Category Archives: pregnancy

40 Weeks Of Pregnancy – Week 13

It is Monday, which means another installment of the pregnancy guide edition. Today we will be talking about Week 13. If you have missed past weeks, scroll to the bottom to check them out!
Week 13
Yes, you are really having a baby! It may just be sinking in right now, and the realization can be very exciting, but a tinge stressful. That is okay, babies are a huge deal and your are entitled to a little agonizing. If this is not your first you have a whole different slew of things to think about. But overall, I am sure you are super excited. Not only are you closer to bringing your bundle home, but you are staring to feel better too.
Once the nausea starts to subside your appetite will be coming back. And it is most likely coming back with a vengeance. You will start to have cravings. Not all pregnant women crave the cliché pickles and ice cream. My cravings were all perfectly normal, meaning it is was the same stuff I was eating before ever getting pregnant. I was just craving more of it, and at odd intervals. Yours may be the same. However, this does not mean you should indulge every craving. You are not eating for two. You should be consuming only about 150 calories extra per day at this point, which does not justify half a dozen donuts and a six dollar burger. I am sure your doctor will say the same thing, and just to make sure ask him about it.
We all know about maternity leave. You have probably been thinking about it since the day you found out you were pregnant. If you haven’t told your boss yet, I am sure it is on your to-do list. What you may not have thought about is paternity leave. Yes, fathers are entitled to leave as well. Unless you have a horrible time giving birth with all sorts of complications and whatnot, it probably does not make sense for your husband to take more than a week or two off. If you don’t have a husband, or significant other, you will probably want to enlist someone to help you at least those first few days. Walking may be difficult, especially if this is your first, and more so if you had a episiotomy. Think about who is going to help you those days, and how you need that help. It is never too soon to start thinking about it as the time will go before you know it and not everyone can change their schedules, particularly their work schedules, last minute.
With all that said and done, relax. Even with the subsidence of some of your worst symptoms, being tired doesn’t go away. Take naps when possible, and enjoy being pregnant.
If you want to catch up:
 
 
 
 
 

40 Weeks of Pregnancy – Week 12

Welcome to Week 12 my own personal week by week pregnancy guide. If you are just joining us today, feel free to look at previous weeks at the bottom of the page. Otherwise, enjoy this week’s edition.
Week 12
You are almost through the first trimester. This is great medically for various reasons, but what does it really mean for you? First of all, you are almost out of the most dangerous part of the pregnancy as the rate of miscarriage gets drastically diminished after the first trimester. Which is why so many women wait until this point to start sharing their good news.
In terms of comfort, this is when your baby starts to grow out as opposed to down, so for the next few months he won’t be sitting on your bladder and you won’t feel the need to run to the bathroom every five seconds. Unfortunately, during the third trimester that urge will come right back. Enjoy in the meantime! Also, this means you are going to start showing and have a baby bump as your tummy expands out. Some women are lucky and have a small protrusion that could not possibly be mistaken for anything other than a baby, eliciting congratulations from everyone they encounter. For the rest of us, this bump looks like we have had a few too many donuts recently. In the next few weeks to a month this will take care of itself and you will have a definite baby in there so don’t despair.
Morning sickness should also start getting better, and in a few weeks you may not have it at all. Some women stopped getting it over a month ago. And remember, every pregnancy is different.
If you are working, think about when you would want to sit down with your boss and tell them the good news. Waiting through the first trimester is normal for a lot of people. Any later than that and it may cause tension as you are giving him and the company less time to plan and prepare for your impending leave. This is also a great time to assess whether your leave will be temporary or permanent. Being a stay at home mom is not for everyone aside from financial burdens it may bring. Evaluate if this may be for you, and then go over your financial situation to see if it is even a feasible option. I would suggest doing this before you speak with your boss so you can go in with a game plan.
Otherwise, unless there are complications, you have smooth sailing ahead.
If you missed a few weeks, feel free to peruse the different sections below.
 
 
 
 

40 Weeks Of Pregnancy – Week 11

Welcome to this week’s installment of the pregnancy edition. If you need a refresher of any of our previous weeks, scroll to the bottom. Otherwise, this week we are looking at…
Week 11
Medically, your little sea monkey is now considered a fetus. I a totally not going to even get into the whole when a baby becomes a baby thing because that is absolutely not what this post, or series, is about. The first sentence of this paragraph was solely a statement in regards to my limited medical knowledge.
You are pregnant. You feel pregnant. You act pregnant. You think pregnant. But you still don’t look pregnant. Even if there is a small bump developing, unless someone knows you are preggers, it looks like you have just been having a few too many girl scout cookies. If this is your first you are most likely in a huge rush to start proudly parading your protruding belly. Trust me, it will happen. This is just like that time when you were little and couldn’t wait to get your period because you thought it meant you were a big girl, and then you got it only to find out how much it sucks. Yeah, it just like that that. Except this time there are a lot of beautiful and wonderful things that come with pregnancy and that you will get to experience. Unlike your period that brings no good. Unless you count your pregnancy due to your period as good. In which case they are all connected, and I have left the original topic so far behind…
So, back to week 11 events. All the hormones (notice how I like to blame everything on all the hormones) can start causing you headaches. These headaches will come and go, and will be of varying intensities. Whenever I got headaches I would first try drinking some water. If that did nothing, I would eat a little food. Typically the main causes of headaches are dehydration and/or hunger. If possible I would also try laying down. If none of these things helped I would take a Tylonol. Ask your doctor before taking anything, even though Tylonol is generally safe for everyone. You know what is not safe? Aspirin. Aspirin and Tylonol are not the same thing. You should absolutely not take any aspirin while pregnant. It could kill your baby.
Everything else in pregnancy land is progressing much as before. Hang in there, the first trimester is almost done. If you want to see what you have missed, I have included links to all the previous posts from this series.