At 8 weeks pregnant, a woman is most happy to have completed one fifth of her long journey towards being a mother. By this stage, the little baby is almost completely formed, with all the essential organs in place. What were initially just buds have now grown into little legs and hands, making the baby look more human. However, the fingers and toes are still connected with webs of skin. The tail that made the baby resemble a tadpole is no longer there. The brain cells are developing fast and the nerves have already learnt to make connections. The little heart is pumping away. All the other organs, vital for life, are...
...also continuing to develop.
The main sign that helps others recognize that a woman is pregnant is the size of her belly. At 8 weeks pregnant, the baby in the womb is just about the size of a big kidney bean. The uterus too has gone through some transformation and has now grown to approximately the size of a large orange. As a result of this, the 8 weeks pregnant belly size is not very large. Hence, it is most likely that an 8 weeks pregnant belly will not be very visible. Since many women tend to experience symptoms such as bloating or gas buildup during pregnancy, an 8 weeks pregnant belly showing is most probably the result of these symptoms. However, one must remember that every woman’s body reacts differently while pregnant and some women are known to have a slight bulge by the eight week. This holds true mainly in the case of women who have gone through pregnancies before, as the uterine muscles adjust to consecutive pregnancies almost immediately. Hence, an 8 weeks pregnant belly for the 2nd pregnancy is bound to show more than the belly in a 1st pregnancy. An 8 weeks pregnant belly with twins is also more likely to start showing earlier than a single gestation pregnancy since the uterus expands faster to accommodate two babies competing with each other, in terms of growth.
Once the belly begins to grow, a woman’s body becomes asymmetrical and it becomes more difficult for her to balance her weight. This leads to a change in posture, with a lot of strain falling on the lower back as well as the legs. It also makes sleeping comfortably more difficult. Enjoy the small belly phase while it lasts!
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