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Stages of Life |
The Diary of an Unborn Child
Conception: My father's sperm penetrated the wall of my mother's egg. The genetic material contained in each combined to form me: a new and unique individual. I'm no larger than a grain of sugar, but already the color of my eyes, size of my nose, my sex, and all the other things that make a person unique have been decided. There will never be another person like me.
Day 1: The first cell divided to create 2 cells, then divided again, and again...
Days 5-9: I burrowed into the wall of my mother's uterus, my home for the next 9 months or so.
Day 14 (2 weeks): I produced a hormone to make my mother's body skip her period.
Day 18: My heart is forming and my eyes are starting to develop.
Day 20: The foundations of my brain have started and my nervous system is being laid.
Day 24 (over 3 weeks): My heart is beating!
Day 28: My muscles are forming along my future spine. I'm starting to see the beginnings of arms and legs.
Day 30: I have now grown to 10,000 times my original size - about a fourth of an inch long! My brain has the correct proportions and blood is flowing in my veins separate from my mother's.
Day 35 (5 weeks): My pituitary gland in my brain , which will be in charge of all of my hormones, is forming. My mouth and nose and ears are taking shape.
Day 40: My heart's energy output is 20% of what my mom and dad's is.
Day 42 (6 weeks): Things are moving quickly now! My skeleton is formed and my brain is coordinating the movements of my muscles and organs. My mother missed her second period.
Day 43: A doctor can record my brain waves now!
Day 45: My body is moving spontaneously and the buds of my milk teeth have appeared.
7 weeks: My lips are sensitive to touch and my ears are being to resemble the patterns in my family.
8 weeks: My body is well proportioned now and even though I'm only weigh about a gram, I look just like a mini version of what I will look like when I'm born. All of my organs are present and my heart beat is strong. My liver and kidneys are working and I even have taste buds! Everything I need to live outside the womb is present. Luckily I get to stay in here for 7 more months so my organs can grow and I can gain weight.
8.5 weeks: Now I have fingerprints. My eyelines and palms are sensitive if you touch them.
9 weeks: I can bend my fingers around an object and my finger nails are growing in. I can even suck my thumb!
10 weeks: My body is sensitive to touch. I'm learning how to squint (even though my eyes are closed), swallow, move my brow and even frown.
11 weeks: I can make even more complex facial expressions. Today I smiled at my mom for the first time!
12 weeks: I am starting to really move and show my personality, even though my mom can't really feel me yet. I can kick, curl my toes, make a fist, turn my head and open and close my mouth. My breathing is practiced.
13 weeks: My facial expressions resemble my parents' more each day. My vocal chords are formed, but I can't cry without air. On a good ultrasound my mom can see my sex organs (I'm a boy!).
16 weeks (4 months): Now I can grasp things with my hand and swim and turn somersaults. My mom is starting to feel me move.
20 weeks (5 months): I have regular sleeping patterns, but when my dad slaps the car door it wakes me up! I can hear other sounds too, but the frequencies are out of my parents' range.
24 weeks (6 months): I have fine hair on my head. My eye brows and eyelashes are forming. I weigh about 22 ounces and am about 9 inches long. While I could definitely survive outside the womb now, it's safer for me to continue growing in here.
28 weeks (7 months): My eye teeth are present. I can open and close my eyes and look around. I can hear my mother's voice. I like it when she talks to me.
32 weeks (8 months): It's really getting cramped in here now! I can't move a whole lot anymore. My weight keeps increasing and each day I get more uncomfortable.
36 weeks (9 months): I have had 41 generations of cell divsions and will have 4 more as I grow up. I triggered labor and my mom and I met for the first time, even though we've known each other for a long time.
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