Related Video: 5 Week Pregnancy Update | How I Knew I Was Pregnant
Hello Mama,
If you’re a woman, you probably have has a least one “pregnancy scare” in your life. Your period doesn’t come first thing in the morning on the 28th day like clockwork and you start to feel pregnant. I have experienced this a handful of times, and I must say that pregnancy symptoms and period symptoms are actually very similar. Why mother nature decided that these two OPPOSITE body changes needed to be similar in the early stages is beyond me.
I had been on the pill for a very long time, so when we decided we wanted to have kids, I figured we could start trying right away since I figured that the pill might delay things. We waited 3 months before trying. We were on vacation and it was the most romantic time of all for well, you know. 🙂 hehe wink wink. As I mentioned before, I have had my fair share of pregnancy scares in the past, so now that I was actually trying to become pregnant, I knew exactly which signs to look for.
We had just come back from Vietnam and we were tired and jet lagged. I honestly thought that’s what it was. It usually takes me about 2 weeks to get used to the time change again when we come back to the U.S. so while this was in the back of my mind, I didn’t think too much into it. I just tried to go to bed early (and continued to feel like a zombie every day in the office).
There were some signs that happened in conjunction with the extreme tiredness which led me to believe that I was pregnant even before taking a test or missing my period. I didn’t want to get too ahead of myself so I knew I wanted to wait for the day of my period before taking any tests. I know everyone’s bodies are different but I wanted to share some of the early symptoms that I had that made me feel like I was pregnant (which was confirmed shortly after!).
- I gagged at the smell of raw meat.
Pregnancy causes your sense of smell to be heightened. Some foods you may have loved may now make you feel ill at first glance or smell. We are always cooking home cooked meals and preparing a raw diet for the dog so I thought that it was very strange that I suddenly was gagging as I fed the dog. This was one of the first signs that got me thinking.
- I had mild heartburn.
I don’t normally get heartburn but as I was driving home from work one day I could feel some pain in my chest. I wasn’t alarmed by it because it was so small and really wasn’t too uncomfortable, but it was there. In the moment I didn’t even really think it was heartburn, but thanks to google, I learned that this could be an early sign of pregnancy.
- I had to pee. A LOT.
This one was very hard to ignore. I was running to the bathroom at least once an hour and I was actually getting really annoyed. I thought maybe I had drank too much water but it was happening consistently and I was drinking the same amount of water as I normally would throughout the day (or so I thought).
- I might have had some implantation bleeding.
A few days before my missed period, I went to the bathroom and saw something on the toilet tissue. It looked similar to the end of having your period, if you know what I mean. In that moment I recognized that it could be implantation bleeding, but since it was so little and so light I brushed it off and moved on.
- I was feeling so unmotivated and in a constant brain fog.
I had just come back to work from vacation, and usually I am a super productive employee. But not only was I tired from what I thought was jet leg, I felt completely unmotivated and as though my brain was literally surrounded by fog. I could not focus and would sit at my desk zoning out for a good portion of my days. I knew this was strange and not like me at all since I’m usually ready to kick ass after a vacation. I love my job, but at this time, I just wanted to go home.
- Hunger and thirst increased.
During the week before taking the test I was soooooo hungry and thirsty. I would eat very often but could only eat a small amount. And with water, it was almost like I couldn’t get enough of it. I have always loved to eat and drink but this was on another level! I was also drinking more water because my mouth was feeling dry.
- Hot and cold.
I felt as though my body temperature was a little higher and I did take my temperature. It was slightly raised. However, at the same time my feet were feeling cold. It was an odd experience.
- Dreaming of giving birth.
About 3 days before I took the test, I had a dream that I had given birth to a baby boy. The dream felt so real. I don’t know if the dream happened because my body knew I was pregnant, or because I had just been thinking about pregnancy a lot, but I won’t discount it! And for the record, we are having a girl.
- Hard to breathe.
Huy and I had a good laugh about something one night. I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe. This is not an exaggeration. I had to stop thinking about the funny topic so I could get myself to stop laughing and could breathe again. It was serious!
- Bloated.
Like I said, pregnancy symptoms and period symptoms can overlap at times. I was bloated and kept telling myself that it was probably just my period on the way, but of course google was serving me up some pretty convincing articles about bloating being an early pregnancy symptom!
- BONUS: Husband had morning sickness.
Okay okay, this one is a little out there. But the day before and day of my missed period, Huy said he was feeling very nauseous in the morning. I’m pretty sure this was probably just a psychological thing but he totally swears that he was having morning sickness and so he knew I was pregnant too! Let me know if your partner claimed this at any point during your pregnancy!
So those are the things that led me to believe that I was pregnant before taking the test. Of course I was still a little surprised to get a positive test so quickly but I did have my suspicions that the magic had happened!
If you just found out you’re pregnant, CONGRATS! You’re gonna be a great mom! 🙂
xo
Mother of Fawn