There are three stages of pregnancy. These are the first, second and third trimesters. The first trimester runs from week one to week fourteen, the second covers weeks 15 to 26, then the third is weeks 27 to 40. Here is what you can expect to happen during your pregnancy week by week.<\/p>\n
Week 1<\/a>: <\/strong>Technically, you\u2019re not even pregnant yet. You\u2019ve just had your last period for at least the next 9 months and that alone is something to celebrate. Say goodbye to cramps, sugar cravings and gigantic period panties. Say hello to pregnancy cramps, kicks, heartburn, acid indigestion, weird cravings and even more enormous pregnancy<\/a> panties. Read more about it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Week 2<\/a>: <\/strong>The second week is when your body has an egg all lined up for dispatch. It is getting ready to make its journey down one of your fallopian tubes, in the hopes of being fertilised. Read more about it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Week 3<\/a>: <\/strong>You are now officially pregnant and a tiny, tiny egg somewhere inside you is getting ready to become a baby. It will take your egg around four days to traverse the length of your fallopian tube before landing in your uterus. Once there, it looks around for a cosy spot to set up home for the next 9 months or so. At this point it is made up of approximately 200 cells and is called a zygote. Read more about it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Week 4<\/a>: <\/strong>Week 4 is when your period should be due. Yours will be strangely absent. This may give you cause to jump about the house madly and fly off the chandeliers, or you may want to sit down with a nice cup of chamomile tea and breathe very deeply. Read more about it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Week 5<\/a>:<\/strong> The fifth week of pregnancy isn\u2019t a great deal different from the fourth week, so rest assured you\u2019ll still have crazy mood swings, still need to pee every 5 seconds and still the world will have no idea you are carrying a little person inside you. Read more about it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Week 6: <\/strong>The first few days of this week is when your baby’s heart starts beating. The aorta (the largest artery in the whole body) will be starting to form at around day 40. By mid week many organs are starting to form: eyes, arm buds, liver, gall bladder, stomach and intestines, lungs and pancreas.<\/p>\n Week 7: <\/strong>This is a busy week for your growing baby. During this week your baby will double in size. The lenses of the eyes are developing and there is also a recognisable tongue. The legs and arms are developing into paddles, the jaws are now visible.<\/p>\n Week 8: <\/strong>The cerebellum starts to form this week. That’s the part of the brain responsible for the movement of muscles. Also hand and foot plates, elbow and wrist areas are forming. Towards the end of the eight week the hand plate has formed ridges where the fingers will be. There is further development of the eye; pigment is now appearing on the retina. Teeth buds are now forming within the gums, along with the wind pipe, bronchi, and voice box. The heart is now starting to develop the four chambers.<\/p>\n Week 9: <\/strong>Your baby is now starting to form cartilage and bones. During this week the ovaries will develop into the sex organ determining whether you’re having a boy or a girl. The fingers and thumbs are now taking shape. Also the baby is now becoming more active.<\/p>\n Week 10:<\/strong> It’s now that your embryo has become a baby, all be it on a rather small scale. There is a fully formed upper lip. The development of the heart now slows as it is past the critical stage. By mid week the earlobes are fully formed. Toes start to develop on the foot plate. As the bones of the palate (roof of the mouth) start to fuse together, the tongue starts to develop taste buds.<\/p>\n Week 11:<\/strong> as the morning sickness<\/a> starts to subside, you may feel your appetite increase. Your baby’s body starts to straighten. In males the penis is now distinguishable and in females the vagina is beginning to develop. This stage is where the baby starts to show individuality, as the muscle structure varies in each baby.<\/p>\n Week 12:<\/strong> Your baby will start to develop fingernails over the next three weeks. The brain is now the same structure as it will be at birth. By the end of the week, the gall bladder and pancreas will be fully developed. Also the baby will now be opening and closing its mouth.<\/p>\n Week 13: <\/strong>This week vocal chords will form in the larynx. Also the intestines will move from the umbilical cord into the abdomen, and will start to form folds and become lined with villi.<\/p>\n Week 14: <\/strong>You may have noticed some changes to the areola (the area around your nipple); it may be getting larger and darker. Your baby’s heart beat will now be able to be heard using a Doppler. Breathing, sucking and swallowing motions will be being practised. The breathing practises will take the amniotic fluid in and out of the lungs. Baby’s hand also becomes more functional.<\/p>\n Week 15:<\/strong> The baby’s neck is now defined, with the head now resting on the neck rather than the shoulders. The hair pattern of the baby will be defined by the 102nd day of the pregnancy your baby will now be able to turn its head, open its mouth, kick, press its lips together and turn its feet.<\/p>\n Week 16: <\/strong>This week the baby’s toe nails will start to grow. The muscles will be growing stronger and the neck and head are growing straighter. As the uterus starts moving upwards you may start showing more, but this does mean less pressure on your bladder, making you feel like urinating less.<\/p>\n Week 17<\/a>: <\/strong>Now that you\u2019re 17 weeks pregnant, it might be a good time to start pelvic floor exercises, if you haven\u2019t already. The pelvic floor muscles hold your bladder, lower bowel and womb in place. Read more about it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Week 18<\/a>:<\/strong>This is the week that you may start to feel your baby\u2019s first tiny movements. If you haven\u2019t felt a thing, don\u2019t panic; it\u2019s also possible that your baby is having a nice peaceful snooze and is feeling far too cosy to move yet. Read more about it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Week 19<\/a>:<\/strong> Give yourself a pat on the back because you are now in the second trimester of pregnancy. You may have noticed that your waist has gone on holiday and that your breasts are expanding at an alarming rate. Read more about it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Week 20<\/a>: <\/strong>Congratulations, you\u2019re now officially halfway. If you\u2019re feeling a bit anxious about your upcoming scan, remember that sex is a great stress reliever. Read more about it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Week 21<\/a>: <\/strong>The good news is that now your body is becoming accustomed to being pregnant, your nausea should have disappeared. The bad news is it may well be replaced by heartburn and indigestion. Read more about it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Week 22<\/a>: <\/strong>It\u2019s all glamour in the pregnancy department this week. Think back pain, varicose veins and weird and wonderful dreams. Read more about it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Week 23: <\/strong>The bones in the middle ear start hardening making the conduction of sound possible. The baby will start to gain some considerable weight<\/a> between now and next month. The size of the baby’s body will start to get into proportion though the head will remain larger than the rest of the body.<\/p>\n Week 24: <\/strong>The skin of your baby is wrinkled, but will smooth out as fat is deposited. Also by the end of this week the baby’s heart beat is so strong it is some times possible to hear it by placing an ear on your stomach.<\/p>\n Week 25: <\/strong>Baby’s skin is now turning a reddish\/pink as capillaries start to develop. The nostrils will now start to open, as they have been plugged unto now. The lungs will start developing blood vessels and the finger and toe nails will now be covering half the nail bed.<\/p>\n Week 26: <\/strong>with the nostrils now open, muscular breathing will start. By the end of the week the lungs will be secreting surfactant, a substance which prevents the lung tissue sticking together. Also with the formation of blood vessels in the lungs, they will now also be developing air sacks. Brain wave activity starts this week for auditory and visual activity.<\/p>\n Week 27: <\/strong>Bumping and thumping is becoming stronger as your baby grows stronger, you should be feeling around 10 kicks in a two hour period. Baby’s lungs are growing rapidly and there is continual development with brain patterns.<\/p>\n Week 28: <\/strong>This is when the eyelids un-fuse and open up. Muscle tone is improving, and the lungs are capable of breathing air. The chances of a baby being born premature from now on, has a greatly improved chance of surviving.<\/p>\n Week 29:<\/strong> Eye lashes have now grown, and although still unable to focus, baby’s eyes are now sensitive to dark and light. At this stage of pregnancy<\/a> the senses of sound, smell and taste are developing. By the end of the week your baby will be able to move its eyes in their sockets.<\/p>\n Week 30: <\/strong>Baby is now storing up nutrients taken in by you. Calcium for skeletal development, protein for growth and iron for blood cells. By the end of the week the languno (the small hairs that covered the baby’s body), is nearly all gone apart from some patches on the shoulders and back.<\/p>\n Week 31: <\/strong>As the actual growth starts to slow down, the internal organs are still maturing, so make sure your still getting enough folic acid, iron and calcium. Should your baby be born this week they would have the ability to breath, see, listen learn and remember.<\/p>\n Week 32: <\/strong>The baby’s iris is now reacting to light. All five senses are now registering with your baby, although smell is limited as baby can’t breathe air in the uterus.<\/p>\n Week 33:<\/strong> your baby may now be sucking its fingers. Constipation could be starting for you as your uterus puts more and more pressure on your bowels.<\/p>\n Week 34:<\/strong> The pigment of the eyes is not quite fully developed yet, this leaves the eyes looking blue regardless of final colour. And this week your baby will start to develop its own immune system.<\/p>\n Week 35: <\/strong>In baby boys the decent of the testes will complete any time now. Your baby may now shift into your pelvis in a head down position, but not all babies do this before birth.<\/p>\n Week 36:<\/strong> Dimples on the elbows and knees will be forming as well as creases in the neck area due to continual deposits of fat. Also this fat will help baby<\/a> maintain its body temperature.<\/p>\n