8 Weeks Pregnant

Hey! This where things start to get more exciting as your bambino/a is starting to come along:

• Your baby is almost 2 centimetres, the size of an OLIVE.
• His skin still almost see-through.
• His fingers are looking more like digits now and your womb has doubled in size

Your baby at 8 weeks

Although your little miracle still tiny he/she is growing rapidly now. Everyday is different. The heart is beating beautifully, the toes and little fingers are forming and taking shape, the eyes will start to colour. The diaphragm is on the way, this what will make him/her breath.

Yes, all of this is happening and taking place inside you despite the fact that they are no bigger than an olive at about 2CM from top to bottom. Isn’t it truly amazing!

You at week 8

• Relax please, relaxin is on it’s way. Relaxin is a hormone your body will produce to get your body ready for the birth.
• You should avoid contact with farm animals particularly newborn lambs.
• If you don’t have food cravings, it is normal. Only a small number of pregnant women get this symptom.
• You’re not big enough yet but your womb has doubled in size and of course it will get a lot bigger in the coming weeks.
• Your expanding womb will put pressure on your bladder causing you to wee a lot more often.

And once again here’s the amazing Heidi from what to expect, explaining it a bit more:

If you need any more information or if you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me and I will be more than happy to help.

And don’t forget to:

BOND, LOVE AND LAUGH A LOT!

Do I Look Pregnant?

At 7 weeks you are probably feeling all the symptoms but your tummy still not big enough for you to be decisively pregnant. Nausea and maybe some sickness could be the worst during this week because of the heightened levels of the pregnancy hormones that cause this symptom. Have a look at my previous post to deal effectively with nausea.

What is your baby doing at 7 weeks?

Your baby is still an embryo, a miracle in the making. His/her brain is taking all the attention this week as a lot of things are coming along. The intestines is growing into a tiny bulge. Kidneys are there as well now. But despite all of this your baby still the size of a blueberry. Amazing hey!

Symptoms You Might Have At 7 Weeks:

• Nausea and morning sickness.
• Food cravings and food aversions.
• Cramping.
• Swollen and tender breasts.
• Urinating frequently.
• Tired all the time.
  

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Today I am going as promised to deal with:

Swollen and tender breasts

Your breasts probably started growing any where around week 4 and now. They are very sensitive to the touch and very tender and will continue to feel different for the rest of your pregnancy, don’t forget that they will eventually start to produce colostrum the forerunner of breast-milk.

You might feel tingling in your nipples and they might start to ache. The area around them will get darker and might become bigger and later it will become bumpy with the sweet glands and you’ll see a clear net of blue veins right under your skin, all this is normal and part of the development and preparation for the nutrient rich breast milk. There isn’t really any need to be concerned because the pain will go away and they will return to their former beauty after the birth.

How can you deal with tender breasts?

• The best you can do is not to bump into anything.
• You must educate your partner on what can be touched and how.
• Wear supportive bras ideally cotton, to support your breasts while sleeping. I personally recommend this one:It is very comfortable and supportive.

Her’s the lovely Heidi with her comprehensive round up of week 7:

And as always if you have any questions about this week or if you need any help or further advice, please don’t hesitate to contact us,, either through the comment box bellow or through the contact us page. I look forward to hearing from you real soon. Until then as always:

BOND, LOVE AND LAUGH A LOT!

6 Weeks Pregnant

Your baby’s spinal cord is almost here, the neural tube is starting to form!

• Now you really need to start monitoring your diet.
• Your baby has a heart the size of a seed.
• Your tiny baby’s vital organs are all in order, inside you! And you don’t even look pregnant!

At 6 Weeks Your Baby:

• Is the size of a pea.
• Has small arm buds.
• About 1 cm in size.
• Will multiply his weight many many times.
• The masterpiece which will become your baby’s beautiful face is facing forward the tissues are developing but it’s just the beginning.

Dealing With Some Of The Symptoms:

Some of the symptoms particularly in the first trimester will be at its worst, however, there are few things that you could do to alleviate it’s effects and manage it really well:

Nausea

• Nothing could beat a good rest and plenty of it. If you allow yourself to get tired then it will get worse.
• Avoid cold drinks.
• Avoid smells that make you feel queasy and sick.
• Do not eat any foods that make you feel sick.
• Don’t think about it or contemplate it, that alone will make you feel sick, so just distract yourself with a good book or a favourite comedy – ” FRIENDS ” used to do it for me.
• Sipping lots and lots of fluids may stop you from vomiting. Small amounts at a time.
• Avoid having large meals, have smaller ones more often.

Here’s Heidi from ” What to Expect,” to explain more about it:

I will deal with the symptoms and how to best manage them, one at the time. If you liked this post please share it with somebody who will benefit from it. And as always if you have any questions please ask them in the comment box below, every comment get read and replied to.

Relax as much as you can and make a note of being present in the moment, every moment and have lots and lots of:

BOND, LOVE AND LAUGH A LOT!

5 Weeks Pregnant

You might feel pregnant, specially if you’re going through some of the early pregnancy symptoms, but you wouldn’t look pregnant. Not just yet. Your baby at this stage probably the size of an orange pip.

Your Pregnancy Test

The hormone pregnancy hCG by now is quite high to positively confirm your pregnancy. So now is a really good time to have it if you haven’t done so already. And of course if you haven’t seen your GP yet you really should be making that appointment top of your to do list.

So What’s Your Little Miracle Doing At 5 Weeks?

Although he/she is no bigger than an orange seed, the umbilical cord is now forming and by the end of this week, your baby’s brain and spinal cord will be forming as well.

The heart is already starting at a basic level, it’s made up of two channels that already bumping blood and as soon as those tubes fuse together your baby’s heart is fully functioning.

Few other organs will start to form this week such as the neural tube and the digestive system.

How Is Your Body Doing?

If you are experiencing some mood-swings this is perfectly normal:

• Your hormone levels are up and down.
• You already missed a period.
• You are probably experiencing the early symptoms of pregnancy.

Hormones:

Well, if you are not familiar with your hormones during pregnancy, there job really is to tell your body to prepare for the growth of your baby, here’s a brief introduction:

• Estrogen: The estrogen will control the levels of progesterone and hCG to keep them where they should be.
• Progesterone: This one will maintain the function of the placenta. It will also stimulate your breasts to grow, so if they are feeling tender you know why?
• hCG: The hCG will support the corpus luteum which will nourish your baby until the placenta is ready at week 10 of your pregnancy.

Once again, here’s the lovely Heidi Murkoff from what to expect, to tell you all about it:

If you have any questions at all about this week or if you need any help or further advice, please don’t hesitate to contact us,, either through the comment box bellow or through the contact us page. I look forward to hearing from you real soon. Until then as always:

AND DON’T FORGET:

BOND, LOVE AND LAUGH A LOT!

Pregnancy At Week 4

Exciting! This is the week where you are most likely to find that you are pregnant. Congratulations are in order. But what happens at this stage? How big is your baby? and most importantly what’s happening to your body to accommodate your little miracle, lets find out. Shall we?

An overview

• At week 4 you are more likely to feel the pregnancy symptoms.
  

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• The nervous system and your baby’s brain are starting to take shape.
  

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• Your baby is still tiny but is positively growing.
  

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How Big Is Your Baby?

At this stage your baby is probably the size of an apple seed or there about 3mm, the miracle, however, is unfolding and the magic is constantly happening inside you. The embryo is going to split and divide into three sections:

• The brain and the nervous system are taking shape.
• The heart along with the circulatory system coming along.
• The lungs and the digestive system are at their early development stage.

There is so much taking place it is absolutely AMAZING!

Did You Know:

From now on your baby will start sleeping!

Your Body at 4 weeks

The typical pregnancy symptoms will start to show now, things like:

• Your breasts swollen and feeling tender.
• If you miss your period for a week or more.
• Urinating more than usual.
• Backache.
• Slight bleeding and cramping.
• Feeling nauseous sometimes with vomiting. ( Morning Sickness )
• Feeling fatigued and tiered often.

If you are positive that you are feeling these pregnancy signs, then take the test and if it is positive, it is time to visit your GP and when you make it to your GP he will ask you few questions and give you some advise on health and wellbeing.

Here’s Heidi Murkoff to tell you all about it:

If you have any questions about this week or if you need any help or further advice, please don’t hesitate to contact us,, either through the comment box bellow or through the contact us page. I look forward to hearing from you real soon. Until then as always:

BOND, LOVE AND LAUGH A LOT!

Third Week Pregnant

Last week the miracle happened and the epic journey started when the sperm penetrated the egg and fertilized it.

This is it your baby is on his/her way. Few days ago you conceived and your baby is starting to form now and you haven’t even missed a period yet.

The Zygote Journey

The zygote ( your fertilized egg ) Will travel through your fallopian tube over the next few days, dividing into identical cells, over and over, until it is 16 cells, although it’s really tiny at this stage but it is your baby. It will continue to drift through your fallopian tube until it gets to your uterus, it’s final destination. Where it will stay there for the rest of the 9 months.

Week 3 symptoms

The symptoms are not there yet, that’s because your hormones have not gone all over the place yet but don’t worry that will come. The symptoms for this week are not really dissimilar from last weeks, here’s  a recap:

• Nausea: Some hormones might be making their way through your body, particularly hCG hormone, aka pregnancy hormone.
• Implantation bleeding: When the zygote gets to its destination it will start burying itself in the lining of your uterus (womb) causing a light bleeding.
• Missing your period: At the end of this week you may realize that you’re pregnant if your period is shorter than 28 days.

To Conclude

The magic is happening although you don’t  know it for sure yet, your baby is growing inside you and at very fast rate. Your hormones are getting around making you feel nauseous and maybe sick. The zygote will soon be reaching his final destination for the next 8 months. It’s all congratulations, all going well, happy days ahead.

If you have any questions about this week or if you need any help or further advice, please don’t hesitate to contact us,, either through the comment box bellow or through the contact us page. I look forward to hearing from you real soon. Until then as always:

BOND, LOVE AND LAUGH A LOT!

Pregnancy At 2 Weeks

Did you know that roughly 600 million sperm compete to reach your egg. Only around 200 will make the journey. And there will ONLY BE ONE WINNER! One of these will succeed in penetrating the membrane to fertilize your egg. As we said in the last article week 1, your body will release an egg which will move to the fallopian tube. The egg will stay there up to 24 hours when the champion sperm gets in and fertilizes it.

This egg will get swept down your fallopian tube and digs into the lining of your uterus and if all goes well, it will grow into your wonderful baby.

All this should happen during this week, and you still don’t even realize that you are pregnant!

Symptoms at two weeks

Although it’s still too early for the symptoms of your pregnancy, some women might have them at this early stage. So here some common ones:

• Tingling in your breasts and your nipples might become sensitive.
• Light bleeding, this caused by the fertilized egg digging into the wall of your womb.
• An increase in your vaginal discharge.

Your Pregnancy Test

Even if you spot the first symptoms of pregnancy and you really can’t wait to have it confirmed, I would hold my horses, the reason being that “the most reliable sign of pregnancy is a missed period”. Although most pregnancy tests nowadays are fairly accurate and sensitive enough to detect pregnancy hormones really early, still I’d wait until the after the first missed period.

Health Reminder

Once again:

• Have you started taking folic-acid? If not, Please start.
• Have you considered some exercise during your pregnancy.
• Eating well. What to eat a lot of and what to reduce or even avoid.
• Stopping any bad health habits. Smoking, drinking alcohol and caffeine.

Here’s Heidi Murkoff once again, telling you all about it:-

This is it for week two. I hope everything is going really well for you, you have a lot to look forward to. Relax and enjoy it as much as you can, don’t get overwhelmed I know there are a lot of things to remember and organize but at the same time there is a lot of help and support for pregnant women out there, you just need to reach out.

If you need any help and advice, please leave me a comment down bellow and share the love.

Until next time, please:

BOND, LOVE AND LAUGH A LOT!

First Week Of Pregnancy

Do you know that you’re pregnant? Of course not! Despite the fact that you don’t even know it, there are lots of things that are happening to you and to your baby!

Your Baby First week

Can you believe that:

• Is it a boy? Or perhaps a girl! It’s already done. Yep! The sex of your baby is already decided.
• The most vital organs are already taking shape. The heart, spine and the brain.
• The rate of their growth and development is the fastest at this stage than any other stage of your pregnancy.

Yet, you don’t even know that they are even there. Amazing!

Your Body First week

Before we go any further, let me ask you: are you taking any vitamin Folic-Acid? If you are, that’s good, keep it up. If not, it’s highly recommended that you start now, this is because, if you’re actually trying to get pregnant, you’ll be 4 weeks into your pregnancy before it is confirmed. Health-professionals calculate the start of your pregnancy from the first day of your last period.

As for what’s happening inside your body at this stage:

• Your body is releasing last month’s egg.
• It’s building the new uterine to hold the new month’s egg.
• The new egg will get fertilized and develop into a fetus.

It probably wont be until you miss your period at about four weeks that you will notice the early symptoms of pregnancy. In saying that some women, however, will have some really early symptoms after the fertilization, such as:

• Nausea.
• Tierdness.
• Sore breasts.
• Frequent and sometimes urgent need to pee.
• Fatigue.

Getting  Ready:

Healthy Mum = Healthy Baby

Simple, right!

So:

• Eating well is key.
• Stopping bad health habits, such as: smoking, drinking alcohol and caffeine. If it is not possible to completely stop then reduce it to as little as you can.
• Exercise: if you already doing it, that’s great! If not, then this is a good time to consider it. Consult your health-professional and always take up exercise with instructors who have experience in working with pregnant women.

Isn’t it amazing that all of this could be taking place without you even knowing it!

Here’s Heidi Murkoff telling you all about it:-

As always any questions let me know. Leave me a comment and share the love:

BOND, LOVE AND LAUGH A LOT!