Week 5: Sun Comes Up

Welcome to your second month of pregnancy! These coming weeks ahead can be challenging ones, hard to get through, and difficult to look past. Morning sickness becomes a reality for many women starting their fifth week of pregnancy. Even though it is called morning sickness, you can feel nauseous at any time of the day. There may be various things that trigger a nauseous episode: certain smells, sights, textures or flavours. Some helpful tips are to avoid smells you react to, eat smaller meals more frequently throughout the day, and stay hydrated. Most women experience morning sickness as mild aversions and waves of nausea; others struggle with debilitating vomiting episodes that make getting through the first months of pregnancy difficult. Regardless of which category you fit in, it is important to remember that just because you are struggling with finding joy in being pregnant doesn’t mean you don’t also value the miracle of life that is growing inside of you. Just take each day in stride, and look ahead towards the different milestones in pregnancy that you will reach along the way (hearing your baby’s heartbeat, feeling your baby’s kicks, reaching 26 weeks gestation, etc.).

Your baby is five weeks old and is busy at work building critical parts of the organ systems. A good portion of the circulatory system, neurological system, and urinary system are already established. With the help of the placenta, your baby is being fed all the nutrients needed to continue growing day by day. Your baby’s heart is pumping well, and blood is circulating throughout his little body. Further, his body is adapted enough to distribute nutrients to areas of development that need them most.