Pregnancy Week by Week

Pregnancy Timeline

You're pregnant and you're most probably facing nine months of miraculous adventure of a baby growing inside your belly. It looks small and flat now, you don't feel much and look at it trying to picture how it's going to be when it won't stop growing, when you'll feel the first moves of the new human, when you have the first ultrasound and you get to hear the heartbeats. What will your body experience? Will you be sick and restless? When exactly is the nervous system developing or the organs? When will you be seeing a full body, be it in miniature? When can they tell you if it's a boy or a girl?

Pregnancy timeline by weeks

The new mom has a swarm of questions, and it is only natural to be so; she is having a baby, a new individual will come out into the world and she's playing such a vital part in the process. She is likely to feel overwhelmed and will need to know what will be going on each step of the way. Keep in mind that timelines are general, but a pretty solid indicator of what's going to happen, nevertheless. Your body is singular and you may discover some deviations from theory to practice. Yet, more or less, all women are set in rather standard parameters regarding reproduction. Start drafting the timeline with your doctor, and enrich it with some special literature. Let's take the 40 weeks usual pregnancy. You divide it in three trimesters and note the general things that are expected to be happening in each of them.

First trimester timeline

Here are some indications for these first weeks:

Quit smoking (it's actually recommended to do so far before getting pregnant, in case your pregnancy is a deliberate act)
Quit drinking alcohol
Of course, drugs are out of the question
See about the folic acid you should probably take
Make sure you pay close attention to any of the drugs you may or may not take during pregnancy - remember no aspirin, for example
Check out the tests to be done the first weeks, just to know for sure if everything is all right with your health or if you should improve some conditions for a smoother fetus development
Start to do some exercises, move your baby a little.

Second trimester timeline

It's the easiest time of the entire pregnancy, you'll do away with being so sick and worried, but your back may be aching even more; yet, you'll find a way to deal with this by using an extra pillow when you sleep. These weeks, amniocentesis will be done to give you a diagnosis on the baby's eventual genetic malfunctions; your first ultrasound will now bound you tighter to your baby, they will have a first say about the gender of the newcomer. The second trimester maybe your last chance to board on a plane so make arrangements.

Third semester timeline

Some of the early symptoms come back as you sleep less and go to the toilet more often. Your belly grows fast, the baby approaches full development so it presses on your stomach, giving you heartburns; yet, you'll be going through it all more easily, thinking the time of delivery approaches and you'll get to actually hold your baby in your arms. Make all the preparations for the hospital kit, for the quickest access to the hospital once your water breaks, and discuss with your doctor all the important things you need to prepare for once the two of you get back home.