Your baby is gaining about an ounce a day. All senses are fully functioning, and toenails and fingernails are complete. This is the first month your baby may drop lower in your pelvis, which is called “lightening.”
- Week 37: Baby is preparing for their arrival by inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, blinking, and continuing to move from side to side. Dexterity in their fingers has developed more, and they can grasp smaller objects better, like toe and their nose. Along with thumb sucking, this prepares them for their first feeding session.
- Week 38: Baby’s eyes are now blue, grey, or brown. By the time baby is one year old, you will know their true color. The baby’s lungs have also strengthened, and the vocal cords have developed.
- Week 39: Baby’s brain has continued to grow and is now 30% bigger than it was just four weeks ago. Their pink skin is turning whiteish or whiteish grey and won’t have pigment, no matter what their eventual skin color will be until shortly after birth. They have likely reached their birth weight, somewhere between 6-9 pounds, about a third of which is accounted for by their head.
- Week 40: This is a typical gestational period for most mothers, with the baby releasing hormones that trigger labor. One born, be sure to talk to your baby a lot; they will most likely recognize your voice from hearing it inside the womb. Around 30% of pregnancies can proceed past the 40-week mark. Your doctor will give you further steps on how they would like to proceed with your pregnancy and if they wish to induce labor.
