Week 26 begins

Next time you're browsing through the meat department, pick up a 2 pound chuck roast. No, not for dinner - just so that you can get a sense of how big your baby is this week. That's right - your baby weighs a full 2 pounds and measures in at 9 inches long. Another momentous development this week: your baby's eyes are beginning to open. The eyelids have been fused for the past few months (so the retina, the part of the eye that allows images to come into focus, could develop). the colored part of the eye (the iris) still doesn't have much pigmentation, so it's too early to start guessing your baby's eye color. Still, your baby is now able to see - though there is not much to see in the dark confines of his or her uterine home. But with the heightened sense of sight and hearing that your baby now possesses, you may notice an increase in activity when your baby sees a bright light or hears a loud noise. In fact, if a loud vibrating noise is brought close to your belly, your baby will respond by blinking and startling.