Pregnancy Week 7: Your Baby's Brain Is Growing Fast

Your baby this week

Your baby is about the size of a blueberry. The brain is growing at breathtaking speed, which is why the head still looks large for the body. Arm and leg buds are lengthening into paddles that will become hands and feet, the eyes and ears are developing, and the umbilical cord is now delivering everything your baby needs. In a few short weeks this tiny blueberry has gone from a cluster of cells to a recognizably developing baby.

Your body & symptoms: everything, all at once

Week 7 often brings the full first-trimester ensemble: nausea, exhaustion, tender breasts, food aversions (a favorite food betraying you overnight), a heightened sense of smell, and hello — endless bathroom trips, as rising blood flow makes your kidneys work overtime. Breakouts or glowing skin are both common; hormones run your skin's weather now.

Your feelings this week: the emotional weather

Nobody warns you about this part: you might cry at a commercial, snap over something small, then feel fine ten minutes later. Your hormone levels are changing faster than at almost any other time in your life. Emotional weather is expected — be gentle with yourself, and maybe warn the people who love you.