Monster Update: Week 12

The Monster has hit the 2-inch mark (about the size of a lime (pictured)) and weighs half an ounce. Its face is beginning to look more human. The eyes, which started out on the sides of its head, have moved closer together on its face, and its ears are near their final positions on the sides of the head. The Tummy Monster's intestines, which have grown so rapidly that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into the abdominal cavity about now. Its kidneys are secreting urine into its bladder. Nerve cells have been multiplying rapidly, and synapses (neurological pathways in the brain) are forming. The Monster may have acquired more reflexes by now, including sucking, and it'll even squirm if we prod Stef's abdomen, though she still won't be able to feel the Monster's movement for several weeks.

Text adapted from Baby Center.