Week 8 Ultrasound: What It Would Look Like

In week 8 of pregnancy, your baby is on the move! (Well, sort of). Find out what's going on inside of you during this exciting stage of pregnancy.

By Laura Riley, M.D.

and Kristen J. Gough

Published on November 8, 2009

By the end of your second month of pregnancy, your baby will measure just under one inch, and he will weigh in at half an ounce. Yet his central nervous system and major organs will be nearly complete. His heart has four chambers, and by now his heart rate is probably a good, strong 160 beats per minute. That's a rate that you'd achieve only after a sweaty workout!

Your baby's head is more upright now, but it's still nearly the same size as his body. And his skin, although formed, is still nearly transparent. Although the genitals may start to show, it's still impossible to tell whether your child is a boy or a girl by looking at an ultrasound picture. The baby's eye structures are complete, he has tiny earlobes, and his wrist, elbow, and knee joints are visible. All in all your baby finally looks like what he is—a miniature human being. In medical terms he has graduated from an embryo to a fetus, and soon he will begin to stir.

Your baby is beginning to do something quite extraordinary this week. With her arms and legs now developing, movement is now possible. That's right, your baby has begun to wiggle! Before you get too excited, these movements could only be picked up on a sonogram—you won't feel them yet.

Your baby is busy developing in other areas this week, too. The basic structure of her eyes is being created, as well as her tongue.

Her little fingers and toes make an appearance this week—but they don't look anything like what you'd expect. They're all very short—and webbed!