Pregnancy Week By Week : 11 Weeks Pregnant - What To Expect

This is amazing mommies. You are into 11 weeks of your pregnancy and your baby has attained an almost human shape inside your comfortable womb. Your earlier pregnancy symptoms such as nausea and dizziness are slowly phasing out (however, they may be back towards the last few weeks of your pregnancy). With proper diet and nourishment, you are probably all geared up to face the rest of your pregnancy with more zest. At the 11th week, your body is in full swing catering to the demands of your rapidly growing baby. Do you want to learn about the changes in your body and the developments of your little one? Read on for the details.

Baby Development

Development of the ovaries

Your baby would have started producing testosterone in the last two weeks in case of a boy. If it is a girl, her ovaries have started developing this week and in a few more weeks it will develop completely. However, it is too early to detect the baby's gender just by looking at it in an ultrasound scan.

Distinct human features

By the 11th week of your pregnancy, your baby has developed certain human characteristics in terms of its physical development. The face is taking shape, the ears are in their final stage of formation, there is a tiny button for a nose with an open nasal passage, a small tongue, a mouth cavity with almost formed lips. A close look at your baby will also show visible nipples.

Head and body hair

Though not fully formed yet, hair follicles are developing on the crown area. Hair follicles are also growing on the rest of the body.

Prominent fingers and toes

This week will see a transition from the webbed look of the limbs to individual toes and fingers at the extremities. The growth is not just limited to this during the 11th week, but nails of the toes and fingers have also begun to develop. The nail growth will continue for the next few weeks and most of the babies are born with sharp nails that need clipping after a few days.

Stretching and rolling

As your baby's torso is growing in length, its body is beginning to attain a more straightened posture. Thanks to this development, your little one can now perform activities like stretching and rolling around in your uterus.

Size of your baby

After the pea and prune, your baby is now the size of a lime. The head still looks quite bigger than the rest of the body but now it is slowly attaining the shape of a human baby. The limbs have taken shape to give your baby a more human appearance at this stage.

Body Changes & Common Symptoms

Slightly protruding belly: Even though you may not have a very prominent baby bump as yet, by this time you will notice a slight protrusion in your lower abdomen. This is because of the growing uterus and not really because you have been piling up on calories. As your uterus continues to grow, the slight bulge will keep getting bigger week on week.

Feeling hungry: Now that your nausea and morning sickness are dissipating, you will feel an increased hunger. You may also have food cravings. Don't feel alarmed if you are a vegetarian who can now think of meat only. This is your body's own way of telling you to nourish your baby and your body to make sure that both mother and child are getting the nutrition that they require. As long as the food is healthy, free of MSG and other harmful chemicals and not completely processed or refined, don't restrict yourself when you feel like eating something.

Feeling gassy and bloated: Thanks to the pregnancy hormone progesterone, you may feel bloated and gassy. Though this is a natural phenomenon during this stage, it may become embarrassing, especially at work or a social gathering. But this is also a phase and will pass in a few weeks. Speak to your gynecologist about having antacids to keep away or at least minimize the effect of the gas.

Slow digestive process: As mentioned above, the work of the hormone progesterone is to relax the uterine muscles so ease the birthing process. However, it also ends up of relaxing the muscles in the gastrointestinal tract resulting in a slow digestive process. This process is helpful and the food remains in your system for a longer time, letting the essential nutrients to be absorbed into your bloodstream and then into your baby's body.

Sudden hot flashes: Pregnancy affects each cell of your body and therefore you may feel warm or even hot quite suddenly at times even when the temperatures are low. This is mainly because of the increased blood flow in your system and makes you warmer during this time.

Hair and nail growth: You may not notice this, but by the 11th week of your pregnancy your hair, fingernails, and toenails begin to grow faster than ever. With the growth hormones raging in your body to help your baby develop at a rapid pace, hair and nails are also affected and grow in a crazy manner.

Health Tips

In addition to eating healthy and taking adequate rest, this week should focus on tackling your digestion problems or else they may become more severe in the coming weeks. Here are some things you can follow:

• Don't have a heavy meal: Substitute one big meal with two or three smaller ones. Instead of piling up food in one seating, eat round the clock but in tiny amounts so that you don't burden your digestive system.
• Avoid fried or fatty food: It is good to keep a handful of nuts or dried fruits with you and bite into them whenever you feel a pang of hunger. But avoiding fatty food is best, not only because it will add to your weight, but also because they are more difficult to digest and may make you feel uncomfortable.
• Keep away the cold: Research shows that if you have frequent colds during this time, your child may be affected and may develop asthma. So ensure you keep the germs away and stay warm and healthy with proper precautions.

By now you already know a lot about what to do and what not to do during the pregnancy period. There is no restriction on enjoying during this time, as long as you are not indulging in unhealthy habits such as drinking or smoking. Go out with your spouse or your peer group once in a while and try to have as much fun, because soon your bundle of joy will arrive and will keep you on your toes for some time.