Home / Getting Pregnant / Pregnancy Symptoms By Week – Weeks 1 thru 13

Pregnancy Symptoms By Week – Weeks 1 thru 13

During early pregnancy the symptoms can almost be identical to those during PMS making it hard to determine whether you are going to start your period or if you actually have a bun in the oven. We can take a look at pregnancy symptoms by week to break it down and you can figure out if anything is different from your normal period symptoms.

When trying to conceive it is amazing how in tune we become with our bodies in noticing every little change and detail. It can be fun, but it can also drive you crazy until you know for sure! It is important to remember that if you are feeling true pregnancy symptoms, a pregnancy test will likely be positive (depending on test sensitivity).

Weeks One and Two

During weeks one and two, you actually haven’t conceived. Since it is hard to pinpoint the exact date of conception, the first day of week one is the first day of your last menstrual period. Assuming you have a 28 to 30 day cycle and ovulate right in the middle of the month, you are gearing up to ovulate in week two.

In week two the lining of your uterus is thickening in preparation and the ovarian follicles are beginning to mature in order to release an egg (or more) for fertilization. The most mature follicle, the dominant follicle, will release the egg. The thickening of the uterus is necessary for implantation to take place. Since you aren’t technically pregnant yet, there are obviously no symptoms other than the normal period symptoms going on right now.

Week Three

You have ovulated and actually conceived sometime this week, but this is a busy time for the fertilized egg. Within days it will make a transformation from a single cell, to fertilized egg (zygote), to a blastocysts traveling from your fallopian tube to your uterus.

If you are actively trying to get pregnant, you may notice certain symptoms that you otherwise wouldn’t be paying attention to. However, these are not pregnancy symptoms. What you may be experiencing are the symptoms from increased progesterone that can be similar to pregnancy symptoms.

Progesterone production happens after ovulation and is produced by the corpus luteum (what is left over from the follicle the egg was released). Progesterone is produced by the corpus luteum up until about seven weeks and then the placenta will take over production. The main purpose of progesterone is to maintain and support a developing embryo. Symptoms such as: fatigue, headache, nausea are all common as progesterone is produced. However, you might not have noticed before when you weren’t trying to conceive.

Week Four

This week implantation takes place! The blastocyst has finally made its way to its new home in your nice thickened uterus. It will undergo several divides in order to become an embryo. If you are in the 20 to 30 percent of women that experience implantation bleeding, this will be one of the earliest signs of pregnancy. However, if you aren’t paying attention you may mistake this bleeding for your period as it might come close to the time of your expected cycle.

If you experience implantation bleeding, it will likely be lighter in color (pink or brown) and will likely last anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days. Implantation bleeding can be accompanied by cramps, headaches, and mood swings. You also may experience:

  • Breast tenderness
  • Gasiness
  • Frequent urination
  • Increased sense of smell
  • Bloating
  • Sleepiness

So yes! It is confusing because the pregnancy symptoms by week four are just like PMS symptoms you also get around this time! The good news is that during this week, you should be able to get a positive pregnancy test to clear up the confusion (phew!).

 

Week Five

By week five, your little embryo is the size of an apple seed and can be seen on an ultrasound. At this point, you might be able to see your baby’s heartbeat on the ultrasound as well! However, unless you are high risk or have any issues, you might not have your first appointment until around eight weeks. While you may not look pregnant, you may be experiencing some of those very real pregnancy symptoms at this time. The pregnancy symptoms you may or may not be feeling at this time are (the same as week four):

  • Breast tenderness
  • Gasiness
  • Frequent urination
  • Increased sense of smell
  • Bloating
  • Sleepiness
  • Increased saliva

The only difference is the increased saliva which you may or may not have yet or ever get. With one of my pregnancies, I didn’t experience this because I really didn’t get nauseous. When you are nauseated, you might produce more saliva. Also, hormones! Yes, hormones can cause you to produce more saliva when you are pregnant as well. So if you feel the need to spit all the time, you aren’t going crazy!

Weeks Six through Eight

At six weeks you should definitely be receiving a positive pregnancy test if you were suspecting you might be pregnant. You might also begin experiencing morning sickness at this point. However, morning sickness can really occur at any time of the day. In addition to all the symptoms mention above, you might start noticing a few more changes such as:

  • Heartburn
  • Food cravings or aversions
  • Constipation
  • Increased discharge
  • Breast changes
  • Light headed/dizziness
  • Morning sickness
  • Breast tenderness
  • Gasiness
  • Frequent urination
  • Increased sense of smell
  • Bloating
  • Sleepiness
  • Increased saliva

You can checkout my page on Pregnancy Lifestyle for medications that are okay to take for heartburn and remember to visit safefetus.com for any medications you might have questions about or are considering to take.

Weeks Nine through Thirteen

By week nine, your embryo is now a fetus and is the size of a cherry and will reach the size of a peach by week thirteen! These weeks will conclude the first trimester. While you still may be experiencing pregnancy symptoms, some of them might be starting to fade during these weeks. If you haven’t noticed already, you may be hungrier than usual (if you aren’t puking up everything). You may also notice that your stomach is starting to pop out from baby and not bloat or gas! Even though most literature on pregnancysay you might notice those big blue veins on your abdomen and legs during this time, those veins in my breast happened way earlier than nine weeks. However, they could start appearing in other places where there is an increased blood supply (abdomen and legs) now if they haven’t already. So the pregnancy symptoms by week nine through week thirteen may include:

  • Heartburn
  • Food cravings or aversions
  • Constipation
  • Increased discharge
  • Breast changes
  • Light headed/dizziness
  • Morning sickness
  • Breast tenderness
  • Gasiness
  • Frequent urination
  • Increased sense of smell
  • Bloating
  • Sleepiness
  • Increased saliva
  • Prominent veins
  • Baby bump

The First Trimester

Even though early pregnancy symptoms are pretty much the same as your PMS symptoms, as the weeks progress you will be able to determine if you are in fact pregnant. The problem is that when we are symptom spotting we are hoping we are pregnant at that time. When in reality, we aren’t even pregnant just yet. What we think we may be experiencing could be caused by the increase in progesterone that occurs after we ovulate.

The good news is that it is ONLY a two week wait (if that), before we know for sure! If you remember, you can keep a journal of all the symptoms you feel after ovulation and compare them to those you experienced when you get your positive pregnancy test to see if there is anything different. Like I said, we become so in tune with our bodies while trying to conceive, even the slightest change can make a difference! As always, good luck and baby dust to you!

 

Please follow and like us:
Follow by Email
Twitter
Visit Us
Follow Me

12 thoughts on “Pregnancy Symptoms By Week – Weeks 1 thru 13

  1. Tiffany,
    I think that this article should become a must read for ALL new Dads! Especially first timers who really don’t know anything about what to expect. Of course it would be helpful for new moms too. But it’s important for the guys to know what you are going trough and be a little more patience.
    David

    1. This is true! Dads have to put up with us ladies during this “joyful” time! My husband was always on pins and needles because he was so worried. I would always have to explain to him that I was just pregnant and EVERYTHING is normal. The symptoms I mentioned are very common. I always tell new mom’s and couples to keep an open mind and do not be surprised by anything during pregnancy. There are so many changes and then again, some of us don’t change at all other than the huge belly! Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment!

  2. Great information. I did not know that the embryo could be detected in as early as 5 weeks after conception. That is pretty amazing actually. With all the changes that occur in the body at this time, what are your thoughts on women who state they do not know they were pregnant? You hear more and more stories about that. I know we can miss a lot of the signs as you stated because we are so engaged in the conceiving process but with all the symptoms like you listed, are there women who perhaps do not experience that which is why they are not sure they are pregnant? Thank you again for the information.

    1. Yes it is amazing! With these early detection tests, you can find out even in the 4th week depending on when implantation takes place. With one of my pregnancies, I wasn’t trying and didn’t even think about it until I was actually 8 weeks along. I only had more acne and an increased sense of smell. At the time, I wasn’t trying to get pregnant so I just thought it was my hormones. So if you aren’t paying attention, a lot of symptoms may go unnoticed or passed off as pms. As far as women not knowing they were pregnant, I am not sure if I truly believe that. I know with an anterior placenta you may not be able to feel kicks or movements until later in the pregnancy. Also, if you are heavier you might miss it as well. However, I had an anterior placenta and could feel everything! I would think at a certain point you would feel the baby move regardless of how heavy you are. I do believe it is possible to go through pregnancy without any symptoms, but at some point there is going to be movement!

  3. Great post. You explained the pregnancy symptoms really well. I enjoyed reading your post. It’s amazing what our bodies go through during pregnancy. I am going to bookmark it so I can back to your article when I need too. Thanks for sharing. Keep up with the good work.

    1. Thanks for stopping by! Our bodies are amazing! Even though we may have some not so pleasant symptoms, I truly enjoyed being pregnant.

  4. Tiffany,
    This article really hit home. I just went through this twice. With my first born, it was extremely unnerving not knowing the stages you laid out. I stayed nervous probably throughout the entire first trimester. It was one of the most stressful times in my life. My second child was easier. I wish I would have had these points because it would have made my life a whole lot easier.

    1. I completely understand! Sometimes we don’t know what is going on and just wish someone would tell us, lol! Thanks for stopping by.

  5. Hello Tiffany,
    What a wonderful comprehensive post about all pregnancy symptoms, you made me remember all the suffering I went through during my pregnancy, I’ll bookmark this post to read it next time I get pregnant.
    Thanks I enjoyed reading you post.
    Rawan

  6. I love this post. I remember my two pregnancies and just wanting to know everything that was going on. When women first become pregnant, they are so pleased about it that they welcome a few “side effects” because it makes them feel pregnant. Each new symptom means you are one step closer to holding your baby.

    1. That is a great way to think about it “side effects” and being closer to holding your baby. I just remember at one point thinking “just get this baby out!” How quickly we forget all the side effects once we are holding our babies. I am so willing to do it again 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Top