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| Your Pregnancy : Week 1 |
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This week's period may be the last one you have for a good long while. Enjoy it! OK, maybe not enjoy it, but at least appreciate the fact that if it weren't for that egg-dropping, uterine-thickening, blood-shedding cycle you love to loathe every month, you wouldn't be able to grow the baby you're hoping to conceive! Yes, for once you can consider Aunt Flo a friend of yours.
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| Wondering what else is up this week with your body and that baby you're trying to make? Read on … |
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| What You're Thinking: |
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| "Goodbye menstrual cramps, period panties and chocolate cravings! Hello pregnancy cramps, preggy panties and even bigger chocolate cravings!" |
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Your Body
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| For the first two weeks of your pregnancy, you won't actually be pregnant. Yep, you heard that right. When your doctor or midwife calculates your due date, she will count 40 weeks from the first day of your last period, not from the day the baby was actually made (usually around Day 14). |
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| While you're on your period, the uterus is shedding its lining and an egg (the egg!) is preparing to launch into your fallopian tube, hoping to hook up with one lucky, fast-swimming sperm. |
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| If you're planning on getting preggers, now would be a good time to put the kibosh on all those bad habits like smoking, drug use and drinking. You'll also want to start taking a prenatal vitamin with folic acid—a B vitamin that prevents brain and neural-tube birth defects. It works best if you take it before you conceive and in the early days of pregnancy, although you'll want to continue until Junior makes his debut in nine months (and beyond if you're breastfeeding) |
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| Your Baby |
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| While this is technically considered the first week of your pregnancy, baby is still only a glimmer in your eye (and an egg in your ovary). The first day of your period is considered Day 1 of the 280 days of your pregnancy even though conception won't occur for another 14 days or so (we know, it's totally confusing). |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 2 |
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Time to get down to the business of making a baby! You're doing all the right things—and one "thing" in particular—to start that journey from "party of two and your best bottle of wine, please" to "do you serve chicken nuggets?" Get ready for a wild ride!
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| Wondering what's up this week with your body and that baby you're trying to make? Read on ... |
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What You're Thinking :
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| "So this is what sex is like without contraception! OMG, OMG, OMG, we're trying to make a baby!" |
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Your Body
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Happy conception week! This is where that long journey from stretch marks to spit up to soccer practice begins.
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This week is all about the numbers: Somewhere between 140 million and 500 million sperm will be trying to boogie their way up your fallopian tubes to reach that single, solitary egg. Only about 200 of them will make it to the end of the road. And only one will earn the right to do a little victory dance in the end zone.
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Although there's plenty going on, the truth is, it's all behind the scenes. Your body doesn't know what's hit it yet, and it won't until at least next week.
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| If you're feeling some cramping, you can probably chalk it up to ovulation. Or that second bowl of hot-sauce-spiked chili you had last night. |
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| Your Baby |
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At the end of this week, the utterly mind-blowing miracle—conception—will occur!
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| Once the egg's been fertilized, it will split into two nuclei that contain the genes of you and your partner (like Dad's gorgeous eyes and Mom's great legs). |
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| If egg did indeed meet sperm, the baby they created will begin to rapidly divide again and again and again. The little ball of cells will double in size about every 12 hours (luckily, you'll never grow at quite that rate, even though you may feel like you are). |
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| Although you won't know it for months yet, the gender of your baby and his or her eye and hair color, and even to some extent his or her personality, has all already been determined. The moment sperm met egg and you and your partner each chipped in your 23 chromosomes to create this new person, all of that was instantaneously worked out. |
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| Within three or four days after conception, the egg will start to change from a solid ball of cells (a morula) into a layer of hundreds of cells clustered around a fluid-filled cavity, called a blastocyst. It'll look kind of like a microscopic piece of Freshen Up gum. |
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| Your little blastocyst (aka, teensy, weensy baby-to-be) will begin the long 7-to-10-day trek down the fallopian tubes to the uterus. Congratulations, Mama, you're pregnant ... you just don't know it yet! |
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| Your Life |
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| Want to up your chances of creating a Mini Me or He? Try the old natural family-planning method to determine when you're ovulating. Taking your temperature in the morning, before you get out of bed every day, can help you pinpoint the best time to grab your stud muffin and get down to business. You can also go the more modern route and pick up an ovulation test kit from the drugstore to determine when you're ovulating, but the low-tech technique is a lot cheaper (and you may want to save that cash for diapers). |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 3 |
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Congratulations! You might be three weeks pregnant!? Welcome to the bizarro world of "pregnancy math," where 40 weeks somehow fit into just nine months, and your pregnancy begins nearly two weeks before you've even done The Deed!
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| Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ... |
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What You're Thinking :
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"I am so ready for this! Am I ready for this? Yes, yes, I'm a strong, confident, capable person! Wait, am I crazy? I cannot believe I might be somebody's mother!"
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Your Body
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When your baby implants in your cushy uterine lining later in this week, you might notice a little bit of spotting. Nothing to worry about—in fact, it's your first sign of success.
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If you're feeling tired this week, or you're convinced that your breasts are achy or are already starting to enlarge, it may not be all in your head. They're both early signs of pregnancy. You might also be having major mood swings (according to your partner, anyway—you're pretty sure you're being quite levelheaded and reasonable). This is all due to the hormones that are racing like Danica Patrick through your body. Those hormones are also responsible for the unimaginable exhaustion you might feel at all hours of the day.
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That sudden urge to pee every 10 minutes is also an early sign of pregnancy. Unfortunately, you'll keep on peeing with this irritating frequency for the next 37 weeks, so load up on Charmin.
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You may even experience the first twinges of morning sickness this week. Once you get that positive pregnancy test next week, you'll realize it actually wasn't your partner's driving that was making you feel queasy (and apologies will probably be in order). It certainly doesn't help matters that your sense of smell is suddenly sharper than a Labrador's and everything you get a whiff of makes you want to barf.
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If you've been charting your body temp trying to peg down ovulation and you find your temperature stays high for a few days, congrats: You're probably preggo!
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| Your Baby |
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Just because you don't know if you're knocked up yet doesn't mean there isn't plenty going on inside of you.
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This week starts with what is probably one of the most momentous events in your pregnancy (besides the meeting of egg and sperm and when you actually have the baby): implantation. In other words, your Mini Me or He (technically called a "zygote") will set up shop in the lining of your uterus this week and hunker down there for the next 37 weeks.
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As much as you'd like to think of "implantation" as your baby snuggling down into the quilty softness of your uterus and pulling the covers up for a nine-month nap, the truth is a little less bedtime ritual and a lot more Alien. When the embryo hits the uterus, it releases enzymes that actually eat away at the uterine lining so that it can burrow on in. Nice, huh?
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Once safely implanted, the little ball of cells will split in two. One part will become the embryo—aka your bundle of joy—and the other part will form the placenta (your baby's 24/7 coffee shop, from where he or she will get all of his or her nutrients). The embryo and your uterine lining will start working together to create an intricate network of blood vessels to supply oxygen and food to the newly forming placenta and the embryo itself.
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Near the end of this week, your bouncing mass of cells will start producing its first dribbles of that most famous of pregnancy hormones, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). This is the hormone that will be behind most of your pregnancy symptoms in the coming weeks and months. It's also the one that will show up as a plus sign on that home pregnancy test you're going to take in a week or so.
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| By the end of this week, your little sugar pie will be made of 500 microscopic cells. |
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| Your Life |
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You're only a couple of hours pregnant, so you can't blame baby for that growing gut quite yet. Still, if you're trying to conceive, and especially if you think you may have hit the jackpot this month, this is no time to start dieting or to start an exercise program.
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| If you've been hitting the treadmill already, feel free to continue working out. Aerobic exercise will actually make your pregnancy easier as long as you don't try to break any endurance records. Speaking of breaking endurance records, here are the pregnancy warnings that ought to be printed on the side of every elliptical machine: Keep your heart rate under 140 beats per minute and your body temperature below 102 (i.e., skip the midsummer Arizona triathlon). More realistically, that also means foregoing long soaks in the hot tub and staying out of the sauna for the next nine months. |
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| If you're not already knocking back a daily prenatal vitamin, start now. It's especially important right now to get at least 400 micrograms of folic acid per day. If the idea of swallowing those horse-sized pills makes you gag even before the morning sickness kicks in, you can try to get at least some of your folic acid through your diet. Best sources include beef liver, spinach, black-eyed peas, peanuts and orange juice. Or look for a breakfast cereal that's fortified with folic acid so you can fill your daily quota in a single bowl. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 4 |
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Is it? Could it be? Yep. At the very end of this week, which also bizarrely marks the end of your first month of pregnancy, you'll miss your period. And the ride of your life will begin.
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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What You're Thinking :
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"Instant messages. Instant coffee ... Why the heck hasn't anyone invented an instant pregnancy test?"
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Your Body
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| This is when it all begins. |
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| Once Mini Me or He implants in your uterus and that placenta starts to grow, your heart starts beating more quickly. You might be putting in an extra 15 beats per minute (even when Taye Diggs isn't onscreen). Until your blood volume catches up to all that extra pumping (which it won't do for a number of weeks), you're likely to feel tired most of the time. Sounds like a good reason to schedule a siesta! |
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| A lot of that extra blood is heading straight for your breasts, resulting in tenderness and the tendency for your nipples to show ... through your down jacket. (Another early pregnancy sign: Your cervix is softening and changing color. But if this is something you're able to notice on your own, we don't want to know about it.) |
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| Your Baby |
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Your microscopic embryo is already hard at work this week creating the placenta, umbilical cord and the basics of his or her body.
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The embryo is now made of three layers that will transform into the different parts of your baby's body. The endoderm, or inner layer, will become your baby's intestines, liver and lungs. The middle layer, or mesoderm, will become your baby's heart, sex organs, muscles, bones, and kidneys, and the ectoderm, or outermost layer, will develop into your baby's hair, skin, eyes, and nervous system. Believe it or not, your baby is already starting to look like a tiny little being (not necessarily a human being) complete with a head, a mouth opening and a primitive brain and heart.
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| By the end of this week, your baby measures about 1/25 inch long, about the size of a period (like the one at the end of this sentence, not the one you just missed). |
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| Your Life |
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You probably can't wait another second to find out if you're pregnant. So go ahead and pee on a stick. Just keep a few things in mind:
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Despite their advertising, not every pregnancy test is truly sensitive enough to pick up a pregnancy 30 seconds after you miss your period. Different home pregnancy tests pick up different levels of the pregnancy hormone hCG. So don't despair if you get an initial negative. If Aunt Flo doesn't show up in a day or so, test again.
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Your best chance of "passing" this test is to wait as long as you can stand it, and to use your more concentrated morning urine.
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| Once it's official, you get to come up with a fun way to share the test results (if you didn't have people gawking over your shoulder while you were taking it, that is). Some mamas-to-be go to elaborate lengths to share the big news. (Billboard on I-95 anyone?) But no matter how grand or matter-of-fact the gesture, this should be about you sharing your excitement with the people you care about; the ones who are going to be supporting you (and, yes, putting up with you) for the next nine months. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 5 |
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Although you've been pregnant for four weeks now, you probably just found out. Congrats! Yippee! Woohoo! The fact that you're actually growing a baby inside you probably seems completely surreal. Don't worry, it's common. Still, do your best not to overthink it. Instead, concentrate on making a nice home for the baby over the next nine months by taking care of you. That means eating right, moving your body (some call it exercise, but that sounds so strenuous) and taking it easy.
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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What You're Thinking :
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| "If I order a club soda with lime on the rocks, I might be able to dupe my friends into believing that there's nothing suspicious going on." |
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Your Body
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If you never paid much attention to what you eat—we're talking to you Ms. Cheeseburger and Fries—now's the time to make it a priority to eat the most nutritious food you can.
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| The average pregnant woman needs about 300 extra calories each day. That's right: extra calories! Being pregnant rocks! |
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| Many insurance plans will pay for you to have a consultation with a qualified nutritionist or dietitian, who can help you create an eating plan that will work for you. That doesn't mean you have to give up your vices and just eat boring health food all day. A nutritional plan will help you get the stuff you need for your baby first, then the rest can be icing on the cake. (Literally, you can eat icing if you want to. How great is that?) |
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Certain "super-foods" like walnuts and yogurt can provide extra bang for your buck, giving you and your baby much-needed nutrients in each bite. Walnuts dipped in icing anyone?
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Your Baby
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Your baby's microscopic heart begins to beat this week—although it won't be detectable with one of those cool Dopplers for a few weeks, so you'll have to wait a little longer to hear that satisfying "whoosh-whoosh" you're so anxious for. Here's what else is under construction :
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With the beating of the heart, blood will begin to circulate throughout the body. Your baby's first organ system will be up and running!
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The beginnings of the brain; the cardiovascular, nervous and reproductive systems; as well as all other major systems are under way.
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Your baby's new digs—the amniotic sac and the placenta (aka the hotel and the restaurant)—are still forming at this point. (Maybe you should send a housewarming gift.)
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All that high-speed development and your baby is only 2 millimeters long—about the size of a sesame seed (check one out next time you're chowing down on a bagel—you won't believe how tiny it is!).
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| Your Life |
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Don't wait until the baby arrives to invest in a good point-and-shoot digital camera. (It'll probably take you at least nine months to figure out how to use it anyway!) If you don't already have one, check out Consumer Reports to find the model that's right for you.
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| With your new camera (or with the one you already have), start taking pics of your growing belly week after week. After it's all said and done, you won't believe you were ever that big (or this small). |
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| Since you're taking all those pictures, we've got a great place for them. A LifeBook will let you document your pregnancy and your baby's life with pictures, audio clips and videos. Upload your first "before" belly shot and get your LifeBook started. |
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| Make a list of all the things you want to do before the baby arrives. Want to go to France? (Or even the outlet mall in the next town over?) Start planning, because the next several months will be prime time to get in as much as possible. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 6 |
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| While you won't be able to find out the gender of your baby for several more weeks, the version you'll give birth to is being determined right now. Of course, your mother-in-law already knows it'll be a boy. And your sister is sure that it's a girl. And the medical expert that is your 5-year-old nephew says it's absolutely a boy (and if it's a girl, he doesn't want anything to do with it). Isn't it wonderful how clairvoyant people are? |
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| Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ... |
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What You're Thinking :
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| "If I put my head in my hands and stare down at my desk, it'll look like I'm working really hard and nobody will know I'm actually sleeping." |
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Your Body
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| You may be feeling super-tired or nauseous (or super-tired and nauseous—lucky you!) and your boobs are most likely killing you. This is due to the myriad of hormones raging through your body at levels rivaling a teenage boy's. |
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If you can't stay awake for the second half of Grey's Anatomy, blame it on the baby. Extreme exhaustion is often one of the first signs of pregnancy, and while your body will probably regain some of its strength by the time you enter your second trimester, you might find yourself nodding off during Dr. McDreamy's love scenes ... or worse, yours!
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| Constant exhaustion can really wear you down, so make sure to rest up. That means skipping Letterman. |
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If you're feeling like you're living in a pregnancy-induced fog, try natural remedies for fatigue.
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Even though it's the last thing you want to hear right now, moderate exercise is a great way to help tackle exhaustion. Try short walks, gentle stretching or a prenatal yoga class to help boost your energy.
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Your Baby
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This week starts a period of rapid cellular development for your baby-to-be, who looks like a mini tadpole, with a tiny head and tail. His or her eyes, ears and mouth have begun to form (though they're a little more Discovery Channel "creatures of the sea" documentary than Gerber Baby at this point).
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| Other exciting milestones include: |
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Your baby's heart is now beating to a regular beat, although it's still too faint to hear.
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His or her arm buds are just beginning to, well, bud. They look like teensy swollen bumps at this point. In a few days, they'll resemble itsy-bitsy flippers.
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Your baby has grown to 1/2 inch long—about the size of one of the chocolate sprinkles on your last cupcake (and your last ice cream cone, and your last sundae and your last giant cookie ... maybe there is something to those rumors about pregnancy cravings!).
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| Your Life |
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We hate to bring up the drudgery of finances (it's so much more fun to talk about little baby socks and little baby fingers, and how to decorate the nursery, and the rocking shower your best friend will throw for you), but it's never too early to think about budgeting and saving money.
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Grandparents want to help? Invite them to start a 529 plan while you focus on more immediate concerns like creating a household budget for the first year.
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| Want to get an idea of the big money picture? Check out some cold, hard facts on the cost of raising children. Just keep in mind that it happens one day at a time, so don't let all the number crunching overwhelm you. |
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| Once you find out how much junior will cost you, you might be tempted to curb your latte habit in an effort to save the $4.25 you cough up daily. But don't. The simple pleasure of getting your overpriced coffee—alone—and sipping it while reading the paper—alone—will be worth a lot more than you'll ever know in 34 weeks. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 7 |
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If you're one of the "lucky" pregnant women to experience morning sickness (a poorly named symptom of pregnancy as it can strike at any time of the day), remember that it won't last forever. Most of the wooziness tapers off by the second trimester. Of course, mental wooziness can affect you throughout your pregnancy, as you think of your growing to-do list, or wonder about how you're life will change, or worry if you'll know how to handle it all. Luckily, the cure for that wooziness is laying your eyes on your new baby.
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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What You're Thinking :
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"How can I feel like I'm hung over all day long when I've had nothing to drink in three weeks?"
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Your Body
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You're supposed to be "eating for two" but instead, it's hard for you to swallow water. As a result, you're "praying to the porcelain god for two." Morning sickness can leave a pregnant chick exhausted, weak and wondering what on earth she got herself into. Don't throw in the towel just yet, here's how to cope:
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| There are a whole bunch of tricks that pregnant women swear help to reduce nausea caused by morning sickness ... such as sucking on lemon drops or any other hard candy. |
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| Sometimes certain foods can help relieve the symptoms of morning sickness. Also, blaming your partner for everything has been known to comfort many women in the throes of nausea. |
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Even if you're experiencing frequent vomiting, try not to worry, as your baby needs very little nourishment this early in the pregnancy. Good thing, since all you've eaten today is two boxes of saltines.
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If you're noticing weight loss or dehydration, you could have hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness that occurs very infrequently. Check with your doctor.
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Your Baby
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This week your baby's brain is growing at a mind-boggling 100 cells per minute within a see-through skull. If you could peer inside, you'd see those tiny brain cells growing and growing and growing (about as quickly as you feel like yours are shrinking and shrinking and shrinking with your "pregnancy brain"!). More high points include :
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Your baby's face is becoming more defined this week. A tiny mouth hole (which will be ready to wail before you know it!), tongue, nostrils and ear indentations are visible. His or her eyes are wide open, but he doesn't have irises (the colored part) yet.
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Baby's arm buds are growing. At this point they look more like microscopic ping-pong paddles than arms. Baby's leg buds are also forming and will look like tiny paddles by the end of the week.
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The umbilical cord—the connection between your baby and the placenta—is now visible.
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Your baby is now between 1/3 and 1/4 inch long—about the length of a Tic Tac and about as heavy as an eyelash. While that sounds tiny, he or she is approximately 10,000 times bigger than at conception. Crazy, huh?
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| Your Life |
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Keeping the cat in the bag for the next five weeks will be tough. But the relief of finally telling your coworkers that you're pregnant—and not gaining weight at an astounding rate—will be a total relief.
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Begin to form a plan on how to tell your boss you're pregnant. (Hint: Tell your supervisor before you tell the office gossip!)
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| Talk to human resources so you can be sure of your benefits and legal rights as a pregnant employee. |
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Entertain in your home while the living room is still free of baby toys. If you're too zonked to cook, make it a potluck!
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| Take a moment to appreciate your clean upholstery. With years of parenting ahead, you might never see it this pristine again. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 8 |
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Your growing baby is six weeks old, thanks to the fuzzy math of pregnancy. This fuzzy math is also responsible for the widely believed notion that pregnancy is only nine months long, when in actuality it's closer to 10. Who comes up with this stuff? Obviously a man.
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on...
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What You're Thinking :
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| "If I have to smell my coworker's tuna salad sandwich for one more second, I am going to lose my cookies. Wait, did someone say cookies?" |
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Your Body
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You know you need to take your prenatal vitamins in order to assure proper growth and nutrition for your little one, yet every time you swallow the thing, it comes right back up thanks to your woozy stomach. Don't panic:
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First, try popping prenatal vitamins at night or with food. Having something in your stomach to help absorb those horse pills can sometimes help.
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Iron is important, but it's also a common cause of nausea. Ask your doc about a vitamin with less iron, or try a liquid or chewable form that might help with the queasiness.
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If you're still barfing after that, check and see if your obstetrician can prescribe you a vitamin that is specifically formulated for women with severe nausea.
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Your Baby
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This week, your little tadpole is starting to look a little bit more human. Other exciting developments include:
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Your baby's eyelids, ears, upper lip and the tip of his soon-to-be adorable button nose are forming.
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Junior will also sprout webbed fingers and toes this week—which you'll be well aware of in a few months, as baby starts early gymnastics classes inside you.
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Baby's tiny heart has separated into four distinct chambers and is really ticking now—at a rate of 150 beats per minute. That's more than twice your resting heart rate (even when Brad Pitt is on the screen).
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Your baby is now a little more than ½ inch long, about the size of the rock in Eva Longoria's engagement ring, and is about as heavy as the check Tony Parker wrote to pay for it.
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| Your Life |
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Start to think about lining up the medical professionals that are going to help you through this experience: your gynecologist or OB, doula, midwife or lay midwife. This is one of the most important decisions you'll make, so do your research and take your time interviewing.
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| While you're seeking professional help, why not consider finding a prenatal yoga or fitness class, or a nutrition class that specializes in prenatal noshing. |
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| Schedule a prenatal massage or a facial now. If you love it, consider buying a package deal. You can often get a discount when you book several at once—and then use them up throughout your pregnancy. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 9 |
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If you've never kept a journal, do yourself a favor and start one today! Because despite the fact that your pregnancy is literally all you can think about right now, as soon as the delivery is over, you'll barely remember what it was like being pregnant (except maybe those weeks you spent with your head in the toilet). Plus, keeping a diary will help you appreciate all that amazing work your bod is doing. If you're going to spend nine months performing a miracle, you might as well document it.
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| Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ... |
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| What You're Thinking: |
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| "I don't look pregnant but I do look like I just had ... ahem ... enhancement surgery!" |
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Your Body
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At about this time, you may look more like a Victoria's Secret model than a pregnant woman. One of the perks, or downsides, depending on the letter bra you started with, is a new, more voluptuous chest. Get used to it. Chances are your boobs will grow even more—and that's even before your milk has come in!
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| Your partner may be fired up about your new curvy shape, but along with an increase in size, you're probably experiencing breast soreness and tenderness. That means it's lookie but no touchie, partner. |
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Don't worry if you notice lumpy breasts or changes in your areola. These are normal changes (even if you think they look abnormal).
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Enjoy your new chest while it lasts (or don't worry ... it isn't permanent). After pregnancy and nursing, your breast size will most likely return to its pre-pregnancy proportions.
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Your Baby
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| Big news! You may be able to hear the heartbeat this week with the help of a Doppler, an ultrasound device that captures the chug-a-chug sound of baby's heart. The first time you hear baby's heart, your own heart may skip a beat—it's the first real evidence that there's someone growing inside you! If you can't hear the heartbeat, no worries, your doc will just check again in a few weeks. Other amazing developments this week: |
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Baby is beginning to move, but you won't be able to feel anything for some time.
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Baby is growing nipples and hair follicles (although there's still a chance you'll be giving birth to a baldy!) His pancreas, gallbladder, bile ducts and anus are all in place, ready to poop and pee a dozen times a day when he's born. Your baby's head is half the size of his body and his little chin is tucked into his chest. His tiny tail is beginning to shrink away, giving Junior a more human and less amphibious look.
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| Until now, all pre-babies look the same "down there." This week, however, your baby will begin to develop either male or female genitalia. In layman terms, your baby is beginning to develop her hoo-ha or his wee-wee. While you won't be able to find out the gender of your baby for several more weeks, the version you'll give birth to is being developed right now. |
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| At this stage, your developing fetus is 1-inch in length, about the size of a martini olive (you remember martinis, don't you?) and weighs a mere 2 grams—a little less than a penny. |
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| Your Life |
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| It takes a rocket scientist to understand health care in America, so unless you are one, ask your health insurance provider to explain your coverage to you as if you were a small child. |
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| Don't currently have health insurance? Ask your employer (or your partner's) if they offer a COBRA plan, a government program that mandates coverage during your maternity leave. |
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Since dealing with insurance agents can break you like a horse, write your questions down ahead of time and study up on choosing a health plan. Be sure to check on coverage for both you and your baby.
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| You know that little black dress you love, love, love, but don't get to wear very often? Make a hot date with your partner and plan to wear it now, before your body morphs and it's another year before you're able to slip into it again. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 10 |
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The roller coaster of nausea may almost be over, but the roller coaster of emotions (happy, sad, crying, mad; and that's all in the last 30 seconds) is just revving up. No one will understand why Friends reruns are making you cry, so don't bother trying to explain it.
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking : |
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| "Only 30 more weeks until I can eat raw fish and drink sake again." |
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Your Body
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| The hormones raging through your body can wreak havoc on your emotional sanity, so be prepared to spend the next few months swinging from one end of the emotional pendulum to the other. If you're feeling especially sad or depressed, talk to your doctor because pre natal depression is actually quite common. |
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Simple changes in exercise and diet have been proven to help women control depressive feelings. But if little things like sad songs and sappy commercials make you cry, don't worry, you're not alone. Wacky emotions can be chalked up to pregnancy hormones. So go ahead and blubber your way through Celine's greatest hits. It's OK.
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Your Baby
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| By the end of Week 10, your baby graduates from embryo to fetus, which literally means "little one." It also translates to "I'm just going to keep getting bigger and bigger and so are you!" Other highlights this week: |
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| Your baby has finally morphed from a little tadpole into, well, a baby. Not only is the face more human-like, but that unflattering "tail" (really just the developing spinal cord) has disappeared, fusing into the spinal column. |
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| Your baby now has discernible fingers and toes, which will explain the steady stream of kicks and punches you'll feel down the line. |
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| Junior's skeleton is starting to grow and harden. The ears are beginning to take shape and the eyelids are no longer transparent. Tooth buds are forming, although your baby won't get any teeth until six or seven (or eight or nine or 10) months after birth. |
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| Baby's brain will make an incredible 25,000 new neurons every minute this week. While you may feel like you're losing as many as he's gaining, we can assure you it's not permanent. "Pregnancy brain," like nausea and bloating, is a temporary symptom that soon shall pass. (And then you'll get "Mommy brain," but we won't go there now.) |
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If you're baby is a boy, he's started producing that macho hormone testosterone. And whether your baby is a boy or a girl, the kidneys are creating copious amounts of urine. Lucky for you, you won't have to change a diaper for another 30 weeks.
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| Baby weighs only 4 grams and measures 1½ inches, about the size of a mondo Brazil nut. |
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| Your Life |
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Ok, blah blah blah about the health stuff, let's talk about decorating the nursery! Thirty more weeks may seem like eons, but it might take that long to clean out the soon-to-be baby's room.
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| Start by painting—you'll want enough time pre-baby for the fumes to have dissipated. If you can afford it, try using low-volatile organic compounds (VOC) paints, which are much safer for pregnant women and children. |
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| Also make sure to check for the presence of any existing toxic lead paint in your home, since safe removal methods are essential for you and your baby's health. |
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Don't want to spend time painting or wallpapering the joint or worried that you'll be sick of those little yellow duckies you painted on the wall in about two months? Try Blik's awesome wall decals. Totally easy to apply and remove.
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| Start a search for the most comfortable chair you can find for the nursery. And make sure you love it ... you'll be spending almost as much time there as you do in your bed once the baby comes. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 11 |
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Pregnancy is about indulging and abstaining, all at once. You'll be saying both, "Oooh, another scoop of ice cream? Sure, make it two!" and "No wine. Just water for me, thanks." You have 29 weeks of this all-or-nothing living to go, so focus on the perks (whipped cream, chocolate sauce and a cherry, anyone?) and think how great all the stuff you can't do now will be when you can do it later.
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking: |
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"I am not crazy for crying like a little girl during the cheerleading championship on ESPN. Those girls work hard!"
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Your Body
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| Finally the excuse "Not tonight honey, I have a headache" is legit! Thanks to all the new and extreme hormones surging through your body, many women experience increased headaches while pregnant. And since you're limited in which pain relievers you can take while pregnant, getting rid of a nasty headache may be especially difficult. |
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| While acetaminophen (like Tylenol) is considered safe during pregnancy, other pain relievers like ibuprofen should be avoided. If you want to avoid taking any medication, there are a few alternative headache remedies, like cold compresses and exercise, that can help. |
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| Unfortunately, women who have a tendency to get migraines tend to get more of them during pregnancy. Talk to your doctor if you're having trouble coping. |
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Your Baby
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All of your baby's vital organs are now formed and functioning, so the risk of defects decreases this week as your baby becomes less susceptible to outside influences. Phew! Other exciting developments include:
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Baby's ears are assuming their proper place this week and the fingernail and toenail beds are beginning to form. Your little "pumpkin head" really lives up to his nickname as his head is nearly as big as the rest of his body.
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While testes or ovaries are completely formed now, don't start decorating the nursery. You won't be able to see your baby's gender for a few more weeks yet.
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Your baby is really on the move now. In an ultrasound you might be able to see your little acrobat flailing his or her arms and legs and doing somersaults worthy of Cirque du Soleil. You still won't be able to feel any movement, so if you feel something "kick" in there, it's probably gas.
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In the next nine weeks, your baby will increase 30 times in weight and almost triple in length. You might feel like you're increasing 30 times in weight at this point, too, but we can assure you're not—because, honey, you ain't seen nothin' yet!
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Your baby now weighs a third of an ounce, about the same as two small, Starbucks-sized packets of sugar, is about 2 inches long, the length of one of those sugar packets. Isn't that sweet?
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| Your Life |
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When your future son or daughter brings home the love of his or her life, you'll be so glad you bought a digital camcorder to record every embarrassing thing he or she ever did.
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Plan before you plunk down your money. It's a big buy, and you'll want this one to last for years. Scan online reviews of cameras you're considering, to see what others think.
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Once you make a purchase, try out the new goods by recording a great day spent in the city or a mini-vacation that you and your partner are going to take.
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| Got lots of new videos to share? Post them in your LifeBook, where you can document your pregnancy (and soon, baby's life!) for your family and friends. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 12 |
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If you've kept the news of your pregnancy in a lockbox so far, now is a good time to break the news ... likely by shouting, "I'm pregnant!" at all your friends and family and probably several strangers. Try to tell people in person when possible and then prepare to be assaulted with hugs and hands groping at your belly. But be kind: They're doing it out of love and curiosity. And, hey, you're pregnant! It's all good!
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking: |
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"Finally I can tell everybody that I'm not getting fat, I'm just pregnant!"
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Your Body
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You can barely brush your teeth without gagging so the mere thought of visiting the dentist may make you retch. Still, healthy teeth and gums are especially important during pregnancy as poor dental care can lead to a variety of problems such as pregnancy-related gingivitis and periodontal disease, neither of which sound like any fun at all. Plus, poor dental health during pregnancy has been associated with premature and low-birth-weight babies.
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| Book an appointment, but be sure to let your dentist know you're expecting, so you can avoid dental X-rays. If you notice strange lumps on your gums, don't worry. It's just another perk of being preggo. Many women develop harmless, non-cancerous oral tumors when pregnant. And just when you were feeling really sexy ... |
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Your Baby
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Baby's face is looking more human as his eyes have moved to the front of his head and his ears are in place. Hooray! Other amazing fetal highlights this week:
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Your baby is able to swallow this week and practices on the amniotic fluid he or she floats in. (And you thought baby food was kind of nasty!) And in case you're wondering how your kid can breathe in all that fluid, here's your answer: Fetuses get oxygen from the blood pumped into their bodies by the placenta and don't breathe with their lungs. Mystery solved!
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This is kind of gross, albeit fascinating, so feel free to skip ahead: Your baby's intestines are well under way, but they aren't all where you'd expect them to be. Instead of all being locked away in the body cavity, some are dangling on the outside, in the umbilical cord. Ewwww.
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Don't forget to put a baby nail file on your registry—your little nugget's finger- and toenails are forming this week. The chin and nose are also becoming more defined.
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Junior has doubled in size over the past two weeks and now weighs almost ½ ounce. He's also now around 2 ½ inches long, about the length of your pinky finger or a Vienna sausage, which, in a few months, will be indistinguishable from one another.
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| Your Life |
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Once baby's here, the chances of you remembering to shop for food, never mind actually eating, are slim to none. So prepare a cheat sheet for a designated grocery getter now:
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| Write out a week's worth of your favorite quick and easy meals. (Looking for new ideas? Check out our Weekly Meal Planner.) |
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Not feeling up to going out? Then stay in—just make sure to stay stocked up on the food you need to make healthy meals and snacks.
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| You will never fully appreciate the luxury of food shopping by yourself until you have a baby. So why not head to a local farmers market and browse the aisles alone? Pick up fresh veggies and make a pasta primavera dinner for you and your partner. The same dinner post-baby will most likely consist of mac and cheese with frozen peas |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 13 |
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| Welcome to the last week of your first trimester. Any day now you'll start to feel your energy (and libido!) return. You may even be able to hold down a bite of food. Imagine that! Take advantage of your new robust status and go out to dinner, catch a movie or take that last big pre-baby vacay. Trust us, do it now, because in a few months you'll be too big to sausage yourself into the airplane seats (even if you can afford first class!). |
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| Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on... |
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| What You're Thinking: |
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"OK, fine, my skinny jeans aren't working anymore—and my "fat day" clothes don't even fit. I'm going shopping and I'm not coming back until I've got something I look fabulous in."
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Your Body
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| Say hello to the girls! Your boobs are probably looking pretty glorious at this point. You can thank your hormones for your newfound cleavage. (Yes, those same hormones that had you hugging the porcelain throne for the past 12 weeks. See, they're not all bad!) Estrogen and progesterone are stimulating the milk-producing glands in your boobs and making them grow, grow, grow. |
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| Your belly may be popping out a bit now as well. If you're feeling "huge" already, just wait. You ain't seen nothing yet! All women start showing at different times in their pregnancies, so don't stress if you're not obviously pregnant ... or if you already look like you're in your 14th month. |
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You may experience a little milky discharge "down there" this week—it's nothing to worry about. As your pregnancy continues, you can expect more of this leucorrhea (that's the technical term for it).
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Your Baby
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Your baby can make a fist and even suck his or her thumb this week—both skills that are über-cute during infancy ... and not so much at the age of 9. If you're really lucky, you might catch a glimpse of baby's thumb sucking on an ultrasound photo. That's a framer! Other exciting developments include:
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Your baby's eyelids are fused shut to protect his eyes as they develop. His bones and skull are solidifying and soon itsy-bitsy ribs may appear. (Baby ribs! How cute is that?!) Baby's intestines are finally right where you want them—in his or her belly instead of poking out into the umbilical cord. Baby's tooth sockets are all loaded and ready to pop out baby teeth six or seven months after baby is born (causing baby a lot of pain and you a lot of lost sleep).
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Who's that singing? Elton John? Could be your baby: His vocal cords and larynx are completed now.
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Your baby-to-be now weighs about 20 grams and is nearly 3 inches long, or about the size of a Nutter Butter, covered in chocolate. OK, it doesn't have to be covered in chocolate, but isn't everything better that way?
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| Your Life |
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Your baggy jeans and sweats are barely making the cut, but you're swimming in official "maternity clothes." For this awkward in-between stage, try these money-saving tips. (Bonus: They'll be useful on the other side, too, as you (im)patiently wait for the baby weight to come off.)
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Buy only a few pieces at a time since it's hard to predict how quickly you'll grow. Treat yourself every few weeks to a little retail therapy at Target, Old Navy, H&M or Forever 21—a store that doesn't sell maternity wear but is what one woman called "the teenage pregnancy store" thanks to its mass appeal to both high-schoolers and trendy moms-to-be.
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| Don't be shy about borrowing clothes from a relative, friend or even your husband. |
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Consider buying a belly band to cover your unbuttoned pants or too-short shirt. Or get some Belly Ups or b-buckles to help keep your non-maternity jeans from falling down until you're ready to move up to traditional maternity wear.
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| Who needs "maternity clothes" when you can buy regular clothing in stretchy materials, longer lengths or a size larger than usual? It's a way of pulling off "your style" ... just more of your style. |
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If buying "necessary" clothes—as in "it is necessary that I find something to wear out in public"—has exhausted you, get a little pickup in the form of shopping for something totally unnecessary. A rocking bag, cute shoes or cool jewelry is something you'll actually be able to wear after junior is born. Not to mention that none of those items are dependent on how big your belly is.
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| Still trying to keep the presence of your Mini under wraps? There are a few ways to hide your pregnant belly. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 14 |
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You're officially in your glory days: the second trimester. Energy levels come back up, nausea levels go down and you may have a cute little bump that's beginning to show. It's a great time to celebrate the happy news ... if people haven't guessed already. And you'll be surprised at how oblivious some folks are. Here you are walking around at 28 weeks with a big belly and all along they've been thinking you ate too many hot wings for lunch.
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking: |
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"I'm too sexy for this pregnancy, too sexy for this pregnancy. ..."
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Your Body
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| You have reached the light at the end of the tunnel. Well, the light at the end of the first tunnel (there will be more). Chances are good that you're feeling as good as you've felt in weeks. If you're not feeling it yet, don't worry, it'll come soon. |
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Enjoy this reprieve. If you haven't been milking the fact that you're pregnant, make up for lost time this week. Stockpile on sleep, have your partner cater to your every need (craving Ben & Jerry's at midnight? Go get it, lover!), let your mom baby you, have your friends come over to your house, take a personal day off of work, insert whatever you normally would feel pushy doing here. ...
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Thought you'd never want to do "it" again, right? You may find that now that your energy levels are picking up, your interest in sex may increase as well. |
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If your back is starting to hurt, you can thank yet another hormone, relaxin, for the aches and pains. Just like it sounds, relaxin relaxes the joints and muscles in your body to help your pelvis expand and loosens the joints in your hips to make room for baby to come out. It'll also help you do a wicked downward facing dog, so join a yoga class and relish your new flexibility. Relaxin production peeks at 14 weeks and remains in your system until after baby is born.
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If you're feeling little contractions or pulling and stretching sensations this week, don't panic. It's just your ligaments stretching and your organs moving to accommodate your growing baby. (Don't worry, your organs will all plop back into place shortly after Junior is born.)
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Your Baby
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Think of it this way: You're a third of the way through and baby's a third of the way cooked. Now that the "big stuff" (like skeletal and organ development) is taken care of, your baby starts a period of rapid brain growth, fat buildup and detail work. Highlights this week include:
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| Your baby now has fingerprints! Book 'em, Danno! Believe it or not, he actually created them himself while swimming around in the amniotic fluid. As he moved his hands, the skin on the tips of his fingers formed unique ridges and folds. That's why no one on earth has the same fingerprints, not even identical twins! Cool, right? Baby's arms are now in proportion to his tiny body, but his legs are still on the short size in comparison. |
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Meconium, that tar-like, sticky first baby poop, is now loading up your baby's intestines, which means you might want to set aside a bottle of olive oil, one of the few things that will get the gooey poop off of baby's bottom.
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| Your baby continues to gain new and impressive skills such as practicing and controlling voluntary muscle movements (this will help him fling food across the room later in life). Your tiny dancer's movements are no longer the jerky, uncontrollable twitches of yore—he now moves with graceful control. |
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Your baby is now weighs about an ounce and is the length of a flip phone, or roughly 3.5 inches—he's tripled in size from a mere three weeks ago! Luckily, you haven't done the same.
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| Your Life |
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Thinking about life insurance may make your head spin off, but since you'll soon have someone else to protect, you need to make sure they're taken care of. Now's the time to do your research and start considering what kind of coverage is appropriate. A reputable agent can help you make sense of those cryptic insurance terms. Ask family members, colleagues or friends who their trusted agent is, to help get you started.
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And without getting too Debbie Downer, you should consider updating (or creating) a will. Consider who you might choose as your child's designated guardians. This is a tough decision and you'll need some time to make the right choice. OK, we'll switch the subject now and talk about something a little more fun.
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| Now that you're feeling so much better, get out of the house and get active. Make the most of your energy (and size) now ... go snowshoeing in the winter or hiking in the summer. Go swimming, go sailing, have picnics, take walks, lie on the beach or go dancing under the stars. Whatever it is, just get out and move around. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 15 |
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| The initial shock has probably started to wear off by now and you're getting comfortable with this whole pregnancy thing. Soooo, now what? Thumb twiddling? Finger tapping? Welcome to the waiting game. Lucky for you, there's always something you can be doing/planning/obsessing over while you're pregnant. But why not wait on that and just enjoy the peace and quiet? |
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking: |
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"Why does this feel like it's going so fast and yet so slow all at the same time?"
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Your Body
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Your energy may have returned but that doesn't mean you should be hitting the clubs until 4:00 AM every night. With a baby growing inside you, sleep is one thing that you can't go without. Try these tricks to ensure you beat up the sheets.
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If your growing belly is getting in the way of a good night's sleep, surround yourself with pillows to make for an extra-comfy nest effect. Sometimes room temperature can affect sleep, so make sure that your air conditioner is cranked up if you're feeling too hot.
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Some sleeping positions are more comfortable than others for pregnant woman, like the "I'm just going to pass out on the La-Z-Boy" position. And get comfy sleeping on your left side while you're preggers: It's what the docs recommend to keep the blood flowing full steam ahead between you and the tadpole.
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Your Baby
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Although many women don't start feeling the baby move until the 17th week (or later), your baby has been having his own party in the amniotic sac he calls home. If you feel a little flutter in your belly this week, don't discount it as gas or hunger. It could be your babe banging around. Here's more to look forward to:
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Baby's head is now resting on his well-formed neck instead of directly on his shoulders like Igor. He's beginning to grow eyebrows and eyelashes this week. (All the better to give you that "Mom, you're crazy" look when he's a teenager.) The hair on the head also begins to grow and, with some creative styling, you'll be able to turn those locks into a Maddox Jolie-Pitt faux-hawk some day.
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Although baby's eyes are sealed shut, he's now able to sense light. His eyes and ears finally look like real baby features now. As your baby practices sucking and swallowing actions, he may actually hiccup. You'll know he's had one too many shots of amniotic fluid by the steady thump-thump you feel.
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Over the next month, baby will grow faster than ever, so make sure you load up on enough nutritious food and fluids to support his growth. Your baby now measures nearly 4 inches, about the size of a Kit Kat "finger" (regular-size, not the Big one you get at the movies), and weighs almost 2 ounces.
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| Your Life |
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| Along with being pregnant comes a little sign on your forehead that reads "sucker." At least that's the way the marketing world sees it. Walk into a mega–baby emporium and you'll be bombarded with 8,000 things you must buy for your baby right now. Don't fall for the propaganda! Your baby needs only a limited number of basics to make it through the first year. |
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Start by hitting up your friends, coworkers and family members for tips on what they used until they wore it out and what sat in the closet until yard-sale time. If you're lucky, they may offer to let you borrow (or even cheaply buy) their old stuff.
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If your heart's not set on brand-spanking-new, save some cash by checking the classified ads and Craigslist for stellar baby buys. You'd be surprised how quickly and cheaply people are willing to get rid of their baby gear.
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Before you head to the stores, enlist the help of a trusted mommy friend to help keep you organized (and a little more immune to buying overload).
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| All the shopping you do doesn't have to be about the baby. Next time you're out browsing, make it about you (or at least about somebody besides the Mini). Buy yourself flowers, a new lipstick, a throw pillow, a macramé hanging plant holder, whatever. As long as it doesn't have any yellow duckies on it, it's fair game. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 16 |
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Funny how everyone who's never been pregnant assumes all the changes you're going through are just located in your uterus. Nobody mentions the stuffy nose, the itchy skin, the sciatica, the outbursts of emotion. But just remember that all the funky things your body is doing are leading up to the big payoff of snuggling up with that little muffin in just a few months.
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking: |
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"I. Only. Have. Five. More. Months. Until. Everything. Changes."
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Your Body
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No, you don't have a new superpower, although it'll feel like it because you're able to smell pizza, burnt toast or a pulled-pork sandwich from miles away. Your heightened sense of smell isn't the only new trick your nose is doing. You're probably noticing some extra nasal congestion and maybe even some nosebleeds to go along with it.
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Clearly your sense of smell is in overdrive, so try to avoid walking past the BBQ Pit or Curry Emporium.
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While pregnancy-related nasal congestion is annoying, it shouldn't cause any problems and will go away after the baby is born. If you're getting a lot of nosebleeds, it could be because your partner keeps cheaping out on theater tickets, buying seats located in the top row of the balcony. Either that or it could be an indication of high blood pressure, so check with your medical provider.
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But enough about your nose. Let's talk about your ever-enlarging ta-tas. Your boobs might still be tender, especially your nipples, and they're continuing to grow, grow, grow. You may even be able to squeeze a little colostrum (nutrient rich pre-milk milk) out of your boobs at this point. (If you can even touch your nipples without writhing in pain, that is.)
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Your Baby
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Your baby is already mugging for the camera as she practices all sorts of facial expressions, such as squinting, yawning and grimacing, which will come in handy when you introduce her to pureed spinach. Check out what else is happening in utero:
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You're just getting comfortable with being a new mom, but you're actually on the road to being a grandma. If your baby is a girl, her uterus is fully developed and the ovaries already hold primitive egg cells. Did that just make you feel a thousand years old, or what?
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Your baby's skin is still translucent and wrinkly, not unlike an old man's, but more fat will soon accumulate under the dermas to plump her out. If you could peer inside right now, you'd be able to see all of her veins under her skin. And speaking of veins, your baby's heart now pumps about 25 quarts of blood per day, and she hasn't even seen Orlando Bloom yet! Also, her eyes are now locked and loaded at their final destination, facing forward rather than to the sides. (Whew!)
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This is the week women get an amniocentesis, if their doc recommends it. In addition to supplying doctors with a boatload of info about the baby's health, amnios are also more than 99 percent accurate in determining what version of baby you'll be having. So if you want to know and you're getting an amnio, now's a great time to find out for sure.
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Your baby weighs about 3 ounces this week and measures between 4 and 5 inches, about the length of your mascara.
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| Your Life |
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| You've already figured out that after the baby arrives, there are going to be lots of adjustments ... and they're not all about you, Mama. Your family, friends and older children (if you have any) will all be dealing as well. |
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| Afraid your non-pregnant friends are going to phase you out now that you're on the path to mommyhood? You may not be the party girl they once knew (let's face it, it's really not safe to dance on a bar in your underwear when you're pregnant), but you can keep the love alive by making a standing lunch date every week. |
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| If you have other rug rats, talk with your partner about how to prepare them for a new addition to the family. |
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- Read books or rent videos that address the arrival of a new sibling in the house or sibling rivalry. Luckily, there are loads of resources, so one of them is bound to stick.
- Establish a regular activity that involves just the two of you and make time for it when the new babe arrives.
- Take a special trip somewhere with your older kid to remind him that he is and always will be special.
- Shop for a present for big sib to welcome the new baby with and a present for the baby to "give" to big sib.
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 17 |
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| By now you're well aware you're pregnant, even if your Mini hasn't started to make too much of a ruckus yet. You'll feel random aches and pains in weird places as your uterus grows. It's all part of the whole journey so don't freak out too much. Focus on those little flutters you feel in your belly as your baby lets his presence be known. |
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| Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ... |
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| What You're Thinking: |
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"OMG! Is something crawling on my stomach? Oh, wait! That was the baby!"
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Your Body
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Talk about mixed messages. After spending your whole life trying to avoid gaining weight, now you're told you must pack on the poundage. But not too many pounds, of course. And not the wrong kind of weight. It's exhausting. The bottom line is this: It's essential to gain an appropriate amount of weight but via healthy foods, not milkshakes and FlufferNutters. Work with your health-care provider to develop a weight-gain plan that will work for you.
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Now's not the time to diet. You should never try limiting calories while you're pregnant. Don't worry about gaining more weight than you should while pregnant. You can lose it after the baby is born. Remember that a pregnant woman needs about 300 extra calories each day, which is just a small snack, like a small bag of trail mix or some crackers with cheese.
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Your Baby
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Speaking of packing on the pounds, that what it's all about for baby this week. He's adding fat stores that will keep him warm and cozy after he's born. Your baby's weight will increase approximately six times over the next four weeks. Good to know you're not the only one tipping the scale. Also this week:
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Your baby is hard at work honing his sucking and swallowing reflexes—all the better for eating that 2 AM (and 5 AM, and 8 AM ...) meal in a few months! The finger- and toenails are beginning to grow from their nail beds, which would explain why he'll need them trimmed almost as soon as he's born!
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| Your baby weighs nearly 5 ounces and is a little over 5 inches long—about the size of a baked potato (load on the butter and sour cream, please). |
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| Your Life |
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- If the heir to your throne will have his or her own room (instead of his or her own sock drawer), now is the time to start thinking about how you'd like to decorate the nursery.
- Don't spend a fortune. These things will get barfed on, pooped on, and chewed on—and that's just in the first week.
- Make sure the style will grow with your child. Not all "big" girls love pink-bunny wallpaper, so keep baby's walls neutral and buy a pink-bunny pillow instead.
- Choose durable and scrubable surfaces, such as nontoxic painted or varnished wood or heavy-duty, PVC-free plastics.
- Try to buy regular furniture that will grow with your child. For example, a regular dresser with a removable changing pad is a better investment than an official diaper-changing table.
- Decorate the nursery to hide dirt. That means forget about the white rug.
- Leave room in the nursery for lots of storage and comfortable seating for a nursing mom or sleepy dad.
- Keep baby safety in mind. Your curious baby will quickly be movin' and groovin' in her fancy new space.
- Splash out on a fabulous new robe or a comfy pair of slippers for yourself. You'll thank yourself during those early days at home ... and those late-night feedings.
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 18 |
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Now that you're in the full throes of the second trimester, you're feeling—and looking—fabulous. So don't waste it! See friends (they've missed you since you moved your bedtime up to 7:00 p.m.), plan romantic dinners with your partner (you will miss those when junior arrives) and get active. Waterskiing might be a little too much but swimming and taking long walks are great for you and your bambino.
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking : |
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"Either I have an ongoing case of indigestion or there might actually be something moving around my gut!"
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Your Body
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At about 18 weeks, you might begin to feel a suspicious flutter in your belly. The professionals call it "quickening," we call it "baby's makin' waves!" Within the next few weeks, those tiny bubbly feelings will become more obvious. And soon enough they'll be unmistakably identifiable—especially when you (and anyone within 10 feet of you) can see tiny feet, elbows and knees moving across your belly.
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Gas pains are a way of life now, so it's common to mistake fetal movement for a little indigestion. If you don't start feeling your baby's flutter kick right away at 18 weeks, don't worry. Quickening happens at different times for different people. If you notice a distinct lack of fetal movement after feeling your baby move for several days, contact your health-care provider.
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If you're feeling hungry these days, indulge (in moderation) . It's especially important to load up on carbs right now to fuel both your and your baby's energy needs. So hold off on the Atkins diet for another 22 weeks or so.
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Your Baby
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| Your baby's ears are now facing forward and are completely formed so she can actually hear you talking now. You don't need to abandon your potty mouth just yet, but you might want to start thinking about it! Other highlights this week : |
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This week is also the beginning of ossification. And while that sounds like some long and involved paperwork you'll have to fill out, it's really a fancy medical term for the hardening of your baby's miniature bones. And that's a good thing.
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Your baby's nerves are making more and more complex connections. Her sense of smell, taste, sight and hearing are all developing. A substance called myelin, which makes nerve connections travel faster, is now coating your baby's nerves.
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| Your baby now weighs between 5 and 7 ounces and is about 5½ inches long—about the size of a pickle from the corner deli. (You're familiar with pickles, right? Your regular accompaniment to a big bowl of ice cream?) |
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| Your Life |
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Getting your baby to sleep will become one of your sole missions in life (the others will be feeding him and then making sure the food is coming out the other end OK). Get off to a good snoozy start by making sure you can instantly change the baby's room from light Don't spend a boatload on fancy window treatments. Save some pennies and make your own curtains, complete with blackout liners. And you don't even have to sew to do it. Get out your trusty glue gun or try Stitch Witchery Fusible Adhesive, a sticky tape that can help you instantly make curtains with nary a needle or thread.
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No matter if you make them or buy them—you need to baby-proof your curtains. Indeed, your baby won't move around for a few months, but before you know it, he'll be all over the place. Avoid long, floor-length draperies that will be huge "pull-it-down" temptations for a curious crawler.
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Retrofit potential cord hazards and read up on other window-covering safety tips from the Window Covering Safety Council.
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| If you haven't done it yet, start an online baby registry. One of the wonderful things about being preggers is that people want to buy you stuff. Help them out and keep yourself organized with what you have and what you need. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 19 |
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Now that you're almost halfway done, it's time to start really planning for life after baby. That means making room for Junior, whether it's on the floor of your closet or in his own apartment, like the celebrity babies do it. Have fun with the process (who doesn't love shopping?) and don't stress when you're told it takes 12 weeks to get that special glider made and shipped.
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking : |
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"Where did the baby get a flame thrower? This heartburn is the worst!"
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Your Body
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If your chest is on fire every time you eat, drink or lay down, then you're probably dealing with the all-too-common pregnancy annoyance of heartburn. Luckily, this is one ailment that can be cured.
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Antacids like Tums or Rolaids are considered safe to take during pregnancy so pop a couple when needed. Sometimes eating several small meals instead of three large ones can help with heartburn.
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| Need more relief? Try chewing gum after each meal, drinking warm milk with honey at bedtime, eating yogurt or elevating the head of your bed. |
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Your Baby
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This week your baby starts bulking up and packing on the grossly named "brown fat" he'll need to keep warm when he gets evicted from his comfortable uterine home. Other highlights this week :
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Vernix, a milky white coating that protects your baby's skin, appears all over your baby's body to keep his skin from getting pickled in the amniotic fluid. Think of it as if your baby has been dipped in yogurt, like those delicious but fake-healthy yogurt-covered raisins and pretzels. Ooh, we feel another craving comin' on. ... Under the vernix, a fuzzy layer of hair called lanugo now covers baby's body. Don't worry, your Mini won't look like Cousin It when he's born. Most of the fuzz will fall off before baby makes his grand entrance.
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Good news: Your baby's kidneys are fully functioning and producing urine this week. Bad news: That means there will be lots of diapers in your future. But so far you're safe—at the moment the pee just passes into the amniotic fluid.
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He or she now weighs about 8½ ounces and measures 6 inches, as long as a turkey sub from Subway on warm, delicious Italian Herbs and Cheese bread (or Honey Oat bread, or Oregano bread or ...)
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| Your Life |
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You and your Mini will stop, drop and roll around on the floor for a big part of the day. So now's a good time to take a serious look at your flooring and have it professionally cleaned or remodeled if needed. If you choose to install new flooring, you'll want to weigh the softness of wall-to-wall carpet against the challenge of keeping it clean.
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You may prefer to install easier-to-clean hardwood or laminate flooring instead. An area rug can provide comfort for less than the cost of wall-to-wall. Plus, when it's covered in puke stains, you get to go shopping again!
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| Speaking of flooring, and tearing it up, go out dancing with your girlfriends. You feel good, you look great and you definitely have more rump to shake! |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 20 |
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Hooray! You're halfway there! And in case you don't believe 20 weeks is a milestone worth celebrating, consider that it's longer than a semester at college—or any relationship you had in high school. Congrats! This is also the week your bambino is able to flash you on the sonogram, revealing what exactly he or she is packing. Why not celebrate with a bottle of sparkling grapefruit juice? It's not as sexy as champagne, but it's got bubbles, and that counts for something, right?
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking : |
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| "Twenty down, 20 to go!!" |
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Your Body
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Stretch marks are the battle scars of pregnancy. Think of those tiny lines on your belly, breasts and butt with pride, not embarrassment. They're caused by your skin stretching to accommodate your growing belly—a necessary evil!
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The truth is stretch marks are difficult if not impossible to avoid. But, hey, even if cocoa butter isn't a wonder cure, it sure does feel good going on ... especially if your partner does it for you! And it makes you smell like a freshly baked chocolate cake! And the good news? A dermatologist can help lessen the appearance of stretch marks after your pregnancy.
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| And it doesn't stop there. Other skin changes like acne and rashes are also common while pregnant. So if you're breaking out all over, you're not alone and it will go away. |
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Your Baby
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| This is the week most women get that ever-important gender-revealing ultrasound. If your baby isn't shy, the genitals can be clearly seen at this point. Will the baby pee standing up or sitting down? Well, that depends on how you potty train—but if you're interested, you could leave the appointment knowing if you're carrying a boy or a girl. Other highlights this week: |
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| Your baby has established sleep patterns akin to a newborn now. Many babies even have a favorite sleep position already. Some snooze with their chins resting on their chests, while others nap with their head flung back. Many babies at this age fall into noticeable cycles of sleep and activity, so you may know before she arrives whether you have a night owl or an early bird. |
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| If your baby is a boy, the testes have begun descending from the pelvis into the scrotum. If it's a girl, her uterus is completely formed and the rest of her "parts" are in development. (Is that TMI?) |
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From this point forward, your baby will put most of her energy into gaining weight and, not coincidentally, so will you! Right now your baby weighs approximately 10½ ounces and is about 6½ inches long, about the size of a can of Red Bull (which has way too much caffeine for a pregnant woman to be drinking).
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| Your Life |
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You've been meaning to organize that box of vacation pictures into photo albums for years. And you really want to create files that are so easy you can find your Visa bill from May 2004 in mere seconds. Give up those dreams. Now's the time to focus on having an organized nursery.
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| Take the time to shop for the best organization tools, containers and systems you can afford at a store dedicated to storage stuff, like Ikea, The Container Store, Target or Hold Everything. |
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If you don't already have one, consider buying a label maker. It's an organizer's must-have tool and labeling will help keep things organized after you've finished getting it that way.
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| Just because you already have a million photos that need organizing, now's not the time to put a moratorium on picture taking. Sure, it's great to have things neat and sorted, but it'll be even better to look back at pictures of your pregnancy and smile (or at least gape in awe). Take a few of your growing (gorgeous) bod and upload them to your LifeBook! Don't have one? Start one today! |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 21 |
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Twenty-one is a magic number. It means independence. It means you just won a hand of blackjack. In pregnancy terms, it means you have gotten over the hump and you only have 19 weeks left!
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| Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ... |
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| What You're Thinking : |
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| "Ugh, even my underwear feels tight." |
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Your Body
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Did you know that your growing belly is directly proportional to your sex drive? In other words, the bigger you get, the bigger it gets. That's a sweet way of saying that second trimester hormones can turn you into a total horn dog. (Finally a physical benefit your partner can actually appreciate.)
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| As long as your pregnancy is going well, engaging in a little "love me do" is perfectly safe and healthy. In a healthy pregnancy, having sex is perfectly fine—even in the third trimester. |
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There was a time when you tried different sex positions all the time. Now that your growing belly is making the old reliable missionary position obsolete, it's time to get creative again.
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| When you're about ready to pop, some say sex can induce contractions. And even if it doesn't work, you can still have fun trying. |
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Your Baby
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| Chances are good you're feeling someone performing a round-off back handspring in your uterus by now. Is there any other feeling this cool? Other highlights this week: |
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By now your baby looks like a mini-version of what she'll look like when she's born. All her facial features are formed and hair is growing on her head. She's even acting like a baby and will occasionally suck her thumb or yawn. Aww ...
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Baby's heartbeat is getting stronger and can be heard using a good old-fashioned stethoscope. Ask for a listen at your next prenatal visit! By 21 weeks, fetal bone marrow starts making blood cells—previously done by the liver and spleen. This may not sound that exciting, but it's good news.
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The amniotic fluid that has been cushioning your little bean now serves another purpose: Your baby uses it to "practice" chowing down. Yes, it sounds gross (as many aspects of pregnancy do), but it's an important step for your baby toward being able to chow down in the real world. Your baby has been swallowing amniotic fluid for a while now, but now the intestines are finally developed enough that she's absorbing small amounts of sugars from it. And let's face it, being able to effectively digest sugar is important at every stage of life.
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Your baby now weighs between 10 and 11 ounces and is approximately 7 inches long—the size of a delicious, cold, frothy bottle of root beer. Float anyone?
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| Your Life |
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Someday, your grown-up baby may laugh at how you decorated his or her nursery. But that's 20 years from now, so impose your decorating tastes on your Mini while you can. Suggestions on making his or her palace fabulous include:
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Frame pictures from a favorite artistic gift wrap, children's book or wall calendar (skip your husband's Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition).
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Hang a colorful tapestry, quilt, scarf or rug from a curtain rod mounted onto the wall. Not entirely unlike your college dorm.
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| Ask an artistic relative to draw something special that you can frame. But if you ask, you're going to have to hang whatever they make, so ask wisely. |
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| Creatively challenged? Leave the designing to the pros by buying wall decals or borders, or by stenciling a funny or inspirational quote on the walls. |
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| While you're decorating stuff, why not decorate yourself? Now's a great time to paint your toenails (while you can still reach them) or schedule a manicure and hand massage. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 22 |
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If your list of baby things to do seems to be getting longer the bigger you get, don't stress out. Make a pact with your partner that one day or evening a week, you'll do something that has nothing to do with the baby. How about the latest Anne Hathaway flick and dinner?
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking : |
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"Wait, so when I have a baby, it's not a temporary thing? It's forever?
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| Your Body |
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Sadly enough, eating for two doesn't mean loading up on milkshakes and hamburgers and doubling your caloric intake. Instead, an average pregnant woman needs about 300 extra calories each day, which can be as little as a handful of trail mix or a small smoothie. If you're craving a little ice cream, go ahead and indulge, but if you need it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, try to find a healthy substitute like sugar-free soft serve or fro yo.
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| Sometimes it's easier on pregnant stomachs to eat five or six small meals each day than three large meals. Make sure to keep a stockpile of pregnancy-friendly snacks like crackers and cheese, pudding or a breakfast bar, so that you'll have something to gnaw on throughout the day. Don't let your hungry coworkers (or your partner) know where you keep your stash. |
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Your Baby
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Your Mini's hands have grown bigger and stronger and the nerve endings in her fingers have developed her sense of touch. She's in there testing out her newfound abilities by touching her face and grabbing the umbilical cord. Other cool developments:
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You're already raising a little Einstein. Your baby's brain is developing at a clip this week and will continue to do so until she's five years old (so load up on the Omega 3)!
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Baby's hair is now a short, bright white crop (Billy Idol, eat your heart out!). No matter what color it will end up—red, blonde, black—all babies' hair lacks pigment at this point.
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Your baby has started growing taste buds and may be able to detect strong flavors in the amniotic fluid. If you could see inside, you might catch her sticking out her tongue for a taste and then grimacing, a sign that perhaps you should chill on the chili powder.
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Your baby now weighs almost a pound and measures almost 11 inches from her head to her heel, which is how the Stretch Armstrong in your uterus will be measured from here on out. Up 'til now your baby's legs were curled tight up against her torso, so she was measured from her head to her bottom (or crown to rump) and not head to toe. This week your mini is about as long as a package of Oreos and as heavy as a large bag of tortilla chips. Who's hungry?
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| Your Life |
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For the first year of your baby's life, your pediatrician will be a serious VIP, so do some research before you make your decision.
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Try talking to your OB and your family practitioner. They have great professional contacts and know the right ped for you. Pump your friends, birthing classmates and relatives for information as well. Once you have a list of potential candidates, carefully and completely interview each one.
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Even if you've been putting everything else off, make this one a priority. You may have missed the boat on ordering nursery furniture, but this is one thing you need to be on the ball about.
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| While you're not putting things off, now might be a good time to start thinking about comfort items for your hospital bag. Better yet, use it as an excuse to buy a new bag. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 23 |
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You've got this pregnancy thing down pat now: You feel good, you look great, you're eating well and drinking enough water. Everything is fabulous. It's like your birthday every day the way people fawn all over you, giving up their place in the bathroom line and so on. OK, so maybe that doesn't happen every day, but being pregnant makes you feel pretty special, even if that jerk on the bus didn't give up his seat for you.
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking : |
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"You don't have to tell me I look like a yummy mummy in this empire waist dress. I already know it."
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Your Baby
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Fact : You are carrying around several extra pounds of weight located not only in your belly but in your bra as well. Who's baring the brunt of all this poundage? Mr. Shoulders and Mr. Back. Don't suffer in silence. Get sweet relief:
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Even in early pregnancy, back pain can be a real bother, and when you get to the halfway point, forget about it! Try lying on a cool ice pack to relieve some of the strain. Some alternative approaches like acupuncture and massage can ease the pain. And if not, having someone rub you for an hour still feels pretty darn good.
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If you're noticing severe pain, numbing or tingling in your lower back and hips, you might have sciatica. Check in with your doctor.
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Your Baby
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Your baby's got a while to go before her lungs will be ready for air and is practicing her "breathing" on the amniotic fluid—sucking it in and out of her lungs. Other highlights this week:
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Fat production is in overdrive at this point (for the baby, not you! Well, OK, maybe for the baby and you). Your baby will basically double in weight over the next four weeks! You'll be happy to know the same won't apply to you.
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Your Mini is starting to look more like a newborn as her skin becomes less see-through. Her body is looking more proportional now, although her head is still kinda big compared to her cute little body.
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Your baby is about 11½ inches long and weighs 1 pound, or about the length and weight of a Harry Potter book.
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| Your Life |
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You and your partner's sleep-ins until noon will be but a distant memory once your new alarm clock arrives. And while getting him to sleep through the night will be a ways off, you can con him into doing a lengthy stretch by making his bed the most comfortable spot possible.
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Your options are plenty: crib, bassinet, cradle, portable playpen, your bed, laundry basket (we're kidding about that last one). As you shop, do your research on the pros and cons different types of nursery furniture and bedding to see what will work best for your own crib (AKA your home) and lifestyle.
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If you're willing to do the extra legwork and safety research, you can save money by shopping secondhand stores. Just make sure any gear you buy meets current safety standards and has all the necessary parts.
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| And speaking of sleep: Make a snooze date with your partner. Turn off all the phones, clear your schedule and take a nap in the middle of the afternoon or sleep in extra late on the weekend. Have breakfast in bed while you're at it. In 17 weeks you'll wish you'd spent the whole day in bed! |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 24 |
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At about this time the reality of having a baby is definitely setting in (maybe it's the fact that you can't see your toes). Be sure to talk about how you're feeling with your significant other, girlfriends, siblings, parents, doctor, hairdresser, the person sitting next to you on the bus ... whomever! It's totally natural to be freaking out. Voicing your concerns about mommyhood will help you actually get used to the idea.
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking : |
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"OK, seriously, where are my toes?"
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Your Baby
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Hair growth during pregnancy is another one of those wacky symptoms you didn't expect. And though you may be wondering who's slipping Rogaine into your shampoo bottle, if you're among the lucky ones, you're relishing your new, flowing locks. It's the hair everywhere else that's a little troublesome.
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You can thank your pregnancy hormones for your suddenly thick crowning glory. During pregnancy your hair's natural grow-shed cycle slows, leaving you with more hairs on your head at any given time. Now might be a good time to try out for one of those orgasm-in-the-shower shampoo commercials.
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Unfortunately, all that hair growth isn't limited to your head. You may start to notice a random hair (or 47) anywhere from your cheeks, back, and belly to your upper lip and chin. If anyone dares to call you Black Beard, they'll totally deserve whatever's coming to them.
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The good news is, tweezing, waxing and electrolysis are all generally accepted as safe during pregnancy. The bad news? All of them can hurt like, um ... like waxing. So feel free to skip the Brazilian right now. We promise, your OB isn't going to judge you.
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Your Baby
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Your baby isn't just sitting around (on your bladder) doing nothing, he's working hard preparing for life outside the womb—perfecting his lungs and packing on the pounds. He'll gain ½ pound this week alone. Other highlights this week:
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Things are starting to get a little crowded inside the old womb as baby grows bigger and bigger. Your ribs are probably pining away for the good old days when they didn't have a foot permanently lodged between them. Hate to break it to you, but it's going to get worse before it gets better.
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Your baby's ears are fully functional now. And since they are, you may notice that loud noises and sudden movements can startle the little bugger. He's getting used to the everyday sounds inside the womb: the sound of your heart beating, your lungs inhaling and exhaling air, the growling of your stomach because your partner promised he'd be right back with that double cheeseburger and he's taking forever! He'll even be able to hear your voice when your partner finally arrives and you ask him where the bleep he's been! So talk nice!
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Baby's got a fully developed inner ear now. This means his sense of balance is working and he can tell whether he's hanging upside down or right side up. He can also feel you moving, so go ahead, pop in your favorite tunes and boogie.
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| Your little Wiener schnitzel is about the length of a foot-long Chicago hot dog and weighs about 1 1/3 pounds. |
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| Your Life |
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It's time to find and sign up for a child-birthing class. You'll discover the wonders of labor, C-sections, cradle cap, breastfeeding, umbilical care, and all sorts of breathing and pushing techniques. (It's a good thing that your bio and sex-ed classes didn't go into this much detail, or you might never have gotten pregnant in the first place.) Basically, you find out the answers to all your questions and more (yeah, there are some you might not have wanted to know about just yet).
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Check with your OB and the hospital you've chosen—they usually have classes on a regular basis. Just be sure the teacher is certified by the International Childbirth Education Association—an organization that makes sure the instructors know what they're doing.
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Having trouble tracking down a class? Search ParentsConnect Local to find out where there's a child-birth class near you. There are bound to be some other inquisitive pregnant chicks in your area.
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You're always saying you never have time to read. But if you wait until you have a baby, the only reading you'll be doing will be about how to get the little cherub to sleep. So on those nights when you can't be bothered to go out, curl up (OK, make like a beached whale and lie down) and read a frothy, fun book.
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Buy It:
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Mama Spanx Full-Length Pantyhose
Just because you have a bump on your belly doesn't mean you have to show off the lumps and bumps everywhere else. Smooth it out, Mama! |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 25 |
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| At this point you're pretty much swollen all over. What started as just a "boob thing" seems to have spread from there, down your torso and out your limbs. This is definitely contagious. But even if sausage fingers and toes aren't your idea of womanly, remember that you are indeed a reproductive goddess. (You could try asking your friends to bow before you as you enter the room, but you'll probably have to settle for peeling your own grapes.) |
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking : |
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"Why don't my shoes fit anymore? Am I pregnant in my feet, too?"
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Your Baby
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Pregnancy leg cramps are not your ordinary run-of-the-mill leg cramps. Nope, a pregnancy leg cramp will often have you leaping out of bed screaming at the top of your lungs.
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| Leg cramps can be caused by a calcium deficiency, so be sure to get enough calcium. Even if you're lactose intolerant or have dairy allergies, there are still ways to get enough calcium in your diet that don't involve eating a 2-gallon drum of ice cream (although that does sound fun). Believe it or not, there's calcium in almonds, fish, broccoli and tofu. |
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| While they come with the territory of pregnancy, there are ways to avoid leg cramps, like warm soaks and massages. |
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Sometime between Weeks 24 and 28, you'll get your glucose screening test to check for gestational diabetes. You'll have to drink this really syrupy, sugary soda drink, wait an hour, and then have your blood sugar levels tested to see how your body handles the sugar rush. If you get to do it at home, put the drink in the fridge to get it nice and cold. It's much easier to stomach when it's chilled. Some OBs may even let you skip the sugary soda in lieu of something just as sweet, like pancakes smothered in syrup. Hey, it's worth asking!
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Your Baby
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Get ready for pat-a-cake! Baby's hands are now fully developed and he spends most of his awake time groping around in the darkness of your uterus. Brain and nerve endings are developed enough now so that your baby can feel the sensation of touch. That doesn't mean he can feel it when his father pokes your stomach, however, so tell him to knock it off. Other highlights include:
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Your baby's arms and legs have grown to almost the proportions they will be at birth, which is still sort of short. So don't be alarmed when your newborn's arms barely clear his waist. Baby's nostrils, which have been plugged up until now, clear out (like he's taken a super-dose of Sudafed) and he can practice breathing through the nose. The structures of your baby's spine are now made up of 150 joints, 33 rings and some 1,000 ligaments. Can you believe you're growing something that complicated inside of you?
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| The capillaries, the teeniest blood vessels, are now forming in your baby's body, giving his formerly translucent skin a pink glow. The blood vessels in the lungs also develop this week. You'll see how well that worked out when your baby gives those lungs a workout while you're on line at the bank in a few months. |
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Your baby weighs about a pound and a half and is about 13½ inches long—roughly the length of one of those recorders you played in elementary school music class. Who's up for a round of "Hot Cross Buns?"
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| Your Life |
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Now that your cup runneth over (your bra cup, that is), learn how to put those puppies to good use (besides signing up to be a Victoria's Secret model).
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Sign up for a breastfeeding class at the hospital where you'll give birth, or check into your local breastfeeding resources.
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| Don't know whether to do the bottle or the boob? You don't have to decide now. You can try breastfeeding for a few weeks after the baby is born and then decide. |
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| Speaking of boobs, now that you have a set that can really fill out a dress, buy yourself a pretty, low-cut frock (or stuff yourself into an old one) and make a date with your partner. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 26 |
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If it feels like time is speeding by while simultaneously dragging on, you're not crazy, you're just pregnant. One minute you feel totally unprepared for the changes having a baby will bring, the next minute the anticipation of meeting the Mini that's been swinging from your ribs makes you cry. Such is the roller coaster of pregnancy (and strangely enough, of being a parent, too).
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking : |
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| "Do I have fleas? Why am I so freakin' itchy?" |
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Your Baby
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There are a multitude of icky things that happen during pregnancy (skin eruptions, gas you can't possibly control, etc.) but increased vaginal discharge might top the list. Other fun stuff going on:
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If you find yourself leaking a small amount of urine when you cough, laugh or sneeze, don't worry. Temporary incontinence is common in pregnancy. That's just great, you think. You knew you had to get diapers, but you thought they'd be for the baby, not for you. To head off that problem at the pass, try working out your hoo-hoo by doing Kegels.
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| If your discharge is thick or itchy, you might have a yeast infection. Even if you've had a hundred of them, this isn't a time for over-the-counter treatments without consulting your doctor first, so get on the phone. |
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| If you're finding yourself having to urinate much more frequently than normal (that would be urinating like every 10 minutes instead of every 15 thanks to a certain someone sitting on your bladder), you might have a urinary tract infection. Again, see your doctor. Usually a simple "pee in this cup" can tell you for sure. |
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Your Baby
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| Deep breath! Air sacks are developing in your baby's lungs, which means it just might be possible for your baby to take a breath at the end of this week. The air sacks (technically called alveoli) will continue to grow for the next nine years. The membrane that keeps the alveoli separate from the blood vessels is now thin enough to allow for that oxygen–carbon dioxide exchange we call breathing. Other highlights this week: |
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| The retina completes the development of its normal layers this week—all the better to see you with. Well not you, per se, because her eyes are still sealed shut and it's really dark in there, but your baby's eyes are now fully developed. |
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| Brainwaves for the auditory and visual systems are detectable in baby's noggin this week. That means baby's brain is registering things like sound and light. She can't understand what any of it means yet, but she's on track to comprehend an entire episode of Blue's Clues in no time! |
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As hearing continues to develop, your baby will start to recognize your voice. One hint that your karaoke rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody" is not the best would be when the baby starts banging on your gut. Your bambino will also start to recognize your partner's voice. He may feel silly talking to your stomach, but assure him that somebody other than you is definitely listening. Research has shown that newborns actually recognize familiar sounds after birth. Proof that your baby has been paying attention all along.
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| Break out the sparkling apple juice—baby has now completed two-thirds of her stay in Hotel Womb. Your baby is about 1 2/3 pounds and is 14 inches long head-to-heel, or about the length of a burp cloth (otherwise known as your primary wardrobe accessory for the next several months). |
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| Your Life |
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Not that you'll need it (knock wood), but getting certified in infant/child first aid and CPR is a smart thing to do. Find a class from your local chapter of the Red Cross or the American Heart Association. Your fire station or hospital should also be able to provide information.
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| Don't stop there: Ask your partner—and anybody else who will be spending time with your baby—to attend as well. |
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| Speaking of mouth-to-mouth, why not plan one last solo getaway with your partner before your twosome becomes a threesome (and we're not talking about a kinky threesome, we mean the baby. Get your mind out of the gutter). Do it now while you're still able to travel, and pull out all the romantic stops. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 27 |
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The light at the end of the tunnel is growing brighter for both you and your baby. With only 13 weeks left (give or take a couple of days), it's time to enjoy the ride because it's getting shorter. (This is the point on the roller coaster where you throw your arms in the air and wail like there's no tomorrow. Wee!)
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking : |
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| "Why does everyone turn and look at me when the Commodore's song "Brick House" comes on the radio?" |
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Your Baby
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| As anxious as you are to evict your tenant so you can snuggle with the little bugger, he or she still needs a few more months in the protection of your womb. |
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| Pay careful attention to your body and watch for the symptoms of labor. Premature babies have a much higher risk of illness and even death due to low birth weight and underdevelopment, so if you see signs, contact your doctor. |
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If you think you might be in premature labor, try drinking several glasses of water and lying down on your left side. While doing this, feel your stomach for contractions, which will make your uterus hard like your forehead. Doing simple things like cutting out caffeine and eating right can prevent premature labor.
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Your Baby
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Baby's lungs and immune system are maturing this week as baby prepares for his grand entrance. If he were born today he would have an 85 percent chance of surviving as his lungs are capable of breathing air (with medical assistance, of course). Other exciting developments:
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| Baby's done a lot of growing over the past few months. His length has more than doubled in the past 15 weeks! And that's not the only thing growing—baby's brain tissue and neurons are all developing at a rapid pace. His brain waves are now firing away just like those of a newborn baby. If baby is a he, his testes will have completely descended at this point. |
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Your baby now weighs in at approximately 14½ inches and just over 2 pounds, or about the size of that roast you made last time your in-laws were in town. (OK, the baby is the size of that roast you meant to cook before you decided that ordering Chinese was a much better idea.)
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| Your Life |
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Unless you are married to Donald Trump, or Brad and Angelina are planning on giving you all of their hand-me-downs, you are going to have to do some smart, disciplined baby-gear shopping.
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Registering for gifts at a few baby stores will help you develop a good list of basics and extras. Before you hit the stores or hop online, write a baby-gear shopping list to help keep you focused.
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Consider registering at a local specialty store as well as a major nationwide department store so that friends near and far can have easy access.
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| Or if you're too eclectic to get your gear from just one place, you can register on Wishlist.com, which corrals all the booty you want from various websites to just one list. Truly brilliant. |
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| Once registering has completely exhausted you, head to the movie theater, where you can strap on a popcorn feedbag and zone out to the wicked pleasure of watching Matthew McConaughey's abs. Too bad you can't register for him. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 28 |
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You may have given a passing thought to what the new member of the household will be like (and by "passing thought" we mean obsessive rumination). Will she be a good sleeper? Will he draw on the furniture with a Sharpie? Get an inside scoop by pumping your own parents for information on how you and your partner were as kids: how much you weighed at birth, your first words the first time you cut off all of Barbie's hair. ... Your parents will get misty at the memories and you may, too. Maybe out of hope for the future, maybe out of fear for your leather sofa.
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking : |
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"Billions of people have children and figure it out. So I must be able to do it too, right? Right! Right?"
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| Your Body |
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| Woohoo! You have hit the third trimester mark, so add another notch to your belt (both figuratively and literally). |
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| If your early blood workup showed that you are Rh negative, you'll need to get a shot of RhoGAM, or Rh immunoglobulin, this week. The shot prevents potential complications in a future baby you may carry if that baby is Rh positive. Your Rh status doesn't matter when it comes to this baby, but you'll want to get the shot in case you're planning on having more bambinos. |
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| If your baby is born with Rh-positive blood (because Papa chipped in an Rh-positive gene), you'll be given another dose of RhoGAM after you deliver to make sure everything will be good to go for any future pregnancies. |
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| If your glucose screening test came back positive, your doc will probably want to give you a glucose tolerance test some time soon. The test—for gestational diabetes—involves some dietary changes in the days leading up to it (more carbs!) and a longer visit to the doc on the day of the test (it's a three-hour test instead of the one-hour one you took the first time). And it's another chance to load up on that yummy glucose cocktail—shaken, not stirred! If you do end up testing positive for gestational diabetes, your doctor will probably put you on a super-healthy diet for the remainder of your pregnancy. |
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Your Baby
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As the Big Day nears, your baby is getting ready to go towards the light at the end of the tunnel (the tunnel being the birth canal, the light being the one the doctor is shining directly into it so she can see what the heck she's doing). Other highlights this week:
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Your baby's eyes are partially open now and can blink. Truly superior babies can actually wink. (OK, there is no way to prove that, but it's fun to imagine, no?) Your baby can also now become a shiny, happy person as she has begun having rapid eye movement (Get it? REM? Shiny, happy person?? We'll be here all week.)
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Her eyes have color now, too. It may not be the color she ultimately ends up with, especially if they're light gray or blue. The eyes typically don't settle on a final hue until nine months after baby is born. So when your mother-in-law says that the baby has her eyes, you can politely inform her that they'll most likely change soon. Sorry.
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| Your babe is downright chubby compared to a few weeks ago. She is about 15 inches long, about the length of an amusement park cinnamon-sugar-coated churro (yum!), and weighs 2 to 3 pounds. |
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| Your Life |
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| Time to PAR-TAY! Someone in your inner circle will undoubtedly want to toast and roast you with a baby shower so help a sista out and create a list of guest names and addresses. Save a copy of this list for yourself—it will come in handy later for writing thank-you notes. |
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| Let the hostess know your registry information—she'll want to include it in the invitation. It's OK to be upfront about what you want and need. Let's face it, no matter how cuddly, no baby needs 42 teddy bears. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 29 |
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Among the many perks of becoming a new mother is having someone other than yourself to shop for (a big plus when the jeans you like are $100, but a cute onesie can be had for a mere $6.99). So if you're feeling out of sorts about your ever-changing body but have a shopping itch you need to scratch, indulge in something mini and adorable for your new babe.
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| Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ... |
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| What You're Thinking : |
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| "How can one pair of tiny little socks make me so happy?" |
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Your Body
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Let's get right to the point: You're a bloated, water-retaining mess. Chances are good you can't get your sneakers on or your wedding ring off, so get comfy in your slippers. Your pants don't fit. Your shirts don't fit. And now, thanks to the swelling in your feet, your shoes don't fit. You can thank a wonderful thing called edema for that. Go edema!
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| Extreme swelling (as in "Oh my god, what happened to my hands?!") might be a sign of preeclampsia, so make sure to see your doctor. For mild edema, your doctor may recommend support hose—with plenty of room for your belly—and drinking plenty of water. Also, a low-salt diet may not be any fun (No potato chips! No soy sauce!), but it may help to minimize edema and water retention. |
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| On the bright side, edema is a great excuse for sitting down, propping your feet up, and asking your partner to bring you a cool drink and this week's US Weekly. |
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| Your Baby |
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Having a baby prematurely is frightening, no doubt. But here's a reason to relax: Due to the impressive advancements of medical technology, if your baby is born this week, she'd have a 9 out of 10 chance of survival, which is seriously great news. Other awesome developments:
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Baby's brain can now control her breathing and body temperature. She can also cough, and her sucking abilities have been perfected. Look out, boobs!
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Your Mini's skin is looking less wrinkled as she packs on the pounds. She's starting to look more like a Pampers model and less like a Depends model. She's now beefing up on the energizing and insulating white fat she'll be born with (unfortunately, white fat is not energizing and insulating for adults!).
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And speaking of energy, your little Energizer Bunny is on fire these days. You're sure to feel your share of kicks, punches and elbows, especially when you're lying down. You might want to start keeping a kick chart to monitor your baby's movements, and also to later show your 13-year-old child what you endured for him or her. Ask your doctor how to count kicks and how often you should do it.
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This week your baby is a little over 15 inches long—about the length of a loaf of bread—and weighs about 3 pounds, as much as a Macbook Air laptop.
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| Your Life |
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Remember those sexy little bras you used to wear in your former life? Chances are good you can't even get it around your ribcage these days. Sad to say it, but it's time to visit a maternity store to get advice on a new nursing bra.
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| A well-fitting bra will not only support your back during these last months of pregnancy, but it will help prevent mastitis down the road and allow you to breastfeed discreetly. You'll need one or two bras now, and a few more after the baby comes—when your body will have changed yet again. |
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| Don't forget to buy nursing pads, because you will leak breast milk and wet stains on your boobs are never a good look. Also, get some lanolin to help with dry and cracked nipples once your baby starts her feeding frenzy. |
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| This week, take a bath. One with bubbles, a trashy novel, a face mask, the whole works. Your big bod feels so much better and lighter in water, and what's more relaxing than a bath? Just make sure it's not too hot (under 100 degrees Fahrenheit) and that you're careful getting in and out. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 30 |
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Now is about the time you'll start your childbirth classes. You might be thinking of skipping them (as in, "What I don't know can't hurt me"), but we're here to tell you that what you don't know will hurt anyway ... so you might as well go. Going to Baby University is not unlike cramming for a very important test. And since this particular test is often a "pop quiz," it pays to be prepared early.
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking : |
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"Wait a minute. The size of what is going to come out something that's the size of what?! Are you kidding me?"
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Your Body
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| As much as you're enjoying gaining weight like a sumo wrestler and being swollen from head to toe (We jest, we jest!), there are reasons to pay close attention to both your weight gain and any swelling you're experiencing. Preeclampsia, or toxemia, is a serious, potentially fatal condition that occurs in a small percentage of pregnancies. It's extremely important that pregnant women recognize the signs and contact their health-care provider immediately if one or more of the symptoms are present. |
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| While preeclampsia is potentially very dangerous, when properly treated it can be managed. Watch your body carefully for signs of preeclampsia, which can include extreme swelling, headaches and/or sudden weight gain. At your appointments, your doctor will keep an eye on your blood pressure, which can also be a tip-off. While it's worth it to pay close attention to your symptoms, you probably shouldn't lose sleep worrying about preeclampsia. Just focus on taking good care of yourself and your baby. |
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Another mortifying but significantly less serious side effect of pregnancy is the sudden budding of hemorrhoids on your tush. Don't be embarrassed. Swollen blood vessels "down there" are common during pregnancy. If they're itchy or painful, try soaking in a sitz bath or soothe yourself with witch hazel pads (you'll want to load up on those for after baby is born as well). Talk to your doc before using any medication.
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| Your Baby |
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Big news for baby's brain this week: It's starting to wrinkle and fold and looks like something that grew in the back of your fridge. This is due to the rapid growth of your little genius's brain cells. Other highlights this week:
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| Fingernails and toenails are finally finished—causing his or her parents great fear and anguish the first time they try to cut those little daggers (it gets easier, we promise)! Plus, the bone marrow is completely in charge of red-blood-cell production now. Trust us, this is a good thing. |
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Baby is starting to shed his lanugo—the downy hair that was covering his skin. Now that he's chubbier and better able to regulate his body temp, he doesn't need to sport a fur coat 24/7.
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"I spy an umbilical cord and the inside of my mom's uterus!" When your baby is awake, his eyes are now wide open and he's whittling away the hours looking around, checking out his rather dark, limited environs.
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Your baby hasn't gained much weight or height this week, as most of his energy's been channeled to the brain. He weighs about 3 pounds and is approximately 15.5 inches long, about the size of London, not the city, Britney Spears' Yorkie terrier. Of course your baby is less hairy and way cuter!
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| Your Life |
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| If you plan on heading back to work after you come out of the haze of giving birth (or even if you haven't come out of the haze), now's the time to research your different child-care options: day-care centers, home providers or nannies. |
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| It may seem crazy to think about this now, but some highly desirable day-care centers may have waiting lists and it could take several weeks to find the right nanny. |
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Check out what your employer may offer: some (generous) companies have on-site day care for employees and it may even be subsidized, so you don't have to pay full price. Also, some companies offer flex-spending accounts so you can pay for child care with your pretax dollars.
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| This is a tough decision for many families as you weigh financial and professional realities against your family's personal needs. |
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| All these decisions are heavy duty and what works for one mom may not work for another. Because all major decisions in life are better made over food, why not share a mega hot-fudge sundae with your partner to discuss? Extra whipped cream will probably help you make a more informed decision. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 31 |
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You've just entered the single-digit countdown (only nine more weeks to go!). Make a list of what you'd like to do in these final weeks: See the new Oscar-worthy movie, hear your favorite local band, have lunch with your BFF, go on a romantic date with your partner. Whatever it is, do it soon because baby is right around the corner!
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking : |
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"I wonder if that pregnant woman wants to be my friend?"
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Your Body
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| Your mind may not be anywhere near ready for your baby to arrive but your body is already making preparations. One of the ways it's getting ready is by "practicing" for labor in the form of Braxton Hicks contractions. Luckily, these are generally painless, although somewhat annoying as they can occur frequently (the middle of the night, during an important meeting, while you're trying to focus on Access Hollywood, etc). |
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Braxton Hicks contractions feel like a sudden tightening of your uterus. This is just a little preview of what real contractions will feel like. They usually start to become noticeable around the eighth month and can become very strong by the end of your pregnancy.
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| While you can't get rid of Braxton Hicks contractions, there are some things you can do to make yourself more comfortable, like gentle exercise (such as walking) or taking a warm, relaxing bath. Calgon, take me away. ... |
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| Your Baby |
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| From this week on, your baby will continue to gain around ½ pound a week until shortly before birth (even though it may feel like a whole lot more with every step you take). Other highlights this week : |
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| Due to increasing space constraints, your baby's arms and legs stay drawn up close to the body now, known as the fetal position (oh, so that's where that name came from!). Plus, your baby can now process information from all five senses—so she'll be all set to smell the pureed peas, taste them, feel them as she mashes them into her hair, hear you crack up and then see the flash as you grab the camera to snap picture after picture. |
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By now, your baby's lungs are the only system not fully mature. And by mature, we're not saying that the rest of your baby's systems are mature enough to be out past 10 PM with the neighborhood hooligan, just that her lungs need a little bit more time to bake before they can kick it in the outside world.
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| Your baby weighs about 3½ pounds and measures a little over 16 inches, about the same length as that miniskirt you used to wear (and will again someday!). |
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| Your Life |
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Finding new mom friends is a little bit like dating. You need to actively seek them out. And while it may seem daunting meeting new people, chatting with your baby all day can get pretty lonely. But, like dating, one of the easiest ways to find new friends is online:
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Search ParentsConnect Local for a parenting community or playgroup and arrange to meet up in person. This could also be a great resource during your pregnancy, since these groups often have gently used baby gear to sell or trade.
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| You may need to seek out new, equally round friends, but it's your inner posse that is your support group right now. So get a group together and go out for drinks, dinner or dessert to dish about everything other having a baby. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 32 |
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Up until now, you've been seeing your doctor about once a month. Now you'll start seeing her every two weeks, until the final month when you'll kick it up to once a week. We're not suggesting you have "mommy brain" just yet ... but be sure to write down any questions you want to ask her about the delivery. Things are moving rapidly. You're going to want to be as informed as possible.
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking : |
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| "I'm either having David Beckham's love child or a future member of the Rockettes." |
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Your Body
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| There is something surreal about watching a tiny foot move across your belly (and something uncomfortable about getting jabbed by a tiny elbow in the dead of night). Now that your baby is nice and big and mobile, you'll be getting kicked and prodded in all sorts of unexpected places. Oooof! Did you feel that one in the ribs? |
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| If you're feeling sudden, jerking movements, then your baby probably has the hiccups. Or he could be practicing his routine for So You Think You Can Dance. Changing positions, taking a walk, or drinking a cold glass of water or juice can sometimes get a very active baby to chill with the kidney shots for a while. You could also try telling the baby if he kicks you one more time you're going to come in there and give him a time-out. OK, that won't help ease the discomfort, but mentally it'll make you feel like you're still in control. |
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You can also take heart in the fact that in a few more weeks, your Karate Kid will be running out of room for the kind of athletic displays he's so fond of these days. In other words, he'll be too cramped in there to haul his foot back 6 or 7 inches to give you a swift kick in the ribs.
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| Your Baby |
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Although your baby will still remain active, his days of trying out for Cirque du Soleil are nearly over. About this time your baby will settle into the head-down position in preparation for birth. Other fascinating facts:
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| Both you and baby are putting on some serious weight at this point. You'll probably gain about a pound a week for the next few weeks, with half of that poundage bulking up baby. He'll likely double his weight in the next eight weeks. |
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Ever wonder what your baby is doing in there these days? He's busy blinking, looking around, grabbing things, making faces, practicing his breathing, peeing and listening to everything around him—pretty much exactly what he'll be doing for the first three months of his life, sans the adoring audience and the flashing camera.
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Your baby may (or may not) have a full head of hair now. If she's a baldy, don't worry. You can always buy a Baby Toupee or some adhesive barrettes.
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By the end of this week, your baby will weigh about 4 pounds and measure over 17 inches long—about the length of a hot pair of above-the-knee boots. Christian Louboutin? Manolo Blahnik? We're thinking Isaac Mizrahi for Target—you've got a nursery to furnish!
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| Your Life |
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With your appointments becoming increasingly frequent, now's a good time to start tying up some loose ends that might otherwise go, um ... untied.
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If you haven't finalized arrangements for your maternity leave, get on the ball. Your boss and human resources will need to know what you're planning to do, and it'll give you some peace of mind knowing it's taken care of.
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With all the nursery shopping you've been doing, you may have forgotten another important room that you need to shop for: the bathroom. No, baby doesn't need a welcome basket from Bath & Body Works, but she will need some medicine-cabinet essentials. Stocking up on baby pain relievers, a thermometer, diaper cream and a snot sucker now will save you a 2 AM search for a 24-hour drugstore later.
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| And speaking of the bathroom, couldn't you use some new bubble bath, lotion, candles, bath salts and body scrub? |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 33 |
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You're large, but you most definitely don't feel in charge, since the baby seems to be completely taking over your body. Up several times a night to go to the bathroom? It's all just practice for getting up in the wee hours for feedings, changings and general fussiness. The one difference: Cuddling that babe in your arms for a feeding is way better than heaving yourself to the bathroom for the sixth time—in the dark.
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking : |
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| "Isn't there anywhere you could stand besides on my bladder, baby?" |
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Your Body
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At about this point you have probably begun to obsess over labor and delivery. You may have a vision of how you'd like the whole event to go: contractions are brief and painless and in one push out pops your baby to the background music of "Chariots of Fire." That fantasy is all well and good but it's important to be flexible and brace yourself for little surprises that may occur. Also, keep an open mind as far as medication and labor support go once you're in the thick of things.
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| Research your pain relief options. There are countless natural options in addition to medicinal options for managing labor pain. Now would be a good time to decide who you want in the labor and delivery room with you. We advise against inviting someone you may be embarrassed to see what's going on "down there." |
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| You also might want to start thinking about what you are going to pack in your hospital bag. Don't forget your lip-gloss! When everyone wants to take a picture of you and the new babe, you'll thank us. |
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| Your Baby |
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| The big news this week is lung development—baby's respiratory system is almost completely mature. That means if your baby was born this week, odds are he'd be a healthy bouncing baby with a just a little help from his friends (aka, the NICU). Some of the specifics are: |
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| Your baby can now detect light and tell the difference between night and day (of course that ability will miraculously disappear once he's born and up all night screaming). His pupils will constrict and dilate in response to light. If you shine a flashlight on your belly, your baby may shy away from the light as if to say, "Cut it out, Ma. You're soooo annoying." |
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| The bones in your baby's skull are soft and are not yet fused together. In other words, now is not the time to teach him how to do a headspin while breakdancing. This pliability allows the bones to overlap; making that trip down the tight birth canal possible (and resulting in that surprising cone head look your baby will sport for the first few days post-birth. Don't worry, it's totally normal and that's what hats are for.) |
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| Your baby will continue to pack on the pounds gaining around ½ pound a week from here on out. |
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| Your baby weighs about 4½ pounds, as much as a grownup duck, and is approximately 17.5 inches long, about the same as a collarbone-length pearl necklace. (Did somebody say push present?) |
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| Your Life |
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| Birth announcements will be low on your list of priorities once baby comes to town (below showering, but above getting a pedicure) so have a plan of attack now. |
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| Create an email list so you can send out a blast—the easiest way to alert the masses about your new baby. Attach a digital pic of your new bundle so everyone can see whose eyes and ears your Mini wound up with. |
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| Rather do it by snail mail? Consider making your own announcements. Or, if you're craft-challenged, pre-order announcements from a stationary store. Address the envelopes ahead of time, so all you have to do is lick 'em between feedings and drop them in the mail. (We won't even go into the thank-you notes now. ...) |
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| And speaking of licking, go hit up the candy store at the mall for some gourmet lollipops and hard candies to toss in your labor bag. This occasion calls for better than your Granny's butterscotch stand-bys. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 34 |
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The nursery is almost done. You've stocked up on diapers. You're ready. And you're waiting. And waiting. And hopefully, if all goes well, you'll be waiting for another six weeks. So don't drive yourself crazy, use this time to enjoy being alone, with friends and with your partner. Because soon it'll be all about baby for a couple of weeks (months, years, whatever), and you'll wish you had this downtime back.
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| Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ... |
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| What You're Thinking : |
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| "It's a good thing there is a Starbucks every two blocks because that's how often I need to pee." |
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Your Body
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You are exhausted from hauling your bod around all day, so why can't you sleep at night? Is it because your bladder keeps crying out to be emptied every 30 minutes? Is it because you haven't been able to find a comfortable sleeping position since week 27? Is it because your mind can't stop making lists of things to do or replaying that shocking video you saw in your birthing classes? Yes, yes, and yes. It might comfort you to know you're not alone. Seventy-five percent of women in their third trimester have trouble sleeping.
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Certain sleep positions will help you to be more comfortable and sleep better when you're pregnant. If lying on your back is making you dizzy or lightheaded try sleeping on your side.
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If you feel like bugs are crawling all over your legs in the middle of the night, get your partner to change the sheets. Just kidding. You might have restless leg syndrome, which commonly affects pregnant women. But it's still a good idea to have your mate do some laundry.
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| Your Baby |
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| Your baby kind of looks like she's coated in a layer of cream cheese these days. The thick, white substance that protects her skin from pruning in the amniotic fluid is called vernix. When she's born you'll probably see some vernix lingering in her "hard-to-reach" places like under her arms, behind her ears and around her va-jay-jay, if she's a she.. Other news from the womb this week: |
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| The soft fur, lanugo, that covered your baby's body for much of her stay in the womb is now almost completely gone. Your baby begins to develop her own immune system, instead of relying solely on antibodies received through the placenta. This will come in handy when some grubby relative manhandles the baby without washing his hands first. |
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| This week, your baby measures about 17¾ inches, as almost as long as an American Girl Doll (!) and weighs almost 5 pounds, as heavy as a bag of sugar, minus the cup you put in your decaf this morning. |
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| Your Life |
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Whether you're a type A personality who had her C-section planned by Week 8, or more easy breezy, chances are that you have an idea of how you'd like your delivery to go.
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Whether you intend to yell, "Bring on the drugs," stay completely silent (à la Katie Holmes' Scientology birth), or fill the delivery room with your entire extended family armed with video cameras, it's all up to you and your partner (though you should have 51 percent of the vote).
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| The best way to work this all out is to first write a birth plan—an informal document you'll share with your partner, family, and caregivers. Many curveballs might throw this plan off, but most families find that it's still a useful tool. Having a printed copy of the plan in your medical files will be helpful to your caregivers and empowering for your partner who will speak for you when your contractions leave you out of breath. |
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| Download some calming music to your MP3 player for use in the labor room. Search for meditation music, Georgian chants, or anything that you find soothing... even if it's Kenny G. What goes on in the labor room, stays in the labor room. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 35 |
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Now that D-day (that's delivery day) is sneaking up on you, you may start to get nervous about what a literal pain in the you-know-what it'll be. But instead of focusing on the "ouch!" of it all, focus on the "oooh!" of it: meeting your baby for the very first time.
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| Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ... |
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| What You're Thinking : |
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| "Should I bring my cute bathrobe to the hospital with the matching furry slippers or is that just crazy talk?" |
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Your Body
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| As Patrick Swayze put it, "Nobody puts baby in a corner!" Doubly true for your little tenant. Your baby has pretty much taken over your entire torso by now. Over the past few months, he's squished and mushed all of your organs out of the way. Any day now, he'll make a final move and shove your heart up and to the left to make more room for himself. (See, he's got your heart in his hands already.) |
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| Before all this pregnancy stuff, your uterus was a small ball the size of your fist and was tucked neatly away behind your pelvis. Today your uterus is the size of a small watermelon and reaches all the way up to your ribs. |
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| At this point in your pregnancy all the blood has gone to your belly ... literally. Nearly 1/6 of your body's total blood volume is chugging around in the vessels in your uterus. So that's why you feel so lightheaded all the time! |
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| Starting this week you'll visit your OB or midwife weekly. Every time you go you'll probably beg her to tell you when she thinks your babe is coming. Unfortunately, her guess is about as good as yours. Even if you're dilated, there's no telling exactly when baby will make his appearance (unless you have a scheduled C-section, of course.) |
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| Your Baby |
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| This week the final touches are being added to your mini-masterpiece and most of his development is going to packing on the pounds. While baby's movements may be becoming less jerky, he may do his final somersault in the womb soon—to put himself into the head-down position for birth. Other fascinating facts: |
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Your little Karate Kid can't quite pack the punch he used to due to the limited space inside the womb these days. You're likely to feel more wiggles, stretches and rolls than kicks and jabs. The extra layer of fat your baby is adding will create those cute dimples on your baby's elbows and knees. His liver has begun processing his waste products, so you know which organ to thank when he has his first blowout up the back of his onesie.
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Baby's nails are growing so long they may curl over the tips of his tiny fingers and toes before he sees a pair of clippers. He'll be in serious need of a mani-pedi once he's born (as will you).
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| Your baby is now about 5½ pounds and over 18 inches long—about the size of one of those price-club sheet cakes. |
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| Your Life |
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| If you're not just a little bit scared of the pain that occurs during labor and delivery, then you're either very brave or totally in denial. For those who are scared, it's completely normal, but keep in mind that you are not the first woman to give birth. It may not seem like it, but women have actually been delivering babies for centuries (many without pain medication—who knew?!). The best way to get a grip on the fear of the unknown is to educate yourself about the labor process and to research your options. |
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Spending some time talking to other women who have been there could ease your fears. Give most women a couple of weeks with their little babies, and none of them will even recall the pain.
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Study up on when to head to the hospital or birthing center. If you get there too early, the hospital could send you home, and that would be a serious bummer.
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| Plan your route to the hospital. We know you already know how to get there, but come up with an alternative in case of traffic jams or construction. The last thing you want to be worrying about then is whether or not your exit is closed. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 36 |
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With a mere 28 days to go (give or take a few), you're almost at the end—and the beginning of your new life. Finish up your final prep by stocking up on diapers, washing the onesies and making sure the nursery is good to go. Then, even if baby comes early, you're still ready. Of course, every new parent feels wildly unprepared regardless of how operational the nursery is, but at least you won't be diaperless!
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| Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ... |
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| What You're Thinking : |
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"One hundred bottles of milk on the wall, one hundred bottles of milk. Take one down, pass it around, 99 bottles of milk on the wall ..."
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Your Body
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| Just when you think you can't possibly stand another day of your baby kicking your lungs and crowding your stomach, your baby will drop it like it's hot. This process, called lightening, will probably make it easier for you to breathe, but with your baby's head resting directly on your bladder, you'll be breathing all the way to the bathroom. |
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| When your baby drops, you can rest assured that your pregnancy journey will be over within the next few weeks. Make sure to know the many signs and symptoms of labor so that you won't be caught with your pants down (both figuratively and literally). |
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| Your Baby |
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| Your baby continues to put on weight at about ½ pound each week. This layer of fat will help your baby regulate his body temperature after leaving your climate-controlled womb. In fact, your baby will be 15 percent fat at birth (and you ... well that's another story). Even in the womb, your baby can listen, feel, touch and see. The only thing separating him from living in the outside world is a little thing called the birth canal. Other highlights this week: |
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| His gums are firm with ridges that look somewhat like teeth, though his actual pearly whites won't start breaking through until he's between three months and a year old. |
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Your baby has definite patterns of sleep and wakefulness—opening his eyes while awake and closing them while sleeping. Your baby will become alert and turn his head toward light and sound just as a newborn would—except when you put on that Celine Dion CD. Then the baby puts his hands up, turns away and gurgles, "Oh no you didn't!"
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Your baby is now around 18½ inches long and nearly 6 pounds—just about as big as a breadbox!
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| Your Life |
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| You may feel silly driving around these last couple of weeks with a baby car seat and no baby, but in case she decides to show up early, you'll be glad you have it, since your hospital won't let you leave without one. |
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Learn about standards for child safety seats and read up on the safety rankings and "ease-of-use ratings" of the model you are interested in.
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| Most people install their car seats incorrectly, so make an appointment with your local Highway Patrol or child-safety passenger inspection station to check to make sure it's been properly done. And remember, rules and uses of car seats change as your child grows, so this won't be the last car seat you install. |
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| Now that you're seriously down to the wire (and we mean seriously), you're probably in nesting overdrive. Quit scrubbing the bathroom tile with a toothbrush for a minute and take a bath or go for a swim. We realize that getting naked or into a bathing suit is about the least appealing thing you can think of doing, but at this stage you probably don't give a rat's behind what you look like. You'll feel a gazillion pounds lighter in the pool and a nice bath will soothe your sore back, feet, neck, hips. ... |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 37 |
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| Your baby is officially baked this week! That means you could literally give birth at any given moment. A terrifying, exciting and overwhelming concept, all rolled into one. Your partner is undoubtedly having the same emotional roller-coaster ride, so be sure to share your feelings and enjoy these last weeks (days?! hours?!) together. |
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking : |
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| "I can't eat, I can't sleep, but I can do a great imitation of a beached whale. Seriously, are we almost done with this?" |
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Your Body
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You made it! Your baby is considered full term at the end of this week. So kick your swollen feet up and swig back a glass of lemonade. All that hard work has finally paid off!
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At your checkup this week, your doctor or midwife may do an internal exam to see how things are progressing. We're not gonna lie to you, an "internal" can hurt like hooey. But hey, it ain't labor! While she's in there, your practitioner will check three things: dilation (how open your cervix is), ripeness (how soft your cervix is) and effacement (how thin your cervix is). For baby to come on out, the cervix must be open to 10 centimeters, as soft as the skin on the inside of your mouth and 100 percent effaced.
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It's normal to have some brownish spotting after an internal exam or a little wham-bam, but if you notice any bright red discharge or consistent spotting, call your doc or midwife immediately. Also, as your mucus plug preps to dislodge itself, you may also find an increase in gooey discharge "down there" these last few weeks. Just what you wanted to hear, right?
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| Your Baby |
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Huge news this week: You're carrying a full-term baby! If you were to go into labor today, all systems would be a go. Woohoo! Even though you can't wait for the little bambino to quite literally rear his head, keep in mind that your bun benefits from every day in the oven. Other ticker-tape-worthy developments:
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| Baby's growth slows down dramatically this week, which is great news for your birth canal. His bones are still soft and pliable and will solidify after he's born. More great news for your birth canal. |
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| So if he's all cooked and ready to go, what the heck is he still doing in there?! He's busy practicing for "life on the outside," working on his breathing, sucking, sleeping, gazing and peeing abilities. The only thing he can't practice yet is his ability to scream at the top of his lungs when he's hungry—but he'll do plenty of that in a few weeks. |
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| At this point babies vary in size, but the average length is between 19 and 20 inches and most babies weigh approximately 6 pounds. About the size of an average largemouth bass caught in Minnesota by your cousin Earl. |
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| Your Life |
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If you can't stop Windexing everything in sight or you have a sudden desire to rearrange your linen closet again, then you're officially nesting. Nesting is the phenomena where exhausted and very pregnant women suddenly find the energy and the drive to clean like their life depends on it.
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| Though many women think "nesting" is a wives' tale, it's actually not the stuff of urban legend, and many women get the powerful urge to ready their home for the impending arrival in the final weeks of pregnancy. (Kind of makes you wish nature had the forethought to send that urge to your partner every now and then, doesn't it?) |
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Now's a good time to make sure your nursery is clean and ready for baby to spit and poop all over it. Spend some of that extra nesting energy stocking up on baby needs like diapers and wipes. You really don't need to be polishing the silver right now.
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| Even if you're feeling super-energetic, make sure to get enough rest. You'll need your strength for labor and beyond. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 38 |
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Two more weeks to go and your nesting instinct is in full throttle. You're busy washing and folding (and refolding) baby's clothes, marveling over how anyone could ever fit into such a teensy weensy T-shirt. If you haven't set up the crib, bassinet or wherever you plan for baby to sleep—now would be a good time. You don't want Dad frantically trying to figure out some incomprehensible instruction manual between contractions.
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| Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ... |
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| What You're Thinking : |
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| "Please don't let my water break at an inopportune time like in the middle of a client meeting or during my pedicure or at a fancy restaurant ..." |
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Your Body
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As your cervix begins to dilate, you may lose your mucus plug. (You may also toss your cookies when you read the words "mucus plug." Ew.) This thick, mucus-like wad seals the cervix and prevents infection during pregnancy. When the plug has done its work, it will bid your cervix goodbye and hurl itself into the toilet.
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| Contrary to what people may say, losing the mucus plug isn't a definite predictor of the onset of labor. |
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| You also may notice some pink or "bloody show," another indication that your cervix is dilating. |
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| Once you've lost your mucus plug, be on the alert for regular, strong, painful contractions (not like this is something you'd sleep through, believe us) or other indications that you should call your doctor and get thee to a hospital. |
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| Your Baby |
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| Your baby's intestines have accumulated a considerable amount of meconium (the code name for black, tar-like baby poop), which is usually eliminated shortly after birth and gives you your first experience with the 100-wipe diaper change. Here's what else is up: |
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| Your baby might just scratch herself in the womb as the fingernails have grown over the fingertips now. Resist painting them hot pink when she arrives. |
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| Baby's lungs continue to mature and her brain and nerve function are working better every day. The latter two will continue to mature until Junior is a teenager, at which point she'll know it all (or at least she'll think she does). |
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| Your baby weighs about 6½ pounds and is around 19 or 20 inches long—as long as a duffle bag (in case you needed an excuse to go shopping for a new bag for your labor gear). |
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| Your Life |
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| Seeing that you've been wearing the same pair of maternity jeans every day for the last month, you probably haven't had a ton of laundry to do. That's all going to change in the next few weeks. Who knew that such a tiny person could create such mountains of laundry in a mere 48 hours? There will be so much barf and poop to get out of baby's clothes, you'll think you've given birth to the Exorcist baby. Now's the time to stock up on laundry detergent designed with your baby's sensitive skin in mind. And don't forget the stain remover. |
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| Talk to a friend who has a baby to see what worked for her kid. Of course, every baby's skin is different, so what works for you might be something you figure out by trial and error. Check out brands like Dreft, All Free & Clear, Ivory Snow, Tide Free or Cheer Free if you're not sure where to start. |
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| Wash a week or two's worth of Mini's clothes now so they'll be ready to go. But don't go ripping off the tags and washing everything for the next year. There's a good chance you won't need it or it won't fit when the time comes to wear it. (Seriously, who buys a six-month snowsuit for a January-born baby?) Keep the tags on and you can return it to the store for a larger size, or re-gift it to another expectant mom. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 39 |
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| As your official due date approaches, you're probably fixed on the calendar. But since less than 10 percent of women deliver on their actual due date, chances are baby is going to take you by surprise on a different day. Whenever the muffin arrives is the right time for him or her, so try not to get disappointed if your date comes and goes and the Mini hasn't made an appearance. |
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Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...
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| What You're Thinking : |
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| "Stick a fork in me. I'm done." |
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Your Body
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Head for the hospital or birthing center if you think you're in labor (even if it turns out that you're not!) It's better to make a couple of test runs than to deliver your baby at the local truck stop. If you are in labor but it has just started, the hospital may send you back home, which can be a bit of a buzz kill. But trust us, you'd rather be comfortable in your own home than stuck in a hospital bed with only four TV channels for the next 12 hours waiting to dilate from 1 centimeter to 2.
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| While there is nothing false about the pain that comes with false labor, it's a fake-out because it doesn't dilate the cervix like true labor does. And when you're trying to squeeze a grapefruit out of something the size of a cherry, it's an important distinction. Basically, false labor gives you all of the pain and none of the advancements. Nice, huh? |
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| One way to identify false labor is to start timing your contractions. True labor contractions come regularly and get progressively closer together (and they hurt more as they get closer). False labor contractions are about as regular as your bowels since you've been pregnant—not very—and they vary from one to another on the pain meter. |
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| False labor is more common in second or subsequent pregnancies than in first pregnancies. |
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| Your Baby |
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| One uncomfortable complaint of late pregnancy is frequent hiccups. No, not you, your baby. Because there is no air around your baby, when she practices breathing, it can cause amniotic fluid to get into her windpipe, resulting in those regularly spaced thumps that make you think you're carrying a jumping bean in your belly. Other news this week: |
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| The lanugo (an exotic word for soft, downy hair) that used to cover your baby's body has mostly disappeared, but you may find a bit leftover on the shoulders, forehead and neck. Don't freak and think you've given birth to a monkey: It'll fall out soon. |
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The color of baby's skin is changing from a red-pink hue to a white or blue-pink color (even in babes with dark skin). These changes are due to the amount of fat your little pudger is putting on. The circumference of your baby's head and abdomen are about the same size now (though you may not be able to tell if your baby's born with the common cone-shaped head!).
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| The placenta is lending your Mini antibodies that'll keep him strong and healthy after birth. That said, it's still a good idea to invest in that mega-size bottle of hand sanitizer. |
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| At this point your little critter is about 19 to 20 inches long and weights about 7 pounds. That's just around the size of a large rabbit. What's up Doc? |
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| Your Life |
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| After the first contraction hits (and you've regained your composure), there are probably some people you'd like to alert. For instance, those key people who will be with you in the delivery room. |
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| Have a plan for contacting your team (coach, partner, Mommy, videographer, Zen master?) once labor kicks in—whether it's by calling your husband and having him call everyone else or programming everyone's number into your cell phone under: "Help! I'm in labor!" |
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| Now that you technically have one more week, you may be feeling the pressure to lap up all this quiet time. So put your feet up, take a load off (and it is a load, let's be honest) and pop in your favorite DVD so you can think about something other than baby and when she'll show up. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 40 |
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| Wow! You've made it! Any day now you'll be holding that baby in your arms, looking into his or her eyes and whispering softly, "I'm so happy to meet you." |
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| Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ... |
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| What You're Thinking : |
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| "I hope the baby doesn't have Aunt Martha's nose." |
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| Your Body |
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You've crossed the finish line—where's the baby?! Since very few babies actually arrive on their due dates, you may find yourself wasting away waiting for something (anything!) to happen. Don't get disheartened. The baby has to come out eventually! Since you have time to burn, you might as well brush up on the basics:
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| Study up on the signs and symptoms of labor so that you can recognize when it's imminent. Review your notes on when to head to the hospital or birthing center so you know when to hop into the car and go. Now might also be a good time to review what will happen during each stage of labor so that you won't be surprised. Of course, the whole situation is one shock after the next, but at least you can say you went in with your eyes wide open. |
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| No one knows how labor starts for sure, but researchers have hypothesized that the baby actually sends a hormonal signal to the placenta to kick-start it. In other words, your baby will come out when she's good and ready, thank you! |
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| Your Baby |
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Congrats! That bun in your oven is fully baked! That's the good news. The possibly not so stellar news: Actually giving birth on your due date is hard to do—even for overachievers. In fact, many first-time moms go up to 2 weeks past their due date (sorry!). Hopefully now that baby is cooked to perfection, he'll come bouncing out any day now. Other last-minute progress:
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| Because some of your hormones are passed into your baby's system, your baby's genitals (scrotum in boys and labia in girls), and even his or her breasts, may appear enlarged at birth. It can be alarming, but rest assured it's perfectly normal. |
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| At birth your baby has a total of 300 bones. Some of the bones will fuse together later, which is why an adult has only 206 bones. Fascinating, no? |
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| Babies vary in size at this point, but the average full-term baby weighs around 7 to 8 pounds and hovers around 19 or 20 inches. That's about the size of a ... BABY! Of course, tell that to the mother who just delivered a 9-pound baby vaginally! |
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| Your Life |
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While you've got all this free time on your hands, you might want to do a little light reading—of owner's manuals. No, not the one you're hoping to get with the baby. The ones that come with all that gear you've been buying, like the breast pump. Make sure you can make sense of the thing. (Hint: That cone part? It goes on your boob.) Pumping can be daunting enough, never mind when you're sleep-deprived and antsy that the baby will wake up any minute. Plus, pumping goes much better when you're relaxed about it.
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| Do a test run on the nursery monitor with your husband. Check the volume level and make sure it's working right. You'll still probably run into baby's room 15 times to make sure it's really on the first (or seventh) time you use it, but it's fun to play with walkie-talkies from the nursery to the kitchen. |
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| Make sure you can fold and unfold the stroller, and that you can release and secure the car seat by yourself. You probably won't be making too many solo trips in the early days, but if you have to, you'll save yourself the embarrassment of having to ask a random stranger to help you collapse the stroller so you can fit it in the trunk. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 41 |
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| Now that your due date has come and gone, you may be feeling, ahem, a little antsy. Many new moms go past their due date, but that fact doesn't make it any better, of course—especially since you feel like an overstuffed turkey whose timer has most definitely popped. Still, take some comfort in knowing that millions of moms have gone through the same thing. Don't despair—your baby will be here soon and she'll be very happy to see you! |
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| Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ... |
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| What You're Thinking : |
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| "Are you kidding me? Get out! Get out! Get out!" |
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Your Body
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| If you're reading this, we're guessing you're still pregnant (and we totally feel your pain, mama!). There's a chance that your due date was miscalculated (nice!) and that baby is right on time. So don't stress. |
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| Speaking of stress, once you've passed your due date, your doc or midwife will most likely send you for a nonstress test to make sure all is well with baby. You may even have an ultrasound (cool, another chance to get a glimpse of baby!) to check your amniotic fluid levels. |
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| Your practitioner will probably bring up the possibility of an induction this week as there is some cause for concern for the baby's health if the pregnancy goes too long. |
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| If you're against having an induction, you might want to try some of the folk remedies for starting labor, like eating spicy foods, stimulating your nipples, walking or sex (and we mean a lot of sex. Like five or six times a day.). |
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| There are some questions that you should ask your health-care provider if you're overdue. For instance, how long is she willing to wait before inducing you? However, one of them is not, "How much do I have to pay you to get this baby out of me right now?!" |
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| Your Baby |
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| You may be more than ready, but apparently baby isn't quite done enjoying the comfy digs you've provided him or her. And while every day you don't have your baby may seem like an eternity, he or she really will be here soon. So what's going on in there? |
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| The good news is, in general, babies who are born "late" (in the "fourth trimester") weigh more, appear more alert and have more hair than babies born earlier. Some even come out singing and dancing. OK, not really, but you'll feel like singing and dancing after you finally get that baby out of you. |
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| Your future sumo wrestler now probably weighs between 7½ and 8 pounds and measures about 21 inches long. So not only is the baby late, but she keeps getting bigger, making delivery more challenging, er, we mean exciting. |
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| Your Life |
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| At this point, let's assume your to-do list has been tackled. And with all the nesting going on, your house is probably as clean as it's going to get. |
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| Instead of focusing on the little procrastinator inside you, why not focus your attention outward? Doing something for someone else this week will make you feel good ... and make the time pass more quickly : |
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| Make sure you can fold and unfold the stroller, and that you can release and secure the car seat by yourself. You probably won't be making too many solo trips in the early days, but if you have to, you'll save yourself the embarrassment of having to ask a random stranger to help you collapse the stroller so you can fit it in the trunk. |
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- Buy a box of note cards and send them to distant family members.
- Track down an old friend just to say hi.
- Visit your grandfather.
- Donate an hour of your time to a good cause.
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| It won't help you forget that 8 pounds of joy you're hauling around, but a little do-gooding might make the week more tolerable. |
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| Your Pregnancy : Week 42 |
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It may feel like a cruel joke is being played on you, but you really will give birth soon. Most doctors won't allow women to go more than two weeks past their due dates, so the end really is in sight. And to that we say, thank goodness for modern medicine! Oh, and congrats!
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| Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ... |
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| What You're Thinking : |
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| "I am going to be pregnant for the rest of my life, aren't I?" |
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Your Body
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You're probably wondering what past life crime you committed to deserve going two weeks over your due date, but don't despair. Yes, you're uncomfortable and anxious, but your baby is so incredibly comfortable in your womb (why else wouldn't she want to come out!). Try to relax, watch your 32nd episode of Will & Grace reruns and know that your baby will be here soon.
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| There are some other old wives' tales about inducing labor at home that you could try. Ya never know, maybe some castor oil, a long walk, buffalo wings or, gulp, sex might work for you!? So, fix yourself a dish of really spicy Thai curry and try to smoke that baby |
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| Your Baby |
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This may not make your swollen ankles feel any better, but almost 10 percent of first-time moms go two weeks past their due date. So if nothing else, at least you're in good company. As much as it feels like it right now, this isn't going to last forever. A pregnancy is almost never allowed to go beyond the end of the 42nd week. So chances are you'll be holding that little bundle of love any day now. Here's what else is up:
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Your fourth-trimester baby may also be born with skin discolorations such as dry patches, peeling skin or a reddish rash. But it's completely harmless, so don't worry about it. The good news is that babies who bake this long are often born with very long fingernails and hair, so load up on those cute little hair bows!
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| Upon birth, your baby will display more than 70 different primitive reflex behaviors (a reflex being something that is automatic and unlearned)—including the Macarena! OK, maybe not, but baby's flailing arms are still cute. |
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| This week your baby weighs a whopping 8, 9 (or more) pounds and measures 21 inches long or more. That's a whole lotta baby! |
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| Your Life |
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It's all over but the pushing. And even though it might not seem like it right now, that baby has to get out of your body. And just think, in no time at all, this whole pregnancy thing will be a memory.
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| Take some time this week to reflect on pregnancy. Maybe in your journal or maybe in a letter to your baby. Write down every little thought you're having, even if at this point you can't seem to remember anything good about the last nine months. That kind of honesty will be refreshing when you look back on it in several months. And it'll be hysterical to your kid in 10 years ... when he's causing a whole different kind of anguish. |
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| While you're writing letters, consider writing one to your mom or a special female in your life. You won't believe how many times over the next year (or 18) you're going to think, "So this is what she was talking about, thinking, feeling, doing ..." She'll appreciate the sentiment and you'll appreciate her more when you've officially joined the ranks of mommies. |
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