MONTH ONE:

Baby's Progress:

• Tadpole-sized embryo
• Neural tube forming (becomes brain and spinal cord)
• Arm and leg buds emerging

Mother's Symptoms:

• Tender breasts
• Exhaustion
• Nausea and vomiting
• Exhilaration

Father's Symptoms:                                              Utter bewilderment

MONTH TWO:

Baby's Progress:

• 1.25 inches head to butt
• Heart formed
• Bones replacing cartilage
• Fingers and toes forming

Mother's Symptoms:

• Peeing a lot
• Heartburn and/or food cravings
• Dizziness and/or headaches
• Continued nausea
• Temperament swings: joyful to weepy and back again

Father's Symptoms:                                              In denial -- still checking color change on e.p.t.

MONTH THREE:          (TOP)

Baby's Progress:

• Now a fetus, three inches long
• Urinary system kicks in
• Circulation up and running
• Sex determined, though hard to detect
• Liver producing bile

Mother's Symptoms:

• Sleepy
• Still running to bathroom at every commercial
• Still Barf City
• Aureolas of breasts darkening
• Abdomen enlarging
• Moods now swinging to beat the band

Father's Symptoms:                                              Unpredictable giggle eruptions

MONTH FOUR:          (TOP)

Baby's Progress:

• Four-inch fetus, nourished by placenta
• Sucking and swallowing begin
• Tooth buds rising
• Fingers and toes formed

Mother's Symptoms:

• Frequent urination subsides
• Morning sickness fades (alas, not in everyone)
• Breasts continue enlarging
• Nasal and ear stuffiness
• Forgetfulness

Father's Symptoms:                                              The occasional sympathy pang in lower abdomen (for which he demands full attention)

MONTH FIVE:          (TOP)

Baby's Progress:

• Fetus now 8 to 10 inches long
• Head hair cropping up
• Eyes forming brows and lashes
• Fetal body starting to move

Mother's Symptoms:

• Lower abdominal muscles begin to smart
• Heartburn continues
• Headaches continue
• Newest annoyance: leg cramps and swollen ankles
• Oh yeah, and backache
• Moods leveling off

Father's Symptoms:                                              First baby-related nightmare: dreams wife delivers sextuplets, all resembling Walter Cronkite

MONTH SIX:          (TOP)

Baby's Progress:

• 13 inches long, 1 1/2 lbs.
• Shiny complexion (but skin still too thin for poolside sun bathing)
• Fingerprints and toe prints form
• Eyelids begin to open

Mother's Symptoms:

• Regularly detects and monitors fetal movements
• Itchy abdomen
• Hearty appetite
• Back and leg pain still a drag
• Getting a bit bored with the whole thing

Father's Symptoms:                                              Buys first furnishing for nursery: large panda in Orioles jersey

MONTH SEVEN:          (TOP)

Baby's Progress:

• Three pounds and growing
• Sucks thumb, hiccups, and cries
• Responds to light and sound
• Placenta starts to hand over internal control to baby
• Amniotic fluid diminishes

Mother's Symptoms:

• White vaginal discharge (leukorrhea)
• Occasional nosebleeds
• Uh, hemorrhoids
• Sleeping's tough; so is catching breath
• Sporadic hardening of uterus (Braxton-Hicks contractions)
• Momentary loss of balance
• Daydreams about baby

Father's Symptoms:                                              Sudden interest in "Barney Hate Clubs"

MONTH EIGHT:          (TOP)

Baby's Progress:

• A foot-and-a-half, five pounds
• Can now see and hear; brain also doing serious growth
• Lungs forming
• If born now, excellent chance of survival

Mother's Symptoms:

• Increased shortness of breath as the uterus crowds the lungs
• Stumbling increases
• Braxton-Hicks contractions continue
• Finish line in sight -- mild anxiety about labor, delivery, and baby's health

Father's Symptoms:                                              Cries while watching repeated rewinds of Field of Dreams and E.T.

MONTH NINE:

Baby's Progress:

• Lungs now matured
• Closing in on 20 inches, 7 1/2 lbs. (average)
• Baby "drops"
• Less fetal movement (don't panic! baby is simply becoming engaged in pelvis)

Mother's Symptoms:

• New pangs in butt and pelvis
• Where have your ankles gone?
• Hands and face swelling, too
• Frequent urination returns (after baby drops)
• Sleeplessness
• Braxton-Hicks aren't cute anymore
• Energy easily sapped
• Irritability, impatience, and restlessness

Father's Symptoms:                                              Utter bewilderment