5 weeks along - First Pregnancy

[kaitlinobrienx]

Hi everyone,

I’m 5 weeks pregnant and feeling really anxious. My first appointment isn’t until 4th March and the wait feels so long already.

Me and my boyfriend have been trying for 2 and a half years and this is the first time I’ve ever been pregnant. I have PCOS and he’s had some issues with sperm shape and speed, so this has felt like such a long road to get here.

Yesterday I had some very light pink spotting after sex which has really sent me into a spiral. I’ve also been really tired and had a sore lower back. I keep convincing myself something is wrong or that I’m not “properly” pregnant or that I’m going to miscarry.

We’ve wanted this for so long and I think that’s what’s making the anxiety worse, I’d be absolutely devastated if anything happened. I feel like I’m constantly in my own head analysing every little symptom (or lack of).

For those who’ve been in this stage before, how did you cope with the wait until your first appointment? Is there anything I should genuinely look out for at this point?

It all feels so new and I don’t really know what to do with myself.

Thank you 🤍

Firstly congratulations!

I believe spotting can be normal after sex as it irritates the cervix. If it was strong painful cramping and heavy bleeding that would be a very different matter.

I'd recommend booking a private scan around 6-7 weeks if you can to see how things are progressing and that the pregnancy is in the right place. It helps give a little reassurance in the wait for the first appointment. Please try not to worry, the stress isn't good for you or the baby and certainly won't change the outcome.

Try and keep yourself busy and distracted. You might start getting some morning sickness soon so I'd recommend getting your house in order and you kitchen well stocked!

Hi! Please don't be worried about bleeding as it's quite common! I had a huge bleed with a massive clot at 11 weeks which I was sure was a miscarriage but nope they found no explanation other than maybe from sex the night before and the pregnancy went fine! Think it can just irritate your cervix sometimes.

I'm 5 weeks pregnant again now but like you panic that every little thing will be bad news and seeing on here it almost seems miscarriages are more common that it progressing sometimes! I definitely would recommend getting an early scan after 8 weeks as the chance goes down rapidly after that 🙂

You will still panic at the 12 and 20 week scans I think it's only natural when it's all built up to those moments and after those you'll really start to actually enjoy pregnancy then 😊

Thanks both! Sorry if I’m being naive but how do I get a scan at 8 weeks? I self referred so didn’t go through my GP. But I’ve also heard for private scans it’s about £400! 😭

My first appointment is March 4th for the initial meeting and I turn 8 weeks on March 10th for context

There's companies that do the private scans for example Window to the Womb, I've used that company for 3 scans and they're around £60-90 per scan. There's one called the reassurance scan.

Not a lot happens at the booking in appointment, they just take blood (and urine?) and get your medical history and consent to run tests for various syndromes. It doesn't reassure you unfortunately but a scan would.

Thank you! I’ve just seen. Going to book tomorrow. Hoping that it’s not too soon to see a heartbeat because different sources online say different things 🫣

I wouldn't go any earlier that 6.5/7 weeks as they won't be able to see everything yet. My most recent pregnancy I accidentally booked for 5.5 weeks and they couldn't see much yet. I ended up booking another scan for 2 weeks time as couldn't just leave it at that. It won't reassure you if they can't see heartbeat or fetal pole yet.

Girl same here. I’m constantly worrying about every single thing and I know it’s not healthy. I haven’t told anyone yet bc I’m so worried if all’s gonna work well. It’s first thing for me and I’ve been wishing for it whole life.

Really helpful advice thank you! I’ve booked today for a date where I should be around the 8 week mark just to be safe (I want to be able to see a heartbeat without booking in a repeat scan)

Same here 🫂 I did another test today and it said 2-3 weeks instead of 1-2 which in my head was a hopeful sign / showing my HCG levels are going up