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Pregnancy Week 9 - Pregnancy Week by Week - Pregnancy Calendar

By Robin Elise Weiss, LCCE, About.com

Mother:

You may find yourself with a stuffy nose. Nasal congestion and nose bleeds are fairly common during pregnancy. Try using a vaporizer or humidifier to help lessen the symptoms. You continue to feel tired, nauseated, and possibly dizzy. Making a baby is hard work!

Baby:

We have elbows! Your baby is now approximately 13-17 mm crown to rump length, or about 0.51 - 0.66 inches. S/he also weighs in at 1 gram! Toe rays are present as the toes begin to form. Gonads have become testes (for boys) or ovaries (for girls). Baby will move away if touched through the uterine wall, and can spontaneously move as well. Ossification (hardening) of the bones may begin.

Dad:

Don't worry if she cries at commercial or seemingly for no reason. These are simply hormones. The same ones that might cause her to be more irritable. And if you think it's bad being on the receiving end, let us assure you that it's not very pleasant to feel like your body has been taken over. Again, the good news is that as the placenta matures and begins to take over production of some of these hormones, mom-to-be feels better.

Twin Tips:

Weight gain in a multiple pregnancy is going to be a big issue. By 24 weeks Dr. Luke in her book, When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quadruplets suggests by 24 weeks that a twin mom gain 24 lbs, a triplet mom gain 36 lbs and a quadruplet mom gain 50 lbs. After that the rate of weight gain should be about 1/2 lb per week, per baby.

Dr. Barbara Luke wrote this excellent resource for moms of multiples. It's heavy on prevention of common multiple problems and really gives you a lot of great advice for keeping healthy and sane in a multiple pregnancy.

Suggested Reading:

Managing Morning Sickness! by Miriam Erick RD
Wow! This book talks about all the helpful things that you can do to alleviate morning (and all day) sickness.
Click Here to Order

Photo © J. Reid

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