Week by week / Second trimester

Week 26

Your baby is about the size of a head of lettuce. Here is what is happening, what you might feel, and the two or three things worth doing this week.

Size right now

A head of lettuce

35.6 cm / 14 in, 760 g / 1 lb 11 oz

Length: 35.6 cm / 14 in
Weight: 760 g / 1 lb 11 oz
Trimester: Second
To go: 14 weeks

The baby

Eyes open for the first time. Brain wave activity for hearing and sight begins. The baby startles at loud noises.

You

Backache becomes structural rather than occasional. Your centre of gravity has genuinely moved.

This week

Buy the stroller now if you have not, so you can practise folding it before it matters

Ask about a pregnancy support belt if the back pain is constant

Worth ordering now

Not because week 26 is a deadline, but because these are the things that go wrong when they arrive late.

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Averages, not targets. Babies vary a great deal and a scan that reads differently from this page is not a problem. Anything that worries you is a call to your midwife or doctor, not a search.