Week 7: The Blueberry

While in upstate NY, my cousin and I hand picked about 15 pounds of blueberries. The craziest part about this picture? I was totally pregnant and had no idea! This week, the baby is the size of a blueberry (10,000 times bigger than it was at conception a month ago!) Major developments this week include: The head (new brain cells are being generated at the rate of 100 cells per minute). The arm and leg bugs begin to sprout and grow longer and stronger, dividing into hand, arm, and shoulder segments. Leg, knee, and foot segments look more like paddles than hands and feet at this stage. Also forming this week are the baby's mouth and tongue. S/he has already gone through three sets of kidneys. The ones in place now are the permanent set and are poised to begin their important work of waste management. In a week, my baby will start producing urine. Much of that urine will be excreted into the amniotic fluid, swallowed again by the baby, and then excreted again in a continuous cycle. Yummy. I guess it's too late to teach my baby "Don't eat yellow snow...or....water....."