Pregnancy First Four Weeks "Baby's Just Begun"

Your pregnancy has just begun, but do you know all the amazing things that are going on in there. Pregnancy is exhausting! Creating a whole other little body is a tough job. It's no wonder you need so much sleep, eventhough your baby is only microscopic.

WEEK ONE
At the moment the egg meets the sperm, fertilization occurs. The egg is usually still up in the fallopian tubes at this point. The moment it is fertilized, the baby's gender is already determined. That is because the sperm is the determining factor in your baby's sex. The sperm is either a male sperm or a female sperm. From the beginning, the fertilized embryo contains a full set of genetic codes: twenty-three chromosomes from mom, and twenty-three from dad. Occasionally, women release more than one egg. If more than one egg is fertilized by more than one sperm then this will result in fraternal twins or even possibly triplets.

It isn't very common, but sometimes one egg is fertilized by one sperm and then divides in to two. Identical twins are a result of this.

WEEK TWO
On or before the seventh day, the embryo looks like a microscopic raspberry. It attaches to the lining of your uterus. It is common to have some spotting as the baby is implanting into the blood rich lining of your uterus. It starts to organize into groups of hundreds of cells. Some of these cells attach to the uterine lining while others are arranging themselves in clusters,each with a destiny of a different human body part. Your uterus will respond to the embryo by forming a placenta for the embryo to get nutrients from. The placenta also facilitates disposal of the baby's waste. The placenta develops HCG, which is a hormone that keeps your lining in place and stimulates growth by monitoring your levels of estrogen and progesterone to keep them high. The level of HCG releases into the mother's bloodstream and increases as the placenta develops. At the end of the second week, a pregnancy test will detect HCB in the mother's urine.

WEEK THREE
Your menstrual cycle is considered late by three weeks and you might suspect that you are pregnant. Rising hormone levels are likely to cause you to begin feeling pregnant, but some women have signs before now. It is the pregnancy hormones that notify the ovaries to stop ovulating. Your ovaries notify your pituitary gland in your brain, to not allow your body to menstruate.
By three weeks, your embryo has grown to millions of cells that now begin to separate into three types of cells. One type will be the nervous system, skin, and hair. Another type will those that will make up the gastrointestinal tract. The last type will be the circulatory, genitals ad urinary and skeletal system. At the end of the third week, you would be able to see the heart beat and their blood has started to circulate. You have just begun to feel pregnant, but already your baby is developing quickly.

WEEK FOUR
Your baby by week four will grow to the size of a piece of rice. There is now an umbilical cord with three distinct blood vessels. There is blocks of tissue stacked up to form the backbone along the outer rim of your baby's little body. Little buds start to form on the body that will eventually become arms and legs. Their little heart that is the shape of a little ball will divide into chambers. There is some specialized equipment that would allow you to hear your baby's heart. At this point there are tiny pits in the baby's head that mark the place where eyes and ears will develop.Your baby's brain and spinal cord are developing now. You would be amazed to know that by the time you attend your first visit to the doctor, that most of your baby's major organs are already developed.

It is important to remember that even though your baby is tiny, they are developing their most vital parts at this time. You must do your best to be healthy, so your baby will be healthy.