You’re pregnant! In your first week of pregnancy, your body knows it, oh but you don’t know it yet. It’s too soon for any woman to know in the first week. Though if you are actively trying to get pregnant, perhaps you’re looking for clues.
Here’s the thing though…ovulation and conception are tricky even for the best doctors out there to nail down. So, in that first week of pregnancy, doctors tend to count that as the week you’re on your period and you’re technically not pregnant yet.
It’s a bit tricky, we realize.
The key takeaway here is that your baby won’t actually be conceived until the second or third week after you did the deed. Vague yes, but it depends on the length of your cycle.
Symptoms to Watch
Since your first week of those 40ish weeks of pregnancy is actually your period, you will likely have the same early pregnancy signs and symptoms that you have on any menstrual period. So, that’s vaginal bleeding while your uterine lining sheds. And if you’re seeing this, it might be a good time to think about just using pads rather than tampons if you’re actively focusing on becoming a mom.
You’ll also get those un-fun cramps and lower back pains. And then there’s the bloating thanks to your hormones. Plus the mood swings to go along with them. And hey, can we interest you in a headache? Yeah, those are hormone-related too.
Recommended Reading
What to Expect When Your Expecting by Heidi Murkoff is the must-have guide for any expectant mom. It offers practical advice, realistic insights and easy tips on how you can take care of yourself during this exciting time in your life!
What’s Happening in Your Belly
So, week 1 of pregnancy is really a time that you’re not actually pregnant. Your body is busy cleaning house by releasing the uterine lining from last month and is now getting a new one ready. If you’ve got everything lining up for you in the universe, this new lining will be hosting that fertilized egg.
What’s really cool is that the eggs you release are smaller than one little speck of pepper. Your body will release one egg between days 10 and day 19 in your menstrual cycle. Sometimes, it will release two of them and you could wind up the proud mama of twins. Better check to see if that runs in your family!
If you’re hoping to become a mama to one or many, pay attention to when you’re ovulating. It’s usually about 14 days before your next period is due. The sperm can fertilize your egg for 12 to 24 hours after intercourse, and those sperm can live in your body for as many as 6 days.
So what now?
Most likely, you’re going to be like the millions of women that have no idea anything is changing in their body at this point. It’s really too soon to tell though you will soon enough start having to pee more often than before and find yourself with sore or tender breasts while feeling fatigued.
It’s little wonder that most newly-pregnant women think they’re ill before they realize they’re expecting! Come see what the second week has in store for you next!
