PREGNANCY WEEK BY WEEK: 5 WEEKS PREGNANT

Most moms-to-be find out they are pregnant on the fifth week. This is because the fifth week is when they probably realized they missed a period and then thought to take a test! Plus, at 5 weeks pregnant, heightened hormone levels may be giving you symptoms that are tough to ignore, like sore breasts, nausea, and fatigue. This same hormones give a positive result when you carry out a pregnancy test.

Your Growing Baby:
At 5 weeks pregnant, baby is the size of an apple seed. The gastrointestinal tract, spinal cord, heart, brain, blood and blood vessels begin to form. The embryo is 1/16 to 1/8 inch long “crown to rump” (the measurement that’s used until week 13).
Your baby transforms into a bundle of cells organized in a C-shape with a top, bottom, front, and back. A groove has developed on the embryo’s back, which will seal and develop into the neural tube (which later will become the spinal cord). At this point, the tube already has a wider, flatter top that will grow into your baby’s brain. A bulge has developed in the center of the embryo, which will soon become a tiny U-shaped tube which will form the heart. Your embryo is encased in protective membranes and attached to a yolk sac, which manufactures the embryo’s unique blood cells

5 WEEKS PREGNANT SYMPTOMS
The pregnancy symptoms you feel at five weeks are just the beginning of the changes your body is about to go through. No need to dread the entire pregnancy based on what’s happening right now: many moms-to-be say the first trimester is the toughest, so go through it with the mindset that it’s getting better. In the meantime, take care of yourself and get plenty of rest, eat right, and figure out ways to help yourself feel better. Here are common signs you may experience at 5 weeks pregnant:

Sore breasts. Aching breasts may actually be the most common symptom at 5 weeks pregnant.

Morning sickness. One of the most popular symptoms is morning sickness. Nausea in early pregnancy can happen at any time of the day, not just morning. And unfortunately, some pregnant moms feel nauseated pretty much all day. In fact, if you’re 5 weeks pregnant with twins, you may be more likely to have severe morning sickness. Eating small, frequent meals can help you deal with this or you can also try Vitamin B6, ginger capsules, special nausea-reducing lozenges or lollipops, and acupressure wristbands.

Frequent urination. You might notice yourself having the urge to pee more often early in pregnancy. This symptom at 5 weeks pregnant is because your kidneys are actually expanding.

Fatigue. At 5 weeks pregnant, it’s normal to want to nap pretty much any time. There’s not much you can do about it except get some extra rest, do some light exercise, and eat every few hours so your blood sugar doesn’t drop so much that you lose even more of your energy.

Cramps. Around 4 or 5 weeks, cramping could be a sign the embryo has implanted nicely into the lining of your uterus. Or it could be a sign your uterus is expanding and stretching your ligaments. If you’re feeling cramping at 5 weeks pregnant that’s severe or painful, call your doctor and get it checked out to make sure it’s not a sign of a problem.

Spotting. When you’re 5 weeks pregnant, spotting can seem scary, but a little blood on your underwear could also be a sign of implantation. You might also spot a bit after sex, since your cervix is more sensitive now that you’re pregnant. This is totally normal, but if you’re having something that’s less like spotting and more like bleeding at 5 weeks pregnant, call the doctor.

Some moms-to-be who are 5 weeks pregnant feel no symptoms at all. At 5 weeks pregnant, symptoms come and go. Just because you’re not feeling sick or sore doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with the pregnancy. It just means you’re lucky but again you may want to check in on your doctor just to be sure.

5 WEEKS PREGNANCY BELLY
At 5 weeks pregnant, your belly may look unchanged but you may be feeling bloated or feel like you’ve already gained weight. You might feel so sick that you can’t eat and worry you could have lost a pound. All those scenarios are considered perfectly normal and totally okay! All pregnant women are different and how their bodies change throughout pregnancy varies widely.

Wondering if you could be 5 weeks pregnant with twins? If you were, you probably wouldn’t know it yet, though as we mentioned above, some twin moms swear they had worse morning sickness. They also may gain weight more rapidly and “start to show” earlier than women having one baby would.

At five weeks pregnant, you might not have a big bump, but your body is working fast and furiously to grow baby.

5 WEEKS PREGNANT ULTRASOUND
When you do have your first ultrasound, the doctor or technician will measure baby from crown to rump and could adjust your due date based on baby’s size (which would change which week of pregnancy you’re in). You’ll have a slew of blood tests and urine tests to be sure you and baby are both doing fine.
Your week-5 embryo doesn’t look like much more than a tadpole right now, but he or she’s already starting to form major organs—heart, stomach, liver, and kidneys—and systems—digestive, circulatory, and nervous).

So while you’re totally excited to see your baby’s tiny fluttering heartbeat on the ultrasound screen, remind yourself that you can wait a few weeks.

PREGNANCY TO-DO LIST AT 5 WEEKS PREGNANT

Establish a healthy diet.

Start a pregnancy journal.

Come up with a plan to save for baby.

See also, WEEK1 &WEEK2, WEEK3, week4