Pregnancy Week 11: Are You Doing A Belly Tracker?

This week Baby will undergo quite a bit of ‘fine tuning’ and for you a rather familiar feeling may finally be returning – hunger!

Your Baby in Week 11 of Pregnancy

By Week 11 Baby will probably weigh around ten grams and measure up at around 5cm long. Right now their head accounts for half of that length but that is normal, all babies are ‘top heavy’ at this point as those brain cells are generating at a rapid rate.

Right on the top of that currently over-sized head, tiny hair follicles are beginning to form and finger and toenail beds are taking shape as well. The fingers and toes are now completely defined and although the action is still not quite visible yet if the baby is a girl ovaries begin to form this week or in in the case of a boy the testes.

By Week 11 of your pregnancy Baby is becoming something of an acrobat at as well – they can stretch out and even do somersaults, although they are still just too small for your to feel all of this activity.

Your Body in Week 11 of Pregnancy

For many women (although far from all) the nausea and sickness will finally begin to fade away this week and you may actually find that you can look forward to your meals once more! That means of course it is time to re-visit that healthy eating plan to make sure that all the food you can now face is packed with plenty of the right stuff, the nutrients that both you and Baby need and not too many empty calories. You are eating fro two but that second person is just a few centimetres long and only really needs you to consume about 350 calories more than you did before pregnancy.

Possible New Pregnancy Symptoms in Week 11 of Pregnancy

The bad news is that many of the symptoms you have been dealing with are still around even if your nausea is fading. The constant need for the loo, the gas, the bloated feeling, the constant tiredness they are probably all still around. The good news however is that there should not be too many new surprises this week although the feelings of lightheadedness may increase as your body draws even more blood to get the business of baby growing kicked into an even higher gear soon.

Pregnancy Tips for your Eleventh Week – Snacking the Right Way – As your appetite begins to improve then you will probably find that you are hungry at odd times. Usually food sits better in your growing belly if you eat several small meals a day rather than three huge ones and then add a snack or two as well. Those snacks still ought to be healthy snacks though.

For Mums to be who are working, or are out of the house a lot, the temptation can be to turn to easy to find junk food to satisfy a snack attack. That really is a temptation you should avoid though in order to keep our healthy eating plan on track. Pack snacks from home instead. Things like individual pots of yougurt, small packets of nuts, trail mix, vegetable sticks with a great dip all travel well and are light and nutrition.

Begin a Belly Tracker – By now you have probably started to show, at least a little. Although many women are not too happy when they look in the mirror right now these weekly changes really are something to be celebrated – and to be recorded. If you take a few minutes every week to snap a shot of your burgeoning belly (it does not have to be Vanity Fair cover risque!) years from now you, and your child, will get a lot of enjoyment out of looking back on an album like this.

Some expectant mums choose to share their pregnancy progress photos with faraway family and friends on social networks like Facebook and Instagram but if that is a bit too much exposure for your tastes that’s OK.

For Dad – Already you have been coping admirably (hopefully) by stepping in and taking on more household chores and doing more of the cooking. You are also surviving those mood swings and learning not to take everything that she says personally. From now on however you may have a new wrinkle to deal with – your partner’s unhappiness with the way she looks.

There are a few expectant women who truly do love their pregnant bodied but they are few and far between. Even the most confident of Mums to Be have big pangs of self doubt – and loathing – occasionally when they look in the mirror.

Therefore you will now need to add cheerleader to your list of duties as a helpful and supportive partner. Going to overboard may just aggravate her though (crazy but true) as she may think that you are just trying to cheer her up if you comment on how wonderful she looks every minute of the day. The occasional compliment throughout the day is very appropriate though. And banish the word ‘fat’, or anything like it, from your vocabulary. Even if it is used in a joking way this is the one word that could get you seriously injured!