First Trimester - Week 5

Your Baby is now the size of an Appleseed

Although your baby still looks more like tadpole than a human being at week 5 it is measurable – it’s a wee .13 inches and its gearing up for much more growth! Your baby’s major organs are developing, its kidneys and heart are growing and the neural tube, which protects the spinal cord and connects it to the brain is closing over.

Your Body

By now you should have missed your period, one of the more common indications that you are pregnant. At week 5 the level of hCG in your urine is high enough to be detected by a home pregnancy test so it’s time to pee on that stick!

Common Symptoms:

1. Queasiness – you may be feeling slightly nauseas and even go off certain foods, this is very common.
2. Overwhelmed by tiredness – you may just feel like you want to collapse with tiredness at the end of the day, again this is totally normal, your body is rapidly changing.
3. Tender breasts – it is perfectly normal for your breasts to feel sore and tender at this time.
4. Frequent urge to urinate – the pregnancy hormone hCG is increasing the blood flow to your pelvic area and your kidneys making them more efficient. You don’t want to cut back on liquids because your body needs them but you can try and cut back on drinks like tea and coffee which only make you urinate more frequently.

Your Wellbeing

Try to get into the habit of eating well. We would recommend small, regular meals with plenty of water and fluids, it can help with indigestion and nausea. Eating a good variety of nutrients will be good for both you and baby – you need to keep your energy levels up and baby will benefit from healthy eating.