5 Tell Tale Signs That You Are Pregnant

My cousin’s big fat Punjabi wedding was happening in Delhi. It was obviously an eagerly awaited affair! What was more eagerly awaited was the entire Fam-Jam Goa Vacation with cousins and respective spouses in attendance immediately after the wedding. It was going to be a wonderful beach holiday!

Of course the wedding and fanfare was great. But things got really exciting for me. I was, at the time, pregnant. And I didn’t even know it, considering I was on a contraceptive pills (of course under the prescription of the OB/GYN) because I didn’t want my lady parts flooding during the wedding!

You know how the pill works – you are supposed to take it till the date you don’t want the floods to arrive. So I wasn’t expecting my period and hence I didn’t notice that I had missed it! This would’ve rung the bells in my head. But well, in this scenario, I absolutely didn’t miss the visitor.

However, there were several other Symptoms of pregnancy: the classic clues – that screamed to tell me – I was Pregnant!

Some of the Pregnancy Signs I Experienced But Didn’t Take Note Off, are as follows:

Serious Fatigue: I was consumed with extreme fatigue all the time. I couldn’t just keep my eyes open. Till date I am taunted because I made my husband leave the sangeet and asked him to take me away so I could catch a nap! People thought I was crazy. The truth is, I was helpless!  I was then, so zapped of energy. I know now that that’s a typical sign of early stages of pregnancy and can seep in as early as within the first few days.

I felt totally drained and couldn’t even find the energy to dance, which by my standards was shocking. I later learnt that this happens because of increased progesterone, blood production and a seeming drop in blood sugar. It did get better with time but this urge to sleep remained almost constant throughout my pregnancy.

Cramps: My stomach hurt all the time. Like a dull ache. I felt bloated like before my periods. Yet it wasn’t the hard pain and cramps that I felt during my periods. Something there and not quite there. I believe, this is because the ligaments of the uterus begin to stretch.

Bloated Breasts: I thought this was just all the wedding food that was making me gain weight! And I was wondering (quite foolishly of course) how all the calories managed to find their way to my boobs!  Little did I realize that tender breasts are a sign of pregnancy. The bloated breasts felt familiar because I knew that’s how I felt pre-period.

Fluctuating hormone levels can cause swelling and tissue pain, and you’re most likely to notice these symptoms in your breasts. When I exchanged stories with my girlfriends on this, I got to hear that some of the women even get inflamed nipples, which can be very tender to the touch. As for me, the tenderness in my breasts continued to stay, throughout the pregnancy often also feeling hard and lumpy as the lactation began to progress.

Nausea: The feeling that I would puke out everything I ate was omnipresent.  There was no saying what would trigger it. I never realized that this was a sign of pregnancy because it was not, as typically believed, only a morning occurrence. I felt nausea very often during the day and on several occasions couldn’t even wait to reach the loo!

This symptom is a result of the physical changes taking place in your body, which includes a rise in estrogen and HCG hormones, sudden sensitivity to foods and certain smells, and increased levels of physical and emotional stress. Of course, with the help of medication this gradually came under control but with my second born, violent vomiting persisted right till the end.

Bad Dreams: I have always been a sound sleeper. Hence, it was quite alarming when on this trip, I would awake with unpleasant dream. These were common recurrences and I couldn’t help but wonder where these were originating from.  Till today my doctor hasn’t been able to explain the reason behind these dreams.

But many pregnant women, collaborated that they, just like me, began to have nightmares right in the initial stages of pregnancy. It was only recently that I read the possible reason behind this online. It said that women go through many physical changes. Now these changes may be subtle, but they may also be very noticeable like a bad leg cramp, stomach cramps, headaches etc.

Now when you are usually asleep, you sleep in one block of about 8 hours (which can be broken down into various ‘stages’ but you’re still asleep solidly). Then when a cramp sets in, you are woken up and then you readjust into sleep. This periodic waking up causes majority of nightmares because you’re periodically waking up and then drifting back to sleep. Combine this with the mad rush of emotions and sometimes negative or fearful feelings and thoughts in your mind – all of which are the perfect recipe for nightmares. Sounds simple when you think about it, right? (as mentioned on hotolucid)

As a general rule, don’t self-treat any signs or symptoms of pregnancy. Get confirmation from a doctor, then follow your doctor’s self-care directions.