At 26 weeks, your baby is about 35 to 36 cm (around the size of a cucumber) and weighs about 900 g. Though the skin may appear wrinkled now, your baby will keep gaining weight steadily over the next 14 weeks.
Development Highlights:
The baby’s nerves are developing, allowing them to hear and respond to sounds, especially your voice. Their eyes are also beginning to open after being closed for several months. At this stage, the color of the irises is still unclear and may continue to change until around age three.
Even after birth, your baby’s skin and eye color may continue to shift, especially during the first six months. Your baby can now sense light, touch, and sound, and their movements may become stronger, sometimes even uncomfortable or painful for you.
If the kicks feel too intense, try changing positions, gently stretching, or lightly pressing on your belly to encourage your baby to move.
Your baby is also absorbing antibodies from you to build their immune system in preparation for life outside the womb. Swallowing amniotic fluid continues to support healthy lung development.
Other exciting developments include the growth of tiny fingernails. And if you’re expecting a boy, his testicles are now beginning to descend gradually into the scrotum