Pregnancy First Trimester

Emotionally you may be feeling a little insecure, moody, fearful, or be extremely elated. Many women call the first trimester the worst trimester because for most of it you feel sick, pimply, scared, and you begin to gain weight but still don’t look or feel pregnant. For many women, it isn’t until the first ultrasound or the first felt kick, that a woman actually feels pregnant. It is hard to convince yourself sometimes, even with a positive pregnancy test, and morning sickness that indeed you are pregnant.

As for your baby…he or she is now about an inch long, has arms and legs (toes and fingers), eyes, ears, small nose, tongue, all major body organs, and his or her tail is now gone! All of that in only a few short weeks.

Week 5- Week 8: This month you can expect your first prenatal visit, although some practices make you wait until you are 10 weeks along, so that they can pick up baby’s heartbeat with a Doppler. When you are at the physician’s office, expect to be there for a while, as this will be your longest visit. It is also good to have your husband or boyfriend in tow, because the doctor or midwife will have family health questions for him as well. Half of your check up will be spent answering questions about your family, his family (for possible diseases or medical problems anyone has), while the second half will be a pelvic exam (pap smear, if not performed within a year) and an external exam where the midwife or doctor will feel your abdomen to measure your uterus, and see if you are as far along as you suspect. If your uterus feels smaller or larger than expected, you will most likely be sent for an ultrasound to measure the baby and better predict your due date. If you are larger than expected, and your dates are right, chances are good that you may be expecting twins!

This is also the first time you will hear your baby’s heartbeat. So if you are a softy, pack the tissues, this is quite an experience. If however your doctor is unable to pick up the baby's heartbeat for any reason, he will send you for an ultrasound. Some will do it right there that day, others will have you schedule one. This is nothing to be alarmed about. Your baby is very small, and still has a lot of room to move around inside of your uterus. That being said, if your baby is in an inaccessible position, the heartbeat won't be detected.

**Did you know your baby has spontaneous movements already?!? But it won’t be for a little while yet until you will be able to feel them.

The Baby: Your baby is now technically a fetus, and will be about 2.5- 3 inches in length and weighing 1.5 ounces (nothing compared to the average baby at birth being 7 lbs. 8 oz.). In your pregnancy first trimester at this point, your baby is the size of an apple. He or she now has a neck for his large head to sit on (the head being half the length of the body). Hair patterns are forming, the eyes are now closer together, and the ears are moving to the sides of the head. Instead of looking like a little alien like he or she did last month, he looks like a human baby. Those cute little fingers and toes have nails covering them now, although they are soft. Your amniotic fluid can now be tasted by your baby because taste buds have emerged, and so has his or her sucking reflex.

If your doctor was able to with an ultrasound machine, the baby’s sex could now be determined as well, because the external genitalia have developed. With that in mind, the baby is also urinating now, and doing so into the amniotic fluid.

At this month’s doctors visit you will hear the heartbeat again. You will be examined like the last month to feel for the uterus and see how you are progressing. Typically your doctor or midwife will also check your hands and feet for edema, which is swelling and see if you have any varicose veins.

Again, constipation in pregnancy is very common, but regardless of pregnancy or not, constipation is never healthy, and you should try extra fiber in your diet. You can get fiber through raw fruits and vegetables or whole-grain cereals and breads, see our link on the left for Diet , for better tips. This may however make you more gassy than usual, and you may feel a little sick to your stomach from upping the fiber. If nothing helps you should speak to your physician about what alternatives would be safe for you and your baby.

At the end of this month ends your first trimester. You will be heading into what most women would consider the “best” trimester. If you are wondering where you stand with weight gain click here. Keep in mind that you are 1/3 of the way done! That means only 6 short months until you will meet the most beautiful little person you ever laid eyes on! So hang in there!