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Watch Me Grow: A Unique, 3-Dimensional Week-by-Week Look at Your Baby's Behavior and Development in the Womb
For years, parents-to-be have squinted at fuzzy ultrasound photos, desperately trying to make out the head, or is that the foot? Now, new technology in the form of 3- and 4-D ultrasound scans have given prospective parents a clear "window into the womb." These amazingly detailed images allow parents to see their baby's organs and structures in development and allow them to marvel at what their baby is doing. This book
*An astonishing series of pictures that demonstrates fetal behavior
*A week-by-week look at how babies develop in the uterus, narrated from the perspective of the baby
*Special Feature sidebars that answer important questions such as "How soon will I know whether my baby is boy or a girl?"and "What can my baby do, and when?"
Guided by the expert hand of a pioneer obstetrician in the field, now everyone can be thrilled by the wonders of creation.
*An astonishing series of pictures that demonstrates fetal behavior
*A week-by-week look at how babies develop in the uterus, narrated from the perspective of the baby
*Special Feature sidebars that answer important questions such as "How soon will I know whether my baby is boy or a girl?"and "What can my baby do, and when?"
Guided by the expert hand of a pioneer obstetrician in the field, now everyone can be thrilled by the wonders of creation.
- GenresParentingNonfiction
244 pages, Hardcover
First published July 5, 2004
1 person is currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Stuart Campbell
10 booksLibrarian note: there are several authors on Goodreads with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 27, 2008
I absolutely loved having this book while I was pregnant... Knowing how my baby looked each week and what changes she was undergoing really helped me bond with her. Highly recommended book!
April 17, 2025
A short book that shows 3D ultrasound pictures for each week of pregnancy and describes what is being formed at that time.
Timeline from conception:
Week 3: head, tail, blood vessels
Day 22: heart begins to beat
Day 28: neural tube
Week 6: digestive tract forms. Lungs, liver, pancreas, thyroid are present. neck, jaw, limb buds, facial features like nostrils
Week 7: tail disappearing, eyes, elbow, hands, feet, intestines, and ears form. Appendix, pancreas present. Sex organs near completion.
Week 8: nose, jaw, tongue. Eyes are open. Heart, brain, liver, lungs, kidney developed in basic form.
Week 8/9 placenta takes over yolk sac’s job
Week 9: baby can move. Tail gone.jaw, nose complete.
Week 10: tooth buds in gums. Wrists, ankles. Fingers & toes visible and separated.
Week 11: eyelids present. All vital organs fully formed. Irises starting to develop. Ear internal development nearly complete. Swallow, yawn, suck.
Week 12: bones hardening, vocal cords forming, pituitary gland begins to make hormones. Body can absorb glucose/sugar. Stretches, jumps. Twins interact.
Week 13: open & close lips, head moves, liver makes bile, kidneys secrete urine into bladder.
Week 14: head hair. Can move fingers, hands, wrists, legs, knees, toes. Breathing movements. Cheeks. Thumb sucking.
Week 15: body hair, eyebrows, middle ear bones hardening. Facial expressions like grimace/frown.
Week 16: immune system produces antibodies. Hiccups.
Week 17: proprioception. cerebellum is growing fastest of the brain. Eyelashes. Finger/toe nails. Swallows amniotic fluid. Starts to acquire brown fat.
Week 18: fingerprints, prostate, first poop
Week 19: nipples
Week 20: senses, memory, thinking
Week 21: taste buds
Week 22: sweat glands, fingernails fully formed, testes descend, awake more often, can hear things outside womb
Week 23: can hear deeper voices better than higher ones
Week 24: can survive outside uterus with expert care; can feel pain.
Week 25: nostrils open, permanent teeth develop in gums.
Week 26: boys’ cells in testes increase in number. Space in uterus becomes constricted.
Week 27: eyes open
Week 28: hiccups, muscles, hair on the back of the head. lungs are capable of breathing air
Week 28-32: capable of feeling and remembering
Week 32: urinating, REM during sleep, turns head down in uterus.
Week 33: can see dim shapes. Stores iron, calcium, phosphorus.
Week 34: immune system can fight mild infection; fingernails have reached the ends of fingers; fewer movements
Week 36: kidneys fully developed; smiles
Week 38-40: placenta is less efficient at transferring nutrients; less amniotic fluid
Interesting:
In the last few weeks of pregnancy, the fetus is awake for 10% of the time (85). “Dreaming encourages a fetus’s brain to develop” (87).
Babies are less likely to be breech the farther along in pregnancy they are (103).
“Classical music, particularly choral music and piano, have patterns closest to human speech, and are especially enjoyable for a baby” (92).
“Most Caucasian babies are born with dark blue eyes. Eye pigmentation needs light exposure to complete its formation, and the true eye color may not be apparent for weeks or months. Dark-skinned babies usually have dark gray or brown eyes at birth, developing into a true brown or black after the first six months or a year” (72).
Some scientists believe mothers communicate sympathetically with their unborn babies, like through dreams (101).
“The baby’s birth weight is almost entirely under the control of the mother; the father’s genetic influence counts for very little. The heavier and taller the mother, the bigger will be the baby’s birth weight. Boys are bigger than girls and second babies are bigger than first borns. Asian babies are on average 6.5 oz and Afro-Caribbean babies are 4.5 oz lighter than Caucasian babies [7.5 lb]” (91).
Timeline from conception:
Week 3: head, tail, blood vessels
Day 22: heart begins to beat
Day 28: neural tube
Week 6: digestive tract forms. Lungs, liver, pancreas, thyroid are present. neck, jaw, limb buds, facial features like nostrils
Week 7: tail disappearing, eyes, elbow, hands, feet, intestines, and ears form. Appendix, pancreas present. Sex organs near completion.
Week 8: nose, jaw, tongue. Eyes are open. Heart, brain, liver, lungs, kidney developed in basic form.
Week 8/9 placenta takes over yolk sac’s job
Week 9: baby can move. Tail gone.jaw, nose complete.
Week 10: tooth buds in gums. Wrists, ankles. Fingers & toes visible and separated.
Week 11: eyelids present. All vital organs fully formed. Irises starting to develop. Ear internal development nearly complete. Swallow, yawn, suck.
Week 12: bones hardening, vocal cords forming, pituitary gland begins to make hormones. Body can absorb glucose/sugar. Stretches, jumps. Twins interact.
Week 13: open & close lips, head moves, liver makes bile, kidneys secrete urine into bladder.
Week 14: head hair. Can move fingers, hands, wrists, legs, knees, toes. Breathing movements. Cheeks. Thumb sucking.
Week 15: body hair, eyebrows, middle ear bones hardening. Facial expressions like grimace/frown.
Week 16: immune system produces antibodies. Hiccups.
Week 17: proprioception. cerebellum is growing fastest of the brain. Eyelashes. Finger/toe nails. Swallows amniotic fluid. Starts to acquire brown fat.
Week 18: fingerprints, prostate, first poop
Week 19: nipples
Week 20: senses, memory, thinking
Week 21: taste buds
Week 22: sweat glands, fingernails fully formed, testes descend, awake more often, can hear things outside womb
Week 23: can hear deeper voices better than higher ones
Week 24: can survive outside uterus with expert care; can feel pain.
Week 25: nostrils open, permanent teeth develop in gums.
Week 26: boys’ cells in testes increase in number. Space in uterus becomes constricted.
Week 27: eyes open
Week 28: hiccups, muscles, hair on the back of the head. lungs are capable of breathing air
Week 28-32: capable of feeling and remembering
Week 32: urinating, REM during sleep, turns head down in uterus.
Week 33: can see dim shapes. Stores iron, calcium, phosphorus.
Week 34: immune system can fight mild infection; fingernails have reached the ends of fingers; fewer movements
Week 36: kidneys fully developed; smiles
Week 38-40: placenta is less efficient at transferring nutrients; less amniotic fluid
Interesting:
In the last few weeks of pregnancy, the fetus is awake for 10% of the time (85). “Dreaming encourages a fetus’s brain to develop” (87).
Babies are less likely to be breech the farther along in pregnancy they are (103).
“Classical music, particularly choral music and piano, have patterns closest to human speech, and are especially enjoyable for a baby” (92).
“Most Caucasian babies are born with dark blue eyes. Eye pigmentation needs light exposure to complete its formation, and the true eye color may not be apparent for weeks or months. Dark-skinned babies usually have dark gray or brown eyes at birth, developing into a true brown or black after the first six months or a year” (72).
Some scientists believe mothers communicate sympathetically with their unborn babies, like through dreams (101).
“The baby’s birth weight is almost entirely under the control of the mother; the father’s genetic influence counts for very little. The heavier and taller the mother, the bigger will be the baby’s birth weight. Boys are bigger than girls and second babies are bigger than first borns. Asian babies are on average 6.5 oz and Afro-Caribbean babies are 4.5 oz lighter than Caucasian babies [7.5 lb]” (91).
March 25, 2017
A very helpful week-by-week look at a baby's development during pregnancy, with some amazing ultrasound images.
January 16, 2013
I can understand the urge to see what your baby looks like before you give birth, but to be honest, 3D and 4D ultrasounds freak me out. It is truly a miracle to look inside yourself and see a little person. But for me, the 3 dimensional pictures look like a wrinkled clay creature. For all you moms-to-be out there who want to see what your babe looks like in the womb, this book it really amazing. Maybe my next pregnancy, but this time, I think I'll pass.
March 6, 2013
lovely photos, was very thought provoking in regards of how small is too small, and not yed born but already a personality!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews