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WOMEN'S & CHILDREN'S | Family Maternity Center | Pregnancy Resource Center | Pregnancy Library | Baby Development | Your Growing Baby: Month Eight - Bulking up and moving into position
Your Growing Baby: Month Eight - Bulking up and moving into position
Baby is really putting on the pounds now, gaining about a half-pound per week. He's so big that it's hard for him to move around, though he can still pack a wallop with that kick. Don't be surprised to see the point of an elbow or a distinctly heel-like shape pushing out your belly this month.
The lungs are still immature, but a baby born at the end of the eighth month would have an excellent chance of survival.
Your growing baby is now about 18 inches long and weighs about 5 pounds. - Bones have hardened except for the skull, which remains soft and flexible enough to fit through the birth canal for delivery.
- Brain continues rapid growth.
- All the senses are functioning well, including seeing and hearing.
- Position of baby may change, turning to a head-down position. At the end of this month baby begins dropping lower, toward the birth canal; this is called lightening.
Date last reviewed: October 2002.
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