This week of your pregnancy, your baby’s tiny heart is beating fast and strong. You might start getting mood swings and lots of thoughts about the pregnancy and life with a baby.
The heart beats fast
This week of your pregnancy, your baby takes a real growth spurt. The small heart is beating fast and strong at about 140/150 beats per minute, working hard to supply the little body with all the strength and nutrients it needs to grow. In comparison, a normal adult should have a resting heartrate between 60 and 100 beats per minute.
By the end of week 11 of your pregnancy, your baby will measure approximately 5,5 cm and weigh 14 grams.
Mood swings
Have you been overwhelmed with happiness at seeing a dog, and then felt a deep heartache because it belonged to someone else, and you couldn’t bring it home? Or have you broken down in tears in the middle of the supermarket, because the exact brand of chips or ice cream or pickles you were craving was sold out? Don’t worry, you are not alone.
By far the majority of women experience mood swings during their pregnancy; a large part is due to the hormones raging through your body – specifically estrogen and progesterone – as well as the general factors of pregnancy. Estrogen is associated with the “happy” hormone serotonin, while progesterone is associated with relaxation. But too much of each can either lead to extreme bursts of happiness and nervous and irritable energy, or relaxation bordering on fatigue and sadness.
And on top of that, if you’re still feeling tired, nauseous, bloated and just all-around uncomfortable, no wonder you’re struggling with your mood.
Thoughts about parenthood
Pregnancy is a life-altering period in your life; you’re probably dealing with so many thoughts, worries and plans for your future. It is also normal to worry about losing parts of yourself and our previous life once the baby is born. Not to mention the more down-to-earth and practical worries about pregnancy, the baby and the birth (trust us, worrying about the birth is very normal).
Our best advices are:
- Listen to your body and what it needs. Does your brain need to research stay calm? Do that.
- Do you need to stay active to keep your mind of the worries? Take a walk and get some fresh air.
- Do you need to take a nap on the couch every evening for four days? Your body and your brain probably needs the rest.
- Talk, talk, talk. Talk to your partner about your thoughts and worries; they are probably going through many of the same thoughts as you.
- Reach out to family members and friends with children to get advice and reassurance; chances are, whatever you’re thinking, so were they.