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The books all say the same thing about the beginning signs of pregnancy: tender breasts, nausea, and a missed period are among some of the most common symptoms. But it is not always that easy to know.
For my first pregnancy, my husband and I decided it was time to start a family and I was very aware of my monthly cycle and when it was absent. The problem was that my excitement led me to take a pregnancy test each time I was even a day late. During those times, I would look for symptoms of pregnancy that were easily confused with premenstrual symptoms. My first pregnancy taught me the lesson to always buy the multiple packs of pregnancy tests.
With my second and third pregnancies, we were not trying and the signs were not as clear. Once I realized that I was pregnant, I realized how obvious the signs were. Here are the things that I experienced as early signs of pregnancy:
1. Fatigue--I would catch myself almost falling asleep during the day. I was exhausted by nighttime. I just thought that I was a busy Mom and that the kids were sucking the life and energy from me. I was partially right.
2. Missed Period--It wasn’t as easy for me to keep track of this because I normally had light cycles and didn’t keep the most careful track of when they were. Ironically, in two out of the three times that I became pregnant, it was immediately after buying the Costco size box of tampons. I steer clear from them now and buy the small packs.
3. Food Cravings--My husband suspected before I did that we were having another baby when he noticed two large bags of sunflower seeds that I had purchased on a weekly shopping trip. He curiously held them up, one in each hand and asked me, “What are these random snacks?” I answered, “I don’t know. I really felt for them when I saw them and guess I didn’t want to run out.” To this day, he tells me that he knew I was pregnant when he saw those sunflower seeds.
4. Nausea--I wasn’t throwing up in the beginning. There was nothing extreme that would have alerted me of my condition. It was much more subtle sickness. Again, it was a very normal feeling for a woman that is just about to get her period.
5. Heightened Sense of Smell--This was the thing that was the most unusual clue that I missed. I could smell the faintest scent and many food smells especially, made me sick to my stomach. When lotions that I usually used started making me feel like throwing up, I knew something was off.
6. Weight Gain--After my first pregnancy, I began to show quite quickly once becoming pregnant. Initially, it was just that my pants seem to fit snug but the scale reflected no weight gain. It was easy to chalk it up to bloating, another premenstrual sign.
If you feel like you are experiencing pregnancy symptoms, take a test. It may take more than one if you don’t know how late your period is. A pregnancy test that delivers a negative result could be positive within another week or so if your symptoms continue.
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