If you’re pregnant, it’s probable that you conceived during the third week of your pregnancy. The reason for this is that your due date is calculated based on your last period, so the first two weeks of your pregnancy likely occur before you’ve actually conceived. In the third week of your menstrual cycle, your body is fertile and ovulating, so it’s likely that the third week of your pregnancy is the week where your baby was conceived.

Your Baby at Week 3 of Pregnancy

Once a single sperm fertilizes an egg produced by your body during ovulation, you’re pregnant. Your baby starts as a single cell but quickly divides into hundreds of cells that become the embryo and placenta. Your baby at this stage is smaller than a grain of salt, and though you won’t know its gender for many more weeks, its gender has already been determined.

Your Body During the Third Week of Pregnancy

Once you conceive, your body starts producing a hormone called hCG that prevents your uterus from shedding its lining. Since your body will not shed its uterine lining again after you conceive, you will not have another period until after your baby is born.

It’s possible that you can test positive with an early detection pregnancy test in the third week of your pregnancy, though you’ll get more certain results if you wait a week or two more. If you take a pregnancy test in your third week of pregnancy and it comes back negative, don’t be discouraged. Wait another week and test again for more accurate results.

Preparing for Your Baby in Week 3

Whether you’ve determined that you are in fact pregnant or you’re trying to get pregnant and hoping you are, there are several things you can do now to start preparing for your baby:

• Buy a Pregnancy Guide: Being a new parent is terrifying, and a pregnancy guide will help alleviate your fears by educating you on the ins and outs of pregnancy. Reading about pregnancy ahead of time can teach you what to expect during your pregnancy, what to worry about while you’re pregnant, and what not to worry about because it’s perfectly normal.
• Give Up Alcohol: If you haven’t already stopped drinking, this is the time to do it. If you’re the type of person who has a glass of wine after work to relive stress or before bed to relax, start looking into other methods of unwinding. Taking a hot bath, meditating, or drinking a warm glass of milk may be good substitutes while you’re expecting.
• Start Using a Stretch Mark Prevention Product: More than 50% of women get stretch marks while pregnant, and you’re more likely to get them if your mother got them while pregnant with you. However, there are things you can do to avoid getting stretch marks. An easy way to prevent stretch mark scarring is to use a stretch mark prevention lotion twice a day while you’re pregnant. Find a stretch mark prevention product.