Joe Dover: Pregnancy At Week 7

Friday, 18 December 2015

Pregnancy At Week 7

What Fruit Size Is My Baby in Pregnancy at Week 7?

I’m pretty sure this is what all the updates and reading we do boil down to. Pregnancy week 7 you are a blueberry. Woohoo!! That is half an inch long, and if you are keeping track that is double the size from this time last week.

What Does Baby Look Like?

Your baby is about ready to give you a round of applause as his/her hands and feet start to form this week. We will have to hold off a little longer to see if baby will have that Mommy or Daddy’s feet since. You see they don’t have individual toes and fingers.

In terms of name calling (which we never should do- amiright mom?) we would refer to the baby an embryo still. No shame in being an embryo. We all start somewhere. Literally. We all started there.

Another small detail. Your baby has a tail at the moment. It’s a small one and if it makes you feel better, this is just the tailbone protruding past the back. Your little nugget will grow into that tail in no time (specifically a couple weeks from now.) And grow into I mean it will disappear.

The baby is beginning to develop eyelids. They are partly covering her/ his little eyes. Amazingly enough the eyes already have a little pigment. Aww and there is a tip of the nose forming too. I can’t wait to find out what it looks like! Baby eskimo kisses are the best. He/she is almost ready for them.

What Else Is Happening To Baby This Week?

There is growth occurring in both sides of the baby’s brain. The liver is starting to churn out some red blood cells. If you are good at science you might wonder why the liver is on red blood cell duty. Let me tell you, the liver only does this until the bone marrow can take over this function.

There is an appendix in there and a pancreas that gear up to make insulin eventually to help with digestion.

The umbilical cord is forming from a loop in the intestines. The cord has blood vessels to carry the necessary life giving nutrients/oxygen to the baby.

What Is Going On With Mom?

You could be puking your guts out, or you could be feeling fine. Luck of the draw in pregnancy week 7. If you are feeling fine, please don’t worry that something is wrong. Some people just don’t get morning sickness. Enjoy your pregnancy glow uninterrupted by the green tinged pallor of morning sickness. If you have sickness it is in full swing about now. I am so sorry. I know that it’s not fun. Candied ginger, crackers, tea, peppermint and lemon drops may be your best friends now. I hope they bring some relief.

Peeing more than usual? Don’t worry, this is due to your increasing blood volume and the extra fluid going through the ol’ kidneys. In the future the trips will be due to the fetus putting pressure on your bladder, but that is not usually the case this early on. Interesting factoid your body is already creating 10% more blood than it used to. According to babycenter.com this number will increase to 40 to 45% by the end of pregnancy. Wow.

Morning Sickness/Excessive Pee – Make It Go Away…

I’m sorry I can’t do that. What you should know is that about half of women that have morning sickness will see it go away by about 14 weeks. The remaining people will see it disappear by about a month after that. There are exceptions, but lets thing positive.

Peeing excessively is kind of your thing while your pregnant. Probably the earlier you embrace that the better. I mean the reason that it happens will change as mentioned above, but it will be something that happens.

Prenatal Visits – Mentally Prepare

Usually if this is a first pregnancy with no cause for concern your first visit will occur in the next few weeks.

You are bound to have a million questions. Take the time to write down questions in order to remember them to ask your doctor at the visits. Think of these visits as a chance to ease your mind and hash out what’s to come. Also a chance to get to know your doctor and vice versa.

Bring a list of medications to the appointment and discuss if any are unsafe. This includes any supplements too.

Know the first day of your last period (by heart.) You are going to be asked this, and also this is the way to figure out your due date.

Family medical history may come up during your visit too. If not in the first appointment some time in the future.

Prenatal Visits – Physcially Prepare

Weight will be taken at pretty much every visit, along with blood pressure and urine. Glamorous. You will probably have your abdomen measured to see if you are on target, position of baby is checked as things progress, and you can listen to the baby’s heart beat. Different appointments may require different exams and tests.