What does my baby really look like now?

[honeybee]

You'd think I'd have figured this out by #3!

I always get confused by how the "weeks" start counting 2 weeks before you are even pg. I called my mw today and she calculated my date (Sept 3) based on ovulation, and then said "So, you're about 5 weeks along." That just makes me laugh, because I know ovulation was exactly 23 days ago, and implantation about 3 or 4 days after that (based on temp chart and a bit of spotting).

So, when I look at the pics in the books of what the baby looks like at this stage, does '5 weeks' mean the baby that has been growing for 5 actual weeks, or the 5 pregnancy weeks (includes the 2 weeks before ovulation), when cells have actually only been splitting/developing for 3 weeks?

[Quaniliaz]

Well, we're due at the same time, and a couple of days ago something I read said it is the size of a poppy seed - still just cells dividing, etc... HTH!

[frontierpsych]

like a little tiny tadpole about the size of a sesame seed.

[starparticle]

I'm always in awe that something so small can create so much HAVOC!

[barefootpoetry]

According to my ticker, mine looks like a king prawn with little arm and leg stubs.

[Alcyone]

I've seen people do it both ways: by the week of pregnancy, and by age of the embryo. It sure would be nice if they made clear which one they were doing each time though.

[JWhite31]

I'm pretty sure saying you are 5 weeks pregnant includes the 2 weeks before ovulation, so the embryo's age is 3 weeks, but you are 5 weeks pregnant.
That is why they say pregnancy goes to 40 weeks...because they count the 2 weeks before ovulation too.

[PrayinFor12]

These 2 links are to week-by-week sights that have both explanations of what's going on with your baby AND PICTURES! Woo!
Lending a hand from the Aug DDC,
Holly

http://www.pregnancy.org/pregnancy/f...velopment1.php

http://www.i-am-pregnant.com/pregnancy/calendar/week/1

[honeybee]

Thanks for the links! I like that it tells you it's time from last menstrual period. I'm never sure when a pic is labeled "5 weeks" if it means embryo age or pg week.

[PrayinFor12]

Oh, yeah. Bugged me too.

On those 2 sites, when its says "fifth week" or "week 5," that means you are 4 weeks something days. (Counting from the first day of your missed period.)

[Scalpel]

A full term pregnancy lasts 40 weeks (280 days), broken down into 13-week trimesters, starting from the first day of your last menstrual period. That's right, you haven't even conceived in what physicians consider to be the first two weeks of pregnancy. You might as well get used to this idea now: Your first day of pregnancy is the first day of your last menstrual period. Ovulation usually occurs two weeks after that, and most women conceive during that time. So as if thinking you may be growing a human being inside of you isn't confusing enough, you are already two weeks pregnant on the day you conceive!