Find out how your baby is
developing in week three and learn the early signs of pregnancy, along with the importance of choosing the right
doctor.
Your Body
When your baby implants in your cushy uterine
lining later in this week, you might notice a little bit of spotting. Nothing
to worry about—in fact, it's your first sign of success.
If you're feeling tired this week, or you're convinced that
your breasts are achy or are already starting to enlarge, it may not be all in
your head. They're both early signs of pregnancy.
You might also be having major mood swings
(according to your partner, anyway—you're pretty sure you're being quite
levelheaded and reasonable). This is all due to the hormones that are racing
like Danica Patrick through your body. Those hormones are also responsible for
the unimaginable exhaustion you might feel at all hours of the day.
That sudden urge to pee every 10 minutes is also
an early sign of pregnancy. Unfortunately, you'll keep on peeing with this
irritating frequency for the next 37 weeks, so load up on Charmin.
You may even experience the first twinges of
morning sickness this week. Once you get that positive pregnancy test next
week, you'll realize it actually wasn't your partner's driving that was making
you feel queasy (and apologies will probably be in order). It certainly doesn't
help matters that your sense of smell is suddenly sharper than a Labrador's and
everything you get a whiff of makes you want to barf.
If you've been charting your body temp trying to
peg down ovulation and you find your temperature stays high for a few days,
congrats: You're probably preggo!
You're only a couple of hours pregnant, so you
can't blame baby for that growing gut quite yet. Still, if you're trying to
conceive, and especially if you think you may have hit the jackpot this month,
this is no time to start dieting or
to start an exercise program.
If you've been hitting the treadmill already,
feel free to continue working out. Aerobic exercise will actually make your
pregnancy easier as long as you don't try to break any endurance records.
Speaking of breaking endurance records, here are the pregnancy warnings that
ought to be printed on the side of every elliptical machine: Keep your heart
rate under 140 beats per minute and your body temperature below 102 (i.e., skip
the midsummer Arizona triathlon). More realistically, that also means foregoing
long soaks in the hot tub and staying out of the sauna for the next nine
months.
If you're not already knocking back a daily
prenatal vitamin, start now. It's especially important right now to get at
least 400 micrograms of folic acid per day. If the idea of swallowing those
horse-sized pills makes you gag even before the morning sickness kicks in, you
can try to get at least some of your folic acid through your diet. Best sources
include beef liver, spinach, black-eyed peas, peanuts and orange juice. Or look
for a breakfast cereal that's fortified with folic acid so you can fill your daily
quota in a single bowl.
What's going on in your womb
now? A lot. Your baby-in-the-making is just a tiny ball consisting of several
hundred cells that are multiplying madly. Once the ball of cells (called a
blastocyst) takes up residence in your uterus, the part of it that will develop
into the placenta starts producing the pregnancy hormone hCG (human chorionic
gonadotropin), which tells your ovaries to stop releasing eggs and triggers
increased production of estrogen and progesterone (which keep your uterus from
shedding its lining — and its tiny passenger — and stimulates placental
growth). HCG is the hormone that turns a pregnancy test positive; by the end of this week, you
may be able to take one and get a positive result! (If your test is negative
and you still haven't gotten your period in two or three days, try again then.)
Meanwhile, amniotic fluid is beginning to
collect around your ball of cells in the cavity that will become the amniotic
sac. This fluid will cushion your baby in the weeks and months ahead. Right
now, your little blastocyst is receiving oxygen and nutrients (and discarding
waste products) through a primitive circulation system made up of microscopic
tunnels that connect your developing baby to the blood vessels in your uterine
wall. The placenta won't be developed enough to take over this task until the
end of next week.
Ovulation and Sense of Smell
Are smells suddenly stronger to you than ever?
It could be a sign that you're ovulating! Scientists aren't quite sure why this
happens, though it's been theorized that a heightened sense of smell makes an
ovulating woman more sensitive to the lure of her partner's pheromones, those
scent-producing chemical compounds that nature releases to put the sex drive
into overdrive. The result? You're in the mood for lovin' just when nature (and
you) wants you to be (when lovin' is most likely to produce a baby). So take
advantage of your ovary-stimulated inner beagle. If you're feeling like you
could track a pheasant through the woods (or at least a garlic-roasted
chicken), chances are this is a good time to hop in the sack and try to make a
puppy…or, rather, a baby.
Body temperature
Your basal
body temperature (BBT) is lower when your body is heading toward ovulation but
rises about a degree when you ovulate. That’s because the hormone estrogen,
which lowers your BBT, dominates the first half of your cycle, while progesterone,
which raises your BBT, surges once you ovulate (to get the uterus ready to
receive the fertilized egg). So this week you’ll see a rise in your BBT if
you’ve been keeping track.
Clear cervical mucus with an egg-white
consistency
Last week
your mucus was getting thinner and looking a little cloudy; this week it’s
extra-thin, extra-stretchy, and clear (or whitish) — perfect traveling
conditions for sperm heading upstate (toward the egg).
Possible lower-abdominal achiness (mittelschmerz)
About one
in four women feel a twinge or series of cramps in the lower abdominal area —
usually one side (the side they’re ovulating from). This pain, which is thought
to come from an ovary releasing an egg, is known as mittelschmerz (from the German word meaning “middle pain”).
Tip of the Week
Get
yourself a good doctor...pronto! Having a healthcare provider you like and
trust is key. After all, this is the person who will guide you through your
entire pregnancy, labor, and delivery, along with the millions of questions,
tests, and emotional ups and downs along the way.
1 comments:
Its fantastic explanation lot of information gather it...nice article....
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