Week 6
Baby’s growth and size
Your baby has doubled in size from last week and is now roughly 0.5 inches, or the size of a blueberry.
Despite still being so tiny, some pretty amazing things are continuing to happen with your embryo!
What’s new developmentally?
Baby is beginning to look a little more like an actual baby, and less like a tadpole. The facial features are becoming a bit more recognizable. The cornea, iris, pupil, lens, and retina even start developing this week!
In addition to the facial features becoming more defined, baby’s little buds where their arms and legs will eventually be are growing too.
Right now, they look more like paddles, but rest assured, they will continue growing and more closely resemble hands and feet with time.
Fun facts about your week 7 baby
- Baby is generating about 100 new brain cells every single minute – I don’t know about you, but that totally blows my mind!
- The neural tube is formed and now closed on both ends
- Baby is a whopping 10,000 times bigger now than at conception
7 weeks pregnant ultrasound
Hooray, you might have your first ultrasound this week! If your provider has scheduled it for next week, don’t stress. It’s pretty typical to have it around 7 or 8 weeks – and it’s totally fine if they wait until week 12!
If you get it done too early, there’s a good chance your provider won’t be able to see everything they need to see, and you might have to come back to have it repeated.
And just to prepare you, it will be a transvaginal ultrasound, meaning your provider will insert a lubricated probe into your vagina to perform the ultrasound.
While it might be a bit uncomfortable, most tolerate it very well. And luckily, you only have to do one or two this way before an abdominal ultrasound can be used.
If you want more details about transvaginal ultrasounds, take a look back at week 6 where I cover it in more detail.
Discharge at 7 weeks pregnant
It’s normal for your vaginal discharge to increase in both frequency and amount due to the hormones estrogen and progesterone. This increase can start at 7 weeks or even earlier. Generally, vaginal discharge that is clear or white in color and odorless is not a cause for concern during pregnancy.
The additional discharge and mucus production has a very important role during pregnancy; it acts to protect baby by preventing bacteria (and other things) from entering the vagina and ultimately the cervix.
The added discharge and mucus is what eventually becomes your mucus plug, sealing off and protecting your uterus – pretty cool, huh?
If you notice discharge that is blood tinged, any color other than white or clear, or anything that has a foul or “off” odor, do make your provider aware so they can rule out anything else that might be going on.
Some women feel most comfortable wearing a light panty liner during pregnancy to keep themselves feeling dry.
