You are now six weeks pregnant! Symptoms of early pregnancy are definitely in full force. Your baby is growing and changing every single day, and at this point you might be more comfortable with the idea of having a little one in your arms very soon. You are now halfway through the first trimester, and that’s a great milestone to celebrate. Here is what to expect when you are 6 weeks pregnant.
What Are the 6 Weeks Pregnancy Symptoms?
When you are 6 weeks pregnant, symptoms abound. The outside world might not know anything about your pregnancy yet, and it’s easy to keep it a secret. But there are a few things that make it clear to you, every single day, that you have a little baby growing inside you.
| Symptoms | Descriptions |
|---|---|
| Fatigue |
The biggest symptom might be the fatigue. You are very tired at this point, and it seems like you could sleep all day long and still not get enough shut-eye. Being so tired might even make you feel a little depressed and sad, and all those hormones coursing through you don’t help matters much. You probably feel just a bit awful. |
| Nausea and vomiting |
That’s especially true if your morning sickness has started. Calling it “morning” sickness isn’t really accurate, because the nausea and vomiting can hit at any time of day or night! When it does start, it is an indication that everything is going as it should. But that doesn’t help your mood much, and it might wind up destroying your appetite at a time when you really need to eat for your baby. |
| Other signs |
Other signs are still there, such as sore breasts, trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night, broken sleep, or being really hungry for no reason at all – alternating with having no appetite, especially when the vomiting kicks in. This is definitely a rollercoaster ride for your body and your emotions! |
How Does Your Baby Grow?
But all these changes mean that your baby is still growing and changing inside you. At this point it is about the size of a lentil, just big enough to be seen. The heart is beating already, about twice as fast as yours, and other organs are taking shape already. Blood is flowing through the baby, and the arms and eyes and even the ears are starting to form.
At this point you might have a few scary moments, because sometimes a pregnant woman will “spot” a bit during the sixth week of pregnancy. This is often very harmless and just means that your body is adjusting. If you do start to see a bit of blood, take it easy and rest as much as you can until the spotting goes away.
Here’s more information on how your baby is growing right now:
How Does Your Life Change?
Life is still much the same as it was six weeks ago – as long as you can deal with the symptoms of early pregnancy. The biggest change is that you are now dealing with mood swings that sometimes leave you feeling confused, depressed, worried or joyous, depending upon the time of day. Your mood swings might move from one side of the spectrum to the other in the blink of an eye, and make you think that you are going crazy! But mood swings like this are perfectly normal.
You might also be preparing for how to deal with the pregnancy, such as figuring out your maternity leave benefits, insurance issues and other points that will matter a great deal over the next nine months.
How Can You Deal with Queasiness at 6 Weeks Pregnancy?
This is one of the biggest concerns for a lot of women at this point in pregnancy. Feeling sick all the time is one of the hallmarks of early pregnancy, and when you are 6 weeks pregnant, symptoms seem to always include some form of nausea, queasiness, or vomiting. How do you deal with these awful symptoms?
| Methods | Descriptions |
|---|---|
| Eat in the early morning |
There are several ways to help settle your stomach. It is a good idea to eat in the early morning hours, as soon as you wake up. |
| Eat snacks |
Nausea is worse on an empty stomach, so stash some crackers beside the bed at night, and eat them in the morning before you get up. Eat a snack at night, too, right before you crawl into bed. |
| Have small meals |
Keep your stomach at least a little full at all times to help ward off the sickness. That means eating many small meals throughout the day instead of two or three big ones. |
| Drink soothing beverages |
You can also look to things like ginger ale, plenty of water and other soothing beverages that keep your stomach full but don’t trigger nausea. Eventually you will figure out which foods make the situation worse and you can avoid them altogether. |
| Avoid fats |
In the meantime, avoid fats–they almost always make the sickness worse–and try to get plenty of protein and carbohydrates with each meal. |
More Tips on 6 Weeks Pregnancy
1. Visit Your Obstetrician
At this point, you should have visited your obstetrician to get any sort of health checks necessary. These will likely include several blood tests, perhaps an ultrasound, a medical history and many other things that your doctor might want you to do to make sure you are healthy.
2. Take Vitamins and Think about the Future
Always take your supplements and vitamins as directed, and start thinking about the future--what you want your birth experience to be like.
3. Purchase Maternity Clothes
Speaking of the future, another thing that you want to think about is maternity clothes. You don’t need them yet, but shopping for them early will be helpful when you suddenly wake up one morning and realize you need them! Hit up thrift stores and consignment shops for great maternity clothes on a budget. Since most women only wear them for nine months, they don’t get much use, and you can find secondhand maternity clothes for a nice price.
Want to learn even more about what it is like to be 6 weeks pregnant? This video can help:
