(bright upbeat music)
- Talk about a growth spurt!
Your baby has gone from
the size of a sesame seed
to a six pound 20-incher
in about six months' time.
That incredible rate of growth
slows now for two important reasons.
First, your little one is
storing up the energy reserves
he'll need to get through
labor and enter the world.
Plus, if his body got much bigger,
he'd have a really tough time
fitting through the narrow
alley of your birth canal,
a tight squeeze no matter what.
Speaking of that journey, its a good thing
for both of you that his
bones are still flexible,
enabling a gentle ride to
the big meet and greet.
Leading the way is his nifty noggin,
featuring ingenious floating skull plates
that overlap to allow the head to compress
on the way out.
When your little one emerges
you'll notice a soft rectangular area
on the top of his cute little head.
This soft spot or anterior fontanelle
is where your baby's skull
bones haven't yet fused.
They'll close by the
time he turns 18 months.
Final touches are making your
baby ready for prime time.
Blood circulation has been fine-tuned
and the immune system is set to do battle
with germs outside the womb.
After birth, your little
fighter will continue
to reap the benefits of your antibodies
thanks to your colostrum and breast milk.
And speaking of that breast milk,
baby's digestive system is ready
to accept liquid food, theoretically,
since your little one still
gets all the nutrition
and oxygen he needs from the placenta.
(bright music)
