Second Month

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

If you’re just joining me, I am updating my own journey in pregnancy (baby #3) as well as explaining how pregnancy can look and feel from a mom’s perspective, and about the growth of your upcoming baby. These are all feelings and thoughts of a very planned pregnancy. If your currently pregnant or planning on adding to your family, some of my tips might help make the pregnancy process smoother. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments section or send me an email at elderflowerdoula@gmail.com .

Week 5

Your first week in the second month of pregnancy is the most common time to find out you’re expecting. It’s been a week since you have missed your period and if you’re usually regular then it’s a very telltale sign. Morning sickness also can start for many as your HCG levels are much higher. If you track your BBT (Basal Body Temperature) then it will be staying in the higher numbers. For me, I am nauseous all the time and my BBT is 98.4-98.6 every morning. Just a few days ago I also started to gag when brushing my teeth. I experienced this during each of my pregnancies, starting earlier and being more prominent in each pregnancy. If you have found out you’re pregnant now and haven’t started your prenatal vitamins, don’t delay, as folic acid is important for the fetus’s brain development, which is starting at this stage. A spine with a tail will also be developing, which will help relay messages from the developing brain to start creating all of the other organs and body parts.

If you like to keep track of each week in your pregnancy, there are many apps that give you detailed information on what’s happening, what you can expect and fun facts. I’ve been using Ovia. Booking your first prenatal midwife or doctor’s appointment is a good thing to do at this point. In New Westminster, we have two midwife practices located in Sapperton by Royal Columbian Hospital. Both do home and hospital deliveries. There are also many other practices that serve New Westminster, but located in Burnaby, Vancouver, Port Moody and Coquitlam. For my first pregnancy, I was with New Westminster Community Midwives; for my second pregnancy I was originally with On the Drive Midwives, since the backup midwife for my first pregnancy worked from there. I ended up following a midwife who worked with them but moved her practice into New West, working out of Aveta Midwifery (formerly Harmony Midwives). My first appointment for this pregnancy is with Aveta at week #8. No matter which midwifery or OB you choose, make sure it’s the one for you. We have been lucky and enjoyed our care each time.

Week 6

If you like to keep track of each week in your pregnancy, there are many apps that give you detailed information on what’s happening, what you can expect and fun facts. I’ve been using Ovia. Booking your first prenatal midwife or doctor’s appointment is a good thing to do at this point. In New Westminster, we have two midwife practices located in Sapperton by Royal Columbian Hospital. Both do home and hospital deliveries. There are also many other practices that serve New Westminster, but located in Burnaby, Vancouver, Port Moody and Coquitlam. For my first pregnancy, I was with New Westminster Community Midwives; for my second pregnancy I was originally with On the Drive Midwives, since the backup midwife for my first pregnancy worked from there. I ended up following a midwife who worked with them but moved her practice into New West, working out of Aveta Midwifery (formerly Harmony Midwives). My first appointment for this pregnancy is with Aveta at week #8. No matter which midwifery or OB you choose, make sure it’s the one for you. We have been lucky and enjoyed our care each time.

Right now baby looks a bit like a mermaid. Little arms are starting to develop, as well as eyes and a nose. Lots will be happening in the next few weeks to help develop more baby-like features.

Week 7

If your a second-time (or more) mom, then some of these crazy symptoms you might relate to more. A belly starting? Not really, but it can look and feel like it is. Bloating and hardening around the tummy area definitely starts to happen around the end of month 2 and in month 3. With my second you could definitely tell I was starting a baby belly at week 12, and this time with number 3 I feel like it might come sooner. The nice part about this week is a placenta is developing, which will help with some of the crazy hormones… and then a whole new set of pregnancy hormones will start later. Your prenatal vitamins will help your baby with all the hard work of growing, as well as mom, who might feel a bit tired due to your own supply of nutrition going towards your little one. Also make sure you’re taking in plenty of fluids, mainly water. If you’re just finding out your pregnant right now (end of summer) go out and soak in some natural vitamin D. It will be much harder during winter months not only to get some good sun but also just to get out of the house.

What does baby look like now? Still not quite human like, but hands might be forming, as well as feet. Bones will start forming and hardening, which next month will help shape your little fetus into a more recognizable baby

Week 8

You’re just starting your third month now, as pregnancy weeks can be a bit off with pregnancy months. Depending on which app or book you use pregnancy weeks vs. months will very. I found this very confusing with my first, the best way to explain it is; when your 8 weeks and 3 days you enter month three. As I continue these blogs you might notice some months have more weeks than others. I am following the graph by Baby Centre. Many of you will be having your dating ultrasound scheduled or done this week. We went in for ours at 8 weeks and 6 days according to my calendar. If this is your first time, the way these appointments work is the pregnant person goes into the room with the technician. The technician then asks to roll down the top part of your pants to allow the ultrasound technician full access to your entire stomach, and they place a towel over your pants before applying gel. Using a wand they look for the fetus and take measurements, look for abnormalities and check the heart rate. Some will look at ovaries and bladder function. If this is a second (or more) pregnancy they will ask if you had any C-sections previously. For us it was very straight forward. They looked at growth and our baby’s current date of development was changed to 8 weeks and 3 days, putting our new due date at Feb 3, 2020. I am still going to go by my calendar as I know when I ovulated and what day we would have conceived this pregnancy. The new date will be mainly used in-case we go over due. This week I also had my first visit with our midwife team at Aveta Midwifery. I really like Nicole (who I had my visit with) as well as Dana. When I talked to my husband about which prenatal care practitioner we would go with for this pregnancy, we discussed the different options in New Westminster and who would fit our birth ideas and personality. There are many amazing midwives who serve New Westminster and Royal Columbian Hospital, so I always tell others meet different practitioners and find someone you’re comfortable with. For more on my own experiences, read the Birth Stories of my Daughters.