Pregnancy Week 7: Fetal Development, Weight Gain Breakdown & Baby Talk With Your Partner Pregnancy Weekly

About Baby

When week 7 begins, your baby is about the size of a blueberry and resembles … well … a tadpole. When his arms and legs emerge by the end of the week, he’ll look a lot more human-like. Baby’s entire skeleton – made of flexible cartilage – will be fully formed this week, followed by actual bone soon. Baby’s kidneys, heart, spleen, liver, digestive system, appendix and pancreas are growing. The only thing that’s actually shrinking on your baby is the tail, which will be gone in a few weeks. The placenta is now covered with villi – long, slender hair-like projections – and resembles a furry dust ball. Unlike a dust ball, the villi provide an important function – getting oxygen and nutrients from your bloodstream to Baby.

Photo: Embryo at week 7 of development

About Mom

Mom, you’re growing, too, especially your uterus which has doubled its size. Trips to the bathroom may have shot up because of this and your increased blood volume doesn’t help either. That amazing placenta we’ve been talking about is growing f-a-s-t and is releasing a ton of the pregnancy hormone hCG into your bloodstream. Because of this, nausea, fatigue and mood swings are still in the picture. You may start noticing aversions to smells, too (tip: avoid the food court). On the up side, many women experience none of the discomforts of pregnant. Go, you!

Pregnancy weight gain is a huge topic of conversation for pregnant women. How much weight should you gain? How much is too much? The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends the following:

• Underweight (BMI less than 18.5): 28-40 pounds
• Normal Weight (BMI 18.5 – 24.9): 25-35 pounds
• Overweight (BMI 25 – 29.9): 15-25 pounds
• Obese (BMI 30 and greater): 11-20 pounds

Where do those pregnancy pounds go? Here’s a breakdown:

• Baby: 7 1/2 pounds
• Amniotic fluid: 2 pounds
• Placenta: 1 1/2 pounds
• Uterus: 2 pounds
• Body fluids: 4 pounds
• Breasts: 2 pounds
• Blood: 4 pounds
• Other maternal stores (fat, protein, etc.): 7 pounds

Learn more about pregnancy weight gain.

Your Relationship

No matter how strong you think your relationship is, you need to talk about roles, responsibilities and expectations ahead of time (aka before Baby arrives). Seasoned moms will tell you that doing this may save countless arguments and avoid resentments building up. So sit down and talk about the following:

• Discuss how you will handle feedings, sleeping and chores (this sets the stage for the future).

• Agree that you will each share your feelings, seek to understand and listen with an open mind.

• Talk about the ways you were each raised. What did you like about how you were parented? What didn't you like? What do you believe about discipline? This may seem premature, but it will help you to understand the way you each approach parenting.

But that’s not all you need to talk about! Here are more suggestions for your baby talk.

Bump Talk

“Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.” – Thomas S. Monson

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