It's hard to say for sure how big the Tummy Monster will be, but the average newborn weighs about 7.5 pounds (a small pumpkin (pictured)) and is about 20 inches long. The biggest part of the Monster's body is his head, but his still-pliable skull will give it the flexibility necessary to squeeze through the birth canal. If and when he deigns to make an appearance, that is.
Text adapted from Baby Center.
Just about a week to go and the Monster is just waiting to greet the world. He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, the size of a small watermelon (pictured). Try walking around and sleeping while carrying a watermelon in your waistband, and you'll understand how Stef is doing and why we're totally ready for him to be here now.
Text adapted from Baby Center.
The Tummy Monster has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and he's over 19.5 inches long (like a large bunch of leeks (pictured)). He has a firm grasp, which we'll soon be able to test when we hold the Monster's hand for the first time! Also, his organs have fully matured and are ready for life outside the womb. So long as he doesn't come while I'm stuck in 5-hour traffic due to inclement weather, we're all set!
Text adapted from Baby Center.
Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, the Tummy Monster is officially full term! This means that he pops out now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though Stef's due date is still three weeks away. It also means that spicy food is on the menu and the trampoline will be arriving any day now! (Just kidding. We're not going to induce - or even try and homeopathic induction methods - unless the Doctors tell us to. We're all about having a healthy Monster and just forget about the "inconvenient" timing of the thing.)
Anyway, the Monster weighs about 6 pounds now and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard (pictured)). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 0.5 inch to 1.5 inches long (and possibly in color not at all similar to the parents), but I was bald when I was born and Stef hasn't had any indigestion yet, so it's unlikely the Monster has any hair at all right now.
Text adapted from Baby Center.
The Tummy Monster is gaining about an ounce a day, now. He weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon (pictured)) and is more than 18.5 inches long. Nevertheless, Stef's being a trooper, even though the Monster's clearly staring to weigh her down and tire her out quickly. Inside, the Monster's shedding most of the downy hair that covered his body, as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that protected his skin (like a round of cheese!) during his nine-month amniotic bath. Next week, the Monster will be considered full-term, so the nervous, anticipatory waiting has begun.
Text adapted from Baby Center.
The Tummy Monster doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5.25 pounds (the heft of a honeydew (pictured)). Because it's so snug in Stef's womb, he isn't supposed to be doing somersaults anymore (although he hasn't gotten that memo, yet). He's still kicking a ton and hanging out on Stef's spleen. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic monster development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight. That extra helping of turkey and mashed potatoes? All him.
Text adapted from Baby Center.
The Tummy Monster now weighs about 4.75 pounds (like your average cantaloupe (pictured)) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which he'll need to regulate his body temperature once he's out in the real world — are filling out, making the Monster rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. The Monster's central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. Although it is good to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine, we'd still like the Monster to stay cooking for a bit longer to avoid a stay in the neonatal nursery or any short-term health issues.
Text adapted from Baby Center.
This week the Monster weighs a little over 4 pounds (the heft of a pineapple, pictured) and he has likely passed the 17-inch benchmark that all fetuses aim for. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his tiny monster skeleton is hardening. The bones in the Monster's skull aren't fused together, though, but that's a good thing which will make it easier for him to squeeze the birth canal. These bones won't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.
Text adapted from Baby Center.
By now, the Tummy Monster weighs 3.75 pounds (about the size of a large jicama, pictured) and is about 16.5 inches long (give or take), taking up a lot of space and moving around a ton. Stef has been healthily gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to the Monster. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb.
Text adapted from Baby Center.
This week, the Tummy Monster measures over 16 inches long and weighs about 3.3 pounds (approx. weight of four navel oranges) and he is heading into a growth spurt! He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's moving a lot, too, so is having some trouble sleeping because the Monster's kicks and somersaults keep her up. Her ability to walk long distances or handle bumpy roads is significantly decreased, as well. But all this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.
Text adapted from Baby Center.
The Tummy Monster is a bit longer than 15.5 inches now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds! A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds the Monster, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in Stef's uterus. The Monster's eyesight continues to develop, though Monster-eyes are apparently not very keen; even after he's born, the Monster'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means the Monster will only be able to make out objects a few inches from his face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)
Meanwhile, as he continues to get bigger, the Monster is really getting kicky. At one point Stef had to stand up and bend over just to get him to stop playing the mambo on her internal organs.
Text adapted from Baby Center.
The Tummy Monster is growing rapidly now (mostly due to Snickers bars and Bryer's chocolate ice cream). This week he weighs about half a pound more than he did last week (about 2.5 pounds total) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. The Monster's muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is getting bigger to accommodate his growing brain (HIS GROWING BRAAAAAAIIIINNNN!!!!!) — which is busy developing billions of neurons (which he will eventually destroy in his teenage rebellion years). Every day, about 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in the Monster's skeleton, which is now hardening. Of course, Stef takes Calcium supplements, so I'm hoping the Monster's skeleton will be super-hard, like a super hero. With this rapid growth, it's no surprise that his nutritional needs are reaching their peak during this trimester, which explains why Stef is ravenous pretty much all the time, but that still isn't easy to get used to.
Text adapted from Baby Center.
By this week, the Tummy Monster weighs a little over 2 pounds (or, as Stef says "more than two giant bags of M&Ms") and measures almost 15 inches from the top of his head to his heels. The Monster can open and close his eyes, which now sport lashes. This movement is more of a reflexive blink than a deliberate opening and closing, but it won't be long before he's batting those beauties at us.
Meanwhile, Stef went from very little eating in the first trimester, to eating normally in the second, to eating pretty much every hour or two during the third trimester. There have even been days when she's woken up in the middle of the night and eaten, and then gone back to sleep. It's crazy. Whoever invented Ensure, though, is a life-saver. The Monster is going to be huge!
Text adapted from Baby Center.
The Tummy Monster is really starting to get big, now, and Stef is pretty much always hungry. This week he weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14.4 inches long with his legs extended. He now sleeps and wakes at regular intervals, which intervals normally coincide with Stef's ice cream ingestion. He may also be sucking his fingers or having hiccups now, basically doing baby stuff. And although the Monster's lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with assistance — if he were born prematurely. Which is good to know in theory, but we have no plans to put this little nugget of information into practice.
Text adapted from Baby Center.
The Tummy Monster now weighs a little less than 2 pounds and measures about 14 inches. His weight will more than triple between now and birth as he rapidly puts on baby fat, and makes Stef expand like a giant balloon. The Monster will need that fat to help adjust to colder temperatures outside the 98.6 degree plus womb-spa he's in now, and also as a source of energy and calories in the first days of life. Apparently, it's not uncommon for newborn monsters, especially those who are breastfed, to lose weight (sometimes as much as 10 percent of their birth weight) in the first week after birth.
Text adapted from Baby Center.
Head to heels, the Tummy Monster now measures about 13.5 inches. His weight — a pound and a half — doesn't sound like much, but he's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for a more rounded one. As the Monster gains weight, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he'll start to look more like a mini newborn. His hair is probably recognizable now in color and texture, although both will likely change after he's born.
Text adapted from Baby Center.
The Tummy Monster is steadily growing, gaining about a quarter of a pound since last week. Since he's almost a foot long, that makes for a pretty lean figure, but his body's filling out proportionally. The Monster's brain is growing rapidly, and his taste buds may be working now. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily. The Monster can hear more now, and Stef may even start to notice him startle at loud, sudden noises. But he's probably getting used to the regular noises she hears around the house, such as me barking at the TV during a football game, or the purr of Jackie resting on Stef's belly.
Text adapted from Baby Center.
The Tummy Monster is more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound. He may be able to feel Stef's movements now. He looks red now due to blood vessels showing through his transparent skin, but his true skin tone will develop over the course of his first year. Blood vessels in the Monster's lungs are developing to prepare him for breathing, but complete lung development will take many more months. The lungs are the last organ to fully develop.
Text adapted from Baby Center.
The Tummy Monster now looks like a miniature newborn, checking in at almost 11 inches and almost 1 pound. The Monster's skin will continue to appear wrinkled until he gains enough weight to fill it out. The Monster's eyes are developed, though the iris (the colored part of the eye) still lacks some pigment. The Monster's lips are becoming more distinct, and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath his gum line. However, he won't have his first snaggle-tooth until he's around 4 to 7 months old, unless he's one of the rare babies who are born with teeth.
The Monster now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long. It is really on the move now. Fetal researchers say babies move about 50 times an hour even while sleeping. All that movement helps stimulate the Monster's physical and mental development. Stef doesn't always notice the approximately 50 kicks, punches, and twirls during the day, but as she's settling down at night she feel the Monster dancing the night away, totally oblivious to our schedule. Plus! the Monster has fully-formed eyebrows, its taste buds have formed and it can suck its thumb.
Text adapted from Baby Center.
