16 Weeks Pregnant – What to Expect Your 16th Week of Pregnancy

by Claire October 15, 2015, 4:16 am 2k Views 31 Comments

Did you you know that in week 16 of your pregnancy, your baby’s eyes start to work? Its true!

Let the author of What to expect when you’re expecting to walk you through the 16 week of pregnancy, and learn some amazing new things!

What’s going on inside your ever-expanding belly this week? For one thing, your little boxer is working up to fighting weight. Sure, her body still looks pretty thin and fragile, especially with only a translucent layer of skin covering those blood vessels and bones. And yes, she’s only four to five inches long and weighs just three ounces. But your little flyweight is starting to gain some muscle mass. Her back muscles are getting stronger, enabling her to straighten her head and neck even more. Stronger muscles also allow her to make some of her very first facial expressions. Was that a grin?

Talking about that getting-more-adorable-by-the-day face, your baby’s eyes are facing fully forward and framed by a fringe of eyelashes and tiny eyebrows. And, though her eyelids are still sealed shut and will stay that way for another ten weeks or so, those tiny orbs will soon be able to perceive light, even though there’s nothing to see. It’s always dark in baby’s hotel womb.

In other news, your little one’s ticker is pumping around 25 quarts of blood per day through her growing body. Now that sounds like a lot of pumping action going on, but it’s only the beginning. By the time your baby is ready for her debut, her heart will be pumping 1,900 quarts a day!

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Written by Claire

Claire is our Community Manager here at New Moms Forum. A mom of two (almost grown-up babies), Claire has been building and operating community-based websites for almost 20 years. In her downtime, Claire enjoys spending time with her family and drinking copious amounts of red wine!