Weeks 1 to 4: Pregnancy Week by Week

Weeks 1 to 4: Confirming pregnancy and establishing due date

Becoming a parent may happen on purpose or by accident, but however it comes about, parenting itself is a calling.

-Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn, Mindful Parenting

What's Happening in Your Body?

Even though you've just discovered that you're pregnant, you're already noticing some changes. You may feel tired, perhaps your breasts are tender, or you find you are urinating more frequently. Some women feel a little crampiness as the embryo implants into the uterine wall.

What's Happening with Your Baby?

Your baby is a microscopic fertilized egg that is dividing again and again, forming into a ball of cells with separate layers that will grow into a baby. A yolk sac nourishes your baby until all the major organs have formed. Soon she will be about the size of a small pea and will weigh less than one ounce.

Confirming Pregnancy and Establishing Due Date

Some women will have guessed they are pregnant even before taking any tests. Others may have no symptoms at all. Every woman's experience is unique. How do you know for sure that you are pregnant? Read about how to confirming pregnancy. Once you have determined that you are indeed pregnant, one of the first things you will want to know is when the baby is due. Learn why the standard calculation used for establishing due date is not always the most accurate one.

Nourish Yourself

This is a time for celebration! Break open a bottle of sparkling apple cider and have it with some Coconut Sweet Potato Pie. This creamy dessert is full of beta-carotene. The wheat-free crust provides omega-3 fatty acids and fiber. Share it with your family or your favorite friends while you revel in your good fortune.

Body Wise

It's important to get plenty of exercise while you are pregnant, and walking is a great way to do it. As you get used to the idea that you are carrying the seed of a new human being inside of you, a walk in nature is a great way to have some time to yourself. You are a crucial part of this grand scheme of life that is all around you.

Natural Soothers

Exercise is important, but so is rest. You may feel tired at times. That's because your body is working very hard right now. It's a good idea to listen to your body's cues as much as you can. Start out on the right track by turning rest time into a ritual. Spritz some rosewater or another favorite diluted essential oil on the sheets, light a beautiful soy or beeswax candle (unless you think you might fall asleep) and settle in with a good book. Make yourself a pot of caffeine-free tea. Allow this indulgence into your life.

Higher Ground

Ripening
As the baby, from seed to worldly entrance ripens
So does the mother's consciousness mature through revelations
of life's beginnings-
During this, their growing season.

Out of man and woman's union springs the fruit-
A child swelling 'neath a woman's belly,
And the Madonna-ripening fruit of womanhood.

Joining forces, father and mother weed out their fears, To clear the ground and prepare the way for the day of harvesting.

On that day, they reap as they sow, the fruits of their labor.

Author Unknown

Image by Durga Yael Bernhard

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