Are you not feeling quite like yourself lately? Maybe you are exhausted? Easily agitated? Or perhaps you are feeling a bit faint? Early signs of pregnancy are not always recognized, but those tiny changes in your mood or body functions may be trying to tell you something.
Here are 15 signs that you might be pregnant:
1. Shortness of breath
Have you felt a bit more winded than normal when you climb the stairs? Don't be quick to blame it on your body being out of shape. When you have a fetus beginning to grow inside you, it needs a dose of your body's oxygen to support itself, which may leave you feeling a bit out of breath.
2. Unexplained fatigue
Did you fall asleep in the middle of your favorite Netflix series last night? Are you now suddenly struggling to get through your days without a power nap?
The sudden onset of fatigue may be from the increased hormone levels in your body. The fatigue may last only through the first trimester, or will carry on throughout all nine months.
3. Mood swings
Are you getting extremely irritated when your husband looks at you? Are things bothering you more than normal?
If you have constantly fluctuating and declining moods, and you feel like you could both cry a river of tears and laugh until your stomach hurts, you may be suffering from the increasing hormones in your body. Make sure to tell your husband that your spiraling moodiness will go back to normal soon.
4. Headaches
Those hormones are at it again. Your body's shift in hormone levels can often leave your head spinning.
5. Nausea
Morning sickness is a heavy burden many pregnant women have to endure, and it can hit at any time of the day despite the word "morning." Most women may start feeling nauseous when they hit the six-week mark in their pregnancy, but a select few may begin early symptoms of queasiness and upset stomach within the first week or so.
6. Digestive problems
Constipation is a common symptom of early pregnancy as your body tries to decide what to do with the extra progesterone traveling around your blood stream. If you are feeling bloated and a bit backed up, and the symptoms don't seem to want to go away anytime soon, you may want to head to the nearest drug store to grab a pregnancy test.
7. Bloating
Did your skinny jeans fit perfectly yesterday, and today they feel like a boa constrictor around your waste? The extra progesterone hormone in your body might be slowing down your digestive system. With this, your stomach may feel a bit bloated or swollen. It is normal to bloat during PMS, and that bloating usually comes to a stop when your period hits. If you have bloating that does not subside followed by a late period, you may want to take a pregnancy test.
8. Sensitivity to smell
Have you had a super sniffer lately? Does the smell of your fridge or the smell of your favorite dinner make you feel like you are going to lose your lunch? If ordinary smells are getting unusually intense, or you are starting to get sick, you may want to keep a look out for the positive sign on your pregnancy test.
9. Frequent urination
When your kidneys find out your body is pregnant, they suddenly have an urge to flush all of the fluid out of your body as often as possible. If you find yourself going to the bathroom more than ever, your kidneys may be acting as your own personal pregnancy test. Don't get too comfortable though because in your third trimester your baby will be sitting on your bladder. Rest assured- you will be an expert on locating bathrooms by the time the nine months are over.
10. Backaches
Does your lower back feel like a horse decided to give you a massage? The ligaments in your back may be loosening in order to maintain the weight of a baby when the third trimester hits.
11. Abdominal cramps
Do you have period cramps when your period isn't supposed to hit for another three weeks? Your uterus might be stretching itself out to get ready to hold a baby in there for nine months.
12. Dietary changes
If the thought of eating oranges starts to repulse you (despite the fact you've eaten them for years), or you are starting to crave pickles and cheesecake, you may have a bun in the oven.
13. Light-headedness or fainting
You may have low blood sugar or low blood pressure at the beginning of your pregnancy, which will often cause you to feel a bit dizzy or faint. Stay hydrated and be sure to keep up your calorie intake in order to avoid fainting and scaring your husband to death.
14. Spotting
Did you just get over your period and now suddenly, only two weeks later, Mother Nature has struck again? If you are spotting and it is lighter than your actual period, you could be experiencing implantation bleeding from the area where the fertilized egg has attached to your uterine wall. Implantation often causes a bit of blood loss in the middle of your menstrual cycle.
15. Late period
It is sometimes impossible to tell the difference between PMS symptoms and the signs of early pregnancy until your period does not arrive when it is supposed to. If your period is late when your cycle is most always regular, it might be a good idea to discover if there is a stork on its way to your home.
