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Week By
Week
11/15/2008 - by Anne Marie Nielson
Pregnancy Week
3
You're Pregnant! Week
3
By now, you're late. If you haven't tested yet, the thought may
at least be crossing your mind. The longer you wait to test,
the more accurate your result should be. If you're just testing
now, congratulations!
It's time to start thinking about what to do to enhance your
prenatal health. Many prenatal vitamins look a bit
intimidating… they're very large. Prenatal vitamins have a
reputation of causing nausea, and for good reason. Many are
filled with binders that may not agree with pregnant digestive
systems, and most contain a form of iron that is hard to
absorb. Fortunately, there are many varieties of prenatal
vitamins on the market to choose from. Some are enterically
coated to protect your stomach; some are not. Some are made of
organic ingredients and food-based; others are available by
prescription only. You may need to experiment to find one that
works best with your pregnant system. If you find you can't
tolerate any that you try, you can also choose foods that will
give you the right amount of nutrients. Dark leafy greens, for
instance are high in folic acid. They also contain a lot of
other nutrients that are good for baby growing.
YOUR BABY
This is the first week your baby is officially an embryo.
During this brief period from week 3 to week 8, the beginnings
of all the major external and internal structures are begun. By
the end of this stage, all the primary organs have begun their
formation.
The spinal cord begins to form, along with the neural tube. The
heart tubes begin to form, circulating blood for the first
time. The kidneys and endocrine system have started to form.
The first drop of amniotic fluid appears and the primitive
placenta is starting to function. The baby is now about 2
millimeters long… about the size of a sesame seed. That is a
phenomenal amount of growth in only 3 weeks!
YOUR BODY
This week is more of the same. Frequent trips to the bathroom,
tender breasts with nipples that become ever more prominent,
and you may be feeling queasy off and on throughout the day. A
good way to stave off morning sickness is to eat several small
meals a day rather than three large meals spaced far apart.
Protein is a good snack choice to prevent morning sickness
because it takes longer to digest, so the nutrients are
released slowly over a longer period of time. Crackers and
peanut butter, nuts, eggs and fruit make great quick snacks. If
you suffer from morning sickness when you first wake up, keep
some foods by your bed that you can eat before you rise, or
have your partner prepare you some toast or something so you
can get something in your stomach before you get up. The trick
is to keep your stomach from getting completely empty.
Even though it doesn't look like much is going on, your baby is
growing by leaps and bounds, so it is important to get your
rest and eat properly. Take the time to slow down and take it
easy.
At From Pregnancy To Baby, we try
to provide you with all of the latest information about going
through your pregnancy from your first trimester to the first
years of your new babies life. We also provide the highest
quality books and products to help you through that time.
Source: http://www.frompregnancytobaby.com/pregnancy-week-3.html
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