8 Weeks Pregnant Symptoms and Signs

Your baby has quadrupled in size since week 6 and measures about one centimetre long. His or her hands and feet start to lose their webby look and are now forming well-defined fingers and toes. Joint development also begins in week 8 with the growth of elbows, wrists and ankles.

Your baby’s facial features are also becoming more refined and the eyes will develop eyelids. Your baby’s eye colour has already been decided with the beginnings of pigmentation appearing.

Your baby’s key organs, such as the heart and intestines, will also continue to grow and get stronger every day.

Changes to Your Body

8 Weeks pregnant symptoms and signs include dramatic changes to food preferences. Many women notice that they fluctuate between feeling ravenous and wanting to eat all the time, to finding food repugnant. Certain foods smells may make you feel nauseous.

Tender and sore breasts or nipples are another of the common 8 weeks pregnant symptoms and signs. Over the course of pregnancy, breasts can enlarge by as much as two inches. By the end of the first trimester, you may have already gone up a cup size for your bra.

Start to consider getting a maternity bra too, which can accommodate your increasing breast size and help alleviate some of that uncomfortableness that comes along with the tender chest. These bras have extra clasps on the back and do not have restrictive underwire.

Lifestyle Considerations

You may need to cut back on your social activities if your 8 weeks pregnant symptoms and signs include feeling tired and nauseous. Take time making decisions as to how you will commit your day. Try to avoid smoky environments when you do go out as it could make you feel worse and second-hand smoke is not good for the baby’s development.

General Advice

Although you may be eating for two, you do not need to consume twice as much as you did before getting pregnant to properly support your baby’s growth. The general recommendation at 8 weeks pregnant is 300 extra calories a day, preferably from nutrient-rich foods. The 300 calories could be in the form of a blueberry muffin or a 500ml smoothie.

If lower backache is one of your 8 weeks pregnant symptoms, think about investing in a supportive pregnancy pillow. It is designed to help alleviate lower back pain and can support your growing tummy too.

X click to search
X