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Week nine is a big one — all of Baby’s body parts are intact, and now it’s simply time for them to develop and grow!
How’s Baby?
Baby is now almost an inch long (.9 inches), the size of a pecan, and though they’re not fully developed, all of their essential muscles and body parts are present. Your little one’s kidneys, liver, brain and lungs are all starting to function on their own, and they’re even starting to develop taste buds! Although Baby’s eyes are forming more complex structures, their eyelids will remain fused shut for another four months or so. Your baby’s inner ear is also beginning to form the fluid that will allow them to develop a sense of balance. Baby has toes, bones in their arms, and joints that bend in their elbows.
At regular appointments after week 9, it may be possible to hear your baby’s heartbeat with a doppler monitor. Baby’s heart has been beating for a while now, but now it’s really starting to develop, forming distinct chambers and valves. They grow up so fast, don’t they?
What’s new with you?
You’ve made it to your third month of pregnancy, which means that you have just about one month until the dreaded first trimester — often full of icky symptoms — is over!
Feeling moody? Hormonal irritability can peak at around the ninth week of pregnancy. Although relief should come soon — for most folks, moodiness eases up around week ten before coming back in full force closer to your due date. That being said, it’s important to know that if you’re not feeling like yourself or if your feelings of anxiety or depression persist, you should contact your healthcare provider. Perinatal mood disorders are common and treatable.
You’re also likely to feel fatigued, as your body is still working overtime to develop the placenta so that it can most efficiently provide nutrients to your baby and because your blood sugar and blood pressure may be running low. But there may be an end in sight to these symptoms, as the placenta will soon start to take on a bit more responsibility for doing the hormonal heavy lifting, which will take some of the burden off of you.
Whether or not you’re starting to show off a baby bump just yet, you’ll probably notice that your lower abdomen is a bit firmer than usual, and no wonder! There’s a wealth of growth going on in there, and by now your uterus will have doubled in size, so get ready for that baby bump to make an appearance before too long. You should also have been gaining some weight. It’s common to gain between 1 and 5 pounds (.45-2.25 kg) during the first trimester. But between nausea and aversions, some folks have a harder time eating or gaining weight early in pregnancy. If this has been a problem for you, don’t worry. Your body is usually capable of weathering this tough phase! As some of these challenging symptoms lessen going forward, your appetite should improve, which will help you gain weight in a way that will help you best nourish your growing baby.
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Reviewed by the Ovia Health Clinical Team
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Sources
- Sir John Dewhurst. Dewhurst’s Textbook of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 8th ed. Keith Edmonds. John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2012. Print.
- Susan Storck et al. “Fetal Development.” U.S National Library of Medicine. MedlinePlus. March 10, 2014. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002398.htm.
- Mayo Clinic Staff. “First trimester pregnancy: what to expect.” Mayo Clinic. February 26, 2020. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/pregnancy/art-20047208.
- Mark A Curran, M.D. “Fetal Development.” Perinatology.com. Perinatology.com. March 31, 2019. https://www.perinatology.com/index.html.
