Week 6

So I am getting a little bit ahead of myself here, I actually won't be six weeks until Wednesday. But I am having so much fun that I am going to go ahead and do a 6 week update anyway. Plus, I will be working on Wednesday and Thursday and I wouldn't want to get behind!!

The baby is measuring about a quarter of an inch, or about the size of a nail head. This week the baby is developing the jaws, cheeks and chin. Little indentations on both sides of the head will form ear canals and the small black dots on the face will form eyes and in a few more weeks the baby's nose will be formed. Also taking shape this week is the baby's kidneys, liver and lungs. So amazing. The heart beats about 80 times per minute and getting faster everyday.

Pregnancy symptoms are pretty much the same but you can add in an increased sense of smell, possibly heartburn and indigestion and bloating.

I've been trying to cut back on my caffeine, but is hard to do, especially because no caffeine means getting headaches and I don't really want to take anything for those headaches. I am still drinking a small cup of coffee in the morning, but have mostly cut out any sodas during the day. Most of what I have read has said that up to about 200mg a day is considered safe, but not a lot of research on the subject is definitive, mostly because there is no way to tell how it may affect the baby.

There are also certain foods that I am supposed to avoid. The biggest thing for me is cutting out the soft cheeses, such as feta and bleu cheese, which I pretty much would eat about 3 times a week on a salad. It's just so yummy, in omelettes too! I'm supposed to avoid lunch meats because they have a higher risk of carrying bacteria, so if I eat it it has to be heated to steaming, so goodbye Jimmy Johns. No raw fish, means no raw sushi, but I can still do the tempura rolls and such. I have to avoid big game fish that carry higher levels of mercury, but I don't usually eat any of those, things like salmon, talipia, and such are considered safe. I've been trying to increase my vegetable intake, I usually can squeeze in enough fruits, but I have to tell you, snacking on veggies isn't that much fun, so I've just been trying to hide them in the my salads and stuff. No undercooked or raw eggs either, so no licking the brownie batter or poached eggs (I will miss you both). All in all mostly small sacrifices that add up to a big reward, a happy healthy baby.

After the first trimester I will also need about an extra 300 calories a day. Yippee! The goal will be to gain between 25-35 pounds in pregnancy and I can't say I am looking forward to seeing that number on the scale. Luckily, I went to hop on mine this morning and it didn't turn on so maybe that is a blessing in disguise! I don't plan on running right out and replacing it either.