Development Timeline

  • 2

    Week 2

    Week 2
    the fertilized egg will start dividing into multiple cells as it travels down the fallopian tube, enters your uterus, and starts to burrow into the uterine lining.
  • 3

    Week 3

    Week 3
    This ball, called a blastocyst, has begun to produce the pregnancy hormone hCG, which tells your ovaries to stop releasing eggs.
  • 4

    Week 4

    Week 4
    The bag of cells is now called embryo. It's around this time – when your next period would normally be due – that you might be able to get a positive result on a home pregnancy test.
  • 5

    Week 5

    Week 5
    The circulatory system is beginning to form, and the tiny "heart" will start to beat this week.Your baby is the size of a sesame seed.
  • 6

    Week 6

    Week 6
    Your baby's nose, mouth and ears are starting to take shape, and the intestines and brain are beginning to develop.
  • 7

    Week 7

    Week 7
    Little hands and feet that look more like paddles are emerging from the developing arms and legs.
  • 8

    Week 8

    Week 8
    Nerve cells are branching out, forming primitive neural pathways. Breathing tubes now extend from his throat to his developing lungs.
  • 9

    Week 9

    Week 9
    Her embryonic tail has disappeared. She weighs just a fraction of an ounce but is about to start gaining weight fast.
  • 10

    Week 10

    Week 10
    His skin is still translucent, but his tiny limbs can bend and fine details like nails are starting to form.
  • 11

    Week 11

    Week 11
    His fingers will soon begin to open and close, toes will curl, and his mouth will make sucking movements. He'll feel it if you gently poke your tummy – though you won't feel his movements yet.
  • 12

    Week 12

    Week 12
    His fingers will soon begin to open and close, toes will curl, and his mouth will make sucking movements. He'll feel it if you gently poke your tummy – though you won't feel his movements yet.
  • 13

    Week 13

    Week 13
    Your baby's tiny fingers now have fingerprints, and her veins and organs are clearly visible through her skin.
  • 14

    Week 14

    Week 14
    His kidneys are working now, too. If you have an ultrasound, you may even see him sucking his thumb.
  • 15

    Week 15

    Week 15
    She can sense light. If you shine a flashlight on your tummy, she'll move away from the beam. Ultrasounds done this week may reveal your baby's sex.
  • 16

    Week 16

    Week 16
    His legs are more developed – find out when you're likely to feel your baby kick! His head is more upright, and his ears are close to their final position.
  • 17

    Week 17

    Week 17
    Your baby can move her joints, and her skeleton – formerly soft cartilage – is now hardening to bone. The umbilical cord is growing stronger and thicker.
  • 18

    Week 18

    Week 18
    Your baby is flexing his arms and legs, and you may be able to feel those movements. Internally, a protective coating of myelin is forming around his nerves.
  • 19

    Week 19

    Week 19
    Your baby's senses – smell, vision, touch, taste and hearing – are developing and she may be able to hear your voice. Talk, sing or read out loud to her, if you feel like it.
  • 20

    Week 20

    Week 20
    Your baby can swallow now and his digestive system is producing meconium, the dark, sticky goo that he'll pass in his first poop – either in his diaper or in the womb during delivery.
  • 21

    Week 21

    Week 21
    Your baby's movements have gone from flutters to full-on kicks and jabs against the walls of your womb.
  • 22

    Week 22

    Week 22
    Your baby now looks almost like a miniature newborn. Features such as lips and eyebrows are more distinct, but the pigment that will color his eyes isn't present yet.
  • 23

    Week 23

    Week 23
    Your baby's ears are getting better at picking up sounds. After birth, she may recognize some noises outside the womb that she's hearing inside now.
  • 24

    Week 24

    Week 24
    Your baby cuts a pretty long and lean figure, but chubbier times are coming. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will begin to change soon too.
  • 25

    Week 25

    Week 25
    Your baby's wrinkled skin is starting to fill out with baby fat, making her look more like a newborn. Her hair is beginning to come in, and it has color and texture.
  • 26

    Week 26

    Week 26
    Your baby is now inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, which helps develop his lungs. These breathing movements are good practice for that first breath of air at birth.
  • 27

    Week 27

    Week 27
    Your baby now sleeps and wakes on a regular schedule, and her brain is very active. Her lungs aren't fully formed, but they could function outside the womb with medical help.
  • 28

    Week 28

    Week 28
    Your baby's eyesight is developing, which may enable her to sense light filtering in from the outside. She can blink, and her eyelashes have grown in.
  • 29

    Week 29

    Week 29
    Your baby's muscles and lungs are busy getting ready to function in the outside world, and his head is growing to make room for his developing brain.
  • 30

    Week 30

    Week 30
    Your baby is surrounded by a pint and a half of amniotic fluid, although there will be less of it as she grows and claims more space inside your uterus.
  • 31

    Week 31

    Week 31
    Your baby can now turn his head from side to side. A protective layer of fat is accumulating under his skin, filling out his arms and legs.
  • 32

    Week 32

    Week 32
    Half of that goes straight to your baby, who will gain one-third to half her birth weight in the next seven weeks in preparation for life outside the womb.
  • 33

    Week 33

    Week 33
    The bones in your baby's skull aren't fused yet. That allows them to shift as his head squeezes through the birth canal. They won't fully fuse until adulthood.
  • 34

    Week 34

    Week 34
    Your baby's central nervous system is maturing, as are her lungs. Babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems usually do well in the long run.
  • 35

    Week 35

    Week 35
    Your baby's kidneys are fully developed, and his liver can process some waste products.
  • 36

    Week 36

    Week 36
    She's also losing most of the fine down that covered her body, along with the vernix casosa, a waxy substance that was protecting her skin until now.
  • 37

    Week 37

    Week 37
    Over the next two weeks his lungs and brain will fully mature.
  • 38

    Week 38

    Week 38
    Her irises are not fully pigmented, so if she's born with blue eyes, they could change to a darker color up until she's about a year old.
  • 39

    Week 39

    Week 39
    Your baby's physical development is complete, but he's still busy putting on fat he'll need to help regulate his body temperature in the outside world.