Many women find out that they're pregnant after a first skipped period. Pregnancy starts from the first day of the last period, so by the time you miss your first period you are already considered 4 weeks pregnant.

In many cases with an unplanned pregnancy, it's easy to avoid reality because you don't look or feel pregnant. However, this time frame is the most important in your baby's development. By the end of the 13th week, every organ and body system are developing for the baby. You may be feeling nausea, tiredness, and hormonal. By the end of your first trimester, most pregnant women should have had their first obstetrician appointment to get prenatal care.

The 14th week begins your second trimester. If you were feeling nauseous in the first trimester, you're probably starting to feel better by now. You'll also be starting to look and feel pregnant, and it will be harder and harder to deny reality. Friends are probably starting to ask you about your growing belly and your plans for the future. As you think through the reality of what is coming, you're probably thinking through your options and both the pros and cons of either parenting or placing your baby for adoption.

The average pregnancy lasts 40 weeks, so at week 20 you are halfway through your pregnancy. By week 20 most pregnant women have felt their baby moving inside of them and that makes everything more real. You're probably feeling so many emotions, especially if you have an ultrasound that reveals the baby's gender.

By the end of the second trimester most women can no longer hide their pregnancy, and others are beginning to get involved giving you their advice or telling you what to do. You're probably feeling the pressure to make more firm plans for the next chapter of your story. Many of the pregnant women who choose to place their baby for adoption with Gifts of Grace will begin meeting with staff for support and education in the 2nd trimester. Babies who are born prematurely at 24 weeks can live if they receive specialized neonatal intensive care.

The third trimester of pregnancy starts at 28 weeks gestation. You probably feel huge and uncomfortable, and the reality of labor and delivery is something you think about often. Pregnant women working with Gifts of Grace are meeting on a regular basis with loving and supportive staff to think through options, make decisions, and plan for their next steps. Potential adoptive families will be presented to you, and staff will walk you through the emotional realities you'll probably face after your baby is placed for adoption.

By the end of your third trimester you've faced the unavoidable reality that you're having a baby and that your life will never be the same. Regardless of your decision to parent or place for adoption, you are now getting ready for what's next. If you have decided to place your baby with an adoptive family from Gifts of Grace you've probably been in contact with them multiple times by phone, video, or in-person, and you're ironing out the details of how open you'd like your adoption to be. You probably feel many emotions all at the same time, which feels overwhelming. You're probably tempted to try to shut them all out, but you feel hope. You've used the past 40 weeks to really prepare for whatever you've decided will happen for your future. Even though this is different than what you'd imagined for your life, you're coming to terms with this new different reality.

Your body has been preparing for delivery for the past several weeks, and the big day is finally here. You've notified the staff at Gifts of Grace, and they are putting your Hospital and Adoption plan into motion just like you organized. You feel excited and nervous all at the same time, but you feel very hopeful for the great future you've planned for your baby.

You've had a baby! And no matter whether this pregnancy was planned or not, you feel proud of the journey you've been on over the past 40 weeks. A baby grew inside of you, and you successfully delivered him to the world. The staff at Gifts of Grace meet with you to review your adoption plan to make sure that is still the direction you'd like to take for your future. If so, they will guide you through legal paperwork giving up your parental rights and placing your baby in the care and custody of the adoptive family you chose just for him. You feel more emotions than you ever thought you'd be capable of experiencing, but you're confident that adoption is the most loving option for your baby.

Your undergo all sorts of changes after delivery: physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. You feel sad but confident that you've made the right decision for both your future and the baby's future. You are receiving updates about how the baby is adjusting to his new family, and the pictures his new family post on Cluster both bring you joy and break your heart. But you are confident. You face the future fearlessly, because you've thought through the next chapter of life and you know this is both what you want and what is best for everyone involved. The staff at Gifts of Grace follow along with you until your 6 weeks postpartum doctor appointment, and then you return to work and school. But the support at Gifts of Grace never ends. You can get help and care as you continue to adjust to your new life as long as you need it.