A Baby - Should the family start now?
History: The information I am sharing in this Thread used to be hosted on one of my son's domains but we are looking to bring it all into the Community now to not isolate his domain to that.
As a parent of three children under the autism spectrum I can tell you that I wish I was better prepared before deciding to have a baby. Maybe this information will help you determine your readiness.
There is not a "Right" Time to have a baby, but there exists some factors; physical, emotional and financial that may determine if you are ready to have one or not. I'm sure that you have lots of questions and fears about becoming a mom... It happened to me and to every woman that wants to have a little child. As I said before there exists some factors that are important to consider if you want to become pregnant:
Physical: A very good book that helped guide us through my wife's pregnancy was It's Your Pregnancy by Niels H. Lauersen. Here is a quote from it:
Am I Pregnant?
How do I know if we are going to start a family?
He is moving again...
My husband went to a meeting in the church and when he came back home he brought for me one of my favourites foods: chicken and chips. He knows that I love it!. He expected that I would enjoy it as I always did in the past but when he opened the door and he showed me the food I said, "YUCK!". I could not look at it, smell it, be close to it, I felt so upset in my stomach ! At that moment, I didn't know that I was pregnant and that this was the reason for not being able to smell this kind of food. My hubby said "Wow, you really have to be sick to not eat your chicken and chips" *smile*.
The first noticeable symptom of pregnancy might be anything from a slight change in skin colour to a violent atypical reaction to a familiar scent or a favourite food like my case. The first faint hint often proceeds the missed period by several days (Surprisingly when you're regular in your periods). Other symptoms can be clear signs of pregnancy, sometimes in early-pregnancy breast tenderness, the bluish veins on the breasts tend to stand out more and the nipple area darkens. May you experience lots of headaches as I did.
There might be an increased urge to urinate... Going to the bathroom every five minutes ! and in some cases can be painful, too. Of course the well known "Morning sickness" (All day sickness was for me!) that cause nausea and vomiting, sometimes you may feel just nausea or vomiting or both at the same time. You may feel more tired than usual and that will persist more often throughout the first twelve weeks of your pregnancy or even in your whole pregnancy. Anyway, because of the advance of medicine there are tests that allows you to know if you're pregnant or not in a matter of minutes. Approximately in five or seven days after you missed your period you can perform a home pregnancy test, you can buy this in any drugstore. This test gives you a positive or negative answer with a 98% accuracy. I was so nervous the night before to do this test that I hardly slept at night and I get up at 6 at the morning to do the test and when I saw that was positive I turn on the lights and wake up my hubby saying: "It's positive, it's positive!" *smile*.
Embryo Development Month 1 (5 Weeks)
Pregnancy Test: What you can expect at this month's checkup: Your doctor will want to check the pregnancy symptoms you are experiencing, the date of your last normal menstrual period to determinate your due date (Date of delivery), your uterus and cervix for signs and approximately age of pregnancy. If there's any question or doubt a pregnancy test may be ordered if you haven't already had one. Your doctor will ask lots of questions about your health and personal medical history, your family medical history, your social history and factors in your personal life that might affect your pregnancy.
What you may be feeling:
Absence of menstruation
Fatigue and sleepiness
Frequent urination
Nauseas and vomiting (Morning Sickness)
Heartburn, indigestion
Food aversions and cravings
Breast changes
Image below (Wiki): An embedded mass of cells in two parts: the placenta and the body itself.
When To Have A Baby? (Hover)
5-7 Weeks
What you can expect at this month's checkup: You can expect your doctor to check the following, though there may be variations depending upon your particular needs and your doctor's style of practice:
Weight and blood pressure
Urine, for sugar and protein
Hands and feets for sweelling and legs for varicose vains
Symptoms you have experiencing, especially unusual ones
Questions or problems you want to discuss (Have a list ready)
What you may be feeling: You may experience all these symptoms at one time or another or only one or two. Don't be surprised if you don't feel pregnant yet, its a matter of time.
Fatigue and sleepiness
A need to urinate frequently
Nauseas with or without vomiting
Constipation
Heartburn, indigestion
Food aversions and cravings
Breast changes
Occasional headaches
Occasional faintness or dizziness
Tightness of clothing around waist and bust, abdomen may appear enlarged, probably due to bowel distention rather uterine growth.
Mood swings (You may feel "Moody" All the time! Your hubby knows what I mean)
When To Have A Baby? (Hover)
8 Weeks
What you can expect at this month's checkup: This month you can expect your doctor to check the following:
Weight and blood pressure
Urine, for sugar and protein
Fetal heartbeat (It can be the most beautiful experience in your whole life!)
Size of uterus by external palpation
Height of fundus (The top of the uterus)
Hands and feet for swelling and legs for varicose veins
Questions or problems you want to discuss
What you may be feeling: You may experience all of the symptoms at one time or another or only a few of them. You may also have additional, less common symptoms.
Fatigue and sleepiness
A need to urinate frequently
Nauseas with our without vomiting
Constipation
Heartburn, indigestion
Food aversions or cravings
Breast changes
Additional veins visible elsewhere (Around your chest, abdomen and legs)
Headaches
Occasional faintness or dizziness
Tightness of clothing around waist and bust, if it wasn't tight already, abdomen may appear enlarged by the end of the month
Increasing appetite
Mood swings
Image from Wikimedia public domain.
When To Have A Baby? (Hover)
15 Weeks
He is about 5 ounces and 6 to 7 inches long now.
What you can expect at this month's checkup:
Weight and blood pressure
Urine, for sugar and protein
Fetal heartbeat
Size of uterus by external palpation
Height of fundus (Top of the uterus)
Hands and feet for sweelling and legs for varicose veins
Symptoms you've been experiencing, especially unsual ones
Questions or problems you want to discuss
What you may be feeling: You may experience all of these symptoms at one time or another or only a few of them. You may also have other, less common symptoms.
Fatigue
Decreased urinary frequency
An end to, or a decrease in nausea and vomiting
Constipation
Heartburn, indigestion
Continued breast enlargement but decreased tenderness and swelling
Occasional headaches
Occasional faintness or dizziness, particularly with sudden change of position
Nasal congestion and occasional nosebleeds, ear stuffiness
Bleeding gums
Increased in appetite
Mild swelling of ankles and feet and occasionally of hands and face
Varicose veins
Slight whitish vaginal discharge
Fetal movement near the end of the month
Fifth Month
The fetus is now about 8 to 10 inches.
What you can expect at this month's checkup:
Weight and blood pressure
Urine, for sugar and protein
Fetal heartbeat
Size and shape of uterus by external palpation
Height of fundus (The top of the uterus)
Feet and hands for swellings and legs for varicose veins
Symptoms you have been experiencing, especially unsual ones
Questions and problems you want to discuss
Ultrasound:
A growing fetus showing the spine and back of the neck. I was really excited to find out we are having a boy!
What you may be feeling: You may experience all of these symptoms at one time or another or only a few of them. Still others may hardly be noticed because you've become so used to them.
Fetal movement
Increasing whitish vaginal discharge
Lower abdominal achiness (From streching of the ligaments supporting the uterus)
Constipation
Heartburn, indigestion
Headaches
Nasal congestion and occasional nosebleeds, ear stuffiness
Bleeding gums
Hearty appetite
Leg cramps
Mild swelling of ankles and feet, and occasionally of hands and face
Varicose veins
Increased pulse (Heart rate)
Easier -or more difficult-orgasm
Backache
Skin pigmentation changes on abdomen and/or face
Fewer mood swings
When To Have A Baby? (Hover)
Six Months
Wow... I feel tired, I think I will nag my husband.
What you can expect at this month's checkup: This month you can expect to check the following, though there may be variations depending upon your particular needs and upon your doctor's style of practise:
Weight and blood pressure
Urine, for sugar and protein
Fetal heartbeat
Height of fundus (Top of uterus)
Size of uterus and position of fetus, by external palpation
Feet and hands for sweelling and legs for varicose veins
Symptoms you may have been experiencing, especially unusual ones
Questions and problems you want to discuss
What you may be feeling: You may experience all of these symptoms at one time or another, or only a few of them. Still others may hardly be noticed because you've become so used to them.
More definite fetal activity
Whitish vaginal discharge
Lower abdominal achiness (From streching of ligaments supporting the uterus)
Constipation
Heartburn, indigestion
Headaches
Nasal congestion and occasional nosebleeds, ear stuffiness
Bleeding gums
Hearty appetite
Leg cramps
Mild swelling of ankles and feet and occasionally of hands and face
Varicose veins of legs and/or hemorrhoids
Itchy abdomen
Backache
Skin pigmentation changes om abdomen and/or face
Enlarged breasts
Fewer mood swings, continued absentmindedness
A beginning boredom with the pregnancy ("Can't anyone think about anything else?")
Some anxiety about the future