Welcome to the Pregged pregnancy week-by-week series. Each week-by-week post is separated into three handy sections.
1. Mom – Section one covers the changes mom will experience and the things she may need to consider health-wise.
2. Baby – Section two looks at the development of the fetus and what’s going on with baby inside the womb.
3. Nutrition – Section three covers nutrition for each week of pregnancy so that you know what foods are important to include in your diet at each stage.
6 WEEKS PREGNANT – MOM
The beginning to the rest of your life is just days or weeks ahead. At thirty-nine weeks, your baby is probably at least 6-7 pounds and the vernix and lanugo hair is gone. You are hot, uncomfortable, live in the bathroom and look for any conceivable sign that labor is imminent. Feet hurt, hands are swollen, and you can’t even recognize your face—who is that puffball?
So what are the true signs of labor? These include the rupture of the membranes (water breaking) that releases your amniotic fluid—it could be a trickle or a huge gush; diarrhea or nausea; spurts of activity around the house or the esting instinct); the loss of the mucous plug (the “cork” of mucus that seals the opening of the uterus); and the bloody show (your capillaries rupture from the dilation and effacement of your cervix, causing any discharge to appear pink or red-tinged).
Once you’ve seen a bloody show, real labor is soon to follow, but not a definite thing. Did I tell you to recheck that bag you packed and make sure the dog or cat are properly taken care of when you are gone? That’s what grandparents are for.
Baby Development
By now, the baby is ready to come out, and you can’t wait. Your partner is probably tired of all of this, too. Good time to ask for a massage. Watch for sudden hand, face, and feet swelling—it could be a sign of pre-eclampsia that can affect first-time moms without warning. See your practitioner or go to the labor and delivery unit is that occurs especially if you have a new onset headache. It’s a serious disease that causes your blood pressure to go up without explanation, but it’s totally manageable with the delivery of your baby. Keep track of baby’s activities; movement should be the same as always. Nothing more you can do except wait and wait. Soon, you will wonder where all your time goes.
Pregnancy Nutrition Week 6
Help me; my brain is shrinking! Third-trimester brain fog is no myth. Your brain volume decreases during pregnancy, only to plump up a few months after So you’re not imagining your brain drain at 38 weeks pregnant (and you have a plausible excuse for not making the car payment). This so-called placenta brain means you just need extra choline! Be sure to get 450 mg of choline each day. Prenatals probably have some, but it won’t hurt to get some extra from your diet. You can easily get your share and more by eating such choline-rich foods as egg yolks (use DHA eggs to pack a memory-boosting omega-3 punch), beef, milk, soybeans (wheat germ, and nuts. You’ll need extra during breastfeeding not only because you’ll need all the memory help you can get then, but your baby will get his or her supply from the milk because baby’s brain is growing at a fast clip even after birth) — about 550 mg per day.