5 Weeks Pregnant: Baby is as big as an sesame seed!

Week 5 at a glance

At 5 weeks pregnant, your baby-in-the-making is now a magnificent little speck: one-tenth the size of an aspirin; 20 times the thickness of a strand of hair; and about one seven-hundred-fiftieth the size of Danny DeVito.

If you’re coming up on the 5 weeks pregnant mark, your mind is likely abuzz with questions.

Can you start showing at 5 weeks pregnant?

Is there a heartbeat at 5 weeks?

And, of course, how do you feel at this time of your pregnancy?

Let’s dive in.

In this article: 📝

Baby development at 5 weeks

That embryo of yours is starting to look like a fetus!

At 5 weeks, things are starting to take shape in that belly of yours.

Here are some quick facts about your baby-to-be at this point:

• The embryo/fetus is somewhere between 1.5mm and 2mm long. (That’s around a 17th of an inch.) Whoever thought something that tiny could cause such a gigantic shift in your universe?
  
• Your baby’s nervous system is under construction.
  
• Everything is in place for your baby’s organs to form ‒ as in the heart and mind that are going to beat and think your child through the world. That’s pretty spectacular.

For these shifts and developments to occur, the embryo’s cells separate into three different layers that will become different systems in your baby’s body.

From inside to outside, these include:

1. The inner layer. This is also called the endoderm and has the makings of the respiratory and digestive systems.
   
2. The middle layer. This is also called the mesoderm and its job is to get your baby’s circulatory system up and running. Consider this the overworked employee of the embryo layers. It has a lot of responsibilities, from forming the beginning of the muscles and bones, to the pretty major tasks of developing the heart and blood.
   
3. The outer layer. And then surrounding it all is the ectoderm and this is literally the brains of the operation. At least, that’s its responsibility, alongside developing the spinal cord, skin, hair, and nails.

Wow, the organization that is taking place at this point is unfathomable.

What a project.

Another pretty amazing thing that you may note on your 5-week pregnant ultrasound is that the gestational sac is starting to develop.

Pregnancy symptoms at 5 weeks

And now, very importantly, what are you going to be feeling like at this point?

In the 5th week of pregnancy, you may experience the following symptoms:

• You’ve skipped a period by this stage. You’re now officially late. And if you’re wondering why that’s the case, it’s because your genius body has upped the levels of progesterone as a way of signalling that there’s no room at the inn.
  
• The world makes you want to vomit. Perhaps in the morning, perhaps at any time of day. Urgh. Certain foods may turn you off completely and others will cause your food delivery app to light up at midnight.
  
• To add to the fun, you may need to pee a little more frequently than normal.
  
• You’re more tired than usual. Know that it’s totally okay for you to be feeling fatigued at this juncture. Rest up accordingly.
  
• Your breasts are tender AF.
  
• The emotional rollercoaster is real. All the feels are coming up. Thanks, hormones.
  
• And if you’re asking what does a 5 weeks pregnant belly look like?, the answer is: usually not very different. You’re going to have to wait a little longer to show off that bump.

This may be the time when you start to mention to others that you’re pregnant.

Be warned: you may be immediately inundated with all sorts of advice ‒ some good, some bad.

Sift through to see what works for you.

Pregnancy tips at 5 weeks

It’s no surprise that at 5 weeks pregnant, your focus is looking after yourself ‒ mentally and physically.

• Prenatal supplements are super important right now, especially ones with folic acid, which is beneficial to both baby’s development and your growing body.
  
• Food matters, both to help you not feel so gross and to nourish you for the crazy task you have ahead of you. This is the time to stay away from things that are raw: uncooked meat and fish, unpasteurized cheese, raw cookie dough (damn!).
  
• Exercise will help you feel good. Make it gentle, though. And maybe outside? The fresh air will be pretty welcome.

What an exciting, crazy, up-and-down, nauseating time this is.

Be kind to yourself.

And if you need to hear this right now, you’re doing great, mama.