Congratulations! You are now 8 weeks pregnant and very close to completing the 2nd month of your pregnancy. Just 7 months more and this ordeal would be over. The most important thing to happen in the 8th week of pregnancy is your first prenatal visit. Most of the women have it between the 7th-10th week. So, be prepared for a few tests, including a Pap Smear test!
But more importantly, if this would be your first prenatal visit, it’ll also be the first time that you’ll get to see your baby in the ultrasound and listen to his/her heartbeat. Isn’t that amazing? While this information would probably be adequate to be excited throughout the week, you should also remember that you need to focus on your growing baby.
Just like the past few weeks, the growth would continue this week too. As for you, the normal symptoms like morning sickness, tiredness, and nausea would keep you occupied. And now that you are getting closer to your first prenatal visit, it is also the time to start thinking about how you’ll spread this amazing news with others if you haven’t already. The growth of your baby, physical changes in you, ultrasound, tips, and more in this 8th week pregnancy post.
Baby’s Development in the 8th Week
The embryo has come a very long from bring close to nothing in the initial weeks to being as big as a raspberry in the 8th week. While it is still small, think about the fact that it has grown thousands of times bigger from the first week to now being as big as something that can be easily seen with naked eyes. It’d continue to grow at the rate of about 1mm every single day.
The baby has now almost developed the spinal cord and steadily the cartilage formation is beginning. Even the intestines are formed by now and they’d soon start working too. Even the arms and legs are growing rapidly and now there are defined spaces where their elbows, knees, ankles, and wrists would be placed. Just a couple of weeks more and the baby would already be moving the hands and legs.
In the 8th week, the baby would mostly develop webbed toes and fingers. The head is still pretty big than the rest of the body and begins right after the chest with no neck in between. In the new few weeks, there would be a well-defined neck differentiating the two. On a closer look, you’ll see that the baby now has lips, eyelids, nose, and ears. The retinas would start developing pigment this week and while the eyes are more on one side of their head, they’d take the right place in the following weeks
- 4th Week of Pregnancy
- 5th Week of Pregnancy
- 6th Week of Pregnancy
- 7th Week of Pregnancy
- Cramping After Ovulation
Physical Changes in Women in the 8th Week
Some women start showing a bit in the 8th week, especially if they are pregnant with twins. However, it is nothing that others would be able to notice. However, even if you are not showing anytime at all, don’t be alarmed as this is pretty normal too.
Another important physical change this week would be your breasts feeling bigger. You might find yourself regularly adjusting your bra as the hormones in your body have started increasing the size of your breast. From the 8th week onwards, the breasts generally start growing in size and continue growing until the end of the pregnancy. So, it’d be better if you can get some bras in bigger sizes to keep up with their growth. Prefer ones that offer better support. Moreover, you can also find maternity bras that are exclusively created for pregnancies.
Symptoms of 8Th Week Pregnancy
By the time you are 8 weeks pregnant, the hormones would start doing a lot of crazy things in your body. Apart from the things you were experiencing in the last few weeks, there might be some new additions to the list of symptoms. Some of the commonly observed 8th-week pregnancy symptoms are as follows-
- Morning sickness
- Nausea
- Tiredness
- Growing breasts
- Increased sense of smell
- Increased vaginal discharge
- Gas and bloating
- Food aversions and cravings
- Headaches
8th Week Pregnancy Ultrasound
The first prenatal visit is generally around the 8th week. When you’ll visit your obstetrician or midwife, they’ll make you go through a number of tests to make sure that everything is normal and your baby is not suffering from conditions like Down syndrome. Your blood would also be tested to check for conditions like HIV, STDs, Hepatitis B and a host of immunities.
Apart from the basic tests, there are several other tests that are generally optional if the doctor finds everything to be normal. In the ultrasound, you’ll be able to see your baby and even listen his/her heartbeats. While you might not really be able to pinpoint the different parts of the body, rest assured that everything is developing as it should.
Depending on the test results, your doctor could recommend some other tests or some new supplements. Talk to the doctor and make sure that you get all your queries resolved during the visit as the next visit would probably be after at least 4-5 weeks.
Tips for 8th Week Pregnancy
Your baby now looks like a tiny version of a human being and is rapidly growing. To keep up with the nutritional needs and safety of your baby, you surely need to make some important lifestyle changes. Moreover, even you are losing a lot of your energy due to the symptoms like nausea, vomiting and morning sickness. This again calls for a serious attempt to switch to healthier habits. Some tips that can help are-
- Consume a lot of green leafy vegetables and fruits
- Take your prenatal supplements
- Exercise daily and add squats to the regime
- Avoid lifting anything that is too heavy
- Avoid working for long hours
- Quit smoking and drinking
- Discuss your diet, exercise regime and current medications with your doctor during the prenatal visit
Conclusion
The 8th week of your pregnancy is nothing short of a milestone as you are now very close to completing the 2nd month of your pregnancy. While it’d be the prenatal visit and the excitement of seeing your baby for the first time that would keep you occupied this week, make sure that you also focus on the tips discussed above. Eat healthy foods and take good care of yourself and make sure that you get in touch with your doctor if you experience something strange or any severe symptoms.
Pregnancy Checklist at 8 Weeks Pregnant
- Shop for new bras
- Get the prenatal visit done
- Do not mind asking strangest of questions to the doctor during the visit
- Think about how you’ll share the news with the world