Congratulations! At 3 weeks pregnant, things start to really pick up.
Either at the end of 2 weeks pregnant or the beginning of 3 weeks pregnant, your body should have ovulated, and your baby was officially conceived!
Conception happens at the moment that the egg is fertilized by a sperm! Once the first sperm reaches and penetrates the egg, a layer immediately forms on the outside of the egg to prevent any more sperm from getting in. The sperm joins with the egg to create your baby! Of course, at this point, your baby is officially referred to as a zygote.
At this early stage of pregnancy, you may not experience any symptoms at all. However, now that your baby has actually been conceived, there is a chance for you to start experiencing the beginning of real pregnancy symptoms!
As soon as the egg has been fertilised, your body will begin producing increased levels of oestrogen and progesterone. These are pregnancy hormones that will prevent the lining of the uterus from shedding like it typically would when you get your period. These hormones are what supports your baby in the very beginning before the placenta is developed enough to take over and produce the pregnancy hormone known as human Chorionic Gonadotropin or hCG.
One symptom that you are more likely to experience at 3 weeks pregnant would be implantation bleeding. Some women experience this while others do not. Some women shed a small amount of blood when the egg implants into the uterus several days after fertilization. This is likely to occur at the end of 3 weeks pregnant or possibly the beginning of 4 weeks pregnant. Even if you don’t experience this symptom, there is a possibility that you simply missed it since it is usually such a small amount.
One of the earliest signs of pregnancy is frequent urination. Get ready, though, because this tends to be a mostly universal pregnancy symptom that lasts the whole 9 months. You may not experience it quite yet at 3 weeks pregnant, but it is more than likely coming at some point and will only get worse when your baby and uterus start growing more and putting pressure on your bladder.
Your breasts are another thing that is likely to change early on. It isn’t too unusual for changes in your breasts to be your first official sign of pregnancy. Some women experience this early on, even at 3 weeks pregnant, while some experience it later on at different points in pregnancy. Sore and sensitive breasts are a sign that your body is slowly preparing to produce breastmilk to nourish your baby after birth. You may also notice an increase in breast size, nipple size, and changes in nipple and areola colouring.
Another symptom that is quite common from early on in pregnancy is fatigue. Your body works hard at creating a new little person, even from the very beginning. So, it makes sense that you tend to get tired easy and have less energy. This is another symptom that you may or may not experience at 3 weeks pregnant. If you aren’t experiencing fatigue yet, you likely will in the coming weeks. Many expecting mums spend most of the first trimester completely exhausted.
Something else that many pregnant women experience as one of their very first pregnancy symptoms is a heightened sense of smell. This wouldn’t be unusual to experience at 3 weeks pregnant because of higher levels of oestrogen and progesterone. You might suddenly notice that you can smell everything and may even be much more sensitive to some smells. This can also lead to food aversions, which are not unusual during pregnancy.
5. Nausea
This is the one you’ve been waiting for. Nausea is one of the most well-known pregnancy symptoms and is often referred to as morning sickness. It’s called morning sickness because it’s likely to occur when you first wake up due to an empty stomach, but it can definitely occur at any point during the day or night. It can begin from very early on such as at 3 weeks pregnant, but for most expecting mums, it begins at around 5 weeks pregnant.
Now that conception has occurred, there is actually a baby to discuss the size of! Of course, at this point, the baby – currently referred to as a blastocyst – consists of a tiny group of cells. Remember that the egg cell alone is large enough to be seen by the naked eye. Your baby is currently about the size of the head of a pen. He or she currently measures at just under 0.05mm.
There is definitely more excitement this week in the way of baby development! That’s because there is officially a baby developing at 3 weeks pregnant! At this point, your egg has been fertilized. A fertilised egg is referred to as a zygote. As soon as fertilisation occurs, the zygote begins to split and multiply into many cells bunched together. It undergoes this process of multiplying as it travels through the fallopian tube into the uterus.
The time the zygote takes to get to the uterus can be up to around 6 days, so by the end of 3 weeks pregnant, or possibly the start of 4 weeks pregnant, your baby consists of hundreds of cells and is referred to as a blastocyst. The blastocyst implants itself into the uterine wall where it continues to grow and develop.
At this early stage of your pregnancy, every aspect of your child’s DNA is already determined! So, even though it will be quite a while before you find out – your baby’s gender, eye colour, hair colour, and so much more are already determined and written in the DNA of that tiny blastocyst. Certain cells within the blastocyst have already separated into groups. One layer of the cells will become your baby – the embryo. Another will become the amniotic sac, and another will be the placenta!
Lots of things will be happening inside now, but at 3 weeks pregnant, there still won’t be any signs of your belly actually looking pregnant on the outside. It will still be a good while before your uterus has grown enough for you to start showing. Rest assured, it is already starting to grow, though!
You won’t likely have any tests quite yet at 3 weeks pregnant. However, some of the most sensitive early detection pregnancy tests may be able to show you a positive result by the end of this week. It is still early, though. So, if you do decide to go ahead and take an at-home pregnancy test, know that it may be negative simply because you’ve tested too early.
See, pregnancy tests are testing for the pregnancy hormone hCG. You won’t actually start producing this hormone until after the blastocyst implants into the uterus. The earliest you can expect that to happen would be near the end of 3 weeks pregnant. The best time to test for pregnancy and make sure you don’t accidentally get a false negative would be closer to 4 to 5 weeks pregnant, after you have already missed your period.
Since you probably won’t know for sure that you are pregnant at 3 weeks pregnant, you probably won’t see your doctor yet. So, you shouldn’t expect a 3 weeks pregnant ultrasound. However, if you did have an ultrasound, you really wouldn’t be able to see the baby yet anyways.
The blastocyst destined to become your sweet bub is still too small to be seen on the ultrasound. One thing you could see if you did have a 3 weeks pregnant ultrasound, though, is how thick the lining of your uterus is. This would definitely signal that your little blastocyst is in there even if it can’t be seen yet!
Now that you are officially pregnant, nutrition is more important than ever! You need to make sure that your body is as healthy as possible to help support your pregnancy. It can be difficult to get everything you need each day through diet alone, so while eating healthy is vital, you’ll also want to supplement with a good prenatal vitamin. Tons of important development is going to be happening over these first few weeks after conception!
Welcome to Babyinfo – the ultimate pregnancy and newborn information guide. We are here to help you find all the pregnancy and baby info you need to make the most beautiful experience of your life even better.
Our team is comprised of an amazing mix of experienced mothers, recently pregnant women, and editors with tremendous medical knowledge in the fields of gynaecology and childbirth.
Think of us as your friendly advisors, here to give you honest, easy to understand and authentic information. We are here to be your support at this crucial time in your life, when you need it the most.
Note: This website is in no way meant to replace doctors, hospitals, or other healthcare providers that may be utilized by current mothers or mothers-to-be. All mothers are advised to see a doctor for medical advice and the appropriate care before, during, and after pregnancy.
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