The eighth week is important for fetal development in that it is a rite of passage of sorts. Up to this point, the pickle was a nicely (if a bit rushed) developing embryo. This week, for reasons no one quite knows, we are an embryo no more.
From the eighth week of pregnancy, clean through to delivery, the little pickle is now a full-fledged fetus.
Ahh, it takes me back. You know, one day you’re a twelve year old boy, the next day you’re a teenager. Well, if the fetus is a boy (and we’re opting not to learn the sex of the child until the moment of truth) the eighth week is when he’d begin to produce testosterone. Go get ‘em, tiger!
Little boy or little girl, this week we’re hard at work making bones and cartilage for refining the joints and creating ear slits. By now the uterus has doubled in size from the time before pregnancy, although mommy has no bump (in front) that can be detected by the eye.
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