At 11 weeks pregnant, your baby measures roughly 4.4 centimeters (about 1.7 inches) from crown to rump, which is close to the size of a fresh fig. That’s head to bottom only, since the legs are still curled up and too small to measure reliably. Your baby weighs around 7 to 8 grams at this point, less than half an ounce.
How Size Is Measured at 11 Weeks
During the first trimester, doctors measure your baby using crown-to-rump length, or CRL. This is the distance from the top of the head to the base of the spine. It’s the standard measurement because the legs are flexed tightly against the body, making a full head-to-toe length impractical.
International growth standards show a normal range at 11 weeks 0 days from about 34 mm at the low end (3rd percentile) up to 54 mm at the high end (97th percentile), with 44 mm right in the middle. By the end of the week, at 11 weeks 6 days, that midpoint climbs to about 54 mm. So even within a single week, growth is rapid. If your ultrasound measurement falls anywhere within these ranges, your baby is on track.
What Your Baby Looks Like Now
At 11 weeks, your baby has shifted from looking like a tiny shrimp to something recognizably human. The head is still disproportionately large, making up roughly half the total body length, but the body is starting to catch up. Fingers and toes have separated, and early nail beds are forming. Tooth buds are developing beneath the gums. The ears are moving toward their final position on the sides of the head, and the nasal passages are open.
External genitalia are beginning to differentiate, though it’s still too early to determine sex on ultrasound. That typically becomes possible between 18 and 22 weeks.
Key Developments Happening Inside
Week 11 is a busy time for your baby’s organs. The liver is already producing red blood cells, a job it will handle until the bone marrow takes over later in pregnancy. The kidneys are beginning to function, producing small amounts of urine that contribute to the amniotic fluid. The intestines, which temporarily grew into the umbilical cord because the abdomen was too small to hold them, are starting to move back into the body.
One of the biggest transitions happening right now involves how your baby gets nutrition. Up until this point, a yolk sac has been doing the heavy lifting. Now the placenta is taking over as the primary source of nourishment and waste removal. This handoff is a major milestone, and once it’s complete, the placenta will support your baby for the rest of the pregnancy.
What You Can See on an Ultrasound
If you have an ultrasound around 11 weeks, you’ll likely see your baby moving. The limbs are active at this stage, with visible kicks, stretches, and even hiccup-like movements, though you won’t feel any of this for several more weeks. The heartbeat is strong and fast, typically between 110 and 160 beats per minute, which is roughly double your own resting heart rate. You may hear it during the scan or see the rapid flicker on screen.
This is also the earliest point at which a nuchal translucency scan can be performed. This optional screening, done between 11 and 13 weeks, uses ultrasound to measure a small pocket of fluid at the back of your baby’s neck. A larger-than-expected fluid collection can signal a higher risk of certain chromosomal conditions, including Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome, and Patau syndrome, as well as some congenital heart conditions. The scan doesn’t diagnose anything on its own. It gives a risk estimate that you and your provider can use to decide whether further testing makes sense.
How Growth Compares Week to Week
To put 11 weeks in perspective: at 8 weeks, your baby was about the size of a raspberry, roughly 1.6 centimeters. In just three weeks, that length has nearly tripled. By week 12, your baby will be closer to the size of a lime, and by week 13 the crown-to-rump length will approach 7 to 8 centimeters. This stretch from weeks 9 through 12 is one of the fastest periods of proportional growth in the entire pregnancy.
Weight gain accelerates even more dramatically in the second trimester. Right now your baby weighs less than a AAA battery. By 20 weeks, that number will be closer to 300 grams. The first trimester is primarily about building structures, laying down organs, and establishing the basic body plan. The real weight gain comes later.
What You Might Be Feeling
Your uterus at 11 weeks is about the size of a grapefruit and sits just above the pubic bone. Most people aren’t visibly showing yet, though you may notice your waistband getting tighter or a slight fullness in your lower abdomen. If this isn’t your first pregnancy, you’re more likely to show earlier because the abdominal muscles have already stretched once before.
Nausea and fatigue, the hallmarks of the first trimester, often begin to ease between weeks 12 and 14 as the placenta finishes taking over hormone production. If you’re still deep in morning sickness at 11 weeks, the end is typically close. Some people also notice increased energy and appetite returning around this time, though every pregnancy varies.