What’s going on?
Your baby’s growth is progressing at an amazing rate, and so is your uterus. Previously measuring to the size of your fist, your uterus is now approximately the size of a raspberry – now, that explains why some of your pre-pregnancy jeans might be starting to feel tight.
Baby at Week 8
By Week 8, your baby is around 2cm long and has graduated from the size of a blueberry to a raspberry. His/her growth starts to pick up from this point forward, growing around 1mm per day and the amniotic fluid in the womb increasing by 2 tablespoons a week,
Although your baby is slowly graduating from the embryotic phase to become a foetus, he/she is still getting nutrition from the yolk sac. Over the next few weeks, the placenta will develop and form structures called chorionic villi, which helps to attach the placenta to the wall of the womb. This week, your baby’s skin is still paper thin and the colour pigment in his/her eyes starts to form – although it will be a while before he/she starts to open them. At this point, the eyelids almost completely cover his/her eyes.
Your baby’s fingers and toes continue to remain in webbed form until they develop further in the next few weeks, and his/her heart will be beating at 160 beats a minute. Also developing this week are his/her lungs, while the brain nerve cells are branching out and connecting to form the first neural pathways.
Wondering if your baby will be a boy or girl? You won’t know yet at this stage as the development of external genitals are still underway.
What is mum up to?
While you are barely showing at this stage, this pregnancy is starting to get very real on the inside – especially since whatever that goes in tend to make a comeback to the outside all day long. The cause of morning sickness and nausea is linked to various theories such as the increased level of hCG and estrogen in your body, the relaxation of the digestive tract muscles due to rising progesterone levels, or the rapid stretching of the uterine muscles. Whatever the reason, do take relief in the fact that nausea and vomiting usually subside between weeks 12 and 14.
Top tips for Week 8
Pregnancy can bring on some rather weird cravings at the oddest hours of the day, but they can also dampen your healthy eating plan. Although you may be eating for two, do remember that you really only need an additional 300 calories per day (or 600 if you are pregnant with twins) to nourish your baby.
So, instead of opting for chocolate cake or a bag of chips, try to go for healthier treats such as:
- Fruit smoothies
- Freshly squeezed juices
- Cottage cheese
- Milk
- Yogurt
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