out
his tongue now, cheeky thing!
Week 23
Week 26
Your baby this week is roughly the same size as a
sweet potato.
Length: 29 cm
Weight: 500 g
Braxton Hicks start to affect many pregnant women in
their second or third trimester. These are sporadic uterine
contractions. Do not worry about them, as they will not
affect your baby adversely.
Week 24
This week your baby is as long as an ear of corn.
Length: 33 cm
Weight: 600 g
Baby’s nostrils are opening now to practice breathing; he’ll
go through the same motions of real breathing but inhale
amniotic fluid instead of air. Though not ideal, if your baby
was to be born from now on he would stand a very good
chance of survival as most of the body functions are
in place and in working order.
Baby is about the same size as a medium sized butternut.
Length: 36 cm
Weight: 760 g
Your baby’s eyes have now opened again. Just as you would
see light coming through your hand if you shone a torch
through it, the same is true for your baby inside the womb.
Shine a torch against mom’s belly and gauge how he reacts.
Week 27
Your baby is probably as heavy as a head of cauliflower.
Length: 37 cm
Weight: 875 g
At this point he may be able to distinguish between you
and your partner’s voices so maybe try reading or singing
to him! By this stage of the pregnancy his facial features
will be almost completely developed, so it’s a good time
for a 3D or 4D ultrasound. (However if your placenta is
a t the front of your uterus, rather wait another week for
better results.)
Third Trimester
Week 28
At the start of your third trimester, your baby is
likely to be the same size as a pineapple.
Length: 37cm
Weight: 1 kg
This is when your baby starts to smell the
same things that you’re smelling. In fact the
amniotic fluid he’s floating in enhances his
sense of smell.
Week 29
Your baby is about as long as a cucumber.
Length: 38 cm
Weight: 1 kg
During the eight months in the womb your
baby gains at least a kilogram of insulating fat.
Because there isn’t as much room to manoeuvre
anymore his movements will begin to be more
controlled, and you’ll more often than not feel a
knee or elbow rather than an entire arm or leg.
Week 30
Your baby is now as big as a cabbage.
Length: 39.9 cm
Weight: 1.3 kg
Though your baby will most likely achieve
20 / 20 vision, for now it is only about 20 / 400.
This means he can only distinguish light and
objects a few inches in front of him. By now
your little one also has a tendency to suck his
thumb for comfort, and, when life gets too
tiring, to yawn.
Week 31
Your baby will be about as long as a bunch of
leeks in week 31.
Length: 41.1 cm
Weight: 1.5 kg
More fatty deposits are being made under his
skin, producing those chubby baby rolls we all
love so much.
Week 32
Your baby is approximately the size of a bunch of
spinach from crown to heel.
Length: 42.2 cm
Weight: 1.7 kg
By now, you baby will generally sleep for 90 %
of the day – just like a newborn baby – and
evidence indicates he will even experience
REM sleep. This means that he may be
experiencing his first dreams!
Week 33
Your baby’s size and weight is now equivalent
to a large butternut.
Length: 43.7 cm
Weight: 1.9 kg
Lanugo, the fine hair that covers a baby’s
body to keep him warm in the womb, now
starts to disappear. Sometimes traces of it
can still be found when he is born on his
shoulders and back.