Our Baby's Development: 8 Weeks

Your baby's head is quite big, due to the rapid growth of the brain. The upper limbs resemble paddles. Your baby-to-be's heart begins to separate into four chambers, and blood is circulating throughout the body. Intestines form within the umbilical cord, but will later migrate back into the abdominal cavity. In the next few days, foot plates, with the beginnings of toe rays, will appear. The external ears are now present. Your baby is now 10 to 13 millimeters long -- about the size of a cherry. The cells that will become either testes or ovaries arrive, but there is no obvious sign of gender yet. Muscle contractions are beginning, but these early "movements" are not yet perceptible.