Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Getting ready for travel

23 weeks 0 days (LMP) 21 weeks 0 days

Your baby now weighs about 1 pound (455 g), and its crown-to-rump length is about 8 inches (20 cm). The baby is about the size of a small doll.

Your baby is continuing to grow. Its body is getting plumper, but its skin is still wrinkled because it will gain even more weight. Lanugo hair on the body occasionally turns darker at this time. The baby's face and body begin to assume more of the appearance of an infant at birth.

The baby's pancreas is developing. This organ is important in hormone production, particularly insulin production; insulin is necessary for the body to break down and to use sugar. When the fetus is exposed to high blood-sugar levels, the fetal pancreas responds by increasing the blood-insulin level. Insulin has been identified in a fetal pancreas as early as 9 weeks of pregnancy. Insulin in fetal blood has been detected as early as 12 weeks of pregnancy.

We leave for California a week from today. The trip promises to leave me feeling exhausted. We have much planned. I will update when we return.

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