5 Weeks Pregnant: What To Expect?

June 27, 2019

5 Weeks Pregnant: What To Expect?

You were just introduced to the pregnancy club! 5 Weeks Pregnant is a common time to find out that moms are pregnant. That’s because you probably realized by now that you missed your time and then you thought, Whoa… maybe I should take a test! Plus, heightened hormone levels may give you symptoms that are hard to ignore at 5 weeks of pregnancy, such as sore breasts, nausea, and fatigue. (The same hormones are detected by your pregnancy test to give you a positive result.) Okay, so maybe the “club” isn’t that fun right now, but eventually, you’re going to be so happy that you’ve been a member. Just give it, oh, an additional eight months.

Baby’s Growth During Pregnancy – Week 5

Your embryo grows at a furious pace deep in your uterus. He’s about a sesame seed’s size at this point and looks more like a tiny tadpole than a human being. He’s now made up of three layers — the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm — which will form all of his organs and tissues later on.

The neural tube–from which the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and backbone of your baby will sprout–is beginning to grow in the top layer called the ectoderm. The skin, the hair, nails, mammary and sweat glands, and tooth enamel are also created in this layer.

In the middle layer or mesoderm, his heart and circulatory system begin to form. The mesoderm will also form the muscles, cartilage, bone and subcutaneous (under the skin) tissue of your baby.

The third layer, or endoderm, will house his lungs, intestines, and early urinary system, as well as his thyroid, liver, and pancreas. Meanwhile, the primitive placenta and umbilical cord that delivers nutrition and oxygen to your baby are already on the job.

What is the Baby’s Size?

Baby is the size of an apple seed at 5 weeks of pregnancy. Yeah, your embryo is now measurable— although it’s a wee 0.13 inches from crown to rump (a.k.a. head to bum) at week five of pregnancy— and baby’s preparation for a lot more growth. In fact, he or she will nearly double in size in the next week. Grow up, child, grow up!

5-weeks Symptoms of Pregnancy

The symptoms of pregnancy that you feel at five weeks are just the start of the slew of changes that your body is about to undergo. There’s no need to fear the whole pregnancy based on what’s going on right now: many moms-to-be say the first trimester is the toughest, so think of it as getting the rough things out early. Meanwhile, take care of yourself and get plenty of rest, eat well, and find ways to make you feel better. If you wonder what to expect when you’re pregnant for 5 weeks, here’s what’s most common:

Sore breasts: Morning sickness gets all the attention, but with 5 weeks of pregnancy, painful boobs may be the most common symptom.
Morning Sickness: Early pregnancy nausea can occur at any time of the day, not only in the morning. And sadly, some pregnant moms feel pretty queasy throughout the day. Indeed, if you are pregnant with twins for 5 weeks, you may have more severe morning sickness. Experiment with various strategies to find out what is best for you to handle the queasiness. One good thing is eating small, frequent meals. You may also try vitamin B6, capsules for ginger, special lozenges or lollipops that reduce nausea, and wristbands for acupressure.
Fatigue: Wanting to nap in the middle of a board meeting, a dinner date, a… well, pretty much any time, is normal at 5 weeks pregnant. You’re zapped off making a baby and you can’t do much about it except get some extra rest, do some light exercise, and eat every few hours so that your blood sugar doesn’t drop so much that you lose even more of your (already scarce) energy.
Frequent urination: You might notice the urge to pee early in pregnancy more often. This symptom is because your kidneys are actually expanding at 5 weeks pregnant.
Cramps: Cramping could be a sign that the embryo has nicely implanted into the lining of your uterus for about 4 or 5 weeks. Or it might be a sign that your uterus ‘ ligaments are expanding and stretching. If you’re feeling severe or painful cramping at 5 weeks of pregnancy, call your doctor. And check out to make sure it’s not a sign of an issue.
Spotting: You may seem scary when you’re 5 weeks pregnant spotting. But a little blood on your underwear may also be a sign of implantation. You may also spot a little after sex. As now that you are pregnant, your cervix is more sensitive. This is completely normal. But if you have something less like spotting and more like bleeding pregnant at 5 weeks — or really, if you’re worried about it at all— call the doctor.

Some mothers who are pregnant for 5 weeks have no symptoms at all. Or it may feel like symptoms come and go at 5 weeks of pregnancy. And all that’s all right! Just because you don’t feel sick or sore doesn’t mean the pregnancy is wrong. It only means that you’re lucky!

5 weeks pregnant belly

Your belly may look unchanged at 5 weeks of pregnancy. Or you may be somewhat bloated or feel like you’ve earned a pound. Heck, you might feel so sick you might not be able to eat and worry you might have lost a pound. All of these scenarios are considered perfectly normal and perfectly fine! All pregnant women are different and there are wide variations in how their bodies change throughout pregnancy.

You probably start wondering a little about the overall weight gain of pregnancy. The short answer is: you still don’t have to worry about it too much. Doctors recommend only gaining a few pounds (1 to 5 to be precise) during the first trimester (which ends after week 13), and this is likely to happen without you thinking too much.

The long answer is you’re going to have to gain weight. Your doctor will discuss recommendations for personalized weight gain with you — knowing they vary depending on the type of body. Here are the recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG):

If you are underweight (BMI below 18.5):

The total weight gain of your recommended pregnancy is 28 to 40 pounds.
Aim at gaining about one pound (1 to 1.3 pounds to be exact) per week in the second and third trimesters.

If you have an average weight (18.5-24.9 BMI):

Your recommended total weight gain for pregnancy is 25-35 pounds.
Aim at gaining about one pound or a little less (0.8 to 1 pound to be exact) per week in the second and third trimesters.

If you are overweight (BMI 25 to 29.9):

15 to 25 pounds are your recommended total weight gain for pregnancy.
Aim at gaining a little over a half pound (0.5 to 0.7 pound to be exact) per week in the second and third trimesters.

If you are obese (30 and above BMI):

The total weight gain recommended for your pregnancy is 11 to 20 pounds.
Aim at gaining about half a pound (0.4 to 0.6 pound to be exact) per week in the second and third trimesters.

If you are pregnant with twins for 5 weeks:

Your total weight gain recommended for pregnancy is 37 to 54 pounds.
Aim at gaining about a pound a week in the first half of pregnancy. Gain a little over a pound a week in the second half.

Wondering if you might be pregnant with twins for 5 weeks? If you were, you probably wouldn’t have known that yet, although some twin moms swear that they had worse morning sickness as we mentioned above. They may also gain weight faster and earlier “start to show” than women with a baby would. It’s a good time to ask your partner for a massage for 5 weeks pregnant. You may not have a big bump. But your body works quickly and furiously to grow baby at five weeks of pregnancy. So you deserve a little TLC, right?

5 Weeks Ultrasound

Your week-5 embryo doesn’t look much more like a tadpole right now. But it’s already beginning to make big organs — heart, stomach, liver, and kidney — and systems — digestive, circulatory, and nervous).

If you don’t have a history of medicine that puts you at higher risk for complications of pregnancy. You probably won’t have an ultrasound that is pregnant for 5 weeks. Instead, your OB is likely to get you to make an appointment around week 8 or 9 for your first prenatal visit. And you’re only going to have to wait impatiently. We feel your pain, sorry!

The doctor will measure the baby from crown to rump when you have your first ultrasound and may adjust your due date based on the size of the baby (which would change the week of pregnancy in which you are). You will have a slew of blood tests and urine tests to make sure that both you and your baby do well.

So while you’re completely amped to see the baby’s small fluttering heartbeat on the ultrasound screen. Remember you can wait for the blood to draw and pee in a cup for a couple of weeks. Welcome to this club!