This month, you start to sport a protruding belly, which may mean sharing your news with friends, family, and coworkers if you haven't already. Your uterus is about the size of a softball and stretches to just about your pubic bone. Two to four pounds of total weight gain is about average for the first trimester; if you've been down and out with nausea and vomiting, you may be below the curve. Weight gain will pick up in the second trimester and peak in the third as your baby starts to fill out your womb.

While twenty-five to thirty-five pounds is the average suggested total weight gain for a pregnancy, your height and build will influence that number. Underweight women and women with multiple pregnancies (twins or more) will be expected to gain more; overweight women will be encouraged to gain slightly less.

If your provider hasn't mentioned a weight goal for your pregnancy, ask for your weight goal and record it here.

My Pregnancy Weight Goal

Focus on the quality of food you're eating and on getting some regular exercise (cleared with your provider first).

Where the Weight Goes

Although nausea and vomiting may finally be waning, constipation, gas, and occasional heartburn may take over as the gastrointestinal pests of the second trimester.

Constipation can be caused by an increase in progesterone, which can act to slow down the digestive system. Later in the pregnancy, pressure on the intestines caused by your growing uterus adds to the problem. Iron supplements or prenatal vitamins with added iron can also cause constipation, so talking to your provider about the possibility of a dosage adjustment or an extended release formula may be in order. An increase in dietary fiber, plenty of water intake, and exercise as approved by your healthcare provider may also help to get things going again. Be sure to consult your doctor before taking any stool softeners or laxatives.

Other pregnancy symptoms that may continue or begin this month include the following. Check off symptoms you experience this month and talk to your doctor or midwife about any that make you especially uncomfortable:

__ Fatigue

__ Frequent urination

__ Tender breasts

__ Occasional dizziness or faintness

__ Headaches

__ Nasal congestion and/or runny nose

__ Increased saliva

__ Nausea