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Day 62 of 280 · 8 weeks + 6 days

An inch on the ruler

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 7 sources · Plain-text version

The last day of your second month. Find 16 mm on a ruler, photograph it next to something of yours, and trust what you notice.

Size this week
about the size of a raspberry
Length this week
around 16 mm from head to bottom
A close-up of a woman's hands on a wooden table placing a wooden ruler next to a house key and a single raspberry, bright window light, no text legible.

Eight weeks and six days: the last day of your second month. Today is small and physical, a ruler and a photograph, and a closing line about trusting yourself.

Your baby

A single ripe raspberry on a plain pale wooden table, close up, soft window light.

Around 16mm long, about the size of a raspberry (NHS). The Office on Women's Health measures a little differently: at 8 weeks the baby is nearly 1 inch long, weighs less than one-eighth of an ounce, and has a heart beating with a regular rhythm (OWH). Two sources, two tape measures; the NHS counts head to bottom. Either way, "by next week, they will be twice the size!" (NHS).

Your body

The NHS's symptom list for the week reads like a summary of the month: a metallic taste, sore breasts, headaches, mood swings, food cravings or aversions, a stronger sense of smell, and light cramping or spotting (NHS). The Office on Women's Health's first-trimester list is shorter and says the same: extreme tiredness, tender and swollen breasts, morning sickness, mood swings (OWH).

If the sickness is the one you'd most like to be rid of, here is the shape of it: morning sickness can begin between 4 and 8 weeks and typically goes away by 16 to 18 weeks (MedlinePlus). You may not look pregnant yet (NHS), which is why today's photograph is of a ruler, not a bump.

Try today

  1. The inch on the ruler

    Time: 5 minutes

    1. Find 16 mm on a ruler; that is this week's raspberry (NHS). Then look at the inch mark, which the Office on Women's Health says the baby is nearly at by 8 weeks (OWH).

    2. Set the ruler next to something of yours: a ring, a key, your thumbnail.

    3. Photograph it in daylight.

    4. Save it with the date and "8 weeks and 6 days".

    5. Do it again next month at the new number.

    Make it work:

    If there's a raspberry in the fridge, photograph that beside the ruler instead.

Watch for

  • Normal

    light cramping or spotting, on the NHS's list this week (NHS).

    Call your provider

    about any bleeding; the NHS says to contact your doctor (NHS).

  • Normal

    nausea that comes and goes through the day (NICHD).

    Call your provider

    right away for severe nausea and throwing up: the CDC's line is if you can't drink for more than 8 hours or eat for more than 24 (CDC).

  • Normal

    a headache on the NHS's list (NHS).

    Call your provider

    for a headache that won't go away or gets worse over time (CDC).

  • Normal

    two months of notes and no sign on any list.

    Call your provider

    if you feel like something just isn't right, even if it isn't on the list; the CDC says to contact them anyway, and to tell every provider you see that you're pregnant (CDC).

For you

That last bullet is the month's closing line. Trust your instincts. The CDC's HEAR HER campaign shares these warning signs to prevent pregnancy-related deaths (CDC), and its advice when something seems wrong is to contact your provider even if it isn't on the list (CDC). You know your body better than any list in these notes.

If you're the partner: your job on that front is simple. When she says something isn't right, you don't weigh it; you drive.

That's your second month: the heart, the sickness, the first visit list, the honest page, and a ruler. Next week the dating scan window is open and the baby doubles. The notes continue in your third month of pregnancy.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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