Month 2: (5-8 weeks) So much change!

The symptoms of pregnancy vary so widely from person to person and there is a very wide range of normal experiences. The symptoms you experience may include morning sickness, excessive salivation, constipation, frequent need to urinate, heartburn and indigestion, headaches, dizziness as well as breast changes. Mood swings and extreme emotions are also part and parcel of this amazing experience. By the same token it is equally normal to feel wonderful and not have any troublesome symptoms.

The routine doctor’s visit

You are now between 5 and 8 weeks into your 40 week pregnancy and may be feeling plenty of physical and mental changes. Your clothes may already be feeling a little snug, especially around the waist and breasts, but otherwise the changes that you experiencing will not be obvious in your appearance. If you have just found out that you are pregnant then you should read the information in the first month summary regarding choosing a doctor and the first consultation. If you have already taken this step then your visit to your doctor will be a routine pregnancy check-up. The standard checks, which will be carried out every month from now on, are focused on making sure that your pregnancy is going according to plan. The routine will vary from doctor to doctor but in general your urine, blood pressure and weight will be checked and any problems or queries will be checked and discussed.

Those hormones!

During this time, the pregnancy home tests will be more accurate due to the higher levels of the hormone hCG which is excreted by the foetus. This hormone can be blamed for many of the classic symptoms of pregnancy such increased blood supply in the pelvis which is one of the reasons for the increased desire to urinate. Increases in other hormones such as progesterone and oestrogen may cause your breasts to swell – it may be one of the first symptoms that you notice.

From a grain of rice… your baby grows incredibly fast.

Your baby will grow an incredible amount in this period. At 5 weeks the embryo is the size of a grain of rice and has a neck and head, brain and heart as well as blood stream and digestive system. Yet by eight weeks this same baby will be the size of your baby toe, the heart will be pumping blood through a network of tiny veins visible under the skin. The head is huge in relation to the test of the body, and the baby is trying out kicking movements with arms and legs that show on a scan although you cant yet feel them.

You deserve a rest!

Bear this in mind next time you are feeling exhausted. There is a good reason for it and you need to pay attention to your diet, rest when you can and don’t demand too much of yourself.

See also: When to call the doctor?