Pregnancy Symptoms



It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Pregnancy and the glorious symptoms that go along with it! Now, I cannot stress enough that each and every woman's pregnancy is different.  Even women that have been pregnant a few times will tell you that her first pregnancy was completely different than her next one. I'm going to talk about the most common pregnancy symptoms including the ones that I experienced.  I have to get off topic for a sec.... get a journal or Belly Book to document every step of the way. Once that baby comes some women, including myself miss being pregnant.  I have a Belly Book that I filled out to look back at and remember all the little things.

The Belly Book is meant to document your pregnancy with...yup you guessed it...belly shots! But, if you are like most women in the first trimester and the last trimester, you don't want anyone taking your picture! So, instead of doing weekly belly shots, I only did a couple for each trimester.  For the rest of the book where a belly shot was supposed to be, I used pictures of things dear husband and I did or things that I could look back and say, "Remember when I was pregnant how we went on a little honeymoon?" 

Ok, back to symptoms.  Pregnancy symptoms can start as early as 2 weeks! Early pregnancy symptoms can sometimes be confused with your menstrual cycle beginning, so it can be frustrating when you think you are pregnant and then  Aunt Flow shows up. I had that happen one too many times when trying to get pregnant. Dear husband was always so supportive, "don't cry, we'll get there!". Some common early pregnancy symptoms include:
 

Cramping and Spotting

Not all women feel Implantation cramps, but if you have been trying to get pregnancy for a while you are probably very in tune with your body and could possibly feel them.  I felt implantations cramps the moment they happened.  The feeling was a more mild menstrual cramp that was constant, rather than coming and going in waves like menstrual cramps.  Some women get spotting which is called implantation bleeding.  The spotting is just that...spotting.  It is not like a regular period flow.

Breast Changes
Tender breasts are a very common early pregnancy symptom.  My breasts started to hurt 12 DPO (Days Past Ovulation) and on the 13th day I got my first positive pregnancy test.  They were sore and tender up until the first part of the second trimester.

Fatigue
Feeling extremely exhausted even a week after conception is normal.  I was 4 weeks pregnant and got winded walking up 7 stairs.  Your body is very busy right now dividing cells and creating your little bundle of joy. 

Nausea
The most famous pregnancy symptom of all!  So, you're gonna laugh.  I documented everything in my Belly Book and in week 5 I wrote, "No belly yet, but next week the placenta takes over the yolk sac, so morning sickness should begin".  Then in week 6 I wrote, "Night sickness has begun!"...like I was excited or something!  I was so nauseous starting at 3pm until I went to sleep everyday that I couldn't take it anymore.  I called my OB and she prescribed Zofran.  Zofran is a drug that cancer patients take who are going through radiation and it is supposed to help with the nausea.  Well, it helped with the nausea, but I also got a shit-ton of other side effects with it...like extreme thirst.  One morning, I drank a half of a container of that simply Orange juice!  I received really bad headaches and constipation.  4 days later I stopped taking the Zofran, because I would have rather felt nauseous than have those other side effects.  By week 10 the nausea went away completely out of the blue.  Here is my entry for week 10, "I don't want to jinx it, but it's mid-week and I haven't felt sick at all!  Saltines and animal crackers are always on me.  As long as I eat those constantly and have lighter meals I think the nausea will go away."

Food Aversions:
Food aversions can start a few weeks after conception, due to the hormones raging throughout your body.  I was turned away from veggies, chicken, fish and my prenatal vitamins.  The prenatals had DHA in them, which made the vitamin a soft-gel type pill, but it had a vanilla scent to it.  I gagged just opening the bottle of pills.  It wasn't until the beginning of the second trimester that I got my taste back for veggies.

Missed Period
Ah yes, the missed period.  A sure sign that you are pregnant.

Pregnancy brings on massive amounts of hormones that can give you various other symptoms such as:

• Frequent urination
• Constipation
• Mood Swings
• Headaches and Back Pain
• Dizziness and Fainting

A pregnant woman could have all of these symptoms or only just one. But it's best to make an appointment with your OB/GYN after you get a positive pregnancy test.