EARLY SIGNS OF PREGNANCY
If you feel as though you might be pregnant then my advice is to do a test, and also get your doctor to confirm it, there are many on the
market and all of them are really good, there are some that you can do 5-7 days before your period is due, but I feel they work better once you have missed your period, and I have also had other mums and my doctor tell me this. Anther good way of finding out is going to your doctor and getting a blood test done, this can be done up to 6 days after the night you think you might have conceived, and you can also get the test back that same day.
Once that you have had your pregnancy confirmed you might be sent off for an ultra sound to confirm your due date, and to see just how many weeks you are. This doesn’t hurt the baby in any way or yourself as it is only sound waves bouncing off your baby so that you get the picture on the screen.
There are a few that we all know as signs of been pregnant and they are the obvious ones, but there are also some that aren’t as obvious, and they are the ones that we might not notice until you read about them, I know I didn’t notice them until I read about them that’s for sure.
Missed Period
This is the one that we all look for as it’s the first sign, but some of us will still get our periods even when we are pregnant and in most cases this is normal, you might get it a little late but you may have done a test that says it positive and your period comes a few days later, and if this happens its best to talk to your doctor about it, as they might want to run some tests to make sure that everything is ok.
The reason as to why you have missed you period is because your womb lining that you would be losing as your period isn’t going to happen because your egg has been fertilised and has implanted itself in the your womb lining, which means that you are now pregnant, congrats.
But if you have done a pregnancy test and it has come back as a negative then I would wait a few days and retest and if that one also comes back as negative then please go to your doctor so that you can find out what is happening.
Sore Breasts
For some of us this is the one that we hate, as our boobs start to get ready for their all important job the changes that they have to go through can be really quite painful for most of us, the changes that are happening are -
they start to become more heavier and fuller, they will either throb or tingle and this can happen either just around the nipple or all over also it can happen to just one or both and can be quite painful to touch or sleep on and even wearing a bra for some is just to much also.
our areola ( the pigment around the nipple ) will start to change from pink to brown ( this can also happen later on in your pregnancy ) around the areola the sweat glands will become lager and more noticeable, you will also notice that you have more noticeable bluish blood vessels just under the breast skin as you now have a increase of blood supply to them ( this can also happen later on in your pregnancy too )
Tiredness
This is one that gets most of us, its like you haven’t slept in days, and even if you are still getting your normal 8 hours too, you can’t seem to stop yawning through the day. But why are we feeling like this? Its because our bodies are now working over time on making your baby grow, in the first few weeks of pregnancy your body is making the placenta that your baby will live and grow in for the next 9 months and once the placenta is complete, by the end of the first trimester your body will have more energy, until the last few weeks when your body picks up again getting ready for your baby to be born.
Morning Sickness
Some of us will be lucky not to get this and then there will be some like myself that really get a dose of morning sickness, they don’t know the real reason as to why we do suffer from this, there are lots of theory’s out there and most of them say that the new amounts of hormones that running around our bodies are to blame. Morning sickness usually starts around the same time as when your period was due but it can also be very different for everyone.
It really doesn’t matter as to when we get it either as you can get it in the morning, lunch time, evening, through the night, or if your like me get it 24 hours a day. One of the key things to do with morning sickness is to keep trying to get as much as you can into your body as you can, even though you are vomiting your body still takes what it needs from what you have either just eaten or drunk, the other thing is to keep up all kinds of clear fluids, as you don’t want to become dehydrated.
My tip to you is eat as often as you can and only small amounts, and try to get as much water into your body as you can.
Emotions
I know when I was pregnant there where so many days where I just wanted to stay in bed and not go anywhere or do anything, there were days where I just wanted to sit there with a good girly movie and cry, I was on edge and worried that I wouldn’t make a good mum to my baby, and what the hell am I doing, then there where times when I was super happy one minute and then so very low the next. I feel so sorry for my hubby as I put him through hell with my mood swings but he was so understanding, as to what was happening and even read all the books that I was reading while I was sleeping so that he knew what was going on with me and our baby.
These and all the ones that I haven’t mentioned are all normal, the reasons as to why we have the emotion rollercoaster is because of those increased hormones, and they will pass once our bodies get use to them, and you may notice them starting either just before you miss your period or just after.
These are the main symptoms and signs of pregnancy, but there are some others that you might not know, I was surprised when I found them out, and I know when I was reading them I started to think oh I have that one.
Palms and Souls of your feet
This was one that I felt was a little weird at first but I asked my doctor about it at the time and she told me that it was normal and not to worry. The reason as to why your palms of your hands and the soles of your feet might become red and sometimes itchy is believed to be because of the increased amount of the hormone oestrogen in our bodies while we are pregnant, this condition is called palmar erythematic, it is nothing to be worried about and will go once you have had your baby.
Sensitivity
Some of us may get this one and some of us may not, I know I didn’t, when we are pregnant we can lose our sensitivity to feeling hot or cold, our body temperatures can play up and when this happens it can make it hard for us to know which it is that we are feeling.
The other sensitivity that we might have is to everyday smells and also to smells of food, as they can make us feel very unwell and even make us want to vomit this is also normal.
Mucous Membrane
When we are pregnant the mucous membrane in our noses can swell making it very hard for some of us to breathe, and some of us may even start to snore because of it. I know that I suffered from this one as my hubby told me that I had never snored before until I fell pregnant. The reason for it swelling is because of those hormones again, they make you feel like you have an almighty head cold, be very careful of what you take if you think you might be pregnant as a lot of the over the counter medications shouldn’t be taken by pregnant women. This should start to settle down once your body has adjusted to the increase of hormones in your system.
Bladder and Bowel
This one can come under both common and not so common, as some of us feel like we have to wee a lot when we are first pregnant. The reason for this is because of the hormone Progesterone with the increased amount in our bodies it has an affect on our bladders by making the muscles that control it relax and not do their jobs as well as it normally does, the other reason is because our womb is just next door you our bladders and once our wombs come out of our pelvic area it wont put as much pressure on our bladders until later again in our pregnancy.
Progesterone also affects our bowels too, and has almost the same effect as the bladder. But with the bowel it causes us in some cases to suffer badly from constipation, as the hormone causes our muscles that control our bowel to relax as well. I was told when I was pregnant if this happens to advise the doctor before you take anything, but the other thing that you can do is up your fibre and water intake, but do it slowly so that you don’t have the opposite happen.
Also if you start to experience any cramping or spotting and pain my advice is call your doctor or go straight to either them or your local hospital to be checked on the safe side and to make sure that everything is ok with you and the baby and to make sure that you aren't having a miscarriage.
I hope that this has been able to help, and given some of the first time mums a little bit of an insight to there pregnancy feelings in the first few weeks.
Good luck your pregnancy girls.
(July 7th) (
gecko-baby
