If you and your partner can’t wait to start a family and have been trying to conceive, by this week you might be anxious to know what might be going on. However, it is still too early for you to find out.
What’s happening inside your body?
During this week your body is transforming vigorously to accommodate the new life that has embedded within you.
Your fertilized egg is in full element now and is known as blastocyte. This week, it would complete its journey of making its way from the fallopian tube where the fertilization took place to the uterus where it would get embedded and stay till you complete a full term.
As soon as the blastocyte reaches the uterus, it connects itself to the uterine wall and breaks up into two separate balls of cells. One of these balls will transform into your baby while the other will convert into the placenta that will take care of your little one and support it throughout the pregnancy.
What to Expect this Week?
Many women don’t feel a thing as these transformations take place while others may have symptoms of pre-menstrual syndrome-like mood swings, bloating, cramps, etc.
When the blastocyte tries to embed itself in the uterine wall, you may sight some spotting or light bleeding. You may mistake this as your period but this will be nothing like menstruation as the bleeding will be light and will quickly cease. You might feel some pressure in your lower abdomen or tenderness of breasts during this period.
Your Baby This Week
Wondering how your baby might look at this time of the pregnancy? Well, not bigger than a poppy seed. Yes, your baby is just an embryo and is extremely tiny. But, he or she is definitely busy in creating a perfect home to stay for the next nine months in your uterus.
During this week, the fetus is ensconced in the amniotic sac which is known as “water” in layman’s language. The yolk sac also develops during this week, which later becomes a part of the digestive tract of the little one.
You will be amazed to know that by this time, the embryo would have developed three different layers within it known as endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm. The endoderm is the innermost layer in the embryo and it later develops into internal organs like lungs, liver, stomach, pancreas, and intestines. Mesoderm is the mid-layer of the embryo which develops into the heart, kidneys, sex organs, bones, and muscles. The outer layer of the embryo is the ectoderm and it forms the hair, skin, eyes, and nervous system of the baby.
Things to do Make this Week Count
- Though you are not yet sure whether you are pregnant, there is no harm in starting to look for a doctor who would see you through your term. Ask your loved ones for referrals and check out their credentials on the internet. This will surely keep you occupied.
- It is okay to indulge in your favorite snacks and sweets once in a while.
- Get together with your female friends and get going with a gossip session.