Your baby at week seven of pregnancy
This week your baby has grown to the size of a blueberry!
Your little one is experiencing a growth spurt in his/her arms and legs, they will be growing longer, stronger and thicker, developing a more recognizable shape with different segments for the upper arm, lower arm, knees and feet. Although they won’t look like defined limbs yet, your little fetus is developing the foundations to begin looking like a miniature human being!
Your baby is also growing their final pair of kidneys, having already gone through three sets by week seven! This means they will be able to carry out their own waste disposal and start to produce urine which will become part of the amniotic fluid that protects the baby within your womb.
Already, your baby is starting to develop extraordinarily distinct facial features. Dark spots make out the areas where his or her eyes and nostrils will be, mouth and ears are also starting to form. Your baby’s brain is also becoming far more complex; if it was possible to take a look, the tiny brain would be clearly visible inside the transparent skull. In fact, nerve cells in your baby’s brain are growing at an incredible rate of 100,000 cells per minute! Although you won’t be able to feel your baby’s movements until the fourth month of pregnancy, your little boy or girl has started to move in small jerky motions inside the amniotic sac that protects them from any external pressures to the womb.
Your body at week seven of pregnancy
If you haven’t been experiencing pregnancy symptoms yet, then expect that nausea may kick in soon Even if you’ve decided to keep your little one a secret until your twelve week scan, your frequent trips to the ladies’ room, potential fatigue or dizziness and ‘pregnancy glow’ might be giving you away, your skin might even react to this onslaught of hormones by breaking out in spots or blemishes.
Although your condition is not visible as a bump yet, your trousers may be starting to tighten around the abdominal area, and your breasts will most likely increase to another cup size and become more tender and swollen, with your nipples growing larger and darker in colour in preparation for their role in thirty three weeks’ time!
What you might be feeling at week seven of pregnancy
By now you may be feeling tired and if you have not told people that you are pregnant yet you will likely be looking forward to being able to do so as explaining frequent trips to the loo, sudden aversions to coffee or your favorite foods and your mood swings can be difficult when you are keeping your good news to yourself!
Common symptoms at week seven of pregnancy
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Frequent urination
- Darkening of the areolas (skin that surrounds the nipple)
- Constant fatigue
- Tender and swollen breasts
- Food aversions and cravings
- Mild pelvic cramping
- Occasional spotting
- Excess saliva
Tips for week seven of pregnancy
- You may be feeling hungrier than usual especially if you are experiencing cravings. Be careful not to indulge in sugary and fatty food – because you are pregnant shouldn’t mean you are ‘eating for two’.
- Try to consume no more than 300 extra calories a day.Start to think about maternity clothes; by the end of the first trimester (12 weeks of pregnancy) you can expect to gain one to five pounds so a few looser outfits will be useful very soon.
If you have any symptoms that concern you it is important to consult your doctor as soon as you can.