"I am just like a shrimp with a lump in the middle that will become my heart. I also have a tail."
6 Weeks Pregnant
The Baby By now, your little bean measures 5 millimeters and has a small tail. Although small stumps - protolimbs -- have appeared on the sides, it doesn't look like a human-baby-to-be at all yet. It could be any kind of vertebrate, but it most resembles a tadpole with bulging eyes on the sides. Holes for the ears will soon develop and the mouth and jaws develop shortly after that . Two openings in the front indicate the spot where later the nose will evolve.
Internally lots of important things are happening, too: the stomach, intestines and lungs are forming and a primitive system of blood vessels is on its way. Work has already begun on a little head and belly and if you did an ultrasound right now, you would see the beginnings of a heart in the chest. It's far from finished yet, though, so you can't hear it beat yet.
Please discuss with your health care provider if you have to stop using certain medication for now and wait before going to the dentist. Your gums are extra sensitive and might bleed a bit longer than normal after a treatment. If you really have to go, ask the dentist about the safest local anesthetics if necessary. Wait until the baby is born before having X-rays -this type of radiation is not safe for the embryo.
Mother The test results are clear: there's no denying you're pregnant! You're dealing with a lot of contradictory emotions. You'd like to share it with the rest of the world: "I'm about to become a mother!", but at the same time you're having your doubts, too. Will I be able to deal with all that the pregnancy will bring me, and what's the birth going to be like? Will we manage financially? We were going to look at another house and take a vacation first, weren't we? You're happy and grouchy at the same time and each morning when you wake up the baby in your belly (and perhaps your nausea) is the first thing you think of. Another nine months... oh no, a bit less since you're in week 6 already. There's no way you'll ever forget your due date.
Hormones are racing through your body. You know that this is part of it but sometimes it can be pretty inconvenient, especially when nausea hits or when you suddenly crave a hamburger and fries at any odd time of day. You're tired at inconvenient times, too, and then there's that annoying urge to go to the bathroom. Your breasts are tender and your nipples are sensitive. Your taste has changed and coffee, which you used to love, or the smell of roast meat might make you feel sick. You have an enormous craving for strange foods like lettuce, candy or sour apples. The smell of the food that your neighbor is cooking makes you want to throw up and you're getting addicted to raw carrots. You feel hot and cold at the same time and have lost interest in reading the paper or watching the news on TV. You find yourself dozing off at an important meeting and fall asleep on the couch in the evening. In other words: you're pregnant! At times it can be inconvenient, that's for sure, but most of the day you're in a super happy state and walk around with your head in the clouds.
Nauseous? See to it that your stomach is never completely empty. Eat many small meals. Some moms find it helpful to keep a small snack next to the bed and snack throughout the night, for example, every time you get up to pee! When you first wake up, have a cup of tea with a cookie or cracker, it may help reduce the nausea brought on by low blood sugar. And don't rush!
Tired? Just give in to it! Apparently your changing body needs it, so take those extra naps without feeling guilty about it.If you have older children, try to lie down when they do, or if they are too old for naps, it may be a good time to institute mandatory quiet time. You'll appreciate it when the baby has arrived.
Father
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It's time to get used to this new, grumpier version of your partner. It's hard to keep the wonder and joy of pregnancy in perspective when your beloved is constantly whining about being tired and nauseated. This too shall pass. In the meantime, you can be extra sensitive and attentive by offering her small snacks throughout the day, and taking responsibility for keeping her snack tray full at the side of her bed at night. You may find yourself taking extra kid duty with your older children to give mom time to nap.
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