How does your baby grow?

It has been so fascinating to learn what is going on inside my belly with this new little life!  Each week I get to read about what is being made for the very first time, what is growing, moving and changing, it is mind blowing!

I'm sure those of you who are Mom's out there have heard a lot of these things before, but I would like to share some of the discoveries that have been the most insightful for me.

Did you know that the intestines don't actually start growing in the baby's belly, but up in the umbilical cord???  Apparently their belly is too tiny during the period the intestines are supposed to start, so the momma's body helps along by storing them a few weeks until the baby's belly is big enough for them to move in!

I also just learned that a baby goes through like four sets of kidneys before it settles on the pair it will keep for the rest of its life!

The little eyes and ears don't start out where we think eyes and ears should be.  The eyes start on the sides of the head, not the front (think like above your ears), and the ears start down almost on the neck!  As these develop and 'finish' they are pulled into their 'proper' places, how crazy is that!

The baby's skeletal system doesn't start out as bone, it starts out as cartilage!  This cartilage hardens as it sequesters calcium and other minerals and the baby's bones become their final shapes and proportions.

Four inches is a lot bigger than it sounds!

I am 15 weeks today and this week our little one is 4 inches long from 'crown to rump' and weighs roughly 2 1/2 ounces (not quite two regular Hershey's bars).  Jelly Bean's lungs are developing at a rapid pace and he/she is practicing 'breathing' pretty much all the time.  It's legs are finally catching up to and exceeding it arms and although the eyes are fused shut, he/she is becoming sensitive to light!  Finally, new little taste buds are growing on his/her tongue!

Well, that's all my updates for now!  If anything else crazy comes up I will let you know!