You, like many moms, may enjoy following along with your baby's development and your pregnancy week by week. Incredible changes happen each week, but almost all of them are unseen.
You'll often hear “trust your body” given as advice for natural birth. That advice can be confusing when you're not sure how to trust your body. Pregnancy is the perfect chance to grow your awareness of yourself as you bond with your baby.
As you read through the information on what happens to your body and your baby throughout your pregnancy (week by week), also listen to your own body. How do you feel this week? What's changing? Can you feel your baby? Talk to him or her, relax, and spend this week of pregnancy enjoying yourself and your changing body.
(NOTE: Trying to balance your pregnancy, life, and getting ready for baby? Use my checklist pack stay healthy (naturally), organized, and confident throughout your pregnancy! Get them here.)
Check out these pages for a week by week account of what's going on with baby and with your body:
- Signs of Pregnancy
- Due Date Calculator
- First Trimester: Weeks 1-12
- How to Survive Your First Trimester Series
- Second Trimester: Weeks 13-27
- Third Trimester: Weeks 28-40
Many moms like to visualize and picture their baby within them, too. I've always personally enjoyed looking at illustrations and pictures of fetal development (though I'll admit I imagine a fully developed little baby when I picture my own babies!). Below is our growing collection of baby development pictures – I note the age of the baby from conception, but most of us think of our babies based on pregnancy week. So I've noted the week of pregnancy in parenthesis.
Baby Development Pictures
Look through the pictures below to see what baby development looks like in the early weeks – please note that some of the below pictures are actual photographs of human babies.
All photographs are pictures taken by doctors after assisting families who lost their babies to miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy. Our deepest respect and sympathy to these babies and families, and we thank them for sharing their angel babies at such a challenging time.
Click each picture for a larger image and description:
Conception and the first 1-2 week's of baby's life (3-4 weeks of pregnancy)
3-4 week old baby (5-6 weeks of pregnancy)
What's happening with your 3-4 week old baby (5-6 weeks of pregnancy)
What's happening with your 5-6 week old baby (7-8 weeks of pregnancy)
6-7 week old baby (8-9 weeks of pregnancy)
7 week old baby (9 weeks of pregnancy)
7-8 week old baby (9-10 weeks of pregnancy)
8 week old baby (10 weeks of pregnancy)
10 week old baby (12 weeks of pregnancy)
12 week old baby (14 weeks of pregnancy)
Click here for Simple Steps to Prepare for a Natural Birth
(NOTE: Trying to balance your pregnancy, life, and getting ready for baby? Use my checklist pack stay healthy (naturally), organized, and confident throughout your pregnancy! Get them here.)
Click here for photo credits for each image (opens in a new tab)
Photo by Ariane Hunter