Day 186 of 280, second trimester
You are 26 weeks and 4 days
Your baby's reproductive organs are now in place: a boy's testes have descended and a girl's ovaries have all their follicles.
94 days until your due date
If your baby is a boy, his testes finish moving down into the scrotum around now, often with a little fluid around each one (a hydrocele), which disappears naturally before or after birth.
The cremaster muscle in the spermatic cord can pull the testes back up into the groin, which helps control their temperature after birth, relaxing when they need to cool. If your newborn is a bit cool when examined, the muscle may pull the testes up, making it look as if one hasn't descended.
In the uterus, temperature control isn't needed and the testes slowly move down. It's quite common for one or both not to have descended by birth, and your doctor will check at the newborn exam that both can be brought down into the scrotum.
Unlike the ovaries, which already contain all the egg follicles they'll ever have, the testes won't make sperm until puberty.
Differences in growth rate and weight gain are becoming more obvious, and boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls at birth.
Ask a Mum
Is it normal to argue all the time when we should be happily looking forward to the baby?
Expecting a baby puts pressure on even the strongest relationships. Worries about having a healthy baby and adjusting to parenthood were behind most of our arguments, and when we talked, we found we disagreed on big child-rearing issues. I was sensitive, irritable, and moody, and often snapped without meaning to.
We sat down calmly and agreed not to sweat the small stuff, avoiding touchy subjects and compromising when it didn't really matter. In the middle of a disagreement, I'd stop and think: I love this man, we're having a baby together, does this really matter in the long run? We also made time for things we'd enjoyed before, and looked for chances to laugh, which eased the stress and put things in perspective. By the time the baby came, we were both much more relaxed.
Good to know
Weight gain in the third trimester
Gaining weight steadily in the third trimester is important. If you were a healthy weight before pregnancy, you should gain 3–5 pounds in the first trimester and 1–2 pounds a week after that, for a total of 25–37 lb. The biggest contributor is your baby, followed by extra fat, which you'll need to sustain the pregnancy and breastfeeding. Your doctor will monitor your weight gain to make sure it's healthy.
Appointments and key dates around now
- Whooping cough vaccineUsually around 20 weeks, best before 32 weeks
Read the full 26 weeks pregnant guide
This is general information based on NHS guidance, not medical advice, and every pregnancy is different. Talk to your midwife or GP about anything that worries you. If your baby's movements slow down or change, or you have bleeding, severe pain or leaking fluid, call your maternity unit straight away. In an emergency, call 999.