Your baby's face is taking shape!

your baby this week:
Growing oh-so fast and instantly all you can think about is your LEGO-sized (or fig-sized if you please) bun in the oven. This week, your little one is engaging in some serious acrobatic kicking and stretching inside your womb. It will still be a few more weeks, however, before any of this moving around business is felt. Many expectant moms will feel these signs of movement around week 16.
Your baby's skin, still paper thin and transparent, is forming a protective barrier around the body. Tiny fingers and toes have begun to separate into unique extremities, and cute little fists are beginning to open and close.
The first signs of teeny tiny teeth will also appear this week, as tiny tooth buds begin to form under the gums. Your little one may even have his or her first case of the hiccups soon, as the diaphragm begins to develop.
your body:
This week, there's a great chance your morning sickness and fatigue are finally subsiding. If not, they should within the next couple of weeks. And don't worry if you haven't gained much weight yet. Most women only gain between zero to five pounds throughout their entire first trimester; but as your nausea continues to wane in the coming weeks, your healthy appetite will return! Just know, you'll gain plenty of weight in your second trimester - about a pound a week!
As your appetite returns, it's important to watch what you eat. Below you will find a list of foods to avoid during pregnancy.
- Unpasteurized cheese and milk
- Cold deli meats (cold cuts)
- Raw or undercooked fish (including uncooked, smoked or pickled fish, or shellfish)
- Shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and golden or white snapper (aka tilefish)
- Refrigerated pate
- Unwashed vegetables
Seafood is a good source of protein and the primary source of omega-3 fatty acids, which support the development of your baby's vision and brain. And luckily, there are many fish considered safe to eat during pregnancy, including shrimp, crab, cod, clams, scallops, canned LIGHT tuna, canned salmon, pollock, and catfish. However, you should not consume more than 12 ounces of commercially caught fish per week, with no more than six ounces of this being from albacore (white) tuna or tuna steaks. Just like shark or king mackerel, the mercury content in albacore tuna, and tuna steaks, is high enough to potentially cause harm to your child's developing brain.
Louise Broadbridge - Our Expert Midwife

Hi, my name is Louise, I am a Registered Midwife, founder of Let's Talk Birth and Baby and the face behind Instagram's The Honest Midwife. I have worked in health settings for the past 30 years, the majority of which have been working in children and family settings.
your tips & to do's:
You're getting dressed for the day and sliding your favorite fitted jeans over your hips, but when you go to button them, there's a small problem. Those perfect pants, which have never before failed you, suddenly. don't. fit. Sure, you can try to suck it in for now, hope for the best. And when that fails, use the spare hair tie you will now and forevermore have on hand to thread through the hole and latch around the button.
If lunch has come and gone, and your slightly too-fitted, yet perfect pants from this morning now feel like they are cutting off your circulation, no spare hair tie in sight, don’t panic! You are not hurting the baby. See if you can find a rubber band, or ask a friend for a hair tie, or hurry to your car, get safely buckled in, and then unbutton those pants that will no longer do. We won't tell anyone how you let it all hang out on your drive home. Also, it is time to start thinking about maternity wear.
If you are looking to wear your regular clothes for a while longer, consider purchasing a belly sleeve or band. It’s essentially a stretchy ring of fabric that fits over your stomach and the top of your pants, allowing you to wear your regular pants while holding your unbuttoned trousers in place. Feel free to get creative and experiment with your own clothing too. A stretchy cotton tube top may work the same way. You'll also commonly find that friends who aren't currently pregnant, but plan to be be again, are willing to loan their maternity clothes out in the interim. If you borrow from someone, be sure to remember what belongs to them and whether or not they want it back. Keep in mind, as you shop, that you will get bigger. Don't buy everything early on, because you'll find that the shirts, which seem like massive tents right now, may barely cover your belly a few months from now. Just like your tummy, your wardrobe needs room to grow!
Remember to take your prenatal vitamins, and eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and protein.
your symptoms
We know how difficult it is to summon a sense of calmness about you right now, with hormones swinging you to and fro amongst stinky smells and an unruly urge to dry heave. But as your first trimester comes to an end, so too will the worst of your pregnancy symptoms. This week, you're likely to feel some, or all, of the symptoms listed below.
- Darkening skin
- Leg Cramps
- Swollen, tender breasts
- Morning sickness, nausea, and/or vomiting
- Excess saliva
- Lower back and/or round ligament pain
- Visible veins
- Mood swings
- Vaginal discharge
- Heartburn and/or indigestion
- Constipation, bloating, and/or gas
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KeaBabies Baby Sonogram Picture Frame
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Motherhood Maternity® Medium Maternity Bikini Panty
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Document as you follow the changes, including the birth for a lifetime of beautiful memories. 30 cards packaged in a lovely gift box, perfect for gifting.