At a glance
Growing a baby is thirsty work. Ideally, drink 1.5 litres of water a day.
Exercise. It tones, energises, lifts your mood, and helps you sleep. Bliss.
Hello beautiful. Your baby’s tiny face is getting prettier with a nose, ears and jawline.
Round ligament pain. AKA, tummy pain. It happens as your uterus grows and stretches.
Baby's development at 10 weeks pregnant
Baby is now a proper little foetus, all the internal organs are developed and starting to function. Bones and cartilage are forming, knees and ankles are starting to take shape, little elbows are doing their job, and your tiny dancer could already be making spontaneous jerky movements.
She’s better looking these days too. Her beautiful eyes are starting to react to light, her tiny nose has the tiniest nostrils, and her mouth now has a delicate upper lip…all the better to kiss you with.
Although the gender of baby is already defined it’s not visible for a few more weeks so don’t go buying those pretty little dresses just yet.
Changes in you and your body at 10 weeks pregnant
Pregnancy body care is important this week as you may begin struggling with those skin-tight leathers. Blame baby for the pregnancy weight gain. At 10 weeks pregnant your uterus is now about the size of a grapefruit, while baby is apricot-sized.
As baby grows, your ligaments and muscles start to stretch which is why many women experience something called round ligament pain or, simply put, tummy pain. Sometimes it’s sharp, when the extra weight pulls on your ligaments. Sometimes it’s dull, when your ligaments are actually stretching. Both are totally normal and a walk or stretch can usually ease the pain.
Pregnancy nutrition at 10 weeks pregnant
As well as curvier, you might be feeling a little queasier. However this queasiness should eventually disappear in the second ‘golden’ trimester. In the meantime stock up on ginger tea as part of your pregnancy diet. It can help with nausea.
What else is on the menu this week? Water, lots of it. For many reasons: to form amniotic fluid, produce extra blood volume, build new tissue, carry nutrients, help indigestion and flush out wastes and toxins. Drink around 1.5 litres a day, roughly 6-8 gasses. Little and often is usually best, especially if you’re the victim of dreaded morning sickness. Juices, herb teas and milk also count, even tea and coffee, but nothing beats the clear stuff.
More reasons to keep moving at 10 weeks pregnant
Exercise when pregnant is not only safe - it’s recommended. Especially if you’re used to working out anyway. The fitter you are, the readier you’ll be for the strenuous job of labour. It’ll also be easier to get back in shape after pregnancy. Stomach strengthening and pelvic floor exercises are really important. They’ll help strengthen the muscles you’ll be using to carry the extra pregnancy weight. They'll also make your joints stronger, improve circulation, alleviate any backaches, and just help you feel generally fit and healthy. Exercise is known to help you feel energised and improve your mood too, so next time those hormones get you down, you know what to do. Just avoid anything that’s too high-impact.
