Our baby is 6 weeks old today!  He/She is about a quarter of an inch long, and the size of a sweet pea (or lentil, or bb pellet depending on what website you are checking out).   It (seems so impersonal, but easier than typing out he/she every time) has tripled or quadrupled in size from just a few weeks ago, and will double in size again in the next week.   Our baby is still getting its nutrients from the yolk sac, which releases several pregnancy hormones and its first red blood cells.  Around week 10 the placenta will take this job over.  

Also this week, our baby’s heart (shaped more like a primitive tube right now)  is pumping blood through its developing circulatory system.  He/she is working on growing and possibly flapping its little arm and leg buds (that are more like paddles), and is also starting to grow a nose, ears and mouth.   Our baby still looks like a tadpole, so let’s hope the next couple of weeks make it cuter