With your hormones and emotions a bit all over the place, you might be having some very vivid and very strange dreams!

Your baby at 8 weeks

Your baby has slightly webbed fingers and toes now, and lower limb bones are starting to strengthen. Your baby now has recognisable human features, and the embryonic tail has almost disappeared completely. Teeth are even beginning to form under your baby’s gums and optic nerves and eyelids are forming.

Although undetectable, your baby will be making sporadic movements by this stage.

Right now, your baby is the size of a small grape. The embryo has quadrupled in size over just two weeks!

Your body at 8 weeks

You’ll be suffering from all the usual pregnancy symptoms (vomiting, nausea, etc.), and you’ll probably have noticed your breasts getting bigger by now. You might notice a slight bulge in your tummy; this is likely because of water retention, as your baby is still very small at this stage. Your hormone levels will return to normal soon, as the placenta is in the process of controlling your baby’s hormones.

Your body will also be producing more blood (roughly 50% more, by the end of your pregnancy) to meet the demands of your baby. You may notice increased vaginal discharge; this is because the oestrogen hormone is increasing blood flow to the pelvic area.

You may find that you are starting to suffer from heartburn; try avoiding food before bed and eating smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day. Other useful information can be found in how to ease morning sickness.

Pregnancy fact

At this stage of the pregnancy, your baby’s heart is beating around 150 times per minute – roughly twice as fast as yours!

How you’re feeling at 8 weeks

It’s quite common to have vivid dreams involving your baby at this stage. This is perfectly normal, so try not to worry about it. You’ll still have mood swings to contend with as well, unfortunately.

Pregnancy advice

• Your skin may feel sensitive due to changes in hormones. Consider giving your make up bag a detox.
• Thinking about telling people you are pregnant? Here is the low down on the best time to announce ‘I’m pregnant’ to the world. When can I tell people I’m pregnant!
• Your sleeping pattern has likely been interrupted by now, so try and take naps when you can to recharge your batteries.

7 weeks pregnant ← 8 weeks pregnant → 9 weeks pregnant

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