Your baby is beginning to look more of a human being than a tadpole. It has a head, a pretty large one though, with eyes, mouth, nose and ears. The tail that made your little one look like a tadpole has completely gone. Your baby is clearly distinct with the arms, legs and torso as well. Your little one has become one inch long. The eyelids that have developed will be tightly shut, and will not open till the 27th week.
By this pregnancy week 9, the genital organs will develop into either testes or ovaries, but you will still not be able to know whether your little darling is a he or a she. You can determine the gender only in the second trimester. But that does not matter, as it's more important that you get a healthy bouncy baby. Your baby's heart is complete with four chambers. As all the organs, the face and the limbs have formed; your baby is going to accelerate in the growth and development department, in the next few weeks. Meanwhile your baby is floating around in fluid environment which is comfortable and warm because of your body temperature.
As the baby is going to develop very fast, you too are going to put on weight, and your belly will soon be showing. In pregnancy week 9, while your little one is trying out all his muscles, all you want to do is lie down and rest. This is the time when the placenta and the umbilical cord are developing. Your hormones are soaring, and your metabolism increases, yet you feel tired. This is because your sugar level and your blood pressure are decreasing, as a result of the active formation of the placenta and umbilical cord. Once the placenta is fully developed, your energy will increase. The happy news is, there'll be less and less morning sickness. Meanwhile if you are still feeling nauseated, just eat a bit. You can snack on fruits and biscuits. Have more meals. Your baby is still tiny and doesn't need much now. When your little one bursts into energy and growth the next few weeks, you will also put on weight.
This week 9, you will experience wanting to urinate often. It can interrupt your sleep. But the feeling to urinate is there, because the expanding uterus, is putting pressure on the bladder. Go to sleep earlier than usual so that you will get a good night's sleep.
Another symptom that you will have in pregnancy week 9, is breast tenderness, as more blood is flowing there to get them ready to breastfeed your baby when born. You may also have a bloated feeling, indigestion and flatulence. These are all common and nothing to worry about. It's just that your body is adjusting to your little one.
Most of your weight gain this week 9, is due to water retention than real weight. However by the end of pregnancy, you will weigh about 18 to 35 lbs more. But, this includes your baby's weight plus the weight of the placenta, the uterus, the amniotic fluid, the water you will retain in your tissues during pregnancy, and the increase in blood volume to send nutrients to your baby. So do not worry about the extra weigh, as it will be cast off on delivery.
