The early weeks of pregnancy can be some of the most exciting and also some of the hardest. You have the delight of finding out that you are pregnant, but you are also anxious and worried about the changes that it will bring to your life. For me personally with my 3 kids, I was never a fan of the early weeks, just because it was always full of feeling “blah”, but you don’t have that baby bump to show off. Inside of you though, your body is changing and a baby is starting to grow.
Baby Care
Parenting: 17 weeks pregnant and not showing, is it possible?
Pregnancy signs week 2
During week 2 of pregnancy, you aren’t actually pregnant yet. This is week that your body ovulates, and releases the egg that can be fertilized if a lucky sperm is able to find and penetrate it. Right now, your baby is just a little ball of cells. (Technically, it is called a blastocyst.) The inside layer of that ball of cells is going to become the baby and the amniotic sac. The outside layer of the cells will turn into the placenta!
Pregnancy symptoms week 2 are non-existent. Since you aren’t technically pregnant yet, you can’t have any signs of pregnancy during week 2.
Pregnancy Week 3
Week 3 is the week that you actually become pregnant! (Congratulations!) The little ball of cells is multiplying very fast, and your body has been told to stop releasing eggs and start releasing hormones such as progesterone, Hcg, and more estrogen. You may not get a positive pregnancy test yet, although some women could at the end of the week. If you don’t get a positive test, don’t assume that you aren’t. Just retest in a few days. (Testing your urine first thing in the morning is best because your urine is more concentrated.) A great pregnancy test is the First Response Pregnancy Test. This test can tell you results up to 6 days before your missed period, and it comes with 3 tests so that you can retest next week if your period still doesn’t come!
Pregnancy symptoms may start appearing already for expectant moms. Pregnancy symptoms week 3 include:
- Swollen and sore breasts
- Nausea or vomiting
- Urinating more than often
- Fatigue
- Bleeding or spotting
- Cramping
- Increased sense of smell
- Aversions to certain foods
Since this is also the week that you would normally be getting your period, it can be hard to tell the difference between symptoms of your period and those of pregnancy.
Pregnancy Week 4
This week your baby is the size of a poppy seed! Starting this week, your baby’s organs will start to grow! You now have an amniotic sac which will house the baby, and your placenta is starting to develop.
More than likely, this will be the week that you discover that you are pregnant. When that happens, call your doctor and make your first appointment. Don’t be surprised if they don’t want to see you for a few more weeks. That is totally normal. You should definitely by taking a prenatal vitamin such as the Nature Made Prenatal Softgels. (These are actually the ones that I take and that my doctor recommended.) You may be experiencing the symptoms mentioned above, but they may not be present yet.
Pregnancy Week 5
This week your little one is the size of a sesame seed! He looks like a tiny tadpole, but his neural tube (which will eventually form the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and backbone) is starting to develop. His heart is dividing into chambers and beating and pumping blood too! The mesoderm (which will turn into muscles, cartilage, and bone) as well as the endoderm (which will eventually be his lungs, thyroid, liver, intestines, and pancreas) are also being made!
Although are aren’t showing, you can start taking pictures of your weekly bump by using these awesome stickers by Belly Doodles. Although the stickers don’t start until 7 weeks, they have one that includes “Pea in the Pod” and “Due Date”. This is a great way to track your pregnancy and take pictures of how you are growing each week.
Do you need to find other pregnancy weeks? Check out Pregnancy Week 1 (Insert my article) or Pregnancy Weeks 6 through 10 (Insert my other article).
Drones For Beginner
Fitness Trackers