Your baby this week
Your baby now measures about eleven inches from head to heel and weighs around one pound — about the size of a papaya. And this week's headline is the face. The lips are now distinct and fully formed.
The eyebrows are visible — fine and light for now. The eyes are completely formed beneath eyelids that stay fused shut for a few more weeks, though the irises still lack their pigment, so your baby's eye color remains a secret under construction. The sense of touch is developing beautifully: your baby can feel their own face, and their grip is getting genuinely strong — strong enough to grasp the umbilical cord and hold on, which the cord is built to withstand, so no worrying needed.
Nerve endings and touch receptors are spreading across the body, and the inner ear structures are maturing, so balance and position sense join hearing on the growing list of working senses. Inside, the pancreas is developing steadily — it will one day manage blood sugar and digestion. A fine, soft hair called lanugo covers your baby's body, helping hold the protective creamy coating, vernix, against the skin.
The skin itself is still wrinkled and somewhat translucent, because the fat layer beneath it is still mostly a promise — but the outline is unmistakably baby now. Behind the scenes, the brain is having one of its biggest construction weeks yet: nerve cells are multiplying and connecting at a staggering pace, and the pathways for the senses are being wired into the brain's control centers. Your baby also has recognizable sleep and wake cycles, and their busy times may increasingly coincide with your rest times.
This is not personal. It just feels that way at midnight.
Your body & symptoms: swelling, gums & side-lying
Your body is in steady construction mode. Your uterus now reaches a couple of centimeters above your belly button, and your bump is rounded and visible from every angle. Weight gain continues at roughly the pace your doctor discussed with you — steady is the goal, not any particular number on any particular day.
Stretch marks may arrive around now if they're part of your story — on the belly, hips, or breasts — arriving in pink, red, or purple shades that soften to silvery pale over the months after birth. They're largely genetic and almost astonishingly common. Mild swelling is also a week-22 regular: feet and ankles puffing by evening, fingers a little snug by morning.
Increased blood volume and your uterus pressing on the big veins of the pelvis slow the return trip for fluid, and gravity does the rest. Also common now: nose and gum sensitivity — congestion, the odd nosebleed, gums that bleed when you brush — all courtesy of that same generous blood volume and softened tissues; a soft toothbrush helps, and dental care matters in pregnancy, so keep those appointments. Your skin, hair, and nails may be writing their own subplot: faster-growing, stronger nails and thicker-feeling hair (pregnancy hormones slow the normal shedding cycle; the great shed often arrives a few months after birth, and it's temporary), and darker skin patches that tend to deepen with sun exposure — a hat and shade are kinder than any cream right now, and these patches usually fade after pregnancy.
Backache continues its slow crescendo as your center of gravity shifts, and heartburn pops in after meals. And a new practical note: lying flat on your back may start to feel uncomfortable or make you a little lightheaded, because your growing uterus can press on a major vein returning blood to your heart. Your body usually warns you with a wave of dizziness or nausea — a built-in nudge to roll to your side, which is why side-lying becomes the default position from here on.
Braxton Hicks: the practice contractions, explained
Now for the topic so many of you ask about. Your uterus is a muscle, and like any muscle preparing for the biggest workout of its life, it trains. A Braxton Hicks contraction feels like a tightening or hardening of your belly — the whole bump goes firm for thirty seconds to a minute or so, then releases.
Most women describe them as uncomfortable or strange rather than truly painful. They are irregular: they show up after a busy day, after exercise, when your bladder is full, when you're a bit dehydrated, sometimes after the baby has a big wiggle session. Crucially, they do not settle into a pattern, they do not steadily grow stronger or closer together, and they usually ease when you rest, drink a glass of water, empty your bladder, or change position.
Real labor contractions behave differently: they become regular, they come closer together over time, they grow stronger, and they keep coming despite rest and water. Before 37 weeks, contractions that are regular or painful deserve a call to your doctor the same day, because your team would always rather check early labor early. And here's the golden rule that outranks every chart: if you are ever unsure which kind you're feeling, call and describe them.
That is never the wrong move. When a practice contraction arrives, try this small ritual — stop what you're doing, empty your bladder, drink a full glass of water, and rest on your side for a few minutes while breathing slowly. Most Braxton Hicks fade within that pause.
A few comforts for the practice rounds: hydrate steadily through the day, don't let your bladder get overfull, and pace the busy days. Your body is rehearsing, just like your baby — and rehearsals are supposed to be a little irregular. That's what makes them rehearsals.