my pregnancy: 14 weeks

How your baby's growing:

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

See what your baby looks like this week.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

How your life's changing:

Welcome to your second trimester! Your energy is likely returning, your breasts may be feeling less tender, and your queasiness may have completely abated by now. If not, hang on — chances are good it will soon be behind you (although an unlucky few will still feel nauseated months from now).

The top of your uterus is a bit above your pubic bone, which may be enough to push your tummy out a tad. Starting to show can be quite a thrill, giving you and your partner visible evidence of the baby you've been waiting for. Take some time to plan, daydream, and enjoy this amazing time. It's normal to worry a bit now and then, but try to focus on taking care of yourself and your baby, and having faith that you're well equipped for what's ahead.

Decision Guide: Should you find out the sex of your baby?

Boy, girl — or big surprise? Sixty-four percent of mothers-to-be in a BabyCenter poll said they wanted to find out the sex of their baby ahead of time, while the rest preferred to wait. "We decided that the surprise of 'it's a boy!' or 'it's a girl!' is the same surprise at 5 months as it is at the birth," said Jessica. Michael disagreed: "I think the old-fashioned way is the best. Finding out before birth is like opening your Christmas presents before Christmas!" If you're still on the fence, here's a look at the pros and cons of each side. A word of caution: If you want to keep your baby's sex a secret, let your provider and the ultrasound technician know right away so they don't inadvertently blurt it out in the middle of an ultrasound exam or while reviewing your test results.

Benefits of finding out:
• Many women say they feel a deeper bond with the baby once they know the sex and can picture a little boy or girl.
• You can prepare an older sibling for the arrival of a new little brother or sister.
• You can narrow down your list of baby names.
• You can pick out a gender-specific nursery theme or baby clothes, if you want to.


Benefits of waiting:
• You, your partner, and your family will have a delightful surprise on the day you give birth.
• Your desire to know whether your baby is a boy or a girl might motivate you during the toughest parts of labor.
• You'll be following in the tradition of your parents, your parents' parents, and so on.
• There will be no mistakes — what you see is what you get!

Consider keeping the price tags on any baby clothes that are clearly for a boy or a girl until you see your baby for yourself. Ultrasounds aren't always foolproof at determining sex.

• How has pregnancy affected how often you have sex?

This Week's Activity:

Find a prenatal exercise class. If you haven't already, now is a good time to start a regular workout. Joining a class can help motivate you to stick with it. And many women find that prenatal exercise classes are a wonderful way to bond with and get support from other pregnant women. Some good options include water exercise, prenatal yoga or Pilates, a walking group, or a dance class designed for pregnant women.

my pregnancy: 13 weeks

How your baby's growing:

Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

See what your baby looks like this week.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

How your life's changing:

This is the last week of your first trimester, and your risk of miscarriage is now much lower than earlier in pregnancy. Next week marks the beginning of your second trimester, a time of relative comfort for many women who see early pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness and fatigue subside. More good news: Many couples also notice a distinct libido lift around this time. Birth is still months away, but your breasts may have already started making colostrum, the nutrient-rich fluid that feeds your baby for the first few days after birth, before your milk starts to flow

3 Questions About Eating for two

Q1.

How much more should I be eating every day?

You need only 300 or so extra calories a day when you're pregnant. Make those calories count: Skip the junk food and have a glass of milk and a couple of slices of whole-wheat toast instead.

Don't get too hung up on numbers, though. As long as you're making healthy food choices and your provider is happy with your weight gain, there's no need to agonize over calories.

Q2.

What are some important nutrients?

Protein, iron, and calcium are three nutrients you need now to keep you healthy and fuel your baby's development.

Protein: Aim for 71 grams a day. Lean meats, eggs, and dairy products, as well as nuts, beans, and soy products like tofu, are all good sources. Three servings a day should help you meet your goal. Fish is a good source of protein (as well as vital omega-3 fatty acids), but because of concerns about contamination, experts debate how much and what type of fish you should eat.

Iron: Getting 27 milligrams of iron every day is especially important to help ward off iron-deficiency anemia, a common problem among pregnant women. Iron found in animal products (called heme iron) is absorbed more easily by your body than iron found in plants (nonheme iron). The best source? Lean red meat. If you're a vegetarian or can't stomach meat, you can get some iron from vegetables such as spinach and legumes like lentils. It can be tough to get enough iron from these sources, though, so your provider may recommend an iron supplement. (Hint: Vitamin C enhances the absorption of nonheme iron, so eat foods rich in vitamin C — such as citrus fruits, strawberries, and sweet peppers — at the same time you eat non-meat iron-rich foods, or down your iron supplement with a glass of orange juice.)

Calcium: Four servings a day of dairy products will help you get the 1,000 mg of calcium you need (1,300 mg if you're 18 or younger). Your baby needs calcium for the formation of his bones and teeth. If you don't get enough of this nutrient, he'll take what he needs from your body and you'll lose calcium stored in your bones.

Q3.

If I'm already taking a prenatal vitamin, do I need to pay much attention to what I eat?

Yes! While a prenatal vitamin can help fill in any nutritional gaps in your diet, it isn't meant to take the place of healthy eating. For one thing, prenatal vitamins don't have the full day's supply of the calcium you need right now. For another, it's important to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables for fiber — for aiding digestion and avoiding constipation, a common pregnancy complaint. In fact, if you're a healthy woman who's well informed about nutrition, eats a balanced diet, and has no specific risk factors, not all experts agree that you even need to take a multivitamin and mineral supplement. However, all agree that you need to take folic acid supplements before conception and during the first trimester, and many believe it's important to take iron in the second and third trimesters.
• Most healthcare providers recommend taking a vitamin supplement from the time you decide to start trying to get pregnant through the end your pregnancy. Are you taking a prenatal vitamin?

This Week's Activity:

Share your view of parenting with your partner. To get the conversation going, try this creative writing exercise: Each of you makes two lists, one titled "My mother always..." and one titled "My mother never..." Then do the same for "My father always/My father never." When you're done, talk about what you wrote down and decide together which behaviors you value and which you'd like to change as you raise your child.

my pregnancy: 12 weeks

How your baby's growing:

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

See what your baby looks like this week. (Or see what fraternal twins look like in the womb this week.)

Note: Every baby develops a little differently, even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

How your life's changing:

Your uterus has grown to the point where your healthcare provider can now feel the top of it (the fundus) low in your abdomen, just above your pubic bone. You may already be into maternity clothes, especially if this isn't your first pregnancy. If you're still fairly small and not yet ready for maternity clothes, you've no doubt noticed that your waist is thickening and that you're more comfortable in loose, less restrictive clothing.

You may begin to feel heartburn (also called acid indigestion), a burning sensation that often extends from the bottom of your breastbone to your lower throat. Many women get heartburn for the first time during pregnancy, and those who've previously had bouts of heartburn may find that it gets worse. During pregnancy, the placenta produces a lot of the hormone progesterone, which relaxes the valve that separates the esophagus from the stomach. Particularly when you're lying down, gastric acid can seep back up the pipe, which causes the uncomfortable burning sensation. For many women the problem doesn't begin (or get worse) until later in pregnancy, when your growing uterus starts to push up on your stomach. The discomfort may range from mildly annoying to intense and distracting.

Sweet treat
"Instead of your morning coffee, try a cup of steamed milk with a shot of flavored syrup. Delicious — and good for you and your baby!" —Tracy

Decision Guide: Should you get an amnio?

Amniocentesis is a prenatal test performed between 16 and 20 weeks. It's more than 99 percent accurate in identifying chromosomal disorders in your developing baby such as Down syndrome. It can also pick up several hundred other genetic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, and Tay-Sachs disease, as well as neural tube defects (such as spina bifida and anencephaly). Because amniocentesis is invasive and carries a small risk of miscarriage, women who choose to have it tend to be those at increased risk for genetic and chromosomal problems.

How do I decide whether to have this test?
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists now recommends that women of all ages be offered first- and second-trimester screening and diagnostic testing options. Your practitioner or genetic counselor should discuss the pros and cons of the available approaches with you. But ultimately, whether or not to test is a personal decision.

Many women choose screening and then make a decision about diagnostic testing based on the initial results. Other women choose diagnostic testing right away. (They may know that they're at high risk for a chromosomal problem or a condition that can't be detected by screening — or they may just feel that they want to know as much as possible about their baby's condition and are willing to live with the small risk of miscarriage to find out.) Some women decide to have no screening or testing.

If you choose screening first, you can then decide — with the help of your practitioner or genetic counselor — whether your results indicate a high enough risk that you want to have amnio or another diagnostic test, chorionic villus sampling (CVS), to determine whether a problem exists. You'll need to weigh your desire to know about your baby's condition against the small chance that diagnostic testing will cause a miscarriage.

What's the procedure like?
If you do decide you want an amnio, you can expect the procedure to take about 30 minutes (withdrawing the fluid itself usually takes less than 30 seconds). A doctor or technician uses ultrasound to pinpoint a pocket of amniotic fluid a safe distance from both the baby and the placenta. Then, under continuous ultrasound guidance, the doctor inserts a long, thin, hollow needle through your abdominal and uterine walls to extract a small amount of amniotic fluid. You may feel some cramping, pinching, or pressure during the procedure. The amount of discomfort varies from woman to woman, and even from pregnancy to pregnancy.

See what other women decided: Did you have an amnio?

This Week's Activity:

Make a baby budget. Sit down with your partner to discuss how you'll handle new-baby expenses — clothes, food, diapers, toys, and gear can add up fast. Brainstorm where you can trim your budget to make room for your baby's needs. Consider making some budget adjustments now, and start banking your savings for your baby.

my pregnancy: 11 weeks

How your baby's growing:

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.

She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

See what your baby looks like this week.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

How your life's changing:

If you're like most women, you're feeling a bit more energetic now and your nausea may be starting to wane. Unfortunately, you may also be suffering from constipation (caused by hormonal changes, which can slow digestion) and heartburn (hormones again, relaxing the valve between your stomach and esophagus). Just remember, all this discomfort is for a good cause.

Don't worry if nausea has made it impossible for you to eat a wide variety of healthy foods or if you haven't put on much weight yet (most women gain just 2 to 5 pounds during the first trimester). Your appetite will likely return soon, and you'll start to gain about a pound a week.

Learn which of your symptoms are normal and which are a sign that something might be wrong. You're probably also wondering things like, Can I keep going to dance class? Could the air bags in my car hurt my baby? Which cold medications are safe to take now? Find out what's safe and what's not during pregnancy.

Avoid the wait "After my first couple of trips to the doctor, where I sat for long periods in the waiting room, I learned to schedule my prenatal checkups for first thing in the morning or the first appointment after lunch — when there's no backlog of patients to get through and thus little or no wait." — V.W.B.

3 Questions About... Pregnancy food safety

You've probably heard lots of warnings about risky foods during pregnancy. While it's true that some foods do pose a potential risk to your baby, the vast majority are safe and the risk of developing a food-related pregnancy complication is very low. Here's the bottom line on food safety so you can make wise choices without needless worry.

Q1.

What foods should I stay away from during pregnancy?
Some types of seafood are a concern during pregnancy because they may contain significant levels of pollutants such as methylmercury, which may cause harm to a child's developing brain. On the other hand, there are benefits to eating seafood: It's a good source of protein and the primary source of certain omega-3 fatty acids that may benefit your baby's vision and brain development. The key is to choose those fish with the lowest levels of contaminants and eat them in moderation.

To minimize your exposure to methylmercury, the Food and Drug Administration advises that you completely avoid shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish (also called golden or white snapper). The agency says that pregnant women can safely eat up to 12 ounces (about two servings) a week of other cooked commercially caught fish. However, this should include no more than 6 ounces of albacore ("white") tuna or tuna steaks, which contain more mercury than canned light tuna. Some experts think this threshold is too high and recommend limiting tuna consumption to no more than 6 ounces of canned light tuna and avoiding other tuna altogether.

Also, never eat any fish caught by family or friends without first checking with local health advisories to make sure the fish isn't from waters with unsafe levels of mercury and other pollutants. Finally, avoid raw or undercooked fish (including uncooked smoked or pickled fish) when you're pregnant. It may harbor bacteria or parasites that could make you sick and possibly affect your developing baby.

Others foods to avoid include unpasteurized soft cheese, refrigerated pâté, raw or undercooked meat and poultry, cold deli meats, and foods that contain raw eggs (such as Caesar salad dressing, hollandaise sauce, and cookie batter) because they may contain harmful bacteria.

Q2.

What drinks should I avoid?
Alcohol is the main offender during pregnancy. It travels quickly from your bloodstream to your baby, and even one drink a day can increase your baby's risk of a problem. There's no known safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy, so it's best to avoid it completely. The other drinks to steer clear of are unpasteurized juice and milk, and eggnog. There's a slight risk that these beverages could contain E. coli or other bacteria that could harm you and your baby.

While you may have heard that caffeine is another big no-no during pregnancy, it's actually okay in moderation. After years of controversy, most researchers now believe that, although caffeine does cross the placenta, moderate amounts (less than 300 milligrams a day) won't harm your baby. That's about what you'd get from two to three 8-ounce cups of coffee. (However, you could get that much from just one 8-ounce cup if it's brewed very strong.) And be aware that caffeine lurks in other places, such as chocolate, tea, cola, and many other soft drinks.

Q3.

How can I protect myself from food poisoning? • Cook all meat, poultry, and fish thoroughly. Use a food thermometer to test the internal temperature of meat, or cook it until it's no longer pink in the middle.
• Don't eat cold cuts or deli meat, refrigerated pâté or meat spreads, or refrigerated smoked or pickled fish unless they're cooked until they're steaming hot (say, on a pizza or in a casserole or hot sandwich).
• Don't leave leftovers out for more than two hours. Reheat them until steaming before you eat them.
• Keep uncooked meat separate from other foods.
• Thoroughly wash or peel all your fruits and vegetables.
• Use hot soapy water to wash your hands — and any surface that comes in contact with unwashed produce; uncooked meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs; hot dogs; and deli meat — before you touch clean produce or cooked meat so you don't contaminate your food.
• Consume perishable and ready-to-eat food as soon as possible after you buy it, especially once you've opened the package, even if it hasn't yet passed the "use-by" date. The use-by date refers to unopened products.

For more information, see BabyCenter's complete guide to what's safe to eat and drink.

This Week's Activity:

Reach out to other moms — including your own. Women who've already made the transition to motherhood can offer good advice, a comforting shoulder, and the camaraderie of shared experiences. If you and your mother have a good relationship, she may be the best source of support. In fact, many women find pregnancy brings them closer to their own mom. If you don't know where to start the conversation, ask your mom or a friend to tell you about her best and worst pregnancy memories.