Now that you're in week 25 of pregnancy, your uterus is about the size of a soccer ball and you may finally have that pronounced baby bump you've been imagining since the start.
Meanwhile, your baby's nose and lungs are becoming more functional in preparation for life on the outside.
Your Baby at Week 25
At a Glance
25 weeks pregnant is how many months?
If you're 25 weeks pregnant, you're in month 6 of your pregnancy. Only 3 months left to go! Still have questions? Here's some more information on how weeks, months and trimesters are broken down in pregnancy.
How big is my baby at 25 weeks?
Your baby is growing by leaps and bounds, reaching 13 inches — over a foot long! — in length and more than 1½ pounds in weight.
That's taller than two juice boxes stacked one on top of the other and almost as heavy as four of them.
Baby's lungs are gearing up to breathe
What else is going on this week? No matter what your baby's skin color will eventually be, it's turning pinker now — and not because he's getting overheated.
In fact, the amniotic fluid is perfectly climate-controlled, keeping him at an always-comfortable temperature. Instead, the skin is changing color because small blood vessels, called capillaries, are forming under the skin and filling with blood.
Later this week, blood vessels will also develop in your baby's lungs, bringing them one step closer to full maturity — and one step closer to taking that first breath of fresh air. But at 25 weeks pregnant, those lungs are still very much works-in-progress.
Though they are already beginning to produce surfactant, a substance that will help them expand with oxygen after baby is born, the lungs are still too undeveloped to sufficiently send oxygen to the bloodstream and release carbon dioxide when she exhales.
Baby’s nose starts working
The lungs aren't the only system that's gearing up for air intake. Your baby's nostrils and nose are starting to work this week, too. This allows your little one to begin taking practice breaths.
It was previously believed that the nostrils stay plugged up until around now in the pregnancy, but the latest research shows they open much earlier and stay that way through all three trimesters.
Of course, since there's no air in there, your baby is really only "breathing" amniotic fluid, but it's the practice that counts, right?
Baby could also be able to smell various scents in utero by this week, too. If not, that sense will kick in by the third trimester.
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