Pregnancy from Beginning to End

Fertility and human reproduction can be some of the most exciting and frustrating parts of life on planet earth. Just ask the couple that has been trying for years to have their first baby. Others have it easy and find out that they are pregnant when they were never trying to begin with. If you're not one of those lucky couples, don't worry there's still hope. However, if you have been trying to get pregnant for more than a year then you may want to see your primary care physician as it's possible that you may suffer from infertility. Click here for more information about infertility.

For those of you who haven't been trying to conceive for years, here are some techniques that you can use to help improve your chances.

1. Chart your BBT (Basal Body Temperature)
-This helps you to identify patterns in your monthly cycle which tell you what times of the month you are most fertile. There are also sites such as, fertilityfriend.com, that actually make your chart for you. Learn more about charting your BBT.

2. Monitor your CM (Cervical Mucous)
-In addition to charting your BBT, keeping track of the changes in your CM will help you learn additional information about your fertile times. Learn more about how your CM relates to your fertilty

3. Use an Ovulation monitor or Ovulation microscope to help improve your chances of conception
-Although many women prefer to track their BBT and/or CM manually, some women prefer to use Ovulation monitors to check their cycles for them.

4. Be aware of your body
-If you don't know what's going on inside of your body how are you going to know when is the best times to conceive? Also if you are having trouble getting pregnant you need to know what's going on with your body so that you will be able to answer questions a doctor might give you about your body, lifestyle, and fertility.

To learn more about improving your fertility awareness check out: Fertility Friend

If you are among the lucky group of women that think they were able to conceive this month, check out the 5 most common signs listed below to find out more.

REMEMBER: Signs and Symptoms can vary from person to person. Some may have all of these symptoms plus some, and others may not have any symptoms.

#1 Missed or Late Period
#2 Frequent need to pee
#3 Sore or enlarged breasts
#4 Morning sickness (can happen at any time of the day or night)
#5 Fatigue

To find out more about Common Symptoms of Pregnancy click here.

When the magical moment or sperm meeting egg finally happens, you and your body embark on a 40 week journey whose final destination is to produce you with a beautiful child. From the very first moments changes, although unnoticed by you, begin to occur. As the fertilized egg (called an ovum) travels down your fallopian tubes toward the uterus, the chromosomes from the sperm and egg combine to form a totally unique DNA sequence. This genetic code will be the blueprint for your baby's "construction" (development). As soon as the blueprint is laid out, the ovum begins to split and multiply from a single cell to thousands in a matter of hours. By the time the journey to the uterus is complete, the ovum has become a blastocyst (70-100 cells) which upon implantation will become known as an embryo.

Over the next nine months, the embryo and you will both undergo many changes. I want to pause here for one moment to make an important distinction. Traditionally, we have been taught that pregnancy lasts for nine months (about 36 weeks), but now many doctors talk about pregnancies as being about 40 weeks long. The 40 week model starts counting from the beginning of the woman's last menstrual cycle while the 9 month model starts counting from conception. Doctors use the 40 week model because it is significantly easier to determine the beginning of the last menstrual cycle than to accurately determine the actual day of conception. From this point on all information provided on this lens will be based on the 40 week model.

Ok, picking up where we left off...



If you have been successful in your baby making efforts, you should be able to take a home pregnancy test between week 4 and week 5 (approx. 6 to 12 days after ovulation). Congratulations if you just found out your pregnant! Read on to find out more about what you are going to experience over the next 35 to 36 weeks!

To Learn More About Conception, check out the following articles:
~ Conception
~ Slideshow on Conception
~ Understanding Conception
~ The Basics of Conception

Your pregnancy is composed of three trimesters. The first trimester of your pregnancy is VERY important. It is weeks 1-12 or approximately the first three months of your pregnancy.

Weeks 1 & 2
Since pregnancy starts from the first day of your last period, the first week of your pregnancy will actually be the time that you are having your period. The second week of your period is the time where fertilization occurs and your baby starts the rapid transformation from one single cell to hundreds and thousands of cells that in nine months will be your beautiful baby.

Week 3
This week your little bundle of cells will implant in your uterus. The placenta will begin forming and producing the pregnancy hormone HCG which is what tells your home pregnancy test that you are pregnant.

Week 4


This week is the beginning of the embryonic period, and also starts the development of baby's vital organs. Right now your baby is about the size of a poppy seed, there is a primitive placenta in place, and the amniotic sac is beginning to form. You might find out you are pregnant by the end of this week.

Week 5
All of your baby's vital organs are starting to develop, especially the neural tube that will become baby's brain and spinal cord. You may start to feel some pregnancy related discomforts starting this week. For more information see our, You Think You're Pregnant Section.

Week 6


This week the major developments will be your babies ears, nose, and mouth. Your baby has a rapid heart beat that is spreading blood to all of these newly forming parts as well as to the forming arms, legs, eyes, and head. Your baby is now the size of a small bean. It is common for women in early pregnancy to experience both mood swings and spotting so don't freak out if it happens to you. If you do have spotting remember to call your doctor because although it is common it can be the sign of more serious issues that need medical attention.

Week 7
This week baby's hands and feet are forming. Also baby's tiny eyes which are beginning to show some color are also starting to develop eyelids. This might be the first week that you begin to experience morning sickness. You may also find that you have to use the bathroom more often than you usually do.

Week 8


At this point your baby is about the size of a kidney bean. Fingers, toes, eyelids, and lungs are all continuing to form. You baby is constantly in motion although you don't feel it yet. This week you may find that you need to start shopping for a bigger bra with more support and you will probably be totally worn out. Also you will soon have some of your first prenatal testing done. Talk to your doctor to decide which prenatal tests are right for you and your baby.

Week 9
Congratulations! All of baby's vital organs and body parts are in place although they will continue to develop over the next 31 weeks. This includes baby's external sexual organs (although it's still to early for you to tell, just by looking, whether you will be having a boy or a girl). Baby is now about an inch long. Over the next few weeks baby will begin to have more rapid growth and weight gain.

In your world, you don't look pregnant yet but you sure might feel pregnant! You will have probably gained a little weight, unless you are having severe morning sickness, and all the mood swings of pregnancy are probably in full effect.

Week 10


At this point your baby is still VERY tiny. He or she is only about 1.25 inches long and still weighs under an ounce! However, baby is now beginning lots of rapid movement and can bend and flex its arms, legs, wrists, and ankles. It will still be a while before you start to feel all these movements but they are happening.

As far as you're concerned, you have started gaining pregnancy weight and might be considering getting some maternity clothes. Your breasts are also increasing in size to prepare for lactation later. Although you may not notice it, your uterus has doubled in size, and the next time that you go to your prenatal visit you should be able to hear your baby's heart beat.

Week 11
This week your baby has grown to about 1.5 inches (about the size of a prune). This is the week that baby's diaphragm is formed enough to start causing hiccups. Baby is still as active as ever but it will still be another month or two before you start to feel it. Teeth buds are forming under baby's gums and other bones are beginning to harden.

Thankfully for you, morning sickness should begin to pass and your appetite should return. By the end of next week you should have gained a total of two to five pounds. If you are concerned with your pregnancy weight, please talk to your doctor. You may also notice that you should have a little uplift in energy. Enjoy it while it lasts because it won't last long.

Week 12


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.

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.

It can be daunting when your doctor starts rattling off a bunch of terms that you've never heard before, but don't lose hope yet. Here are some pregnancy terms that you need to know to help you to understand your doctors lingo.

Abdomen: commonly referred to as the belly.

Amniocentesis: Procedure used in prenatal diagnosis to obtain amniotic fluid which can be used for genetic and other diagnostic tests. Informally called an "amnio."

Amniotic fluid: the fluid which surrounds your baby

C-Section: Short for Caesarian section, a procedure in which a baby, rather than being born vaginally, is surgically extracted (removed) from the uterus .

Cervix: The cervix is the lower, narrow part of the uterus (womb). The uterus, a hollow, pear-shaped organ, is located in a woman's lower abdomen, between the bladder and the rectum. The cervix forms a canal that opens into the vagina, which leads to the outside of the body.

Colostrum: A sticky white or yellow fluid secreted by the breasts during the second half of pregnancy and for a few days after birth before the breast milk comes in.

Congenital: present at birth

Dilate: to stretch or enlarge

Dilating: the widening and opening of the cervix caused by uterine contractions

Due Date: the estimated calendar day on which your baby might be born

Effacement: The thinning of the cervix which occurs before and while it dilates

False Labor: Intermittent non-productive muscular contractions of the womb (uterus) during pregnancy, most commonly in the last two months before full term. These contractions are non-productive in the sense that they do not produce any flattening (effacement) or dilation (opening up) of the cervix.

Fetus: This is the term for the unborn baby after the 8th week of pregnancy

Hemoglobin: The oxygen-carrying pigment and predominant protein in the red blood cells . Hemoglobin forms an unstable, reversible bond with oxygen. In its oxygenated state it is called oxyhemoglobin and is bright red. In the reduced state it is called deoxyhemoglobin and is purple-blue.

Infant: a child up to 2 years in age

For more pregnancy related terms, check out The Pregnancy Glossary.

I have found several places that are great resources for planning your baby shower or a friend's surprise
shower. I am going to share some of their highlights with you here and then give you their links so that you can explore them more directly if you so choose.

The Guide to Making the Perfect Baby Shower Easy to Achieve

This website is all about planning the perfect baby shower and doing it as stress-free as possible. It contains information about what you need to think about planning, what's the difference between a traditional and a modern baby shower, theme ideas, invitation vendors, games, and more.

Click Here to Start Planning Your Perfect Baby Shower

Trendy Baby Shower Invitations

Trendy Baby Shower Invitations has information about different Baby Shower invitation vendors, games that you can play, tips for getting the shower organized, and more!

Click Here to Visit Trendy Baby Shower Invitations

Baby Shower 101.com

Baby shower 101 was created for new moms, friends and family members who are going to throw the baby shower. I wanted to make a portal where everyone can go to get free content in helping make planning less stressful for everyone as well as add some creativity to the baby shower if needed. We also launched a new baby shower store for decorations, gifts and much more.

Click Here to Visit Baby Shower 101.com

Planning a Baby Shower with Baby Center

Baby Center offers a wide variety of information. From a weekly cheat sheet to community forums to articles all about planning your shower, you will find what you are looking for at Baby Center.

Click Here to Visit Baby Center.com

We specialize in everything for baby and the family. We have easy to use custom birth announcement templates for boys, girls, and multiples. We offer attractive apparel to show off the upcoming addition to your family. In addition, we are always adding new products to our inventory that will help better meet the needs of mom, dad, baby, and siblings. All in all thebabystore is the perfect place to shop for all your pregnancy needs.













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