12-weeks pregnant: baby development and diet tips

BABY DEVELOPMENT

As your first trimester is coming to a close, you can now see the face of your baby. And frankly, what a gorgeous face it is! Their bone marrow is producing its own blood cells, but the liver and spleen (which makes red blood cells) will make most of the blood cells until right around birth. After birth, it will continue this exclusive role during the entire life of your child. If your baby is a boy, their penis will already be visible on ultrasound. If you want to wait until they are born to know whether you’re having a boy or girl, make sure you let everyone around your health care team know so they don’t spoil the surprise.

YOUR BODY

Good news – the end of the first trimester is when most mothers-to-be report their nausea disappearing overnight. Second great news – if you have been anxious to feel the baby move, it generally starts around the 4th month of your pregnancy. Don’t worry if it doesn’t happen immediately, especially if you are a first-time mom. You just might not know what it feels like. It isn’t a huge earth-shaking sensation, more like light, butterfly-wings flapping inside you. When you do feel it, you can rub your belly to say hello right back! 

NUTRITION

Hungry? While you didn’t need more calories than before you were pregnant during your first trimester, you’ll soon need around 340 extra calories per day during your second trimester to support your growing baby.  Getting these extra calories by eating nutritious meals and snacks  will help your baby grow and develop healthily – both in your womb and in later life. But what does that number of extra calories look like in healthy food?   About 340 calories can be supplied by 2 or 3 additional servings from Canada’s Food Guide groups, for example:

• An apple with ¾ cup of yogurt
• 1 slice of whole-grain toast and a cup of milk½ an English muffin with a slice of cheese and ½ of a sliced pear

TIPS

A lot of women wonder what can happen if they get ill while pregnant. A cold or a stomach upset usually has no effect on an unborn child. It is just important to inform your doctor about any illness because they will know exactly which treatments and which medicines to recommend while you are pregnant.