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
This week, uterus may start prepping for the delivery day by flexing its muscles…literally.
If you feel your uterus bunching or hardening periodically, those are Braxton Hicks — irregular practice contractions that are first felt around mid-pregnancy and increase in frequency and strength as your pregnancy progresses. These pre-labor rehearsals are experienced earlier and with more intensity in women who’ve been pregnant before. (try getting up if you’re lying down or walking if you’ve been sitting). If they start to get painful, stronger, or don’t go away after changing positions, call your practitioner. Real labor often feels like period cramps and starts in the back and spreads to the front. They tend to last 45 seconds or more and are regular. One thing you can do is take a warm bath to help with the discomfort.
Learn the signs of labor such as leakage of watery fluid or water breaking, period-like cramps, vaginal bleeding, loose stools, and a tightening feeling in your uterus that makes it feel hard like the tip of your nose.
With your big uterus crowding your insides, you may find your appetite waning now. Try to eat regular, small snacks — a bite of a banana counts! — instead of big meals.
Baby Development
Baby is plumping up for the big day. It’s not entirely understood, but the genetic code starts at conception and predisposes some babies to be plumper than others and may have nothing do with how much the mother eats. There are short, tall, heavy, and thin people who are just naturally that way as a result of DNA. Some mothers swear that their bigger child made them eat more compared to their smaller child-makes sense, really. Best to keep the meals small and frequent to avoid the gut-wrenching burning from heartburn. And, don’t forget twice daily kick counts while resting on your left side. The left side position keeps all the pressure off the inferior vena cava—the what? It’s the big vein that returns blood to your heart. You’ll get lightheaded if there’s too much pressure.
Pregnancy Nutrition Week 6
Your belly is growing quickly, and you should feed yourself well! Pay attention to your menu – it will help you to get a healthy baby. Plan your meals and snacks. Make a list, copy it and get to the store. Always have healthy snacks on hand and freshen up the staples like fresh fruit and nuts. Poultry, meat, or fish in the freezer in single-portions— so you’ll never be without wholesome, satisfying meals. Be realistic. If you rarely have more than 30 minutes to put dinner on the table, then keep the ingredient list short—like 5 or 6 max. Now’s the time for extra iron as the blood volume continues to expand. Iron supplements are fine, but you will probably need a stool softener like docusate or increased fiber because iron will bind you up—and it will turn your stool green.