How Big is My Baby?
Posted on 30th June 2019 at 13:24
Being pregnant for the first time can pose lots of questions. One particular one is how big is my baby? Many women will not show a bump until they are well into the second trimester. It can be difficult to get an idea of how big the baby is. There are fruit analogies that help parents to visualize how big their baby is. However, a pregnancy scan is the best way of knowing for sure how the baby is growing. It is also a great way to bond with the baby.
From getting your positive pregnancy test at 4 to 5 weeks and then advancing to 6 weeks, there are many changes that happen in the embryo. At this stage, an early viability scan will show a gestational sac, yolk sac and the embryo and this is the first opportunity to see the heart beat. The fetus is the size of a small seed at this stage. The embryo starts flat in the very early days of development but has now curled up into a very small tadpole shape. The major organs of the heart and central nervous system are continuing to develop. The stages of the development of the baby are divided with the embryo being used to describe the time from fertilization to 8 weeks and the fetus from 8 weeks to birth. To keep things simple, we will refer to the baby in this blog.
At 9 weeks your baby is the size of a grape. It is bean shaped on a dating ultrasound scan and you can start to see the limb buds moving around. It is one of the earliest stages where the fetus is taking on the shape of a baby.
At 10 weeks it is becoming better formed and is the size of a strawberry. On an early pregnancy ultrasound scan you can typically see the arms and legs, and some of the internal structures like the bladder and stomach are just starting to be visible to an expert eye.
The Harmony test or Iona test can be performed at this stage to assess the risk of Down syndrome or similar genetic conditions.
At 12 weeks the baby is the size of a passion fruit. On ultrasound scan you can see the profile of the baby, the arms and legs are moving around and kicking, and the baby can flip itself around and is very active. This is the time for the nuchal scan.
At 16 weeks the baby is the size of an avocado. You can get a gender opinion at this stage on a sexing ultrasound scan. The placenta and amniotic fluid around the baby are also seen and a scan at this stage is reassuring.
At 20 weeks the baby is the size of a bell pepper. The inside structures are fully formed now and this is the time of the anomaly or anatomy scan. This scan will assess the organs to ensure that they have developed well. It will assess the growth, the amniotic fluid and the placenta.
At 24 weeks your baby is as long as an ear or corn. It is now growing well and typically around 600 grams. The next period is a season for growth and continued development. A wellbeing and growth check will assess the size if your wish to have reassurance and a 3/4D scan from 24 to 32 weeks can enhance the bonding experience of a scan at this stage.
At 33 weeks your baby is the size of a pineapple and at around 40 weeks your baby weighs around 3400 grams. Baby is on the way and your you have grown a baby over the last 9 months. A presentation scan from 35 weeks is a great way to check that the baby is the right way round.
At the Aster Baby Scan Clinic you can see your baby for real with our pregnancy scans and packages.
Share this post: