38 Weeks

At 38 weeks your baby is over 19.5 inches from head to toe, and weighs close to 6.8 pounds(about the length of a leek).

Your baby has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold baby's hand for the first time! It's organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb, but the lungs will be last to reach maturity. (Even after your baby is born, it may take a few hours before it establishes a normal breathing pattern.) Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If baby's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If it's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time baby's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after it's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or bluer. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.) Your baby’s lungs have strengthened and the vocal cords have developed, which means baby’s ready to communicate through cries. Your baby's hanging out, enjoying the last few weeks of snuggly comfort in your womb. However, if baby were born today, it would still be considered a full-term infant. The brain — in charge of complicated jobs like regulating breathing, digestion, and circulation — is functioning better every day. Babies come to term anywhere between 38 and 42 weeks; your 40-week due date simply marks the midpoint of this period.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. This information is to give you a general idea of your baby's size.