6 Weeks

6 Weeks Information

Hello, Kellie!

This week, your baby’s brain, muscles, and bones are beginning to take shape. His hands and feet resemble little paddles, and his tiny heart will begin beating. Though you probably won’t feel anything for about 10 more weeks, he’s about to make his very first movements.

How your baby’s growing: Cells are dividing furiously as your embryo takes shape. By week’s end, it’s about the size of a small lentil bean (4 to 5 millimeters across). If you could see through your uterine walls, you’d find an overlarge head and dark spots where the eyes and nostrils are beginning to form. The emerging ears are marked by pits and the arms and legs by protruding buds. The embryo’s hands and feet are shaped like paddles, and fingers are beginning to form even now. The heart has divided into the right and left chambers and is beating between 100 and 130 times a minute. The pituitary gland is also forming.

How your life is changing: If you haven’t already, you may soon find yourself riding pregnancy’s emotional roller coaster, feeling moody one day and joyful the next. Disturbing as this is to some women who pride themselves on being in control, what you’re going through is normal and will probably continue throughout your pregnancy. Up-and-down emotions are partly caused by fluctuating and (in many cases) very high levels of hormones.