Third Trimester...

So I have good news and bad news for you, and since I know that you would want the bad news last, i'll start from there.The bad news is that you're still pregnant and still gaining weight... The good news is that you're almost done and you're due at any day now.I'm sure you're probably tired of being pregnant and are ready to meet your new baby boy or girl. In the third trimester, the final features are being established, and your baby is preparing for the day of delivery.

Month 7 of Pregnancy:

Around week 11 your baby’s eye lids became fused, but around the 27th to 28th week babies can open and close their eyes. Your baby has also developed a regular wake and sleep cycle. Unfortunately, it may not be the same as yours. You may also begin to feel rhythmic movements in your uterus and wonder what is going on. It is likely that your baby is experiencing a case of the hiccups. This is completely normal and may occur quite frequently during this last part of your pregnancy as your baby’s lungs continue to mature. If there you were to have a premature birth in the seventh month, your baby would more than survive it.

Month 8 of pregnancy:

Your baby, who is now about 46 cm (18 inches) long and weighs as much as about 5 lbs , will continue to mature and develop body fat reserves. You may notice that your baby is kicking more. Baby's brain is developing rapidly at this time, and he or she can see and hear. Most internal systems are well developed, but the lungs may still be immature.

Month 9 of pregnancy:

You have finally reached the final weeks of your pregnancy and you and your child will finally meet face to face. Thirty-seven weeks into your pregnancy, or 35 weeks after conception, your baby will be considered full term. Your baby's organs are ready to function on their own. And the week after, he or she has attained a firm grasp. Also during these last few weeks the placenta supplies your baby with antibodies that will help fight infection after birth. If you breast-feed your baby, your milk will provide additional antibodies. 

Your due date is approaching soon, but don't be alarmed if your due date comes and goes without incident. It's just as normal to deliver a baby a week or two late,or early, as it is to deliver on your due date. 

Understanding Labor and Birth:

If interested in watching any natural births or hospitalized births, here are some videos I recommend watching:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5naQCzDi6aA&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D5naQCzDi6aA&has_verified=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0ZQpy-ofSE

References:

Mayo Clinic. Ed. Kenneth G. Berge, Philip T. Hagen, Scott C. Litin, and Sheldon G. Sheps. Mayo Foundation, 4 Dec. 2012. Web. 11 May 2013. <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fetal-development/PR00113>.

WebMD. Ed. Michael W. Smith, Brunilda Nazario, and Hansa Bhargava. WebMD, 8 July 2012. Web. 11 May 2013. <http://www.webmd.com/baby/4to6-months>

Second Trimester...

As your pregnancy progresses, your baby might begin to seem more real. You might hear the heartbeat at your prenatal appointments, discover the sex of your child, and your enlarging abdomen might force you to put away your favorite jeans. But despite the minor troubles, the second trimester is typically the easiest.

While you're adjusting to the changes in body, fetal development is taking on a new meaning. It will seem as if it was only yesterday when your baby was simply a cluster of cells rolling its way down to your uterus. But now he or she has developed the ability to move its limbs, scratch its head and listen to your soft nurturing voice. I have made yet another road map for you to find out when these exciting activities will come into play.

Month 4 of Pregnancy:

Male or female genitalia are now formed and the baby's liver and spleen are producing red blood cells. Also, his or her upper limbs are proportionate to the rest of the body. The lower limbs are slightly shorter. Fifteen weeks into your pregnancy, or 13 weeks after conception, your baby is growing rapidly. Your baby's skeleton is developing bones, which will become visible on ultrasound images in a few weeks. Your baby's scalp hair pattern also is forming. Your baby's ears begin to stand out on the sides of his or her head and your child might even begin to hear.

By the 19th week, a greasy, cheese-like coating called vernix caseosa begins to cover your baby. The vernix caseosa helps protect your baby's delicate skin from abrasions, chapping and hardening that can result from exposure to amniotic fluid. 

Month 5 of pregnancy:

Approximately half way (week 20) through your pregnancy, you may begin to feel your baby move, since he or she is developing muscles and exercising them. This first movement is called quickening. your baby begins to have rapid eye movements. By week 23, your baby's tongue will soon develop taste buds. Fingerprints and footprints are forming. For boys, the testes are descending from the abdomen and for females, the uterus and vagina might begin to form. Along with a lifetime supply of eggs.

Month 6 of pregnancy:

Unfortunately, month 6 is the end of your relaxing state of pregnancy and is when most of the development has occurred. His or her skin becomes reddish in color, wrinkled, and veins are visible through the baby's translucent skin. Baby's finger and toe prints are visible. The eyelids begin to part and the eyes open and your precious baby can finally respond to your voice by simple movements. The final week of the trimester, or 25 weeks after conception, your baby's lungs and nervous system are continuing to mature. 

Reference:

Mayo Clinic. Ed. Kenneth G. Berge, Philip T. Hagen, Scott C. Litin, and Sheldon G. Sheps. Mayo Foundation, 4 Dec. 2012. Web. 11 May 2013. <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fetal-development/PR00113>.

WebMD. Ed. Michael W. Smith, Brunilda Nazario, and Hansa Bhargava. WebMD, 8 July 2012. Web. 11 May 2013. <http://www.webmd.com/baby/4to6-months>

Fetal Development of the 1st Trimester

Congratulations! You can officially call yourselves parents now. You will now, until birth, have family and friends bombarding you with a million questions, like: how does it look now?, who do you think it will resemble more?, Can I feel it kick?, Can I rub your belly?, and the most infamous, Is it boy or a girl?

Fetal development typically follows the same course every time, it'll be easy to apprehend the advancement of the embryo. The first trimester is when most of the activity takes place, so I provided a calendar that consists of  the first twelve weeks (3 months) of fetal development.

Month 1 of Pregnancy:

During the first month of development a membranous sac surrounds itself around the fertilized egg, providing cushion for the growing embryo throughout the pregnancy. The placenta is also developed in this stage in order for the embryo to receive nutrients from the mother. A distinction of the face, eyes, mouth, jaws, and throat are being taken into shape. Meanwhile, blood cells are beginning to form and circulation will begin.

Month 2 of pregnancy:

Your baby's facial features continue to mature.Each ear begins as a little fold of skin at the side of the head. Tiny buds that eventually grow into arms and legs are forming. Fingers, toes, and eyes are also forming in the second month of pregnancy.The neural tube (brain, spinal cord, and other neural tissue of the central nervous system) is well arranged. The digestive tract and sensory organs begin to develop. Bone starts to replace cartilage, and the embryo begins to move, although  you will not feel it yet.

Month 3 of Pregnancy:

By end the of final month of your first trimester your baby is fully formed. Your baby has arms, hands, fingers, feet, and toes and can open and close its fists and mouth. Fingernails and toenails are beginning to develop and the external ears are formed. The beginnings of teeth are forming. Your baby's reproductive organs also develop, but the baby's gender is difficult to distinguish on ultrasound. The circulatory and urinary systems are working and the liver produces bile. At the end of the third month, your baby is about 7.6 -10 cm (3-4 inches) long and weighs about 28g

 (1 ounce).

References:

 WebMD. Ed. Michael W. Smith, Brunilda Nazario, and Hansa Bhargava. WebMD, 8 July 2012. Web. 11 May 2013. <http://www.webmd.com/baby/1to3-months>.

No Need To Wait...

Pregnancy has always been a time of change. Your body, your lifestyle, and especially your emotions all go through dramatic changes so that when it's time to give birth to your new baby girl or boy, you will have lower risks at having pregnancy complications. But sometimes these changes aren't sufficient enough, and your worst nightmare may appear to reality...spontaneous abortion.

 You felt the abdominal pain, and you saw the blood, but you really didn't want to believe you had lost your first child. Unfortunate, but all hopes should not be lost. Physicians may tell you to wait six to twelve months until you think about conceiving again, but studies have been shown that women who had conceived again within the six months after a miscarriage have occurred, have had more likely to have successful and healthy subsequent pregnancies than women who waited the six to twelve months.

http://webpages.scu.edu/ftp/anrose/Sad_Confused_Woman.jpg

Even though the study did not include social and personal factors or other problems, like smoking, they made the assumption of that the women were healthy. They also recognized the fact that the women who conceived within six months, did not undergo any Cesarean sections, premature labor or low birth weight babies. However, if there is any sign of infection, or any other clinical reason that may put you at high risk, then delaying your next conception is highly advised.

References

BMJ-British Medical Journal (2010, August 6). Women don't need to delay getting pregnant after miscarriage, study suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 9, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2010/08/100805204001.htm.

Prevalent symptoms of early pregnancy

Now that you know how and when to get pregnant it's time to ask yourself, How do I know if I'm pregnant? Many women go through prevalent symptoms of  pregnancy; from morning sickness to missing a menstrual period. However, for some, these signs aren't so obvious. Some women will go through the entire 9 months without knowing they have a baby on the way. So the only way they find out is by taking a pregnancy test or until their water breaks. I'll not only discuss why our bodies put women through this discomfort, but also all of the possible symptoms a potentially pregnant woman would go through in order to know if she's pregnant or not.

Nausea and vomiting is one of the primary signs of pregnancy. It is often referred to as Morning Sickness, but when the time comes you'll realize that these symptoms are an all day occurrence. Morning Sickness commonly appears and relieves during the first trimester of pregnancy (the 6th -12th week). And although it may feel as if you're about to puke up your guts or putting harm to your baby, vomiting is actually a good sign of a potential healthy development. According to Morning Sickness: A Mechanism for Protecting Mother and Embryo, the body puts you through regurgitation in order to prevent any toxins or harmful chemicals from reaching the embryo. Your body evaluates every little thing that you consume. Therefore when it feels that something needs to go, it will try to expel it before it can cause any damage to you. Morning Sickness will do you the favor of expelling foods that you are not aware of being harmful to you. However, this doesn't mean you should eat any and everything, relying on your body to release it for you. Here is a website to inform you of some foods that you should avoid during the progression of your pregnancy: 

 http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pregnancy-nutrition/PR00109

http://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/foodstoavoid.html

Riding along with Morning Sickness, comes the infamous food cravings and aversions. I'm sure you've heard the disturbing stories about the peanut butter and pickle sandwiches or the random sickness they had at the sight of, their once favorite, Big Mac and  french fries. Food cravings and aversions is one symptom that will definitely have your suspicions up about being pregnant. When a survey was completed by 99 women, 61% of the women had said they had experienced cravings and 54% aversions. But why exactly do we have these cravings? Well referring to the article, Food cravings and what they mean , a few may say whatever food we uncontrollably desire is due to our body lacking the nutrients that are obtained in the item. However, according to the author of Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy, there isn't proof that there is a relationship between cravings and what our body needs are correlated. Therefore, there is technically no real explanation to why pregnant women have cravings and aversions.

Tender breasts is another symptom that comes in the stages of pregnancy. It usually expected to arrive about 2-3 weeks after conception. Just like fatigue, tender breasts are caused by the increase in hormones. On the other hand, experiencing fatigue can also be due to having lower blood sugar levels, lower blood pressure and increased blood production.

For tips on how to manage these early pregnancy symptoms, refer to whattoexpect.com

References:

BabyCenter. Ed. G. W. Bates Jr. BabyCenter LLC., 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://www.babycenter.com/0_food-cravings-and-what-they-mean_1313971.bc?page=1>.

Bayley, Tracy M., Louise Dye, Susan Jones, Martin Debono, and Andrew J. Hill. "Food cravings and aversions during pregnancy: relationships with nausea and vomiting." Appetite 38.1 (2002): 45-51. ScienceDirect. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2011, April 16). In Mayo Clinic. Retrieved March 31, 2013. from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/how-to-get-pregnant/PR00103

The Science Behind Getting Pregnant

So I know you're probably thinking, how am I going to tell you how to get pregnant, when you just have to have sex. Reality is, however, there are specific times when sperm is released into the vagina and fertilization does not occur.

Why does this happen? 

Well, simply, because you're are not ovulating at that time. During the ovulation cycle a mature egg from a woman's ovary is released into one of her Fallopian tubes and hangs out in the uterus until it is fertilized by a sperm. But the egg cannot wait forever, it can only survive up to 24 hours before it dissolves and exits the uterus during menstruation.

The ovulation cycle is divided in to 2 phases, the follicular phase, and the luteal phase. The follicular phase is the first part of the cycle which starts the first day of the last menstrual period and continues until the first day of ovulation. This phase varies upon each woman. The luteal phase is from the day of ovulation to the start of the following menstrual period. It usually last from 12-16 days.

Ovulation has a huge influence on your period and is too affected by primarily stress and illness. Therefore, if the ovulation cycle is thrown off, then your menstrual cycle is disrupted as well.

How do you track your ovulation cycle?

Using a daily planner or traditional calendar can help with keeping track of your monthly period. Ovulation typically occurs during the midpoint of your menstrual cycle. If you have a normal 28-day period, ovulation is likely to start 14 days after the day your last period began. If you are usually irregular, with a 34+ day period, ovulation will follow 20 days after the last period.

Another sign of upcoming ovulation, is an increase of clear, slimy discharge. You'll know when the cycle has ended when the discharge becomes cloudy and sticky.

To learn the dynamics of the process, including your hormones and cell growth, enjoy this 2 minute animation I found on YouTube.

References:

(2011, March). In American Pregnancy Association. Retrieved March 18, 2013, from http://americanpregnancy.org/gettingpregnant/understandingovulation.html

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2011, April 16). In Mayo Clinic. Retrieved March 31, 2013. from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/how-to-get-pregnant/PR00103