You feel reminiscent of an earlier time that you just can’t put your finger on. Your breasts are kind of tender, and you feel nauseous. Maybe you are even gaining a bit of weight. And then the big red buzzer sounds, and you realize you haven’t had your period. Congratulations; you need to visit your local drug store for a pregnancy test.
The first symptoms of pregnancy reminded me very much of puberty. And at first I thought it was a hormonal imbalance from coming off my birth control pills. I expected vomiting, the trust and true morning sickness sign of pregnancy. I also didn’t expect the first symptoms of pregnancy to appear until after I’d missed my period. I was sorely mistaken, and pleasantly surprised. However, knowing your pregnant the moment you become pregnant, is pretty important. You can’t really know to put down the white Russian and leave the bar otherwise, and even at the earliest stages of pregnancy there are many factors that can be highly harmful to your new belly fruit, even fatal. So even though every woman’s body is different, and you can’t expect to have every symptom covered below, here’s an overview of what could mean you’re pregnant, and how to make them more tolerable, if possible.
Implantation bleeding:
Many women mistake this for their period, and later symptoms for the flu or some kind of illness. Implantation bleeding will occur approximately 8 days after conception. It will be shorter and lighter than the average 5 day cycle, and the blood may appear a lighter color. Implantation bleeding is the very first sign of pregnancy, and is caused, as it’s name suggests by the fertilized egg implanting in the uterine wall. Implantation bleeding does not occur in every pregnancy. [1]
Boob Abnormalities:
Your breasts or nipples may feel tender and swollen, as well as the areolas, or area around your nipples may begin to darken. This caused by hormone induced changes to prepare the breasts for feeding.
Do not take aspirin, or anti inflammatory medications until you are sure you are not pregnant, as aspirin has been linked to various pregnancy complications. [2]
Unfortunately, I personally don’t know of ways to reduce this symptom. Wear a supportive bra and just try to avoid bumping into things and such. Also don’t worry about the darkening of your nipples, this goes away after the pregnancy.
Tummy, Ick:
Morning sickness is a very common sign of pregnancy and is badly named. The nauseated feeling associated with pregnancy can occur at any time, and is just that, nausea and often vomiting. Some lucky women don’t get morning sickness at all.
I found eating small meals frequently rather than the basic three large ones helped with this pregnancy symptom. As well as nibbling crackers, or toast. I basically treated it the way you would someone’s belly that’s way fully of alcohol. And have yet to vomit during my pregnancy. (6 months today)
Fatigue and Back pain:
Sort of feels like you just worked out 10 hours and you just woke up? Fatigue is another early starter symptom of pregnancy that can begin as early as 1 week after conception. And pairs nicely with lower back pain.
Getting plenty of rest even if you feel you’ve had enough is a good idea. You are sleeping for two whether you know it or not. Warm baths and yoga can help relieve the back pain.
Headache’s and Food aches:
One is caused by too much of something, and the other not enough. Head aches result from the abnormal amount of hormones pregnancy sends surging throughout your system, while food cravings are caused by a nutrient deficiency. For example, If you are low on iron you may crave onions. It’s not the taste your body is after.
Again avoid aspirin for those headaches. Tylenol is ok, or tea and a warm shower always did the trick for me. As for the cravings taking a pre-natal and doing your best to eat a balanced diet is the best way to counter act this one. don’t ignore them, it’s your pregnant inner voice screaming, “I need this!”, give in but don;t over indulge, excessive weight gain during pregnancy can cause complications and is far harder on your body.
Mom, I have to pee:
You may feel as if you’ve been saying that more than a 5 year old on a long road trip. Frequent urination is an early pregnancy symptom that I’m sorry to say, only becomes worse. This is because the growing size of your uterus is pushing on your bladder, causing the need to pee more often.
Don’t skip the fluids. It won’t help and dehydration is not healthy. When you do pee lean forward a bit to be sure you’ve fully emptied your bladder, other than that, don’t get in a situation where there won’t be a bathroom anytime soon.
No-Brainer, No bleeding:
The most common, and well known sign of pregnancy: A missed period. Even though missing your periods doesn’t guarantee you are pregnant. It’s a damn good sign, and you should act as if you are pregnant health habits wise, until you’ve been tested. Home pregnancy tests also can’t always be trusted. If you’ve had more than one of the above symptoms of pregnancy, and your test says negative. It may be a wise idea to take another in a week or so, or even have a pelvic exam done to be sure.
Pregnancy is full of symptoms, in fact these early signs are only the beginning. There are entire books written on the endless effects of bringing another life into this world, but the end result really is worth it.
Sources:
http://www.babiesonline.com/articles/pregnancy/implantationbleeding.asp
http://www.babycenter.com/404_is-it-safe-to-take-aspirin-during-pregnancy_1357403.bc
