Wondering if you might be pregnant? Or feel like you’re experiencing some early pregnancy symptoms?Â
Stop wondering and read on. Here’s all the early signs that could indicate you have a little one on the way.
Feeling a little bit off but can’t quite place it? Or have a little inkling that you might be pregnant? While taking a pregnancy test is the only way to know for sure, the wait can be agonising! So here are some early pregnancy signs to keep an eye out for.
Early pregnancy symptoms: the usual suspects
Many pregnant mums experience some or all of these symptoms. They’re the tried and true signs that you could well and truly be expecting.
- A spot of cramping. One of the earliest signs of pregnancy can be spots of blood or light bleeding, lower back pain and cramping 6 to 12 days after the egg is fertilised, as your bub-to-be settles into the lining of your uterus.
- Morning-afternoon-anytime sickness. Nausea or vomiting are very common signs of pregnancy. They’re called morning sickness, which is a blatant lie, as most mums know this fun little part of pregnancy can happen at any time, day or night.
- Booby signs. Another early sign of pregnancy is changes in your breasts or nipples, which can feel sore, swollen, tingling or aching. Your areola, the area around your nipples, may also darken. If you are breastfeeding another child, they may suddenly refuse the boob as your hormones change the taste of your breastmilk.
- Oh SO tired. Feeling exhausted? It’s a normal sign of pregnancy, and you can thank those soaring progesterone levels for making you sleepy.
- Enter Ms Moody. Feeling emotional, reactive, depressed, irritable, anxious – and then randomly super happy? Welcome to mood swings, common during pregnancy due to all those extra hormones.
Early pregnancy symptoms:Â Strange happenings
Along with the usual signs, some mums experience some pretty weird and less-than-wonderful symptoms of being pregnant as those little gremlin hormones run riot in their body.
- Lots of leaking. Pregnancy does many weird and wonderful things to your body – including making more mucous! Which can mean more blocked or runny noses – and more discharge down below. And while we’re talking bodily fluids, if you feel like you’re drooling, another side effect of pregnancy is that your body can create excess saliva.
- Overly relaxed. While those hormone gremlins are doing their job of making your ligaments relax, they can also make the valve between your stomach and your oesophagus relax, causing acid reflux and heartburn.
- Heady days. If you feel faint or dizzy, it could be a sign that your blood pressure has dropped, which is common in early pregnancy. Headaches are also normal, and yep it’s your hormones at it again.
- Very veiny. As the amount of blood in your body increases and your uterus puts pressure on your blood vessels, you can develop varicose veins, veins on your breasts – and even in your vulva. Pregnancy. Oh SO glamorous.
- Hot hot hot. Feel hot or like your heart is racing? You might be right. An increased body temperature, faster heart rate or palpitations can occur during pregnancy. Thanks hormones.
- Plenty of peeing. Many mums feel a frequent need to pee. Hormones plus increased blood in your body means more fluid in your kidneys. The result? You need to pee A LOT.
Early pregnancy symptoms: Weird & wonderfulÂ
- Gassy guts. Bloating, constipation and increased flatulence are some less glamourous signs of possible pregnancy, due to hormones slowing your digestive system. Our suggestion? It might be a good time to buy a dog you can point the finger at!
- A change of tastes. The cause is unknown, but if you suddenly find you can’t stand the smell of certain things or the taste of certain foods, it could be a sign you are pregnant. Same goes for suddenly craving new foods, with some mums having super weird pregnancy cravings.
- Baby breakouts. Hello acne. Yep sometimes baby-on-the-way can mean breakouts. Not quite the baby glow we are after!
- Mouth full of metal. Metallic taste in your mouth? You might have dysgeusia, a sensory change that sometimes happens during pregnancy.
- Nosey. Being pregnant can mean you get more nosebleeds, as your blood vessels expand. And you might notice your gums are sore or bleed when you floss or brush, due to hormone changes.
- Sweet (and sour) dreams. Those hormones are at it again, causing many mums-to-be to have vivid dreams and nightmares. Many mums also say they have trouble sleeping, which let’s all agree seems particularly unfair given that you need all the sleep you can get before bubs arrives!
Pregnancy is an exciting time! It’s also quite the journey when early pregnancy symptoms kick in and you’re feeling all sorts of strange and different! Â While you wait to know for sure and until you pee on the stick, rest up and take care of yourself!
In the meantime, what about exploring some pregnancy wives tales or checking out our guide for mums-to-be who have no clue what they’re doing!
