Overview of Week 5 of pregnancy
During week 5 of pregnancy:
- Your baby is 3mm long
- You are in trimester one
- 35 more weeks to go
- Brain and spinal cord developing
You are likely to know that you are pregnant now; you have a missed period and a pregnancy test should most definitely show up as positive at this point. You are probably filled with mixed emotions at this point: excitement about your growing family, but also nerves about pregnancy, labor, and how you are going to manage a new member in your family. No matter what you are feeling, it is perfectly normal.
It helps to have a support system surrounding you, so you may want to think about who you would like to share this news. Other than your partner, who else do you want to tell in these early stages? Your close friends, your family, or maybe just keep it a secret for you and your partner to share for a while.
How many months pregnant is 5 weeks?
At five weeks pregnant, you have completed your first month of pregnancy and are a few days into the second month. You’ve already gone through a whole month of pregnancy; however, you may have just found out about your pregnancy this week. Only 8 more months to go!
How big is baby at 5 weeks pregnant?
Your little embryo continues to grow every day. This week it will grow to the size of an apple seed – approximately 3mm long.
Your growing baby is also starting to look more like a fetus every day. No longer just a bundle of cells, your baby now looks more like a tadpole. Your embryo has a rudimentary head with a little tail, which will grow into the rest of the body soon.
Baby development during week 5 of pregnancy
During week 5 of pregnancy, your embryo is starting to grow all the necessary components to live. Baby is lengthening due to the formation of the neural tube that runs from the top of your embryo’s growing head to the bottom of its current tail. This is what will soon become the spinal cord and brain.
In the center of your embryo, a little blip is growing into the heart. In fact, in as little as a week, you may get to see your baby’s heartbeat. The circulatory system is also starting to form and blood is being formed by the yolk sac.
Your embryo now has three distinct layers of cells:
- Ectoderm. This is the outer layer that is forming the brain and spinal cord. Eventually, it will also form your baby’s skin, nails, and hair.
- Mesoderm. The middle layer is forming the heart, blood, and circulatory system. Soon it will also develop the bones and muscles.
- Endoderm. This inner layer will become your baby’s organs, such as lungs, intestines, and liver.
The gestational sac, which is the large cavity within your uterus that contains your embryo and amniotic fluid, is also growing. In fact, you should be able to see it on an ultrasound this week.
Pregnancy Week 5 Symptoms
Positive pregnancy test
At five weeks pregnant, you may not have any significant symptoms yet. In fact, the only way you may know you are pregnant is through a positive pregnancy test. By this time in your pregnancy, you should get a positive pregnancy test. If you do get a negative test, try again in a day or two. You should also make sure to test first thing in the morning when the hormone levels in your urine will be the highest.
Pregnancy week 5 tips
Start a prenatal vitamin
Starting a prenatal vitamin is recommended as soon as you decide to start trying to conceive. Making sure you have sufficient vitamin intake is important in the beginning stages of baby development. Most importantly is folate intake. Adequate folate levels can decrease your growing baby’s chances of developmental defects.
Prepare mentally
You are officially pregnant. This is the time to make sure that you are mentally ready for this life-changing decision. Make sure you are in the right mindset and are realistic about the changes that will incur. Take some time and work on your mental health. This can be both an exciting and terrifying time in any woman’s life.
Make healthy life choices
Now that you have decided to start trying to conceive, make sure you are making the right life choices that will lead to a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. If you smoke, this is time to quit. That goes for alcohol as well. Start adding a few more fruits and vegetables to your diet and maybe start taking short walks around the block for more exercise.
Remember that these changes are for the benefit of your future child. Keeping this in mind may make the choices to change your lifestyle a little easier and give you some extra motivation.
Take a pregnancy test
By week 5 of pregnancy, you should get a positive result from a pregnancy test. So if you took one last week and it turned out to be negative, this is the time to take another test.
Call your doctor
You got a glance at that positive pregnancy test; you should now start thinking about giving your doctor a call and making an appointment. Your first doctor’s appointment will just be confirming the pregnancy through a blood test. You can also discuss with your family doctor who will be taking care of you during your prenatal visits. Will you have the same doctor, a midwife, an OB-GYN, or someone else?
Tell your close ones
After that positive pregnancy test, you should also consider to who you are going to make the announcement. Will you tell your parents and friends right away, or would you prefer to wait until you are further along?
You can also consider how you will let your partner know about your new addition. Will you tell them over dinner or will you plan a sweet surprise?
