Am I Pregnant?
 | So you're thinking you could be pregnant. Your body may be experiencing some strange symptoms or you could feel no different at all. Not every women will get every symptom, some get all of them and some get none at all (except a missed period). |
Menstral Cycle Changes
Some of the most common symptoms are rather sutble at first and can mimic those you get when your period is about to start. Mild cramping, breast tenderness and mood shifts are associated with both pregnancy and your cycle. This is perhaps why many women don't know they are pregnant until after 'Aunt Flo' doesn't arrive.
| There are other reasons for a change in your cycle. These include weight loss, excessive exercise, onset of menopause, certain medications, hormonal imbalances and certain types of birth control.
If you miss your cycle (or it is very different from your 'normal' cycle) and you get a negative home pregnancy test, you can wait a few days and try again with first morning urine. If it is still negative and you have not started your cycle, contact your health care provider. |  |
Tender Breasts
This symptom can begin as early as 1 week after conception. This is due to the increase in estrogen and progesterone stimulating the milk producing glands in your breasts. This symptom can continue through out your entire pregnancy. However as I've stated before, some women never notice any discomfort and some only feel it a few weeks before their little one is due to arrive.
Other reasons for this tenderness is an impending menstrual cycle. Your body produces estrogen and progesterone as part of a normal menstrual cycle. If you are actively trying to conceive, you find yourself more in tune to your body and this can cause you to notice the symptoms of your normal cycle more acutely. As stated above, many of the symptoms of prenancy are shared by the onset of your cycle. Hormonal imbalances and certain types of birth control can also cause your breasts to feel swollen or tender.
Darkening Areolas (nipples)
Pregnancy can cause the skin around your nipples to darken.
Other reasons for this include horomonal imbalance or the result of a previous pregnancy.
 | Fatigue/SleepinessIt seems like as soon as you learn you are pregnant, you want to scream it to the world and then your body wants to hibernate. This is completely normal and can start as soon as one week after ovulation. Some women feel completely energized the entire pregnancy, where as some feel as if they have slept through the entire first trimester. Stress, exhaustion, depression, and even the common cold can leave you feeling this way as well. |
Nausea/"Morning" Sickness
Whomever decided to call it "morning" sickness LIED. If you are one of the women who get to experience this 'blessing' you will quickly learn that it doesn't only happen in the morning. It can (and often does) happen all day long. Again, some women are lucky enough to never have so much as a pang of nausea and some women seem to never keep anything down for more than a few moments (this is called Hyperemesis Gravidarum and should be immediately brought to your health care providers attention).
Other things that can cause nausea include the flu, food poisoning and other stomach disorders. Unfortunatly, the overwhelming desire to get your BFP can cause your body to make you feel the same way (psychosomatic nausea). I've had this happen to me with previous TTC attempts. I just wanted it so much that my mind convinced my body that I was pregnant, I had "morning sickness", missed my cycle and had other symptoms as well.
HeadacheSharp increases in hormones can cause headaches in early pregnancy. While this is a normal occurance, be sure to talk with your health care provider as to what you can and cannot take to relieve the pain. Other causes include non-pregnancy hormonal changes, dehydration, stress, illnesses such as a sinus infection or the flu, or eye strain. Any headache that cannot be relieved by over the counter medication should be reported immediately to your health care provider (especially in late pregnancy). |  |
Backache
Backache's are a common complaint through out pregnancy. This is due to the shifting of muscles and structure to accomodate the baby. This can put stress on your lower back.
Other causes can include over-exertion, stress, or injury.
Cravings
You may not have the desire to eat the clichéd 'pickles and ice cream', you may find yourself with a deep desire for apple juice, or chocolate, or salty food. This can begin as early as two weeks after conception and last through out the entire pregnancy.
Other causes can include stress, depression, impending menstrual cycle, or a physical lack of a certain nutrient.
Heartburn and Constipation
This is caused by a muscular reaction to progesterone and estrogen, which cause smooth muscles to relax everywhere in your body. This is what allows your abdominal muscles to stretch like they do as your belly grows. This also can cause your digestive system to slow down which can effect digestive acid levels (causing heartburn) and slow intestinal digestion (causing constipation).
Frequent Urination
This can begin as early as six weeks past ovulation. It is caused by the expansion of the uterus which presses against the bladder until around the second trimester when it begins to grow upward as well. However, this symptom can return with a vengence in the third trimester, especially the closer to term you grow. By the time your little one arrives, you will likely know where every bathroom is enroute to your regular errands as well as inside every store you visit... because you will have likely used them at least once.Other reasons for this is a urinary tract infection, increased fluid intake or the use of diuretics.
Every pregnancy is different
This is by no means an exhaustive list. Some women have symptoms that they recognise from previous pregnancies, other women will go through their entire pregnancy with nothing more than enlarging breasts and darkening areolas. Even from one pregnancy to the next, you may have severe nausea the first pregnancy and never so much as hic-up the next.
Of course, the only way to truely know for sure whether you are pregnant or not is by taking a pregnancy test (either at home or through your health care provider).
More Information
Choice
Where do babies come from? Don't bother asking adults. They lie like pigs. However, diligent independent research and hours of playground consultation have yielded fruitful, if tentative, results. There are several theories. Near as we can figure out, it has something to do with acting ridiculous in the dark. We believe it is similar to dogs when they act peculiar and ride each other. This is called "making love". Careful study of popular song lyrics, advertising catch-lines, TV sitcoms, movies, and T-Shirt inscriptions offers us significant clues as to its nature. Apparently it makes grown-ups insipid and insane. Some graffiti was once observed that said 'sex is good'. All available evidence, however, points to the contrary.
~Matt Groening (Creator of 'The Simpsons')
Melissa
Melissa is a 35 year old Army wife to her deployed husband, and the mother of three girls. Two are toddlers and the third is a teen, lending to her bouts of insanty. Melissa and her husband Tom are still deciding whether or not they will have "one more" while Melissa tries to figure out how to convince Tom that homebirth is a good thing.
