9 weeks and 3 days pregnant

The shoulders, elbows, and wrists are flexed leaving the hands in front of the face. It’s far too early to be aware of them but several fetal movements will start to become apparent on an ultrasound scan at this stage.

You don’t need to shop for a maternity wardrobe just yet, but it might be time to purchase some bigger bras.

If your normal bras are starting to feel a little uncomfortable, it’s time to go for a fitting. If you have not done so already, get yourself measured professionally. Wearing a good and supportive bra during pregnancy is essential to prevent backache and sagging breasts.

Whenever you feel you need a new bra, get measured properly to ensure that you’re wearing the right size. Although your breasts may be growing very quickly at this time, you should find that by the end of the first trimester the growth has stabilized. There is then unlikely to be much further breast growth until you’re in your third trimester and after the baby is born.

Wearing underwired bras during pregnancy is not recommended as they can dig into the developing breast tissue and damage it, and may even cause problems with milk production; the wires digging into the skin can also be uncomfortable. Non-underwired bras with wide supportive straps, such as sports bras, are good in pregnancy.

Look for maternity bras that unhook at the front and double-up as nursing bras for after the birth. There are some very pretty and feminine styles available.

Pica means craving inedible substances and comes from the Latin for magpie, a bird that scavenges indiscriminately.

If you like crunching coal or sniffing your hot-water bottle, you have pica. While licking the toothpaste is fairly harmless, you should resist eating toxic items such as chalk, glue, and soap. Pica could be a sign that your diet is deficient in some way, so seek advice. Taking an iron or vitamin supplement could help.

If you are a vegan and pregnant, you may have to work a little harder than most women to get the right nutrients. You need to make sure you obtain adequate vitamin B12 and as there are no natural sources of this, it needs to be obtained from fortified foods such as:

• Yeast extracts

• Vegetable stock

• Veggie burgers

• Textured vegetable protein.

You also need zinc. This is an important nutrient in pregnancy, necessary for growth, energy, and supporting the immune system. Zinc can be found in the following foods:

• Beans

• Pulses

• Nuts

• Seeds – pumpkin seeds are a particularly rich source.

Like most vegans, you probably already eat many of these foods.