Your Pregnancy: Week 7
If youre one of the "lucky pregnant women to experience morning sickness (a poorly named symptom of pregnancy as it can strike at any time of the day), remember that it wont last forever. Most of the wooziness tapers off by the second trimester. Of course, mental wooziness can affect you throughout your pregnancy, as you think of your growing to-do list, or wonder about how youre life will change, or worry if youll know how to handle it all. Luckily, the cure for that wooziness is laying your eyes on your new baby.
Wondering whats up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on
What Youre Thinking:
"How can I feel like Im hung over all day long when Ive had nothing to drink in three weeks?
Your Body
Youre supposed to be "eating for two but instead, its hard for you to swallow water. As a result, youre "praying to the porcelain god for two. Morning sickness can leave a pregnant chick exhausted, weak and wondering what on earth she got herself into. Dont throw in the towel just yet, heres how to cope:
There are a whole bunch of tricks that pregnant women swear help to reduce nausea caused by morning sickness such as sucking on lemon drops or any other hard candy.
Sometimes certain foods can help relieve the symptoms of morning sickness. Also, blaming your partner for everything has been known to comfort many women in the throes of nausea.
Even if youre experiencing frequent vomiting, try not to worry, as your baby needs very little nourishment this early in the pregnancy. Good thing, since all youve eaten today is two boxes of saltines.
If youre noticing weight loss or dehydration, you could have hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness that occurs very infrequently. Check with your doctor.
Your Baby
This week your babys brain is growing at a mind-boggling 100 cells per minute within a see-through skull. If you could peer inside, youd see those tiny brain cells growing and growing and growing (about as quickly as you feel like yours are shrinking and shrinking and shrinking with your "pregnancy brain!). More high points include:
Your babys face is becoming more defined this week. A tiny mouth hole (which will be ready to wail before you know it!), tongue, nostrils and ear indentations are visible. His or her eyes are wide open, but he doesnt have irises (the colored part) yet.
Babys arm buds are growing. At this point they look more like microscopic ping-pong paddles than arms. Babys leg buds are also forming and will look like tiny paddles by the end of the week.
The umbilical cordthe connection between your baby and the placentais now visible.
Your baby is now between 1/3 and 1/4 inch longabout the length of a Tic Tac and about as heavy as an eyelash. While that sounds tiny, he or she is approximately 10,000 times bigger than at conception. Crazy, huh?
Your Life
Keeping the cat in the bag for the next five weeks will be tough. But the relief of finally telling your coworkers that youre pregnantand not gaining weight at an astounding ratewill be a total relief.
Begin to form a plan on how to tell your boss youre pregnant. (Hint: Tell your supervisor before you tell the office gossip!)
Talk to human resources so you can be sure of your benefits and legal rights as a pregnant employee.
Entertain in your home while the living room is still free of baby toys. If youre too zonked to cook, make it a potluck!
Take a moment to appreciate your clean upholstery. With years of parenting ahead, you might never see it this pristine again.
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