Week 10
Your baby is about 2.3 cm long (just under an inch) and weighs around 2 g (a fifteenth of an ounce), roughly the size of a large olive, though babies vary. By the end of this week, almost every major organ has formed, fingers and toes have separated, and the embryonic period is over. From 10 weeks on, your baby is called a fetus, and the work shifts from building to growing. For you, a dating scan may be on the calendar, and your body is adjusting to a much larger blood supply. This week also covers discharge, eating well, sleep, and how you and your partner are each taking all this in.
Day 64 · 9 weeks 0 days
The building phase is nearly done
This is the last week of what is called the embryonic period. Since conception, your baby has gone from a single cell to a tiny, recognizably human form with a beating heart, a brain, a spinal cord, lungs, kidneys, a liver and a gut. Almost all of these structures are now in place. Most of what happens from here is growth and refinement.
This is also why the early weeks matter so much for things like folic acid and avoiding harmful exposures. Once organs have formed, the risk of major structural problems from most exposures drops considerably. On the outside, your baby's fingers and toes have separated, and tiny nail beds are starting to form. The eyelids now cover the eyes and will stay closed until around 26 to 28 weeks. The tail is gone. The head is still large, about half the body's length, but the neck is lengthening and the body is straightening. The external genitals have begun to form but cannot yet be told apart on a scan.
Your baby can move arms and legs and may even be seen to hiccup or startle on an ultrasound.
Try this: Look back at the week 6 overview and notice how far your baby has come in just four weeks.
Day 65 · 9 weeks 1 day
Why a dating scan helps
A dating scan is an ultrasound that measures your baby to work out how far along you are. It is usually offered between about 8 and 14 weeks, and in some places it is combined with the 11 to 14 week screening scan you will read about soon.
In the first trimester, babies grow at a very similar rate, so the length from crown to rump gives an accurate estimate, usually within about a week. If this differs from the date based on your last period by more than about a week, your care provider will usually change your due date to match the scan. That is common and does not mean anything is wrong.
An accurate due date matters later on. It guides the timing of screening tests, helps judge whether your baby is growing well, and informs decisions if you go past your due date or show signs of early labour. The scan also confirms the heartbeat, checks that the pregnancy is in the uterus, and shows whether you are expecting more than one baby. It may be done through your abdomen, sometimes with a full bladder, or vaginally if the view is unclear.
Try this: When you book, ask whether you need a full bladder and whether a support person can come.
Day 66 · 9 weeks 2 days
Feeling light-headed when you stand up
In early pregnancy, hormones relax the walls of your blood vessels, and your blood pressure often drops a little. Your blood volume is rising, but not fast enough yet to fill the extra space. The result can be dizziness, especially when you stand up quickly, stand still for a long time, get too hot or go too long without eating.
Simple habits help. Get up slowly, sitting on the edge of the bed for a moment before you stand. Eat small amounts often and keep water with you. If you need to stand for a long time, shift your weight and flex your calf muscles. In hot or crowded places, find a seat and some air. If you feel faint, sit or lie down right away, ideally on your side, so you do not fall. Most dizziness in pregnancy is harmless and passes quickly. Call your care provider if dizziness is frequent, comes with headaches, blurred vision or palpitations, or you are also very tired and pale. Get help right away if you faint, or feel faint along with abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding, as these can be signs of an ectopic pregnancy, which you read about in week 6.
Try this: Put a snack and a bottle of water by your bed tonight for the morning.
Day 67 · 9 weeks 3 days
More discharge is usually normal
Many people notice more vaginal discharge in pregnancy, starting early and continuing until birth. It is caused by higher estrogen levels and more blood flow to the area. Normal pregnancy discharge is thin, white or clear, and mild-smelling or odourless. It helps protect against infection. Wear cotton underwear, change it when it feels damp, and use panty liners if you like, but avoid tampons. Skip douching, scented soaps and sprays, which can upset the natural balance and make infections more likely. Plain water is enough for washing the outside.
Pregnancy does make some infections more common, especially yeast infections. Most are easy to treat, and some, such as bacterial vaginosis, are especially worth treating in pregnancy. Do not self-treat with over-the-counter products until you have checked with your care provider or pharmacist.
Call your care provider if your discharge becomes green, yellow or grey, smells strong or fishy, looks thick and curdy, or comes with itching, burning, soreness or pain when you pee.
Get help right away if you have heavy bleeding, or a sudden gush or steady trickle of watery fluid.
Try this: Swap any scented washes or wipes in your bathroom for plain, unscented ones.
Day 68 · 9 weeks 4 days
When you are not feeling the same things
It is common for partners to experience early pregnancy very differently. The pregnant person lives it every hour: the nausea, the tiredness, the body changes. The partner may feel the news is not quite real yet, especially before a scan or a visible bump. One of you may be planning the nursery while the other is quietly worrying about money.
Neither reaction is wrong. Differences in pace can still lead to friction, though, especially if one person feels alone or the other feels shut out. Talking about it openly, without keeping score, tends to help more than guessing.
Try asking each other a few simple questions. What has surprised you so far? What are you most looking forward to? What worries you? What would help this week? You may find your concerns overlap more than you expected.
If you are going through this pregnancy without a partner, these questions are just as worth asking a close friend or family member who will be part of your support.
For your partner: Come to an appointment or scan if you can, and ask your own questions. Being involved early often makes the pregnancy feel more real.
Day 69 · 9 weeks 5 days
You are not eating for two yet
The old saying about eating for two leads many people to eat more than they need. In the first trimester, most people need no extra calories at all, and the extra needed later is modest, as you will read in week 12. What matters more than quantity right now is quality, when you can manage it. Aim for a mix of vegetables and fruit, whole grains, protein such as beans, lentils, eggs, fish, poultry or meat, and dairy or calcium-fortified alternatives. Keep taking your prenatal vitamin with folic acid. Iodine supports your baby's developing brain and thyroid, and comes from dairy, eggs, fish and iodized salt. Calcium and vitamin D build bones, so include dairy or fortified alternatives most days. If you eat little or no meat, plan for iron and vitamin B12 from beans, lentils, tofu, fortified foods or a supplement your care provider suggests.
If nausea means you are living on crackers and toast, do not worry. Your body has reserves, and you can make up ground when the sickness eases. Eat what you can keep down, and add something nourishing when a good moment comes.
Do not diet to lose weight during pregnancy, even if you started at a higher weight. Talk to your care provider instead about what gain is right for you. Try this: On a better-feeling day, add one more colourful vegetable or fruit to a meal than you usually would.
Day 70 · 9 weeks 6 days
Building better nights
Even when you are exhausted, sleep in early pregnancy can be broken. Bathroom trips, nausea, sore breasts, vivid dreams and a busy mind can all wake you. Good sleep habits will help now and become even more useful later on, when your bump makes getting comfortable harder.
Keep a regular bedtime and wake time where you can. Make your bedroom cool, dark and quiet. Put screens away for half an hour before bed and do something calming instead, like a warm (not hot) shower, reading or gentle stretching. If heartburn or nausea bother you at night, eat your last larger meal a few hours before bed and keep a light snack nearby. For now, you can sleep in whatever position feels comfortable, including on your back or front. Advice about sleep positions comes later in pregnancy.
If you cannot sleep, get up for a while and do something quiet in dim light, then try again. Avoid sleep aids, including herbal ones, unless your care provider agrees.
Tomorrow begins week 11, the last stretch of your first trimester. Try this: Choose a bedtime for tonight that gives you at least eight hours in bed, and set a gentle alarm to remind you to start winding down.