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
Usually by now, you are scheduled to see your practitioner for your first prenatal visit and it’s the perfect time for an ultrasound and pictures for your baby book. But first, you will have to answer a bunch of health-related questions, give a urine sample, have an exam including screening for sexually transmitted diseases (sometimes), and a pap smear if you need one. Then the ultrasound is done—but since you are only 8 weeks along, the ultrasound must be done vaginally. It’s no big deal—really. You’ll get to see your little ‘lima bean’ floating inside the bag of water and the heart beat which is really fast compared to yours—–usually over 120 beats per minute. By now, your breasts are probably bulging out of your bra, swollen, and tender to touch. Be sure you have a large enough one with NO SEAMS over the nipple. Even the nipples get sore and annoyed with any excess friction.
Baby Development
This little kidney bean is doing acrobatic movements—even looks like a pale kidney bean, too. Arms and hands develop sooner than legs, but baby’s hands are developing webbed fingers. His early lung tubes are branching out into the chest cavity, and the funny tail is gone. Primitive neural pathways are growing and expanding to prepare for more dramatic movements. Ear parts are starting to form inside and out. The first genitals are not fully developed, but the ovaries will contain all the eggs that a little girl will have for a lifetime—and that’s hundreds of thousands more than she needs. Either way, your baby —is continually moving and shifting, though you still can’t feel it. The head is massive in proportion to the rest of the baby’s body. By the end of the eighth week, your baby is about 1 inch long and weighs about 1/30 of an ounce.
Pregnancy Nutrition Week 6
Still suffering from nausea? Fortunately, you have options. Bland is the key here, but that describes more than a cracker: proteins can last longer than carbohydrates, so try some peanuts or cheese, but not the soft ones like brie or camembert. Broths are helpful, too—chicken noodle not tomato though. Do keep the saltines next to the bed but watch out for crumbs in your bed) or handbag stashing. Try to vary things a bit if you can (toss a few blueberries or strawberries into some vanilla yogurt). Stay safe. If your cravings are for something you shouldn’t have now (like raw oysters), then you won’t be able to indulge yourself. It’s okay to be frustrated, just hang in there.