The end of the first trimester sneaks up on you. One week the nausea runs the show, and then somewhere around now a lot of people feel the fog start to lift.
At 12 weeks, your baby is roughly the size of a plum, about 5.4cm from head to bottom, and the skeleton is beginning to harden from soft tissue into bone.1
How big is the baby at 12 weeks?
About 5.4cm head to bottom, close to a plum.1 Tiny, but already taking on the proportions of a baby rather than an early bud.
What's happening with the baby at 12 weeks
The skeleton is doing quiet, important work this week. What started as soft cartilage is hardening into bone, a process that keeps going for months.1 It's one of those changes you can't feel, happening on its own schedule under everything else.
What's common around week 12
A metallic taste in the mouth catches a lot of people off guard around now. Many describe it like sucking on a coin, and it tends to come and go.1 If it's bothering you, your midwife or doctor is the right person to ask about it.
One thing to set up this week: invite your partner
The first trimester is mostly invisible to everyone but you. This is a nice moment to bring your partner onto the same page, literally.
Inviting your partner into your nappi household now means you're both on one shared record from the very start. The profile you build together, with the due date and both of you on it, becomes the baby's tracker the day they arrive. Same record, same app, no one starting from scratch later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my mouth taste like metal in early pregnancy?
It's a common early-pregnancy experience, often described as a coin-like or metallic taste that comes and goes. Many people notice it in the first trimester. A midwife or doctor can talk it through if it's getting in the way of eating.1
What does it mean that the skeleton is hardening at 12 weeks?
The baby's frame starts as soft cartilage and gradually turns into bone, a process that begins around now and continues well past birth.1
References
1. NHS. "You and your baby at 12 weeks pregnant." Link