8 weeks pregnant

What to expect this week

What's happening in week eight

Two months into your pregnancy and you are no doubt now feeling lots of changes.

Your baby at week eight

At eight weeks your baby is around two centimetres long now – still minuscule, but growing and developing every day. At this point in your pregnancy your baby is growing at around 1 millimetre per day, and the amniotic fluid in your womb increases by two tablespoons a week.

After week eight your baby is officially called a ‘foetus’ which means ‘offspring’, but is still getting nutrition from the yolk sac rather than the placenta. Over the next few weeks the placenta will develop, forming structures called ‘chorionic villi’ which help attached the placenta to the womb wall.

Your baby’s  tiny little fingers and toes will have formed, though right now they are webbed and will continue to be so for several weeks, and their heart will be beating an amazing 160 beats a minute! Your baby’s lungs are developing this week, with the breathing tube extending from the throat to the lungs, while in their brain nerve cells are branching out and connecting to form primitive neutral pathways.

This week your baby’s skin is still paper thin, and it still has that almost transparent, embryonic look. The colour pigment in their eyes is also starting to form at around eight weeks, but they won't properly open them until around 26 weeks, while their eyelids almost completely cover their eyes at this point.

You at eight weeks pregnant

Eight weeks in and although you won't have a visible bump yet, your womb is already be twice its normal size! You might find this causes you to wee more often as it presses down on your bladder – get used to it, it's going to get a lot bigger yet!
You no doubt have your booking appointment in place now, and might be thinking about all the things you want to talk to the midwife about, such as antenatal screening tests. You're probably still feeling pretty exhausted at this point, too, and needing your rest and plenty of sleep. Go for it! Don't try and fight it if you are worn out. If your morning sickness is still making getting up and about difficult in the morning, check out our morning sickness page for some ideas to make it a little more bearable.

What to think about at eight weeks pregnant

You are probably already really curious as to whether your little baby is a boy or a girl! It's up to you and your partner to decide whether or not you find out the sex of your baby at your later scans - some parents-to-be like to know for practical purposes - what colour to decorate the nursery, or to help narrow down name lists - but others prefer to have a surprise on the day. Do bear in mind though, not all hospitals will tell you, although you could consider a private scan should you be desperate to find out! So what will you do? Find out in advance, or discover for yourself on d-day? You could always check out our 'boy or girl?' or nub theory pages to have a bit of fun guessing!