​Welcome to pregnancy week 7! Your baby has been growing furiously. There comes a point where counting somites to determine developmental progress becomes difficult. For the next few weeks, the age of your baby can be measured by Crown Rump Length (CRL).

Crown Rump Length (CRL) at pregnancy week 7

Crown Rump Length (CRL) measures your child's length from the tip of its skull to midpoint of buttocks. You will probably hear this term used when you go for your very first ultrasound scan.

At pregnancy week 7, your baby’s Crown Rump Length (CRL) is about 0.8cm long. That's about the length of a grain of rice! Not to worry, that does not mean your baby is as thin as a grain of rice.

In the next few weeks, your baby's external appearance will start to change more drastically. His head will be growing faster than the rest of the body.

Ears, eyes and nose at pregnancy week 7

Your baby's ears, nose and eyes will begin to form. His eyes will start off on the edges of the face and move towards the midline. Soon, eyelids will start to form too and be sealed shut until the 20th week. Your baby's nose is also beginning to form but its nostrils will be plugged with keratin until about week 20.

Limbs at pregnancy week 7

At pregnancy week 7, your baby’s limb buds will now appear as longer paddle shaped buds rather than mere dots. They become your child's arms and legs. Generally, arms tend to grow slightly faster than legs.

Digestive system at pregnancy week 7

At pregnancy week 7, your baby’s digestive system is continually growing. His tiny abdominal cavity would have run out of space to contain the enlarging intestines which would have passed through the belly button. Not to worry! In several weeks’ time, when it has finished growing, the gut rotates back into the abdominal cavity.

Ref: M19