Emotional Changes
Physical Changes
How Your Baby is Growing: Weeks 9-12

At three months, many women find the unpleasant physical reminders of pregnancy (the constant tiredness and ravages of morning sickness) begin to lessen, and although they haven't begun to "show," their jeans are feeling a little snug. (Women with second or third babies often begin to show earlier than first timers.)

By the third month you're also likely to be tiring of the sort of limbo you've been in when it comes to receiving sympathy and help. During the first trimester you have felt pregnant – tired, nauseated, grouchy, short-tempered, and generally on an emotional roller coaster – even though your body has not yet revealed what's going on inside. Accordingly, many friends, relatives, and especially your spouse may not have been offering you either the sympathy you want or the help you need.

The emotional ups and downs of the first two months often continue into the third month. The good news is that the level of pregnancy hormones in your blood will probably peak during this month, meaning at least their side effects won't get any worse. For most women, the "constant" PMS feeling will begin to diminish by the end of twelve weeks. Other feelings you may have include:

• An inner confidence. The fear of miscarriage, so prevalent in the first two months, now lessens a lot, since miscarriages most often occur within the first eight weeks. If you've had a previous miscarriage, you may enter the third month with a sigh of relief and allow yourself to feel a surge of maternal love and hopefulness that you may have held back in case this baby didn't make it. It is in this month that most women begin to feel confident that they really are going to go on to deliver a healthy baby.
• A need to be alone. Throughout much of the first trimester, but especially at its end, many women report that they just want to be alone. Perhaps this is another one of nature's messages to slow down, retreat, and consider yourself first. It's also a sign that you are ready to become acquainted with the little life that's growing inside you.
• Concerns about weight gain. In the first two months you may have worried less about weight gain than you do now. Chances are you were just happy you could keep any food down at all. (Women who experience more than their fair share of nausea and food aversions during the first two months may not begin to gain weight until the third month.) Now that you are craving food more, and able to keep most of it down, it's normal to become conscious of the weight this extra food is going to put on.
• Worries about coping. If you are one of the few women whose pregnancy sickness does not begin to diminish by the end of this month, you may wonder how you are ever going to get through the next six. Even the sickest women usually experience some relief by the end of four months, so hang in there. Keep in mind though, as your pregnancy progresses, you'll feel more pregnant.
• Antsy. It's common at this stage of pregnancy to feel eager to get into "real" pregnancy, where you look pregnant and feel the baby moving. Waiting is especially hard if you're feeling out of sorts.

Your continually rising hormones and your growing baby continue to make their presence felt. Nausea, vomiting, heartburn, and constipation often continue during the third month, but typically begin to subside by the end of this month. In addition to these familiar discomforts, you may have some new physical experiences.

• Abdominal discomfort. Even though you don't yet show, you will begin to feel that something important is going on in your pelvis. You may feel a fullness in your lower abdomen. You may also notice mild stabbing pains when you suddenly change positions, going say from lying to sitting, or sitting to standing. As your uterus grows it stretches its supporting ligaments, causing these twitches of pain on both sides of your waist. Gradually easing into changes of position lessens the sudden stretching of these ligaments, and the accompanying pains. During the first trimester, uterine ligament discomfort tends to be sporadic, mild, and more of a nuisance or discomfort than truly painful. In the second and third trimester, the enlarging uterus may further stretch these ligaments, causing these pains to intensify. As your pregnancy progresses, you will learn which is the best position to assume to relieve these pains.
• Between clothing sizes. From the third to the fifth months you may find nothing fits. Your regular clothing and underwear feel too tight, but you look silly in maternity clothes. Buy some comfortable non-maternity pants and skirts one-size larger and with elastic waistbands. You'll wear them again after the baby is born.
• Hearing life. By the 12th week, you and your doctor may be able to hear your baby's heartbeat using an ultrasound device (called a Doptone) to detect your baby's heartbeat. Baby's heartbeat is about twice as fast as yours, and sounds like rapid-fire "swoosh, swoosh." You may have expected to hear a faint twittering and not the loud booming sounds that the ultrasound will reveal. You will be amazed how strong your baby's heart sounds. Remember, it's magnified many times.
• Breast changes. Your breasts are continuing to gear themselves up to feed your baby after birth. By the end of this month your nipples will probably have enlarged considerably and, as the milk ducts enlarge, and the pigmented area around your nipple may seem to take up half your breast. Getting used to the different feel and look of your breasts and realizing the importance of these changes will prepare you for the more pregnant look that is soon to come to the rest of you. If you are anxious about adjusting to your new body image and don't look forward to that fuller look, now is a good time to work through those feelings.