Welcome to the most recent installment of my fetal development series, helping us conceptualize the size and incredible growth of a baby at different points in pregnancy!
This post has been a long time coming. Believe it or not, even despite my family’s love of games, some of these approximations were hard to find. I ventured into yard games a bit and even a few handheld video games (do those count?). If you think of an approximation I should add, comment below!
And, as always, please remember that while these comparisons may not be exactly reflective of any one particular baby, they give us a sense of the incredible growth that humans experience during the first nine months of their development.
I’m what I would consider a casual gamer. My husband and I bonded just days into our relationship over our shared love of Settlers of Catan. We now don’t allow ourselves to play chess or Scrabble together (because we’re both sore repeat losers, and he always wins chess while I always win Scrabble). We love game nights with friends, often playing the Farming Game or Gloomhaven. And, I play Wingspan at least once a day (usually on the app, so if you want to add me, let me know!).
BIRTH NERD ALERT: I actually also have a game just about birth called “Down the Canal” (which is featured in the photo for this blog post).
If you’re a fellow game fan and want to follow along with your or a friend’s pregnancy, here’s a handy guide to fetal development, using items you might have in your game cabinet!
Fetal Development: games edition
Week 6: Baby is about the size of a bean from Don’t Spill the Beans (6 mm).
Week 7: Baby is as long as a mancala bead (10-12 mm).
Week 8: Baby weighs about as much as all the houses that come in a Monopoly box (⅞ of an ounce).
Week 9: Baby is about as long as the face of a die (1.7 cm).
Week 10: Baby weighs as much as the four treasure figurines from Forbidden Island (a total of 1 ⅜ oz)
Week 11: Baby is as long from crown to rump as a Kingdomino starting tile (4 cm) and weighs as much as the 20 plastic marbles used in Hungry Hungry Hippos (1.58 oz).
Week 12: Baby is as tall sitting down as a standard chess game’s rook! (5.5 cm)
Week 13: From crown to rump, baby has outgrown the width of a standard playing card (2.5 inches to baby’s 2.6).
Week 14: Babies weighs almost as much as all the Monopoly money that comes in the box (3.625 oz).
Week 15: Baby is as long from head to tail as a spot on a Twister mat (7 inches).
Week 16: Baby is as long as the Oregon Trail Card Game Box is wide (7.5 inches).
Week 17: Baby has now grown to be as long as the width of the box for the Catan Extension for 5-6 player games (8 ⅜ inches).
Week 18: Baby weighs about as much as the game Ants in the Pants (8.4 ounces).
Week 19: Baby is now as long as a croquet mallet head (over 9 inches).
Week 20: Baby grows to weigh almost as much as a regulation cornhole bag (14 ounces).
Week 21: Baby is as long as the upright board for Connect 4 (which is 10.51 inches by 10.98 inches)!
Week 22: Baby is as long as a regulation size Chinese checker board or the box for Wingspan (11.5 inches).
Week 23: Baby weighs as much as Clue: The Classic Edition (1.3 lb).
Week 24: Baby surpasses the circumference of a standard spikeball in length (12 inches)!
Week 25: Baby grows to the length of The Farming Game board (13.5 inches).
Week 26: Baby weighs as much as an Apples to Apples box or the Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion box (just barely over 2 lbs).
Week 27: Baby weighs as much as a Pandemic box (2.3 lbs).
Week 28: Baby weighs as much as a Planet box (2.72 lbs).
Week 29: Baby is as long as a Chutes and Ladders board (15.87 inches).
Week 30: Baby is as long as a regulation cribbage board (16 inches).
Week 31: Baby weighs about as much as a standard chess set (3-4 lbs).
Week 32: Baby has bulked up to weigh about the same as 9 gameboys (just over 70 ounces).
Week 33: Baby has grown to be the length of a standard Mancala board (17.5 inches).
Week 34: Baby is as tall as a croquet peg or the diameter of a dartboard (18 inches).
Week 35: Baby has outgrown 6 normal Jenga blocks or 3 giant Jenga blocks lined up next to each other the long way (at 49cm to the Jenga blocks’ combine 45!).
Week 36: Baby weighs as much as three Settlers of Catan boxes (6.2 lbs)!
Week 37: Baby is longer than two Nintendo Switches (9.4 inches long each) next to each other.
Week 38: Baby has outgrown two Frisbees placed next to each other, at 19 inches.
Week 39: Baby is the length of six Spot It! cards (3.5 inches in diameter each) lined up next to each other.
Week 40: Baby is as long as the long side of the Settlers of Catan board when set up WITH the 5-6 person expansion (20 inches).
Week 41: Baby is as long as a Ticket to Ride:Europe game is tall (20.58 inches).
Week 42: Baby is as long as the phrase “Congratulations_on_your_baby!” spelled out in Scrabble tiles (which are each .75 inches in width).
Want a handy printout of these fun facts for your refrigerator, whiteboard, or perhaps even game cabinet? Download it below!
Abby the Sociologist Doula 