Your baby

During this week, your baby's length will double in size from four millimetres to eight millimetres. Even at this early stage, your embryo will be just visible on an ultrasound scan as a tiny blob, with recognisable heart movements.

The umbilical cord is now fully formed and the embryo floats in a fluid-filled sac, which provides vital support until the placenta takes over completely at about 12 weeks into your pregnancy.

Blood is now circulating around your baby as the heart begins to flutter. The kidneys and liver are growing fast, and the neural tube closes, connecting the brain to the spinal cord.

Your baby’s facial features are appearing. Folds on either side of the head will become ears. There are openings for the mouth and nostrils and the retinas of your baby’s eyes are also developing, as are the beginnings of fingers and toes.

Your progress

Whether or not you feel the difference, you’ve been visited by the hormone fairy! It’s likely that you’ll be feeling tired and (sorry to mention it) rather irritable. You may also notice that your breasts are already bigger and tender, and you may need to wee more often as your growing womb puts pressure on your bladder.

All these hormones flooding the body are vital to help your baby grow. Unfortunately, higher hormone levels may make you feel sick in the morning – or even all day long. You may also develop an aversion to specific foods. If so, you’re not alone! Nausea and occasional vomiting affects one third to half of pregnant women. Thankfully, these symptoms usually ease off by the start of the second trimester.

Here are some tips to help avoid nausea:

Eat small, frequent meals every two hours, including plenty of carbs such as toast, bananas, baked potatoes, muesli and wholegrain breakfast cereals

Avoid raw or undercooked meat, soft cheeses or raw or runny eggs as these may contain bugs that could harm your baby

Eat dry crackers or ginger biscuits before getting up to settle your stomach and stabilise your blood sugar levels

Drink sweet juices or plain water, or try peppermint or ginger tea instead of your usual caffeine fix

Avoid strong smells, fatty foods, spicy foods – let your instincts guide you

Avoid alcohol, cigarettes and limit coffee to four cups a day during the first trimester

Take vitamin B6 supplements, 50 milligrams, twice a day

What to think about

A pregnancy journal is a great way to keep all your pregnancy information in one place – and could become a wonderful memento in years to come.

You can use your journal to keep track of how many days and weeks it will be until your baby arrives. You can also make notes on your physical and emotional wellbeing and keep track of what you're eating so you're sure you're getting a balanced diet. It’s also useful as a diary to record your medical appointments and write down all the questions you want to ask your midwife or doctor next time (and the answers, too.)

How to create a pregnancy Journal

First, you'll need a current calendar for the next nine months to help you to get your dates straight. Next, you'll need a blank book. When it comes to picking a notebook to serve for your journal, don't skimp on the number of pages: better too many than too few.

Next it's time to start laying out your book. Using your calendar, mark out the 40 weeks (or 280 days) of your pregnancy, marking your due date as the first day of week 40. Once you have your days and weeks laid out on an actual calendar, you can use them to guide you in laying out your journal.

So now that you have your pregnancy journal laid out, what should you write? Here are some suggestions:

Notes on what you did today. It may seem dull to you right now, but five years down the road you just may get a kick out of how you spent your time.

Important dates. Mark the start of your trimesters and any milestones, such as the first time you feel the baby kick, and the day you bought your first maternity clothes.

Your symptoms. Your friends and colleagues will only be able to stand a certain amount of detail about your nausea and swollen ankles, but in your journal you'll be free to complain as much as you want.

What you eat. Writing down what you eat is one of the easiest and best ways to make sure that your diet stays balanced. Don't forget to record your cravings and aversions, too.

Your thoughts about your baby. Here’s a great place to write down your hopes and fears for your baby, and any personal stories and advice you hope to pass along.

Questions to ask your midwife or health visitor. Some questions may not be serious enough to warrant a phone call, so write them down and save them until your next appointment.

Diary of your dreams. You may have some particularly vivid or emotional dreams during pregnancy, which will be interesting to remember in later days.

Gift lists. Record your on-going lists of the baby equipment you'll need, who gives you what and a check list of the thank-you notes you've written.