Everyone wants to be healthy. Being healthy means more than not being sick – it means having the energy to enjoy life. It means being physically and mentally able to deal with most of the curve balls life throws. Being healthy lets us live life to the fullest. Who'd want to miss out on that?

Unfortunately, health is not guaranteed, it is something we have to work for. Even the most careful person can get sick, end up in a car accident or otherwise lose their health. Even when disaster doesn't happen, the ongoing stresses of life can wear our health down. It takes daily action to support and reinforce our health and well being.

Luckily, staying (or getting) healthy doesn't necessarily take a lot of work. For people who are not dealing with severe illness, a few simple steps can really improve day-to-day health. For those who are ill, these little things won't bring a magic cure, but they can strengthen your mind and body to better fight back against your illness. All it takes is a few minutes a day and a commitment.

This is a brief guide to being healthy. There is far more information available on health than can be fit in a single website. Use this guide as an introduction and a way to get started. If what you find here is enough to get you the level of health you want, use it and enjoy the results! If not, don't be discouraged, from this starting point you can go a lot further with time and research.

You will find three general topics in this guide – health tips, healthy eating, and diet plan. Health tips is a collection of simple things you can do every day to make a difference in your health. Healthy eating introduces the some of the basics of a healthy diet that most nutrition articles don't talk about. Diet plan offers some thoughts and ideas on designing a diet plan, if your weight is impacting your health. These three topics provide a good introduction to what you need to know to get and stay healthy.

Health Tips

Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to make major life changes to improve your health. Small things, taking just a few minutes each day, can make a big difference. In this section, you will find several suggestions for small changes you can make that have a big impact on your health.

You don't need start doing all these things at once. You want to make these small changes into habits that you don't need to think about. Start with the one that will be easiest for you to add to your day. Once that change has become a routine you don't need to think about, try adding another. This way you aren't trying to remember several new things at the same time. Remember, this is about making small changes. And even you only follow one of these health tips, you'll still be making yourself healthier.

Drink water : This surprisingly obvious health tip has popped up frequently in recent years, and for good reason. Many people in the United States are living in a state of constant dehydration. One study found over 50% of women were chronically dehydrated. Unfortunately, as often as this advice has been given, not enough people are following it.

How can you tell if you are drinking enough water? Don't waste your time counting how many cups of water you drink each day. None of the medical authorities can agree on how much water any given person needs. This is because we are all different, and are bodies all need different amounts of water. The trick to telling if you are dehydrated is to stop worrying about the numbers, and start paying attention to how you feel.

If you frequently feel like your mouth is dry, if your skin tends to be dry and itchy, and if your lips chap easily, you are probably dehydrated. Another clue is in how you drink. If you pick up a glass of water and can comfortably take a sip and put it back down, you are not dehydrated. If you need to take several large swallows before you put a glass down, you probably are.

Make sure you drink water, not sugar drinks, tea or coffee, several times a day. Many non-water beverages (like tea and alcohol) can actually make you dehydrated.

Get Some Sun: Sunlight is crucial for both our mental and physical health. Not getting enough sunlight can lead to depression. It weakens the immune system and can even increase your chances of osteoporosis. It's important to get a little bit of sun each day.

Now, a little bit of sun doesn't mean setting out a lawn chair and baking for several hours. It means sitting one your front porch while you drink a cup of coffee in the morning or sitting on a bench chatting with a friend for 10 minutes on your break. 10-15 minutes of sunlight and fresh air each day can make a huge difference in your health.

Try to get your sun in the morning or late afternoon. Remember the old saying about 'too much of a good thing' and don't put yourself at risk of skin cancer by over sunning or going out to often in the heat of the day. The gentle sunlight the hits early and late in the day will give you the health benefits you want without the risks.

Change Your Position: Most of us spend a great deal of the day doing the same thing over and over again. We sit at desks, we stand in one spot or we walk around, depending on what our job is. Whatever it is your job has you doing, take the time every hour to chance your position or your pace. Sit down, stand up, bend over, jog, run in place, reach up high, something!

Doing the same thing all the time creates stress on the body, interferes with circulation and generally just isn't good for you. Not everything is equally bad – standing all day is better than sitting, because sitting interferes with blood flow. Walking it better than standing because it keeps the muscles moving and helps blood flow. But a change is still good no matter what it is you are doing.

You don't need to take a lot of time or make a big change. Taking 5 seconds to reach for the ceiling, than bend over and reach for your toes, can be enough. If you are sitting and can't stand up, stretch your legs out and try to touch your toes or place your hands on top of your head and twist your body from side to side. Doing something small once an hour is enough to start making a difference in your health.

Healthy Eating

Okay, before everyone's brain's shut down on an image of tasteless 'good for you' crud, let's examine some prejudices. Most people today have an idea of 'health food' as been bland an impossible to enjoy. Therefore, eating healthy becomes a chore and food stops being what it should be: one of the great pleasures of life. 

The idea that healthy food should be tasteless is thoroughly outdated. It comes from the middle of the 1800s when doctors thought that some types of illness was caused by people being 'over-stimulated'. So they made everything medical as dull as possible, and deliberately created the most tasteless possible goop to sell as 'health food.' Take a calendar check here – this idea goes back to before doctors knew that germs caused disease. Isn't it time to get rid of it? Who wants to eat food two centuries out of date?

There is another reason many people assume healthy food is tasteless or disgusting. In a word: vegetables. We all grew up with our parents telling up 'eat your vegetables, they are good for you,' while we desperately tried every trick to avoid swallowing those disgusting green things.

If you can, try and open your mind enough for a new concept: vegetables don't have to be bland or disgusting. There are two reasons why we grew up feeling like there was nothing worse than vegetables. First, most of our parents didn't know how to cook them! For many American families, cooking vegetables comes straight out of the classic English cook book – boiled tasteless. There are a lot of great ways to prepare veggies, but in a pot of water is usually not one of them (unless you are making stew!)

The other reason we hated vegetables as children has to do with our taste buds. Many vegetables are bitter, and children don't like bitter things. As people grow older, their taste buds change, and they begin to like bitter flavors more. Which is why beer and coffee were yuck worthy when you were a child, but may be really good now.

So, here's a suggestion: when you decide to start eating healthy, don't see it as forcing yourself to eat boring, icky, pointless stuff. Instead try and see is as exploring a new cuisine, the same way you would if you decide to try to learn to cook Japanese food or French cuisine. Explore recipes, learn techniques, play with spices and have fun with it.

So just what does healthy eating consist of? Mostly, a reasonable balance. That's why they call it a 'balanced diet'. Basically, healthy eating calls for a little bit of everything. You can think of it in terms of nutrition – a bit of carbs, a bit of protein, a bit of vitamins and minerals, a bit of fats, a bit of sugars. You can see it as food instead – some pasta and bread, some meat and beans, some fruit and vegetables, some oils, some sweets. In China the approach is balancing flavors – something salty, something sweet, something savory, something bitter and something sour makes for a balanced meal too.

Basically it comes down to variety, the more kinds of things you eat, the more nutrients you are getting. Plus, the greater variety of food you eat the less likely you are to get too much of anything (like sugar and fat).

There is one other side to healthy eating – it's not always what you eat, sometimes it is how you eat it. There are two things you can do that will make your eating habits a lot healthier. The first is to eat slowly. The second is to snack. Without doing anything else these two things can make a big difference in the health of your diet.

Try an experiment next time you eat. Chew eat bite 20 times before swallowing. You'll find some surprising results. Chewing longer helps you digest the food better, so you use less energy absorbing it and get more nutrition out of it. Eating more slowly gives your body time to process the food and realize how much you have eaten. It takes your body several minutes to realize it is full, so every time you eat there is some food that you don't need to eat. You don't realize this, because you don't know you are full. Eating more slowly means you eat less extra food.

Our bodies are designed to be eating constantly. They are not designed to eat a few huge meals and then go hours with out food. In fact, if you go more than four hours without eating, your body will decide there isn't enough food and you in danger of starving. Then it will start deliberately packing on pounds. A small snack every few hours will keep your body from freaking out about the coming famine. It doesn't have to be a big snack. Grab an apple, munch a few nuts, or nosh some chips (potato chips are actually very healthy if you get the low salt kind and don't eat more than a handful at a time).

That's it. Healthy eating in a nut shell. Now let's take a look at what you can do if you are coming to healthy eating a bit late, and need to get on a diet plan to get back on the road to health.

Diet Plan

For most people, 'diet plan' conjures up images of counting calories, giving up favorite foods and a general annoyance that pervades all of life. For years diets have based on denial. Stop eating so much, stop eating this or that thing that is bad for you, stop eating things cooked this or that way.

To some extant this denial approach is necessary, if what you have been eating until now has led you to the point that you need to set up a diet plan, than you need stop eating the way you have been and start eating a new way. Which means you have to deny yourself some of the things you are used to eating.

The mistake with the traditional approach is that it makes denial a lifestyle, and few people can live like that for long without giving into temptation, which leads to guilt and even more problems. Denial just doesn't work as a long term strategy.

What does work for a diet plan? Change and discipline. There is a difference between 'I can never have any cake' and 'I can have cake on special occasions, but only one slice.' The first is denial, the second is discipline. Changing your habits – having only one slice of cake at parties rather then several, having a small snack rather than a large one, munching on nuts or berries instead of hard candy, is the basis of a good diet plan. The discipline to stick to your diet plan is what will make it work.

So how do you build a diet plan?

Start by coming up with a list of small changes you want to make to the way you eat. Don't go for sweeping reforms like 'no more sugar' or 'eat a salad every day' unless you are one of the rare people who do best going cold turkey on a bad habit. Instead go for things like 'eat 2 salads a week', 'only eat desert twice a week' or 'only have 1 slice of bacon with breakfast'. These should things that you can adjust to in a few weeks, or even a few days.

Pick one change to start with. Its up to you whether you go with the one that will be easiest or hardest, you know yourself best. Start that change in your diet immediately. It may be difficult at first and will feel strange for while, but stick with it. In a short while it will be a normal part of your routine. When that happens, it's time to make the next change.

By building a diet plan around gradual changes you create a lifestyle change that can be permanent. Instead of getting the diet see-saw of losing lots of weight quickly and then gaining it all back, you will be able to lose weight gradually and keep it off.

You will get better effect if you combine this diet plan with an exercise program. This way your body will be burning more calories while you are changing your eating habits.

However you approach getting healthy and changing your life, make sure it is something you can live with. You want to work towards your health while enjoying life as much as possible. Making yourself miserable rather defeats the purpose, after all.

Sometimes people have habitual infections of the tonsils. Despite various treatment methods, the infection continues. In many of these cases where all methods have failed, a patient may simply need a tonsillectomy. A tonsillectomy involves removal of the tonsils.

When a tonsillectomy is performed, the patient is put under anesthesia. The tonsils are removed through the mouth. In order to seal the wound left by the removal of the tonsils, the place where the removal occurred will be cauterized to seal the wound. This will also ensure that infections cannot occur here in the future. A tonsillectomy takes about an hour to do.

Following a tonsillectomy the patient is kept in the hospital until the anesthesia has full worn off. Typically with a tonsillectomy, the patient goes home the same day. The patient is sent home with instructions to rest at home. Another important direction is to keep the head elevated. Patients can also apply ice to their throat to keep down any swelling. A light diet is recommended with soft and cool foods.

Tonsillectomies usually have a quicker recovery time in children who are still growing. The wound left by the procedure does take time to heal. Also, after surgery bleeding may occur. This is normal as the cauterized wound is clotting. Doctors will often prescribe painkillers for the patient during this initial phase of recovery. Usually after five days, the scab will fall off. Assuming a child is in good health, the recovery time from a tonsillectomy is anywhere from one to two weeks.

Adults take longer than children to recover from a tonsillectomy. It can often take more than a month. Pain will last longer in adults than children. Following the procedure, two weeks of bed rest is generally recommended by physicians. Generally, if one is taking off work, they will probably need two weeks. After this time, the patient can return to work assuming light duties.

If you are continuing to suffer after the operation and recovery period and believe it might be as a result of medical negligence, you should get in touch with solicitors who specialise in making a medical negligence claim as soon as possible for expert help and advice."

If you are thinking about weight loss surgery, it is important to consider all the options to ensure that you are picking the best options for your needs. Whether you have tried with dieting and exercising previously or are looking for a helping hand then taking the time to read up about the procedures is important.

There are so many treatments to have today – whether that’s breast enlargement or hair loss surgery – and choosing the right procedure can be tough. Here we will take a look at the gastric band to see if it is what you are looking for.

What it is?

Working by reducing stomach capacity, using gastric bands is a procedure that leads to you feeling full quicker and, ultimately, eating less. Placed at the top of your stomach, this band is a circular balloon which creates a pouch that fills up and slowly passes food through to continue the digestive system.

Able to be removed at any time, a gastric band is one of the safest types of weight loss surgery and tends to be offered if:

·       You have high blood pressure, diabetes or another medical condition with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 to 40, or

·       Your BMI is more than 40.

How it works

It all begins when you meet with a surgeon and discuss with them any questions that you have regarding risks, benefits and alternatives. What will happen then is the doctor will work you through pros and cons before outlining what is needed to prepare for the operation.

When you are going for the surgery, this tends to be done with a general anaesthesia so you are asleep during the operation and you are told to fast for six hours prior to the procedure. This is followed by a one night stay, before you are taken home to start your work.

The operation is one that uses keyhole surgery and takes an hour to do. It is a case of numerous small cuts to the abdomen so that the surgeon can place the band around the stomach. Once it is in place then the cuts are stitched up and your pouch can be changed and altered at any time by the surgeon – it begins empty.

Sometimes pain-relief tablets are required, and you should be aware that this is the point when you can only eat small meals. Initially it’s a case of pureed foods, liquid and vitamin supplements. Add to this the need for a more active lifestyle and you’re almost on your way back to a normal life.

Sounds simple enough, right? And, it is, but many people have preconceived ideas about gastric bands  – and these are often one of the seven myths. Read on for more.

Myths

1.     It’s a miracle cure – Some see the surgery as a simple way to lose weight without changing their lifestyle. This isn’t the case. A change to a healthier lifestyle is imperative to body change, but when this is combined with a gastric band there are attainable goals to shoot for.

2.     Unhealthy weight loss – Others like to question whether people lose too much weight with these bands. Losing too much quickly is never healthy, and using a band, many surgeons aim for a two to three pound weekly loss.

3.     Mal-nutrition – It is known that many doctors over supplements and vitamins to patients following surgery but that’s not to say that you can’t receive proper nutrition naturally.

4.     Liquids forever – While it is true that super-sized meals are off the agenda, solid foods can be eaten with a gastric band following the four weeks of liquid diet during your recovery.

5.     The weight will come back – To some, it’s hard to see how they will keep the weight off once it has gone. The truth is that this is a lifelong commitment. Using a gastric band helps people to get to a foundation point whereby they are able to see a stronger body image and will be more committed to sticking to a lifestyle change.

6.     Follow-up care is a waste of time and money – Once the surgeons have done their job, in terms of reaching the weight you targeted, then you need to be sure that you are following the right line for maintained weight loss. Having someone to discuss this with can be crucial.

How to Lose Weight Fast: Introduction

For people who are overweight, losing weight can be an important part of improving their health and well being. The faster you lose weight, the faster you can enjoy better health, more energy and higher self esteem.

It is possible to lose weight very fast, if you are willing to take the right steps. However losing weight too quickly can be dangerous. If you aren't careful, you can start to lose muscle and damage your organs, instead of losing fat. This guide will introduce the basic concepts to losing weight fast while staying healthy.

If you are trying to lose over 30 pounds in a short amount of time, you should speak with a doctor before you begin, so your doctor can monitor your progress and your health. If you can afford it, working with a personal trainer can make it easier to lose weight quickly and the trainer can help you lose weight in a way that is healthy.

Losing weight is a lifetime commitment. You can lose weight fast, but if you don't make an ongoing commitment to changing your life, that weight will come right back. The weight yo-yo, losing weight and putting it back on over and over again, is even more unhealthy than being overweight. Make the decision now to make the changes in your life to lose the weight and keep it off.

What is Losing Weight to You?

So you want to lose weight. You're BMI is high, you've gone up 2 dress sizes, you look awful in your swim trunks. Maybe you just want to be healthier and in better shape. Whatever you are thinking of doing, your goal is unlikely to be 'losing weight'. You want to lose inches off your waist, drop 10 pounds or to get six pack abs. You want a healthy BMI, you want to lose fat, or get a sexy body. What does 'losing weight' mean to you?

Define your goals. If you don't know what your goal is, you'll never reach it. Once you've defined your goal, break it into small pieces. Set a time frame for each small piece.

Let's say your goal is to lose 2 inches off your waist. You can break that down into smaller goals of wanting to lose ½ inch each week. Keep your small goals reasonable. It is possible to lose 20 pounds a week, but only if you aren't work, spend all your time dedicated to losing those pounds, and have a good doctor and trainer helping you. 5 pounds a week is a healthier and more reachable goal.

Exercising for Weightloss

Once of the most important things you can do to lose weight fast is exercise. Not just any exercise – it has to be the right kind of exercise. Many women have had the experience of diving into an exercise program to trim their waistline – and instead dropping a bra size! Guys, this can happen to you too – clearly defined arms are great, but if your goal was to lose the spare tire, beautiful biceps don't help much.

This guide won't go into the variety of exercises available – that would take an entire book. Instead, here's some suggestions on how to pick the right exercise for your goals.

Get a whole body workout: Make sure that you are exercising every part of your body. Every muscle group should get at least a quick work out.

Focus on your target area: While it's important to work everything, if your goal is to lose fat on your waist, focus most of your exercise on your core muscles. If you want to get of underarm flab, work your chest and arms. If you're not happy with your bottom, squats and lunges are your friends.

Don't focus on your heart rate: cardio exercises are wonderful for staying healthy, keeping your heart going strong, and keeping weight off. They aren't the best exercises for fast weight loss. If you're goal is to lose weight fast, don't watch your heart rate, just work your muscles.

Go for strength training: Weightlifting and other strength training exercises are some of the best exercising for weight loss. Building muscle takes a lot of energy, and burns a lot of fat.

Exercise every day: If you want to lose weight quick, put in at least a half an hours exercise every day. Exercising for a half an hour straight (not ten on ten off, but half an hour non-stop) raises your metabolism for 24 horus.

Alternate your program: fat doesn't get burned while you exercise – the weight loss comes after you exercise, when your body is recovering and building new muscle. Have two different exercise programs. Hard and easy, arms and legs, cardio and strength training. Split it up whatever way works best, and alternate each day. This way your body has time to rebuild and recover (and burn fat) in the areas that are getting a break.

Watch for plateaus: After you've been exercising a while, you'll hit a point where no matter how hard you try, you can't lose any more. This is called a plateau.When this happens, it's time to change up your exercise routine.

Diet Programs to Lose Weight

Everything here is based the assumption you are exercising every day and really working your muscles. Which is why a lot of the advice in this section will fly in the face of everything you've ever heard about dieting. Frankly, diets are lousy ways to lose weight fast for most people. For some people they work wonders, but overall . . . Well, here's a look at a different approach.

The first rule of eating to lose weight when you are following an exercise program is eat more.

Yes, you read that right. If you are exercising, working your body hard everyday, you need more calories. If you don't eat more, your body will start destroying muscle, rather than building it. You'll lose weight from the muscle losee, but you won't lose fat. Plus, you can make yourself sick. So when you are hungry eat.

The key to lopsing weight through diet is in what you eat.To start with, pack on the protein. Yes, most diets will push salad and yogurts and fruit slices unlike just the sight of 'healthy food' is unappetizing. See what we mean:

And yes, you should eat lots of fruit and vegetables (more on that in a minute) but for exercise you need energy, and that means protein. Now, be picky in your protein. You want lean cuts that aren't swimming in grease. Go light on gravy and steak sauce, instead look for marinades and other healthy ways to add flavor. Don't get all your protein from meat – nuts and beans all have lots of protein. A peanut butter whole wheat sandwich is a great source of protein and fiber.

Speaking of fiber, watch your carbs. Complex carbs – fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, are definitely good foods for losing weight. They fill you up whie staying light on calories, so you can eat lots of them.Stay away from white bread and other 'empty' carbs. While they aren't bad in an of themselves, they don't give any nutrition and they leave you wanting to eat more than you need. If you get munchy and like frequnet snacks, go for whole grain pretzels, carrot sticks, nuts and dried fruit.

Even worse than the 'empty' carbs are sugars. Soda, candy, cake, and so on. While you don't need to cut them out of your diet entirely, don't have more than one sugary serving a day. And remember – most soda cans are 2 servings. Stay away from non-sugar sweeteners like Splenda and asparatame – studies have found that people who drink diet soda and artificially sweetened snacks actually put on more weight.

Definitely avoid greasy foods and fat. While they don't make you gain weight directly, they do slow your metabolism down, making it harder to lose weight, and they are just generally unhealthy.

Six Packs and Sexy Bodies

If your goal in trying to lose weight is to get a specific body type, take a minute to check reality. There is nothing wrong with working to get a six pack, or get the body you've always dreamed of, but be honest with yourself when you do.

Some people will never be able to get a six pack. Most women who have been pregnancy have had the muscles stretched so much it is impossible. Some men have the wrong body type. People with big bones will never look like waif thin super models or J. Crew models. Plus, contrary to pop culture, a lot of people find curvy women and cuddly men very sexy.

If you want a better, fitter, tighter body, go for it, and more opwer to you. But when you do, be honest about your goals, and your options. Driving yourself into anorexia or other illness when you have a wonderful, beautiful body already doesn't help you or anyone else. Go for the fittest body you can get, but accept your body for what it is, and don't be ashamed of it.

After Weight Loss

What you do after losing weight is just as important as what you do to lose weight. It's called maintaining. If you shed forty pounds through hard exercise and healthy eating, than go out and buy a six pack of beer or chocolate cake, and spend a week on the couch watching American Idol, you'll have that weight back on before you know it.

If you want to enjoy your weight loss, you need to make sure you'll keep it.

At the same time, you don't need to keep up the same level of exercise and eating habits you had while you were losing weight. You need to find a healthy medium.

Exercising to Maintain Weight

Once you have reached your major goal, it's time to change up your exercise program. Your goal now is to maintain the success you've achieved. Now is the time to focus on cardio. Run, swim, bike, join an aerobics class, whatever works to get your heart rate up and keep it up. You still want to keep up the strength training, but where before strength training was the focus and cardio was secondary, now you reverse it. Make cardio your heavy work out, and include some strength training to maintain muscle tone and general fitness.

As an alternative, if you enjoy the strength training, and want to keep seeing your muscles grow, you could continue the strength training and start getting into a focused bodybuilding program. No reason not to if that's your thing. If you've endured the strength training until now to get the body you have now, than it's okay to cut back on it. Work out every other day, and focus on cardio, and keep one day of strength training a week or so.

Eating to Maintain Weight

Like with exercise, you want to strike a middle ground. Keep up the healthy habits that lost the weight for you, but treat yourself also. If while you were losing weight you had a small desert every other day, it's okay to have one every day. Enjoy a bag of chips now and again, just don't go through more than a bag a week. A bit of gravy won't hurt, but make it a once in a while thing.

Maintaining the weight you want is all about moderation – keep the diet you were one, but in moderation. Let yourself have the bad stuff now and again if you still like it – but in moderation. Enjoy your food. Just keep staying away from the grease – no matter how much weight you've lost that stuff is always bad for you.

Losing weight fast requires some real changes to your lifestyle, and keeping it off means those changes can't be temporary. But it can definitely be worth it. You'll feel better, have more energy, look better and enjoy life more. So set your goals, make a plan, and get out there. We know you can do it.

Pregnancy can be a very exciting time, with lots of chances for yourself and (of course!) your baby. Every week something new is happening. If you've been curious about what is happening during your pregnancy and how your baby is growing, here is a guide to your pregnancy week by week to help you keep track.

Weeks 1 & 2: It sounds strange, but the first two weeks of your pregnancy are before you get pregnant! Doctors can never be certain of exactly when you conceived, so they count the weeks of a pregnancy from your last period, an average of 2 weeks before conception.

During these two weeks, your body is getting ready for a baby. Ova, the medical name for a woman's eggs, are maturing and getting ready to be fertilized. If you are trying to get pregnant, make sure you are eating healthy and getting plenty of folic acid.

Week 3: You still haven't missed your period, but you may already be pregnant. If your egg was fertilized by your partners sperm than it has started growing – right now it is a ball of cells about the same size as the head of a pin. You won't notice any changes in yourself yet, but some home pregnancy tests are about to detect a pregnancy this early.

Week 4: The embryo is being fed from the uterine lining, and the placenta is beginning to develop. The embryo has divided into three layers of cells. The outer layer will become skin and hair, and has the beginnings of eyes. The inner layer is the start of the digestive system and lungs. The middle layer will become everything else. If you weren't expecting to get pregnant, than missing your period this week may be your first sign.

Week 5: The embryo is developing it's brain, as well as it's heart and bones. You may start to feel morning sickness or be more tired than usual. Now is the time to schedule your first prenatal check up, if you haven't already.

Week 6: It is sometimes possible to hear baby's heartbeat on a fetal monitor at this stage. From here to 10 weeks is a critical time for baby's development, make sure to stay away from drugs, alcohol and other influences that could cause development problems. Folic acid can help brain development, so if you aren't taking it already, now is the time to start.

Week 7: Baby is about a half inch long now, and growing fast. He or she is growing nostrils and intestines, and has arm and leg buds. You may have started putting on weight now. If you have morning sickness you may have lost weight instead. Don't worry if this happens, you have time to gain it back. Just eat as healthy as you can.

Week 8: Eyelids and ears start to grow this week, and baby's arms start to bend at the elbow. Your uterus is expanding, more than twice as large as it was. You may have some cramping during your pregnancy, but talk to your doctor if you have spotting or bleeding.

Week 9: Baby is an inch long, and has started moving. You won't feel the movement yet, but you may see it in an ultra sound. Fingers are growing and so is a neck. Your waist line will be expanding as your uterus grows, but people won't be able to tell you are pregnant yet. You may experience PMS-like mood swings. Try to eat lots of broccoli and dairy – calcium is good for baby's bones.

Week 10: Baby is now officially a 'fetus'. If baby is healthy now, he will likely stay that way – most physical malformations develop before 10 weeks. Testing for genetic disorders should be scheduled within the next 2 weeks.

Week 11: Baby may be up to 2 inches long. She is swallowing and kicking, and you can hear her heartbeat on a Doppler monitor when you visit your ob-gyn.

Week 12: The worst danger of miscarriage is past now, as baby is fully formed, with all major body parts. The rest of your pregnancy baby's job is to grow bigger and stronger. Genital organs have developed, but an ultrasound probably won't see them yet. Morning sickness will usually fade around this time, and you will start getting your energy back.

Week 13: Baby can be as long as 3 inches, and as big as a peach. His fingers and toes have separated and his eyes are moving closer together. Your uterus will have filled your pelvis, and is now starting to grow up into your abdomen.

Week 14: Baby has finger prints! She's grown another inch, and is starting to respond to things that happen around her – she'll even squirm away if your uterus is poked. In the mean time, you may be developing some constipation from pregnancy hormones. Light exercise and lots of fruit can help.

Week 15: Hair is growing in – in fact hair is growing all over. Baby is covered in a fine down called lanugo, which will fall out a few weeks before birth. Some babies start sucking their thumbs around this time. During the next few weeks you'll be scheduled for blood tests to detect markers for Down's syndrome. If the blood tests are concerning, or you are over 35, you'll also be scheduled for amniocentesis, a test that samples the amniotic fluid.

Week 16: You may start to feel your baby move about now. He keeps growing, over 4 inches long and weighing over 2 ounces.

Week 17: Baby is breathing amniotic fluid, which helps her lungs develop. She is also growing a layer of fat which will keep her warm and help her metabolism. You may start developing more of an appetite about now, and you have started to show. You may get dizzy if you change positions quickly, so move slowly when standing up or laying down.

Week 18: Baby is developing taste buds, reflexes and light sensitivity. He may yawn, stretch or move his arms to shield his eyes from bright light. He weighs over 5 ounces now. Between now and 22 weeks you will probably have an ultrasound to verify due date and may be able to find out baby's sex.

Week 19: Baby keeps growing, and you may be developing mid-pregnancy aches and pains. Your heart is working much harder to support both you and baby, so try and take it easy.

Week 20: Baby can hear sounds now – in time she'll learn to recognize your voice and the voices of other people you speak with often. You are at the mid point of the pregnancy. If you are experiencing back pain, watch your posture, and use pillows to support your body when lying down.

Week 21: By now, baby is around 7 inches long and weighs around 10 ½ ounces. He isn't growing as fast any more, but more energy is going into the internal organs. Buds for adult teeth are also beginning to grow.

Week 22: Baby is moving almost all the time now, and may respond if you talk or sing to her. You're probably feeling pretty good, but may have some cramping in your legs and feet. Bananas and other calcium-rich foods can reduce cramps.

Week 23: Baby is almost 1 pound, but still has a lot of weight to gain. He looks like a tiny newborn now, and just needs to keep growing. The skin of your stomach may become itchy as it keeps stretching. If born prematurely, baby may be able to survive with intensive care.

Week 24: Baby has started to develop white blood cells, for fighting infection. You may feel jerking when she gets the hiccups. Between now and 28 weeks you'll be tested for gestational diabetes.

Week 25: Baby is almost 9 inches long, and weighs about 1 ½ pounds. Dad may be able to hear a heartbeat if he puts an ear to your abdomen. You should be gaining a pound of weight a week.

Week 26: Baby has patterns of sleeping and waking, and the same brain wave patterns as a newborn. His ears are fully developed and he may move in time with music. You may feel some rib pain as your uterus grows up into your rib cage.

Week 27: Baby can cry. She will often suck her thumb, which helps develop the muscles she'll need for nursing after birth. You may be having trouble with balance and mobility as your abdomen grows and center of weight changes.

Week 28: Baby measures over 10 inches long and over 2 pounds. He may dream. Baby has a good chance of survival if born prematurely. You may start to have swelling in your feet or Braxton Hicks contractions (fake labor). Now is a good time to look into birthing classes and making a birth plan, if you haven't already.

Week 29: Baby can tell the difference between sunlight and artificial light. She isn't moving around as much, because your uterus is getting cramped, but she is still kicking and stretching regularly. You should be alert for possible signs of preeclampsia – if you have severe headaches or blurred vision call your doctor immediately.

Week 30: Baby is about 17 inches and 3 pounds. Baby is beginning to control his own temperature and his hands are fully formed. Some Moms-to-be start feeling discomfort in their pelvis around this time.

Week 31: Baby keeps growing – over 18 inches and counting. Rarely, a woman's water will break weeks before labor. If this happens to you call your doctor immediately. The water breaking early creates a risk of infection.

Week 32: Baby is almost 4 pounds and can open her eyes. You'll probably start seeing your doctor more frequently as your due date approaches. You may get colostrum – a pre-milk – leaking from your breasts.

Week 33: Baby is almost 20 inches, and just about out of room to move, so you won't feel him as often. You should feel baby move at least once a day if not more often. It is still safe to have sex, but you may find it uncomfortable. Consider trying different positions if you are having difficulties.

Week 34: Baby weighs about 5 pounds and is settling in head down in the classic 'fetal position'. Except for lungs, the internal organs are fully developed.

Week 35: Lungs are fully developed, and if born now baby could breath on his own. He'd need to be put in an incubator, though, to help him stay warm. You may have trouble finding a comfortable way to sleep – support pillows can help. Now is a good time to pack your hospital bag and make sure you have everything you need for baby.

Week 36: Baby is about 6 pounds and her brain is fully developed. Make sure you are prepared for coming home from the hospital – stock the fridge with easy-to-make meals or make arrangements for friends and family to come over and help out.

Week 37: Baby is about 6 ½ pounds, and 21 inches. All that is left is putting on weight so he can stay warm. You should be done gaining weight. Make your final checks that everything is ready for your hospital stay, baby can come any time now.

Week 38: Your baby will perfectly fine if born this week – and 95% of babies are born within 2 weeks of their due date. At this point all that is left is the waiting.

Week 39: Baby is almost 22 inches long and around 7 pounds. You'll probably have some false labor around now. You can tell the difference because false labor starts low in the abdomen, actual labor pains run through the entire abdomen. Real labor also gets stronger over time.

Week 40: Only 5% of babies are born on their due date, so don't worry if you are running late. Baby will come when she is ready. Rest as much as you can, and keep in touch with your doctor. It isn't unusual for babies to come up to 2 weeks late.