What expert says..?

18 weeks pregnant...this is how the baby looks like now!

Babies don't make any sound because their trachea is filled with fluid rather than air

I am today, 18 weeks pregnant...Let's look into my fetal development facts...

Your baby is now nearly 5.5 inches/ 13 centimetres long from crown to rump and weighs approximately 5 ounces/ 140 grams. Her skeleton is mostly rubbery cartilage, which will harden later. A protective substance called myelin slowly begins to wrap around the spinal cord.

With the help of a special stethoscope, you can now hear your baby's heartbeat. There's almost nothing more comforting or exciting than hearing your baby's heartbeat galloping along. On days when you're worried about how your pregnancy is progressing, hearing the heartbeat lets you know that your baby's developing and growing. For times when boredom strikes and you feel as if you'll be pregnant forever, it can be a pleasant reminder of what will come at the end of 40 weeks of waiting.

You may be gaining weight rapidly at this point, even if you're not eating much. Experts say that the amount of weight you put on during pregnancy is dictated primarily by your genes, so don't necessarily blame yourself if the weight's accumulating faster than you'd like. Your baby's movements are felt as a gentle, fluttering sensation at first, but get stronger and more obvious as time passes. Some babies kick vigorously and often, others are quieter. And many seem most active at night!