7 Weeks

You are now seven weeks pregnant (or in your eighth week if that's how you prefer to count it).

In theory your baby is still an embryo because it has the remains of a small tail, which will disappear in the next few weeks. But that's the only thing that's getting smaller. The heart and brain are becoming more complicated, the eyelid folds are forming, the tip of the nose is present, and the arms now bend at the elbows and curve slightly over the heart.

You may not look or even feel pregnant, but your uterus is expanding to accommodate your growing baby. Before pregnancy it was the size of a clenched fist; now it's as big as a grapefruit. As it grows you may feel some abdominal cramping and mild twinges.

Now about half an inch / 1.25 centimetres long, the size of a grape, the embryo has distinct, slightly webbed fingers and toes. It's a jumping bean, moving in fits and starts. The liver is churning out large amounts of red blood cells until the bone marrow forms and takes over this role.

The eighth week marks the beginning of a very busy developmental stage. Between now and 20 weeks, your baby will be growing rapidly, and body parts that formed in the first few weeks of life (such as the heart and brain) will become more specialised and complicated. Right now, the teeth and palate are forming, while the ears continue to develop. The fetus' skin is paper thin, and veins are clearly visible.

You're in the throes of the first trimester, when many women complain of common pregnancy aches and pains. Keeping food down may be next to impossible, thanks to morning sickness, caused in part by the pregnancy hormones in your body. You may also need to urinate a lot more often than usual -- your growing uterus is pressing on your bladder, and hormones are affecting the balance of fluid in your body. All will diminish as your pregnancy continues.