(upbeat music)
- At about four pounds
and 16 to 19 inches long,
your baby is curled up in, well,
the fetal position.
After all, there's not much room left
at this particular inn.
Not to worry, though. She's
totally comfy in there
even if you're not quite comfy out here.
As your baby hunkers down in your bunker
to ride out the last
few weeks of gestation,
she's probably settling into
the most common birthing position:
head down, bottom up.
Anatomically, it makes sense.
She's maximizing what little space she has
by dropping her head into the bottom
of your inverted pear-shaped uterus.
It's also natural since baby's bean
is heavier than her tiny tush.
With only eight more weeks to go,
your busy bee is gearing up
for life outside the womb.
Those breathing movements
she's been practicing?
Well, they're almost perfect now.
Changing from the short staccato bursts
of only ten seconds long,
to a more regular and rhythmic pattern
that'll eventually churn out
40 breaths per minute,
the normal rate of a newborn.
These breathing lessons serve
another purpose as well:
encouraging the lungs to
produce more surfactant,
the protein that'll help
the lungs expand after birth
and that's essential for
healthy lung development.
Reinforcements for the
monumental task of producing
surfactant come from another source, too.
The adrenal glands, located
on top of the kidneys,
are hard at work starting
to pump out cortisol,
which will in turn help stimulate
more surfactant production.
These workhorse glands are
producing ten times the amount
of cortisol a normal adult produces.
Pretty amazing for someone so small.
Meanwhile, lanugo is continuing to shed
leaving only small patches of fuzz
on the shoulders and back.
Fingernails have grown almost long enough
to be in need of a trim,
but they're still pretty soft.
Baby might not need a
mini manicure just yet,
but there's no reason why you shouldn't
treat yourself to one while
you still have the time.
A pedicure too.
After all, bet you can't see your toes!
