Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Several Milestones...

...occur this month. The eyelids are completely formed and closed over eyes that can react to changes in light. The nose, lips and chin are distinct and the entire body is covered with downy hair called lanugo. The external genitalia become distinctly male. Their neck is long enough to lift the chin off the chest. The legs have grown almost as long as the arms and the abdomen is now large enough for the intestines to fit properly inside it as they keep growing. As the boys' body grow, so do their muscles, which means that they can begin to flex the arms and legs that were mere bumps only a few weeks ago. nails have begun to form on the fingers, but they will be soft until after delivery. Fingerprints are forming. The liver begins to make bile, which is needed for digestion. Facial features, too, are becoming more distinct, and teeth are growing underneath the gums. Soon the babies will begin to hear and react to the noisy world of the uterus. The hair begins to grown on the body too this month. Eyebrows...

Like a scuba diver with his oxygen tank or a space traveler tethered to the mother ship, the boys float effortlessly in the amniotic sac, receiving nourishment and oxygen through the sturdy umbilical cord. Arms and legs, so short a few weeks ago, have grown long enough to touch each other. The boys are thin because nutrients have been used for the creation and functioning of organs, bones and muscles. But over the next few months, more and more of the nutrients the babies receive will go toward laying down fat under their skin and rounding out the proportions.

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