Welcome to week nine!
By this week your baby is only the size of grape yet most of his/her physical structures are formed.
Within the uterus there is a placenta, amniotic sac with fluid, a yolk sac and you can see the umbilical cord by ultrasound. You may be starting to tell friends and family that you are pregnant, and you may be filled with thoughts about what your baby will look like! It would be a great time to enter your family and friends into StorkAdvisor’s “My Story” so that you can inform them of important pregnancy milestones along the way.
Within the uterus there is a placenta, amniotic sac with fluid, a yolk sac and you can see the umbilical cord by ultrasound.
How my Baby Grows
- The placenta has now formed enough to almost completely support the hormone production that your baby needs
- Physical presence of the heart, brain, nervous system, lungs, eye lids, earlobes, gender and so forth are in place, they will continue to grow and develop over the weeks to come
- The embryonic tail which was formed early on is now gone and your baby is gaining weight quickly
Symptoms Mama may Feel or Experience
- By now the hormones of pregnancy have probably given you an increased sense of taste and smell
- You might have cravings at any time during the day for a particular food and these same cravings often last the entire pregnancy
- Food aversions are also common, even to foods that you used to love, and they are often so strong that just the thought or smell of a certain food will cause you to gag
- Chances are that you think of your pregnancy and baby throughout the day, this is because your life has already been altered and the baby is not even here yet
- Your baby has already changed the way you eat and drink, how you see your future and even given you a great reason to take good care of yourself
- You feel differently now when you see a mom pushing a stroller or taking a baby out of a car seat
- You might wonder what kind of a mother you will be and there are probably books at numerous places in your home that speak to pregnancy, birth or parenting
- Hopefully you are using your journal to record your thoughts and feelings to share one day with your little one
Thoughts to Consider
- If you have other children, you might be telling them soon that there will be a new family member
- How do you plan to tell them
- What is important to you that they understand and how are you going to prepare them for the changes that are ahead
- It may also be a sweet time of reflection with your own parents talking about what it was like when they were expecting you
- Maybe you are drawn to baby pictures of yourself or your other children
- You may also reflect upon what it was like to have siblings
- There are often family traditions that you want to make sure to keep alive and maybe ones that you want to leave behind
- All these thoughts may also be going through the mind of your partner
- Make time to talk about how you are both feeling and what is important to each of you about the pregnancy, birth and parenting
- This is not a one-time discussion but an ongoing dialogue
- It is the bringing together of two families into one, maybe for the first time if this is your first baby
- How involved do you want your extended family to be and how will you express this to them?
Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy
- Self-care is an important part of taking care of your baby and your family
- What activities relax and restore you, are you making time for them
- Are you allowing others to help when needed?
- Do you make time for friends, hobbies and just down time
- Most types of exercise can be adapted to the changes of pregnancy and continued until term or near term
- Don’t forget about our yoga articles and videos on StorkAdvisor, they are a great source of relaxation, balance and movement
- Maybe you have struggled with nausea and vomiting and are worried about not keeping your prenatal vitamin down
- Most women’s symptoms of nausea and vomiting will resolve by weeks 12-14
- Consider a gummy vitamin until you are feeling better
- Part of planning for your baby is to deal with financial issues
- Will you work after the baby comes and if not, what adjustments will have to be made
- If you are going back to work, how do you feel about in home daycare or daycare centers, what costs are involved and when do you need to commit to them in order to have a place once your baby comes
Dr. Cheryl Sharp,
Certified Nurse Midwife
Chief Content Officer
Chief Content Officer