Week 19

Fruit of the week: Mango (I just realized that I've been posting these without showing what the fruit/vegetable is.)
Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil and dead skin cells (yum) now coats baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.) You might actually get to see the vernix at birth, especially if baby is premature.

Your Baby

Your mini-gymnast weighs approximately seven ounces and measures approximately nine inches long. His arms and legs are now properly proportioned. The motor neurons between the muscles and the brain are connecting, giving him control over his movements, so he kicks, rolls, and stretches whenever he feels like it. His gums have tooth buds, and throughout his body, rubbery cartilage is turning into bone. Myelin, a protective substance, envelops the spinal cord.