Parent guides · Weeks 5 to 8
Your second month of pregnancy, day by day
Days 35 to 62: the brain, spine, and heart begin, a heartbeat, limb buds and paddle hands, the first appointment, folic acid, nausea and tiredness, and what to avoid, with one thing to try every day.
Days count from the first day of your last period, the way your provider counts them, so conception is day 14 and your due date is day 280. Every note cites public health sources (the NHS, the CDC, the NIH, and the Office on Women’s Health), and a scan can move your dates: read each day as “around now”, and let your own provider’s read of your pregnancy beat any note.
← Your first month of pregnancy, day by day (days 14 to 34)Your third month of pregnancy, day by day (days 63 to 97) →
Week 5: the embryo
The neural tube, the heart starting, folic acid, and tiredness.
Day 35The week most people find outFive weeks: the week a late period becomes a test, what the test can and can't tell you, and the first call to make once the line appears.Try: The found-out page- Day 36The first heartbeatThe heart starts to form around now. Today's small, unglamorous job is adding one line to your first-visit list: please test me for STIs.Try: The testing ask
- Day 37A stronger noseThe face is taking shape, and so is your sense of smell. Today you map the smells that turned on you and hand the list to whoever cooks.Try: The smell map
- Day 38Cravings, and the odd oneWanting pickles is ordinary. Wanting to eat dirt or ice is a question for your provider. Today you keep a short list of both.Try: The craving check
- Day 39The flu shot, any trimesterFlu hits harder in pregnancy. The shot is recommended in any trimester and protects the baby for months after birth. Today you pick the date.Try: The flu-shot date
- Day 40The worry that comes with the newsWorry and anxiety are common in early pregnancy, and not something you caused. Today you get every worry onto one page and sort it.Try: The worry inventory
- Day 41The partner's weekThe last day of week 5 is for the other adult in the house: one question for the first visit, and a few plain words about how the news lands.Try: The partner's question
Week 6: a heartbeat
The heart beats, limb buds, nausea's start, and the first call to a provider.
Day 42The size of a peaSix weeks: limb buds, the start of ears, and the week morning sickness tends to arrive. Today you set a snack every one to two hours.Try: The snack clock- Day 43What the evidence says about gingerEveryone has a nausea cure. A review of 41 trials found little good evidence for any of them. Today you test ginger on the only subject that matters: you.Try: The ginger test
- Day 44Before any pillVitamin B6 and an over-the-counter combination have real evidence behind them for nausea. Today you write the question for your provider before you try either.Try: The B6 ask
- Day 45Rest as much as possibleThe NHS's advice for this week is four words long. What sleep looks like in the first trimester, and one early night to plan.Try: The early night
- Day 46When sickness is more than sicknessMost morning sickness is mild. Today: what hyperemesis gravidarum is, the numbers that mean a call, and a once-a-week habit that catches it early.Try: The weekly weigh-in
- Day 47Sips, not gulpsThe small drinks that stay down. Why between meals beats with meals this week, and how to keep a bottle within reach all day.Try: The between-meals sip
- Day 48Vitamin D, and the sunFolic acid has a number you know by now. Vitamin D has one too, and two countries say it differently. Today you find yours on the label.Try: The vitamin D line
Week 7: a face takes shape
Eyes, ears, and nostrils, the tube closes, food aversions, and sore breasts.
Day 49A grape, and a lemonSeven weeks. Your baby is the size of a grape, your womb the size of a lemon, and your blood volume is climbing. Today is about fluid.Try: The eight-glass bottle- Day 50Lifting at workMost people keep working through pregnancy. Today: the 20-pound line for lifting, the jobs worth a question, and the painkillers to skip.Try: The twenty-pound rule
- Day 51Standing all dayIf your job keeps you on your feet, today you ask for fifteen minutes an hour. Plus the small habits that lower swelling and bladder infections.Try: The fifteen-minute sit
- Day 52HeatPregnancy makes hot days harder: your body is cooling two people. Today you write a three-line heat plan and take it to your provider.Try: The heat plan
- Day 53Trips and long sitsTravel is generally fine if you're comfortable. Today: the walk-every-hour rule, what to pack, and the clot signs that mean care right away.Try: The travel hour
- Day 54Mood, namedMood swings are expected this week. Today is about telling an ordinary low day from something that needs help, and where to turn.Try: The feelings thermometer
- Day 55HeadachesHeadaches are common this week. A two-minute diary finds your triggers, and here is what to ask before you take anything for one.Try: The headache diary
Week 8: the first appointment
Paddle hands, a dating scan, the booking visit, and the questions to bring.
Day 56Paddle handsEight weeks: the embryo is now a foetus, and the booking visit is in sight. Today you write the five questions you'll take to it.Try: The appointment list- Day 57The dating scanThe first ultrasound is due between 8 and 14 weeks. What it looks for, why it may be a vaginal scan, and the full-bladder trick.Try: The full-bladder plan
- Day 58Up in the nightNight bathroom trips are breaking your sleep. The NHS fix is to shift your fluids earlier, not drink less. Here is how to do it.Try: The evening fluid cutoff
- Day 59What the first blood test looks forThe first-visit blood panel, item by item, so no result surprises you. Plus the one line you need about being Rh-negative.Try: The blood-panel preview
- Day 60The honest pageThe one page in this series about miscarriage: what the numbers say, what bleeding does and doesn't mean, and the card for the fridge.Try: The call-line card
- Day 61Money, relationships, the restThe NHS says to ask for support with money and relationships this week. A fifteen-minute conversation about one worry, no fixing allowed.Try: The one-worry conversation
- Day 62An inch on the rulerThe last day of your second month. Find 16 mm on a ruler, photograph it next to something of yours, and trust what you notice.Try: The inch on the ruler