Your Guide To Being Three Weeks Pregnant: You Must Know This
There are some women who can firm pregnancy in the second week and some may come up with an unreadable and definite answer. But by the third week, you can firm with a doctor that you are indeed pregnant. Once you have receive the good news from the doctor you can start choosing an OB/GYN if you don’t have one already. Try to choose one you like because it is important to you and the baby that you choose one doctor and stick with them throughout the entire pregnancy.
In this week, you will have a lot of questions regarding your pregnancy. At your first appointment, you will have the pregnancy test done as well as pelvic exam to see how far along you are. If you took the test early say, before you missed your period it may be a long 42 weeks. It may be a good idea to confirm the pregnancy with an OB/GYN, this way you won’t have to deal with transferring of medical records.
The doctor will weight you and give you a prescription for prenatal vitamins. You will be scheduled for monthly appointments so the doctor can check your healthy as well as the health of the baby.
Baby’s Development
When you hit the third week of pregnancy, you should understand that this is where a fast spurt of development happens. At this stage the baby is a ball of cells and they cells are quickly growing. The blastocyle (baby) will become the placenta that produces the HCG (pregnancy hormone). The amniotic fluid will start to develop and form around the baby. This is where the baby will be protected and fed.
In the first week, the baby will start to form the heart, spinal cord and the gastrointestinal tract. If you were to take a look on the sonogram, you wouldn’t be able to really make anything out. The baby’s head is now about .006 inches and can be seen with your own eyes. The embryo is attached to the uterine wall and the baby has a brain and a backbone too.
The baby will start to have skin developing as well as the backbone too. At this week in pregnancy the heart will start beating and the baby should be about .2 to .5 mm in size.
Changes In Your Body
At the third week of pregnancy, many women do not take any notice of any changes. Some women have been reported to have lost weight because of the hormonal changes happening within. In this week of pregnancy, some women will start to experience morning sickness. This is normal, each woman is different sometimes morning sickness can last 4 months and in others it could be a few weeks.
The baby now has 46 chromosomes that combined with the zygote. The baby’s skin color, some features like fingers and toes are found. Some women may experience some vaginal discharge, don’t panic it is normal. In other women they may experience spotting and some uneasiness. If these symptoms persist, contact your doctor; he may want to do an exam to check on the baby.
Your doctor at this time may tell you how much weight is safe to gain while pregnant. The average amount of weight that they say women will gain is between 25 and 35 pounds. Some women will gain more and some will gain less. Some of the weight is the baby and the fluids that surround the baby too.
Gestational Diabetes is something that happens to some women when they become pregnant. That is why it is important to eat right and take care of yourself. If you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, it will disappear once the baby is born. It is very important to keep your weight under control, if you gain too much weight it may not be the best thing for the baby and if you don’t gain enough, it won’t be beneficial to the baby either.
What To Expect
Just like in weeks one and two, in week three there really isn’t much that you can’t do at this stage. You can still perform everyday tasks and now would be a good time to start thinking about eliminating things like smoking, alcohol and too much caffeine all of these are not good for the baby.
You will want to expect a wide range of emotions during the first trimester. Some women have mood swings; depression and many become very sensitive. They may cry at the drop of a hat. This is normal and you shouldn’t worry. If you have any questions, call your doctor. If you want to try to adjust your diet, you can ask your doctor for help.
Tips/Advice
Doctors highly recommend exercising during pregnancy, but you want to stay away from exercises like skiing, heavy duty aerobics and horseback riding, these activities have been known to play a part in miscarriages. Try exercises like swimming, walking, even slow dancing can be beneficial to you. Ask your doctor what they would recommend.
In this stage of pregnancy, it is important to eat right and get plenty of sleep. Some women experience a surge of energy due to hormones changing but don’t overdo it. Also if you are taking any over the counter medications, consult your OB/GYN and see what medications are ok. You will want to ask about over the counter medications as well. There are only a select few things that you can take while you are pregnant.
Being pregnant is an exciting time, but you also have to remember that you have to take care of yourself. When you don’t get enough sleep or start eating the wrong foods it can be detrimental to the baby. You don’t have to change your life all around but making new changes for the health of your baby is well worth it. Relax and enjoy this very special time it only lasts for 9 months.
