8 Weeks

How your baby’s growing: Your baby is now 5/8 of an inch long, about the size of a kidney bean. She’s constantly moving and shifting, although you won’t be able to feel these womb wiggles for several weeks yet. Her embryonic tail is disappearing, and her eyelids practically cover her eyes. Still slightly webbed, her fingers and toes are growing longer. Her arms have lengthened, too, and her hands are now flexed at the wrist and meet over her heart. Her knee joints have formed, and her feet may be long enough to meet in front of her body. With her trunk straightening out, her head is more erect. Breathing tubes extend from her throat to the branches of her developing lungs. The nerve cells in her brain are also branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. Though you may be daydreaming about your baby as one gender or another, the external genitals still haven’t developed enough to reveal whether you’re having a boy or a girl.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby’s development.

How your life’s changing:

 
  You haven’t gained much weight yet, but parts of you are certainly growing — like your breasts. You’ll soon need bigger bras with better support than your old ones. You may notice your waistline expanding as well, forcing you to pack away your favorite jeans. Less obvious is the increase in your blood volume; by the end of your pregnancy, you’ll have 40 to 50 percent more blood running through your veins to meet the demands of your baby. Your need for iron increases with your blood volume. Take your prenatal vitamins to make sure you’re getting the extra iron you need so that you don’t become anemic.

Feeling tired? Hormonal changes, in particular, can cause you to feel sluggish. And it’s not uncommon to be having trouble getting a good night’s sleep at this point, especially if you’re uncomfortable at night or getting up to use the bathroom repeatedly. Frequent nausea and vomiting can certainly cost you energy, too. If you can, try to get between nine and ten hours of sleep at night, or take naps during the day.

Walking to beat fatigue "Taking a short 15- to 20-minute walk helped me cope with the overwhelming fatigue that hits you in the first trimester. It was the only way I made it through a day at work without a nap!" –Gabriela

Decision Guide: Which prenatal tests are for you?

Your healthcare provider will offer you a smorgasbord of genetic screening and diagnostic tests throughout your pregnancy. Some are simple blood tests, while others involve more invasive procedures — and all are optional. Before you agree to any test, ask your caregiver to explain what it is, how it’s done, whether the test itself is risky in any way, and what the results will tell you. Many prenatal tests are for screening rather than diagnostic purposes. Screening tests give you a sense of your risk for certain conditions. But only a diagnostic test can tell you for sure whether you or your baby has a problem. You may be offered the following now or soon:

Chorionic villus sampling (CVS): This diagnostic test is used to evaluate cells from your placenta to tell whether your baby has any of hundreds of chromosomal abnormalities and other genetic disorders. It’s administered between 10 and 13 weeks and is an earlier alternative to another diagnostic genetic test called an amniocentesis, which is done between 15 and 18 weeks. CVS has a slightly higher miscarriage rate than amniocentesis. Good candidates for CVS include women 35 and older, those who’ve given birth to a child with chromosomal abnormalities or who’ve had an earlier screening test that indicated an increased risk for a problem, and couples with a family history of genetic disorders.

First-trimester combined screening test: This relatively new screening test combines a nuchal translucency or nuchal fold scan (using ultrasound to measure the clear space in the tissue at the back of your developing baby’s neck) with a blood test to measure two proteins. It’s performed between 11 and 14 weeks and gives you added information about your baby’s risk of certain chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome. It’s not diagnostic, but it’s no riskier than an ordinary ultrasound and it may help you decide whether you want invasive diagnostic testing such as CVS or amniocentesis. Unlike the second-trimester multiple marker screening, the first-trimester combined screening doesn’t detect neural tube defects such as spina bifida. However, a second-trimester ultrasound (which most women opt for anyway) should detect neural tube defects at least as well as the multiple marker.

<a href="http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/pregnancy/prenatalhealth/1487.html”>Second-trimester multiple marker screening test: This test, which involves a blood draw, can tell you if your baby is at risk for chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome and neural tube defects such as spina bifida. It’s usually performed between 15 and 20 weeks. Like the first-trimester combined screening test, it can’t diagnose a problem but it may help you decide whether you want an amniocentesis. About 60 percent of over 26,000 women who took a BabyCenter poll said they chose to take this test.

Get a complete overview of all the prenatal tests available to you throughout pregnancy.

This Week’s Activity:
Stock up on stain remover. Pregnancy brings on rapid body changes and within the next few week, your breasts and belly will start getting bigger making "body shelves" that weren’t there before. Little spills that would have landed on the napkin in your lap before pregnancy soon won’t make it past your chest. It will also get harder to bend over your plate as your baby gets bigger. Since no one’s invented a stylish pregnancy bib yet, stock up on stain remover so you’ll be prepared