Chorevia

Day 90 of 280 · 12 weeks + 6 days

A recheck

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 8 sources · Plain-text version

The 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.

Size this week
about the size of a plum
Length this week
5.4 cm from head to bottom
A Black woman in a loose t-shirt and leggings curled on a sofa in morning light, a pen in hand over a small notebook, an older card with ticked boxes beside it on the cushion, not visibly pregnant.

Twelve weeks and six days: the last day of your first trimester by the NHS's count, and the day to redo the scorecard you drew back in week 3. The point, this time, is the difference.

Your baby

A single dark plum on a plain pale wooden table, soft window light.

Around now your baby is 5.4cm long from head to bottom, about the size of a plum, and a heartbeat can be seen on an ultrasound (NHS). At 12 weeks the baby is about 3 inches long and can make a fist (OWH). Next week the NHS says the ovaries or testes will be fully developed inside, with final changes happening on the outside (NHS).

Your body

Hormone levels should begin to settle now that the placenta has taken over from the yolk sac (NHS). "Should begin" is honest: nausea, mood swings, headaches, heartburn, bloating and skin changes are all still on the NHS's list for this week (NHS). The early list was a different one: fatigue, breast tenderness, nausea, mood swings, and frequent urination, in whatever combination, or none (NICHD). Today you put the two lists side by side.

Try today

  1. The symptom recheck

    Time: 5 minutes, pen and paper

    1. Draw the same five boxes you drew in week 3: fatigue, sore breasts, nausea, mood swings, peeing more (NICHD).

    2. Add this week's four: headaches, heartburn, bloating, skin changes (NHS).

    3. Tick what you have today, and only today.

    4. If you kept the old card, lay it beside the new one and look at what moved.

    5. Circle anything new or worse, and put it on the list for your next visit.

    Make it work:

    One box may empty itself soon: needing to pee often should stop as the womb moves up and away from the bladder (NHS).

Watch for

  • Normal

    skin changes and bloating (NHS).

    Call your provider

    about any bleeding; the NHS says to report it to your doctor (NHS).

  • Normal

    feeling hot; it's on the NHS's list of common signs from next week (NHS).

    Call your provider

    for a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher (CDC).

  • Normal

    headaches, on this week's list (NHS).

    Call your provider

    for a headache that won't go away or gets worse over time, or one that comes with blurred vision or dizziness (CDC).

For you

One thing to say once, plainly, and then leave: the NHS notes that being overweight makes you more prone to conditions such as pre-eclampsia and high blood pressure (NHS). Preeclampsia occurs in about 2% to 8% of all pregnancies (CDC). That is not an instruction to lose weight; the CDC is explicit: "Don't try to lose weight if you're already pregnant" (CDC). What it is, is a reason your provider checks your blood pressure at every visit (OWH), and a reason to go to every appointment (CDC). Whatever your weight, that's the whole job.

If you're the partner: ask to see the two cards, and resist the urge to interpret them. The ticks are hers; the next visit is where they get read.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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