Your pregnancy: weeks 9 to 12
Your baby
Your little one is moving around, but you might not feel it just yet. Believe it or not, most critical development is already complete. By the end of week 12, your baby will be 2 to 3 inches long and weigh about 1 ounce. Grow, baby, grow!
If you haven’t had your first prenatal appointment yet, make sure you schedule it! We’ll want to see you — and your baby, via ultrasound — sometime between weeks 7 and 12.
What's happening this week?
9 weeks pregnant
Call the tooth-bud fairy! This week, the beginnings of little chompers are forming.
- Your baby is about the size of a grape.
- Tiny buds are forming that will someday become teeth.
- Eyelids have formed to cover your little one’s eyes.
10 weeks pregnant
Proud parent-to-be moment: My little embryo is now officially a fetus! They grow up so fast.
- Your baby is about the size of an olive.
- You won’t feel it yet, but your little one is moving around.
- Your baby weighs less than 1 ounce, but the vital organs have already formed.
11 weeks pregnant
So long, webbed feet and hands. Hello, fingers and toes that I cannot wait to kiss!
- Your baby is about the size of a Brussels sprout, around 2 inches long.
- The placenta is growing fast, taking oxygen, nutrients, and water from your blood supply and delivering it to your little one.
- Fingers and toes are still tiny, but they’re not webbed anymore.
- Your little one has ears and a tongue.
12 weeks pregnant
Now my little one can squint, frown, make a fist, and kick. So tiny, so many moves!
- Your baby is the size of a lime, about 3 inches long.
- Your little one is surrounded by amniotic fluid and free to move around, but you probably can’t feel it yet. This fluid cushions and protects your little one, and pushes out the uterine walls to create space for them to grow.
- Vocal cords are starting to form.
Your body
You may not have a baby bump yet, but you probably feel pregnant by now. For some, this is when morning sickness is at its worst. If you’re struggling, try these tips for managing morning sickness. Over the next 4 weeks, your uterus will go from weighing about 1 ounce to more than 2 pounds. You might feel some cramping as it expands to make room for your little one.
Speaking of growing, are your clothes getting tight? You may need a more supportive bra in a bigger size soon. Right now anything with an elastic waistband is your friend — but if you want to wear your favorite jeans a little longer, use a rubber band to add an inch or two. Just loop the band around the button, pull one end through the buttonhole, and loop that end back around the button.
Your to-do list
- If you haven’t already, schedule your first prenatal visit.
- If you’re a Kaiser Permanente member, make sure you’re registered on kp.org so you can email your doctor’s office with questions, keep track of your prenatal appointments, and more online.
- Download our pregnancy and childbirth podcast — guided meditation to support you during pregnancy and help prepare you for childbirth.
- Drink plenty of fluids, especially if you’re nauseous or vomiting. Keep a water bottle nearby as a reminder to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
- Learn what you can do to relieve common discomforts.