Parent guides · Weeks 9 to 13
Your third month of pregnancy, day by day
Days 63 to 97: the embryo becomes a fetus, fingers and toes, the first screening tests, telling people, nausea's peak and easing, and the end of the first trimester, with one thing to try every day.
Days count from the first day of your last period, the way your provider counts them, so conception is day 14 and your due date is day 280. Every note cites public health sources (the NHS, the CDC, the NIH, and the Office on Women’s Health), and a scan can move your dates: read each day as “around now”, and let your own provider’s read of your pregnancy beat any note.
← Your second month of pregnancy, day by day (days 35 to 62)Your fourth month of pregnancy, day by day (days 98 to 125) →
Week 9: a fetus now
Fingers, toes, and tiny organs, sickness at its peak, and small meals.
Day 63Accept the helpNine weeks. Hormones are at their loudest, and the NHS's advice is two words long: rest, and accept help. Today you write down what help would look like.Try: The accept-help list- Day 64Screening, explained onceNine weeks and a day. Prenatal screening starts to come up around now. One plain explanation of what it is, what it isn't, and the question to ask at your visit.Try: The screening question
- Day 65Fish, the right kindNine weeks and two days. Fish is recommended in pregnancy, as long as it's the right fish. The FDA's three columns, in plain words, and two meals to plan from them.Try: The fish list
- Day 66A bigger braNine weeks and three days. Your breasts are bigger now and your waist may be thickening. Today you get measured, write it down, and stop fighting the bra that no longer fits.Try: The bra refit
- Day 67A bit of colour in the eyesNine weeks and four days. The NHS says the eyes are bigger and have a bit of colour now. A light day: each of you guesses the colour they'll end up, and seals it.Try: The eye-colour bet
- Day 68Who comes to the visitNine weeks and five days. The booking visit is long and full of questions. Today you decide who comes with you, who holds the list, and what happens if only one of you can go.Try: The plus-one plan
- Day 69What should easeNine weeks and six days, the last day of week nine. The sources give rough weeks for when nausea and tiredness usually lift. Today you write them next to your own list.Try: The easing list
Week 10: everything is there
Every organ started, the screening choices, and the first prenatal tests.
Day 70Six small mealsTen weeks. Progesterone has loosened your digestion, and the bloating shows it. The NHS's fix is six smaller meals, no late eating, and slowing down. Plan tomorrow's six today.Try: The six-meal day- Day 71A walk after eatingTen weeks and a day. The NHS's other fix for bloating is a short walk after meals. Ten minutes after dinner also starts your 150 minutes a week. Shoes on before the dishes.Try: The after-meal stroll
- Day 72A very fast heartTen weeks and two days. The heart is beating very fast, and by the end of this week the embryo officially becomes a fetus. Today you ask when you might get to hear it.Try: The Doppler ask
- Day 73Screening or diagnosisTen weeks and three days. CVS, the first diagnostic test, can be done from about now. The difference between a screen and a diagnosis, on one card, with the right to say no to either.Try: The diagnostic-or-screening card
- Day 74Standing up slowlyTen weeks and four days. Dizziness is on this week's list, and standing up too fast is the usual trigger. One habit, every morning this week: count to ten on the edge of the bed.Try: The slow stand
- Day 75Skin and hairDarker patches, oilier skin, faster nails: what pregnancy hormones do to your skin and hair, and the one habit that keeps the patches from darkening.Try: The hat-and-sunscreen habit
- Day 76Heartburn at nightWhy progesterone gives you heartburn, why a stack of pillows doesn't fix it, and the six-inch lift under the head of the bed that does.Try: The bed-head lift
Week 11: moving, unfelt
Kicks you can't feel yet, the dating scan, and the bladder.
Day 77Fingers and toes, separatingEleven weeks: fingers and toes are separating and tiny nails are forming. Today you write the baby a short note, dated, and keep it somewhere safe.Try: The ten-fingers note- Day 78Tummy pain, by severityMost pulls and twinges this week are muscles and ligaments stretching. Today you write a three-rung ladder so you know which pain is a call.Try: The pain-severity ladder
- Day 79Running hotMore blood means more heat. Why you sweat and feel dizzy at eleven weeks, and the cool-down kit to carry so a warm day doesn't flatten you.Try: The cool-down kit
- Day 80The 11-to-14 windowWeeks 11 to 14 are the window for the first-trimester screen. Today you check whether yours is booked inside it, and decide whether you want it at all.Try: The window on the calendar
- Day 81Discharge, the normal kindMore discharge is normal in pregnancy. Today you learn your normal, white and milky, so a change in color, smell or itch is obvious and quick to report.Try: The discharge check
- Day 82The walk that helps the tirednessGentle walking may help the tiredness of the placenta taking over. Today: ten slow minutes outside on your most tired afternoon, and a note on whether it helped.Try: The fatigue walk
- Day 83The visit mapAbout ten appointments and two scans in a first pregnancy. Today you draw the months on one page and pencil in the visits and tests you already know about.Try: The visit map
Week 12: the scan
Three inches long, a fist, the 12-week scan, and telling people.
Day 84The scan that sets the dateTwelve weeks. The dating scan can confirm the pregnancy, count how many, check the heart rate and move your due date. Three questions to take in with you.Try: The dating-scan questions- Day 85How much to gainMost of the weight comes after week 20. Today you find your own range from your pre-pregnancy BMI, write one number to track with your provider, and rule out dieting.Try: The weight-gain range
- Day 86Telling workTwelve weeks and two days. Many people tell their employer around now. Today you write the two sentences you'll say to your manager, and pick the date.Try: The work-announcement draft
- Day 87Where will you give birthTwelve weeks and three days. Today you find out where the birth could happen, hospital, midwife-led unit or home, and book one look around.Try: The unit tour
- Day 88The family history pageHalf of your baby's DNA came from each side. Today you write one page of both families' health history to hand to your provider.Try: The family-history page
- Day 89Appetite comes backAs the sickness eases, appetite often returns. Today you cook the meal you've missed most, eat it slowly, and learn what eating for two really means.Try: The first real meal
- Day 90A recheckThe last day of week 12. Today you redo the week-3 symptom scorecard, see what's changed, and circle what to raise at the next visit.Try: The symptom recheck
Week 13: the end of the first trimester
Fingerprints, the placenta takes over, energy returning, and what's next.
Day 91Trimester twoThirteen weeks: the second trimester begins. Today you write down what you hope changes over the next fifteen weeks, and date it.Try: The second-trimester welcome- Day 92The first Kegel setPelvic floor exercises start now, and the evidence for them is unusually good. Today you do one set of ten and tie the rest to brushing your teeth.Try: The first Kegel set
- Day 93ClosenessDesire can go up or down around now, and both are normal. Today you and your partner spend ten minutes saying what each of you wants more of.Try: The closeness conversation
- Day 94Ten cupsThirst often goes up around now. Today you count every cup for one day and find out how far you are from the ten the Institute of Medicine suggests.Try: The ten-cup day
- Day 95GumsSwollen, bleeding gums and nosebleeds are on this week's list. Today you check at the sink, write down what you find, and add it to the visit list.Try: The gum check
- Day 96The risk assessmentOnce work knows, you can ask for your job to be looked at. Today you write the one-paragraph request and the three things you need changed.Try: The risk-assessment request
- Day 97Sign up for a classThe last day of your third month. Today you find one antenatal class, online counts, and put the first date in both of your calendars.Try: The class sign-up