Recap for Blog 33 – So that’s why I’m constantly hungry!: When Zani learns that an expectant mother’s feelings about her unborn child influences its ability to connect with others, feel safe, and even find learning easy, the penny drops in her brain. That may have been her own childhood reality, but her baby will grow up knowing how much it is loved – every single day.
In these first few weeks, I am slightly nauseous in the mornings and find that I need to go to the loo often – day and night. I also really, really battle with fatigue. The pregnancy book, though, reassures me that these are all typical of the first trimester; they may be uncomfortable and a nuisance, but they’re perfectly normal. The need to wee is because my kidneys have to work 30% harder, the tempo at which I process food has sped up by 10 to 25%, hence the hunger, and the amount of blood pumped through the heart increases by about 50% by the end of pregnancy, which is why I may feel breathless at times.
Jake has been away on a business trip for a few days, so I have lots of time on hand to read, reread and marvel about what is happening. Even though we have identical files, I enjoy reading Jake’s file most, because his drawings make everything so much more real.
WEEK 5
Embryo is 10 mm long and growing roughly 1 mm per day
Limb butts start to develop, arms ahead of legs
Arms grow longer and curve to form the elbows, and the legs curve to form the knees
Arms and legs are short and little paddles start showing that will soon become fingers and toes
Hands develop faster than feet, which is why babies can grab before they can walk
The eyes, earflap, nose and mouth start to show
Eyes are still to the side of the head
Cartilage forms palate and creates mouth cavity
Head starts to straighten up
No skull bones (you can see into the brain!)
Furrows and folds form in the brain as nerve cells come together to shape the three different areas of the brain – the forebrain, the midbrain and the hindbrain.
To understand the last point in Jake’s notes, I have to look it up in the physiology and anatomy book I bought in the children’s books section at the bookstore (the colourful pictures make the concept easier to grasp). What it basically tells me is that the forebrain is the thinking brain, the midbrain the emotional brain and the hindbrain the survival brain. I also note that even though all three parts are taking shape at the moment, each part of the brain has a window of opportunity when they go through a growth spurt. From Day 1 of Week 1 until birth and from birth to roughly 14 months of age is the critical window of opportunity for the baby to develop physically to be able to survive.
Dr. Melodie de Jager’s book Brain development, milestones and learning also explains that the baby’s physical development forms a foundation for the emotional brain and the thinking brain to expand on. Yet another reminder that even though genetic coding is determining baby’s development, it is my and Jake’s responsibility to stay healthy and informed.
Quick SMS to Jake to say hi and to tell him that Baby is in Week 5 of the 23-month critical window of opportunity for physical development – the foundation of all development.
Beep, beep.
Jake: Gives new meaning to what Russell Crowe said in Gladiator – what we do in life echoes in eternity!
Jake idolises Russell Crowe and quotes the man at the drop of a hat. I just roll my eyes. Puh-leez!
I fetch a bunch of grapes and settle back in bed to discover more.
Head is out of proportion to the size of the rest of the body, because a baby develops from head to toe
Head of a newborn is a quarter of body size, and adult’s head is an eighth of body size
Yolk sac attached to the baby is the baby’s budding blood-cell factory
Nerve networks and muscles start to join forces to initiate the first proper movements.
After his last point, Jake has pencilled a note in the margin: Radio interview – withdrawal reflex. For a second, it does not make sense, but then I remember what he told me about the developmental importance of the withdrawal reflex to sensitise the skin, nervous system and brain. I am constantly in awe of the life unfolding inside me and the intelligence that has sparked the process. Just how does it happen? How does a cell know it is to become a part of the cornea, semi-circular canals, the Vagus nerve or the palate? How does it know which genes to use and which to ignore at any given moment?
I can’t wait to see what comes next and read on. Tomorrow will be the first day of Week 6.
WEEK 6
Embryo is 15 mm long
Skin is translucent and you can see the backbone clearly through the skin
12 pairs of ribs have grown and now meet in the middle
Skin develops from the back to the front, and sweat glands form
Soft hair grows to cover and sensitise the skin
Heart rate is 140–150 fluttering beats a minute – more or less double the rate of Mom’s heartbeat
Embryo needs lots of nourishment and draws it via the placenta from Mom’s body.
So that’s why I’m constantly hungry! This little human is eating all my food! Have to fetch more grapes. And nuts too.
The placenta acts as a filter and can prevent many harmful substances from reaching the baby, but others may easily pass through and cause damage, so all medication and supplements must be discussed with caregiver
Umbilical cord links the embryo with the placenta and until birth everything it needs is delivered via this online supply
1 large vessel in the umbilical cord delivers oxygen and nutrients from Mom to embryo
2 vessels in the umbilical cord remove toxins and waste products from baby to Mom (the dustbin) via the placenta
Mom’s red blood count is important, because it transports oxygen to the embryo and oxygen is brain food
Eyes can clearly be seen on a scan, placed to the side of the head (but are not developed yet, and are only pits)
Head is now 50% of the size of the body
Yolk sac starts to develop its own supply of blood – red blood cells and stem cells, which will eventually become the immune system’s white blood cells
Hands still look like paddles.
I close the file, and then my eyes. And, in absolute wonder, I fall asleep – what feels like a deep, deep sleep.
Otte, T. 2007. Pregnancy and Birth. London: New Holland.
de Jager, M. 2019. Brain Development Milestones and learning. Johannesburg: Mind Moves Publishing.
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