Before jumping into my Fertility Blog post, let’s take a quick look at what to look out for with the early signs of pregnancy:
11 Early Signs of Pregnancy
- Missed period– earliest and most reliable sign for women with regular monthly menstrual cycle.
- Feeling sick and vomiting– commonly known as Morning Sickness. This can happen any time of the day or night.
- Changes in your breasts– breasts may become larger and feel tender, similar to what they might feel just before a period. They may tingle and veins may be more visible with the nipples darkening or standing out.
- Tiredness– hormonal changes during the first 12 weeks of your pregnancy can make you feel exhausted, emotional and upset.
- Urinating more often– you may feel like urinating more often. This is caused by hormonal changes.
- Constipation
- Vaginal discharge– increases without soreness or irritation.
- Metallic taste– unusual taste in your mouth.
- Changes in what you want to eat– such as craving new foods and losing interest in foods and beverages you used to enjoy.
- Losing interest in smoking– if you are a smoker.
- Enhanced sense of smell– more sensitive than usual, especially with foods and cooking.
Fertility Blog- Early Signs of Pregnancy
I felt exhausted, and the last thing I wanted to do involved moving furniture from one room into another. But Woods needed to move his stuff into my office that would soon become his bedroom, so I mustered up all of my energy and began shlepping – first the bookcase, then the computer, the chair, the desk.
I stopped, out of breath, before I could actually claim an empty room and collapsed onto the stairs just outside the door. I felt like I had the flu – nauseous, fatigued, the smallest bit of effort left me feeling weak and over-heated.
Laying there on the stairs, frustrated with my sickness, until I managed to crawl to the third floor where I promptly fell asleep.
Tired and Sick
I woke late the next morning, still feeling tired and sick. Then I decided to stay in bed and get some rest before going out with my girlfriends that evening. In and out of sleep, I tossed and turned. I tried reading for some time, but couldn’t manage to concentrate on the words without drifting off into some unfortunate place between dreams and reality where all I recognized was a desire to vomit!
Dan, the man I adored and who said adored me, came in a few times to see if I wanted to accompany him on an adventure, an adventure I would normally have jumped on were I feeling up to par.
Instead I lay there, looking up at him with what I’m sure were desperate and defeated eyes. Sweet man that he was, he crawled in next to me and did some reading of his own so I wouldn’t feel quite so alone in my misery.
Eating Out
Eventually it was time for me to go meet my friends for dinner. I slumped out of bed, put on my best face, and made my way over to pick Kelly up.
Although I still felt very nauseous, I was starving and ate up everything that landed on my plate. I left fairly early and completely sober – both unusual acts for me – but I felt miserable enough that all I wanted to do was heal my body better. Lack of sleep and alcohol were not on the top of my list that night.
Realization that I Had Early Signs of Pregnancy
All day at work on Monday, I wanted to sit down wherever I happened to be and cry. I couldn’t believe how ill I actually felt. Never had I been sick like this in years. I wrote the date on a shipping form, and that’s when it hit me.
I’m over a week late!
Driving home in a stupor through a rush hour that for once failed to make me yell with anger and impatience, I walked in to Dan’s room and told him my suspicions.
“No, let’s not freak out just yet.”
“Yes, let’s give it a few more days.”
“I’m sure everything is fine – we are simply overreacting.”
Pregnancy Test
We decided not to worry until we knew what was truly causing my sickness. Yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that my sickness was actually more than a sickness. While at the store, I snuck a pregnancy test into our groceries.
Okay, okay. So we’re probably overreacting, but I decided I’m going to take a test just to ease my mind. It will make both of us feel better when we definitely know.
He looked at me and slowly nodded his agreement. Disappearing into the bathroom, I could hardly breathe. I already knew what the test would read, but at the same time I was in complete denial. Wait three minutes. Then look. One line for negative. Two for positive.
I didn’t believe it. I tried to talk myself out of it. Sure there were two lines, but one of them was so faint it couldn’t possibly be the decision-maker on such a significant event in my life. The second line was barely there – it couldn’t count. I tried to tell myself that. I tried to tell Dan that. We didn’t believe me.
“Honey, I think we’re pregnant!”