Pregnancy - Week 8

You are 7 weeks pregnant or in your 8th week of pregnancy (counting from the first day of your Last Menstrual Period).

Keep in mind that this information is approximate. Each pregnancy is different and growth rates vary.  For variations and details, please talk to your doctor.

Week 7

Week 9

What’s happening to the baby?

• Fingers and toes will start to form though they will be webbed (ie., there will not be distinct gaps between them).
• Bones are starting to harden.
• Facial features like eye, nose and ears start to appear. The internal parts of these organs have been under development for a couple of weeks now.
• The baby's gender will be determined this week but no external signs will appear.
• The baby's intestines are growing into the umbilical cord.
• Your baby is about 1.25 centimetres long.

What’s happening to mom

• Your body is undergoing changes internally even though they are not obvious on the outside. Your uterus has increased in size and is the size of a melon (normally it is the size of an apple).
• Your breasts are now bigger and swollen.  This is normal and your breasts are preparing for breastfeeding already.
• Another change that has occurred that you may not be aware of is that the blood volume in your veins has increased by 40 to 50 percent to meet the demands of your growing baby.  This means that you might start having varicose veins.

Create your own customized week-by-week pregnancy calendar

Checklist for mom

• Continue to go for slow walking. It will help with pregnancy discomforts and make you feel good.
• Read up about common conditions during pregnancy. This will help you in knowing when to call the doctor for problems.
• If you have an older child, take steps to help him or her adjust better to the baby and plan upfront for this. Read our article on helping your older child adjust to the expected arrival of a new baby.

Ideas for dad

• Along with mom, read up about common pregnancy conditions (in Parentree's collection of pregnancy articles). This will help you in deciding when to call the doctor for problems.
• Mom might have mood swings because of the hormonal changes. Understand that and be supportive.

Other tidbits

• Cravings and food aversions are very common during the first trimester.  Contrary to what some say, cravings do not mean that your body is craving a certain nutrient.  For example, it does not mean that if your body is craving ice cream all the time, you fill up with ice cream. Try a creative alternative. Eat plain curds with fruits like mangoes etc.  Or have less of ice cream with more of vitamin-filled fresh fruits.
• Stock up on healthy snacks like carrots, fruits, nuts etc. and keep them handy (in zip-locs or small boxes). Keep them in your handbag so that you can nibble on them once hunger pangs start.
• If you have bad morning sickness, listen to this. It might make you feel better:
  • "The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain" - Dolly Parton.

Useful Parentree articles for this stage of pregnancy

• Morning Sickness
• Miscarriage
• Is it safe? - Common questions during pregnancy
• Common pregnancy discomforts
• Read about doctor's visits, various tests and scans you can expect in Parentree's collection of pregnancy articles

Week 7

Week 9