Week 27
Your baby continues to grow this week with more brain activity and the further development of the lungs. The eye lids will open and retinas will start to form now. Your baby looks similar to what he or she will look like at birth, except that she is thinner and smaller right now.

The lungs, liver, and immune system still need to fully mature, but if your baby was born now, he or she would have at least an 85% chance of surviving.

As your baby’s hearing continues to develop, he or she may start to recognize your voice as well as your partner’s. Sounds may be muffled, though, because the ears are still covered with vernix, the thick waxy coating that protects the skin from becoming chapped by the amniotic fluid.

Congratulations, you are now nearing the end of the 2nd trimester! You may be finding it hard to breathe now that your uterus has moved to under your ribcage.

You may start to consider taking maternity leave now. This decision can be a very difficult one to make, but it is one that you should start to think about seriously.

Get ready for strange food cravings. Pickles and ice cream, anyone?