Day 2 8 Weeks Pregnant

Alot has changed since my last blog post, The head is now 1/3 of the entire baby. The respiratory system has started to form, which includes the trachea and lungs, at 5 weeks reprodutive organs started forming and handplates and wrists started developing. At 6 weeks cerebral hemispheres are growing, the embryo moves, the external ear starts to form, blood cell formation has started as well. The diaphragm has started forming too. The handplates are flattening. Brain waves can be detected. The elbows have distinct bends, nipples are formingm, and handmovement has begun and the fingers are seperating. At 7 weeks, the embryo can hiccup, the legs can move and the heart is fully complete. The embryo's heart beats at 167 times a minute. Doctors can now detect the wave pattern of the heart. The ovaries or testes are identifiable. The retina of the eye is forming. The fingers are now seperated and the toes are adjoined at only the bases. The hands and feet can come together and move and the knee joints develop and bend. Now it is 8 weeks, the baby has a complex brain, in fact, it is half of the baby's body weight! You can determine left/right hand/ambidextrous dominance at this point. The embryo can roll over because of the low gravity in the amniotic fluid. The baby is physically active alot now. The upper and lower eyelids are forming. The baby has many breathing motions and the kidneys produce urine. Joints and limbs are now developing. The skin loses its transparency because it develops and becomes thicker and this is the end of the embryonic stage. The baby is made up of about 1 billion cells now. The baby now exhibits 90% of structures an adult has. The mother(me)'s body is changing because the stomach has expanded a small amount. The odds of having identical twins are about 3.5 in 1000 universal. The odds of having identical twins are 11 in 1000 in the United States. The odds of having triplets are 1in 8100 chance in white americans and 1 in 9800 in black americans. You also have to choose a doctor or midwife. You choose a doctor or midwife depending on your pregnancy and type of help you want. High risk pregnancies usually need a Perinatoligist or Obstetriciian. You can use a family practitioner, midwife, nurse midwife, and obstetrician. You do research on each one and find which kind of care you prefer. Then you locate the providers you need in your area. You should meet with them and if you do not feel comfortable you can switch.
Here is my list of tips for a safe and healthy pregnancy:

• Do not consume any alcohol during pregnancy
• Do not smoke cigarettes or any street drugs
• Eat Healthy foods
• REad pregnancy books
• stop changing cat littler
• drink 6-8 glasses of water a day
• add 300-500 calories to your diet
• take a birthing class
• find a doctor you feel comfortable with