Week Twenty-Four

• Bring on the bulk! Baby gains about 6 ounces this week. The weight is in muscle, bone mass and organs.
• Her body begins to fill out with her appearance increasingly becoming more like a newborn.
• Taste buds begin to form. If mom drinks something strange or bitter, baby may be observed showing her distaste.
• Little creases have appeared on her palms. The muscular coordination of her hands has improved as she sucks his thumb.
• Over the next seven days the sweat glands will be forming in the skin.
• Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily.
• This week your baby is officially considered viable.
• Baby weighs 1.3 pound (600gm) and is 11.8 inches (30cm) long -- almost the length of a ruler!