Top 10 Early Pregnancy Symptoms
Are you pregnant?
When you think you might be pregnant (whether you were trying or not), it’s a really exciting time. But deciphering pregnancy symptoms can be really difficult at times: is this really a sign of pregnancy, or not?
Having been through this three times (and every time searching desperately through the internet for something that would tell for sure, even though I knew no such thing existed), I know how it feels. So here are the top 10 early pregnancy symptoms:
1) Vague nausea — It won’t be severe early on, but you might feel just a little off or slightly queasy at times. This is due to your hormones surging. If it’s really pregnancy, it’ll probably intensify over the next few weeks, peaking for many women around 7 – 8 weeks and tapering off by 12 or 13 weeks.
2) Fatigue — Suddenly you’re so tired you could lie down on the floor and take a nap at the grocery store. Especially if this isn’t like you, and you don’t have any other reason for fatigue (read: if your toddler woke you up 8 times the previous night, you have another reason!), pregnancy may be it.
3) Sore breasts — Your breasts may swell slightly and become really sore…to the point where, if your husband brushes against them, you yelp in pain. Tenderness is also due to surging hormones and a good sign of pregnancy (but, sadly, also an impending period for some women).
4) Mood swings — Your husband slams the door and you jump and scream at him…because that was the worst thing he could have possibly done. For no reason. But then two minutes later you love him and have to give him a hug…. And worst of all you have no idea why you feel this way. Hello, mood swings…and potential pregnancy.
5) Unusually sensitive — Early in my pregnancies I had times where I would absolutely freak out if anyone touched me. I couldn’t stand it. I felt like my skin was crawling because I was just overly sensitive.
6) Cramping — This can, of course, be a sign that your period is on its way. But cramping, especially if it comes and goes or is one-sided and “different” than usual, can be a sign of pregnancy. Your body forms a “corpus luteum cyst” on the side where you ovulated, which provides progesterone until the placenta is ready to take over. Sometimes that causes cramping (it’s normal and healthy).
7) Headaches — Suddenly prone to headaches? Surging hormones may be responsible, signaling pregnancy!
8) Increase in white discharge — Before your period you should not have much discharge. Until it starts, anyway. But if you seem to have a lot more whitish discharge, it can be a sign of pregnancy (it’s because of your mucus plug forming). You may not notice this until a couple after you have missed your period, though.
9) Elevated BBT — This is your “basal body temperature,” or temperature immediately upon waking. It rises slightly after ovulation, and if it remains at that higher level for 18 days or more, pregnancy is highly likely. A second “rise” also occurs in some women when they are pregnant.
10) Positive Pregnancy Test — Yes I know, of course. But I just wanted to mention that “a line is a line,” so even if that second line is really faint, or takes a few minutes to appear, yes, it’s still a positive test! (If the line is grayish and appears only a few hours after you took the test, as its drying, that’s an evaporation line and not a positive. Check the directions, but most tests specify a 10-minute window. If that line appears more strongly after a few hours and is red, not gray, it’s probably still a positive. Check again with another test. This happened to me with my second pregnancy…I kept re-checking and as hours passed I was sure there was a line. A second test confirmed it!)
What were your earliest pregnancy signs?
Top image by esparita
The first things I noticed, and I did not think I was pregnant, were cramping and constantly having to pee. And my period being late. Amazing that I was in denial, really… A few weeks later I definitely had the fatigue, plus major congestion that lasted my whole nine months.
Really bad gas no mater what I ate. I also had some constipation. Not something many want to talk about but it was my first sign something was up with both my pregnancies.
Mild spotting shortly after ovulation, feeling like I was coming down with a cold because I was tired and running a very low grade temp ( I’m typically a little sub normal. Somewhere in the low 97′s so when my temp hits 99, I start feeling bad), so moody that my husband insisted upon me taking a test even though 3 days before I was negative.
I had IUI (a fertility treatment) to become pregnant, so I knew the exact day my daughter was conceived. But my early pregnancy was so symptom-less that I kept saying I would never had guessed I was pregnant until MONTHS down the line. Only then, may I have in retrospect noted the increased gassiness and uncharacteristic constipation (just like Jan Bull
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In addition to faint nausea, my gums started bleeding while brushing & my back started getting acne. Lovely! Then a test confirmed it.
I know I obviously didn’t need food “for the baby” since she was only a few cells big, but I was unbelievably hungry the week after my period was due. I was staying with a new mom for the week postpartum and was almost embarrassed that I wanted to eat so much more than she did. I assumed it was just my period.
I INSTANTLY gained 4 pounds! I had been working out regularly and eating right and losing weight. Then 5 days before my period was to start, I weighed myself and had gained 4 pounds, in TWO days (all water retention)! That’s how I knew, because i retained a lot of water with my first 2 kids as well.
I am 44, a grad student, and i work full time with one son in college and a 10 yo at home. I have gone to the dr and when I stated I was having symptoms they completely ignored me and even one nurse suggested menapause which completely inferiated me because I am not having any symptoms of that. At this moment I have a slight headach which I never get at all, and a queazy stomach for the last month and a half. I took 1 hpt (neg) and had a blood test a few days ago (neg). I did have a period butit was short wit no clots to be concerned about. Now a week later I an still getting the symptoms and I am so confused. with all that I do mind siking myself is not something I have time for so what is wrong with me?
Gayla, it’s not uncommon for premenopausal women to mistake the start of menopause with pregnancy. I’d have a complete blood panel done at your doctor’s office, just to see what’s going on. It *could* be pregnancy, but that’s highly unlikely which is why I would suggest getting a complete work-up done: blood, hormones, check the pituitary glad, etc. Good luck!
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