Congratulations! You … might … be … pregnant! If you are feeling tired, peeing more than usual, and experiencing bloating, then a baby bump could be in your immediate future. While these are some common fertility issues that everyone experiences, they could be signs that you are pregnant, especially if you are attempting to have a child with your significant other.
Not every little change that happens in your life means you’re pregnant – this is the worst thing you could do when you’re actively trying to have a child or two. So, don’t set yourself up for disappointment and start buying car seats and putting together the nursery just yet.
That said, if there is a combination of things – smell sensitivity, tender breasts, and nausea – then the odds that you are pregnant are quite high. Are you ready to find out if you could be pregnant? Let’s get down to the nitty gritty!
Here are 10 early signs and symptoms of being pregnant:
1. Fatigue
When you’re pregnant, you are constantly tired and just want to sleep or lounge on the sofa. Although you feel guilty for not going out with the girls on the weekend or hitting the gym after work, you are too fatigued to do anything. Ah, precious sleep!
These are common symptoms of being pregnant, especially in the early stages. Why? Because your hormone progesterone levels are soaring, which is sometimes complemented by low blood sugar and blood pressure levels. When these are combined, your energy is gone.
2. Frequent Urination
Are you heading to the bathroom every hour to urinate? This frequent urinating can be annoying because it is disrupting your lifestyle and your sleep. At least you can take comfort by the fact that this will prepare you for life with kids.
Whoops! Was this a spoiler alert?
Yes, frequent urination is another early symptom of pregnancy. Your uterus presses directly on your bladder, initiating more urination sessions than normal. This will only intensify as the baby grows. Moreover, the additional pressure and changes to your intestines may lead to other issues, like constipation.
3. Smell Sensitivity
Do you think you’re doing a better job capturing smells? No, you haven’t developed superpowers – though, having a baby does make you a superhero just for the fact of what your body goes through – you just have a heightened sense of smell from the early days of pregnancy to when you give birth.
The science is not settled on the why, but some researchers speculate that it is meant to serve as a tool for expecting mothers to stay away from rotting food.
4. Nauseous
Everyone has heard of morning sickness in pregnancy. This is wrong. It isn’t just in the morning. When you’re pregnant, you’re nauseous all day long. No, that isn’t a typographical mistake. For a lot of expecting mothers, this horrendous feeling – feeling like you want to vomit – occurs every minute of the day. It doesn’t get better and could very well worsen the closer to the due date.
5. Breast Changes
Suddenly, your breasts become more tender, they become more sensitive, and they become fuller and heavier. Indeed, any pleasure in the bedroom vanishes. That is how much your breast changes as soon as you become pregnant. Once again, the change is due to hormonal fluctuations
6. Bloating
Bloating is such a terrible feeling. Although you feel like you just developed a pot belly, the bloating is caused by excessive gas production. That doesn’t make it any better. Do you want to know something else? It is one of the regular symptoms of being pregnant.
7. Food Cravings (or Aversions)
Do you feel like eating a tuna fish sandwich stuffed with chocolate sauce, cheese, and strawberries? Or, on the other hand, does the smell of a simple chicken breast make you sick to your stomach?
Well, you have likely heard by now all the food cravings that women get when they’re pregnant. But, believe it or not, many pregnant women are disgusted by everything put in front of them.
Some mothers may just want to eat something cold and juicy, like oranges or watermelon, when they’re expecting a child, which is bad news for those women who wanted to wash down their triple cheese hamburger with five chocolate milkshakes.
8. Sudden Increase in Gas
Sorry, you might sound like the brass section of the symphony for a little while. Remember the bloating we mentioned earlier? Your body will produce more gas, so you could experience higher-than-normal farting on a daily basis. It is embarrassing, especially if you’re at the office or you’re attending the opera. But it happens and there isn’t anything you can do about these symptoms of being pregnant.
9. Mood Swings
One moment, you’re telling your husband how much you live him. The next, you tell him that you want him to change because he is just so rude ignoring you as he reads Raymond Chandler novels.
That’s life pregnant. For the next several months, you will enjoy plenty of mood swings every day. Sad, then happy, then angry, then back to being sad, and then angry, and then content, and then sleepy, and then happy. Yikes!
10. Just ‘Feeling’ It
In the end, the best early sign of being pregnant is that you just feel it. That’s right.
A lot of the experts say that women just know when they’re pregnant, even if it is only three, four, or six weeks in. If you have been trying for a long time, then there will be a eureka moment prior to taking a pregnancy test. This will be the happiest moment in your life, so relish it.
Believe it or not, nine of these symptoms happen to women who are not pregnant and do not try or plan to be. So, it might just be coincidental that you have a jump in gas output or you are feeling sick to your stomach. On the other hand, there is an increased likelihood that you are getting ready to bring a baby boy or girl (or both) into this world. With that in mind, congratulations!
