Pregnancy signs

[lauralaylin]

To all the women out there who have kids, could you tell me what were the first signs that you were pregnant? I can't find a good list online, they all say things like took a test that is positive, took a blood test, belly started to grow. I don't want signs that are months away!

My problem is that I have a super long cycle about half the time. The other half is just regularly long. So I could get my period tomorrow or in another 8 days or anytime in between. I don't want to waste taking a test until maybe Wednesday of next week, but I am so impatient I can't stand it.

So far my biggest sign is that I spotted about 5 days after I ovulated, and I've never spotted before. I also had the "implantation dip" in my temp, but I don't know how much I trust that. It's my first month tracking my temp, I wish I had a few months done already so I could compare. I'm also super tired and going to the bathroom a lot, but maybe it's not any different than normal except that I'm paying so much attention to it now that I think I might be pregnant.

Thanks so much!

[FSUZeta]

i was more tired than usual and went to the bathroom A LOT-i didn't realize it at the time, but my co-workers began to ask me if i was alright. also my breasts were sore.

[cashmoney]

Originally posted by FSUZeta
my breasts were sore.

If I mentioned to every girl I know that had sore breasts that they might be pregnant, I'd have louis vuitton forever imprinted on the side of my face.

[carnation]

Originally posted by FSUZeta
i was more tired than usual and went to the bathroom A LOT-i didn't realize it at the time, but my co-workers began to ask me if i was alright. also my breasts were sore.

Ditto this.

[ZTAngel]

Originally posted by cashmoney
If I mentioned to every girl I know that had sore breasts that they might be pregnant, I'd have louis vuitton permantly imprinted on the side of my face.

Heh. Quoting you just because I saw my quote in your sig. The sad thing is that I don't really remember writing that although I do remember the 'beach bash'.

Anyway, I've never been pregnant but, like many women, there's been times where I thought I might be so I read up on everything I could on symptoms during the first few days to first few weeks.

Breast soreness is a big one but it could also be a sign of your period. I've heard that they're extremely tender when you're pregnant though. Nausea is another. Mood swings. Exhaustion seems to be one of the big signs; even small tasks will make you tired. And, of course, the biggest sign of all is a missed period!

[cashmoney]

Originally posted by ZTAngel
Heh. Quoting you just because I saw my quote in your sig. The sad thing is that I don't really remember writing that although I do remember the 'beach bash'.

The "I;m from South Florizzzzzle!" thing had me thinking about a gangsta ZTAngel.

[EEKappa]

I'm 5 months pregnant, so was wondering the same thing just a while ago. For a minute, I thought I was at one of the other forums that I visit when I read the title of this thread!

Definitely look for breast tenderness, even more so than usual if you experience this before your period, and general tiredness. I had one woman tell me that she noticed an increase in saliva.

Usually, from what I've read, implantation bleeding occurs more than 5 dpo. I didn't experience it at all, though.

If you're tracking your temps, then I'm guessing that you must be hoping for a postive. So, good luck!

For more info, try:

www.babycenter.com
www.americanbaby.com

http://www.ovulation-calculator.com/

http://www.tcoyf.com/

[ISUKappa]

You can implant at 5DPO, but implanting 7-10DPO is more normal. And you can't always count implantation bleeding or an implantation dip as signs of pregnancy because they can also happen during cycles that don't result in pregnancy.

Since this is your first month charting/temping, you don't know how long your luteal phase is, correct? That would give you the best timeframe in which to test. Your Ovulation day may vary (I've O'd anywhere from CD14-CD20) but your LP is always in the same range (anywhere from 10-16 days, mine is 12) How far DPO are you now? Since you don't know how long your LP is, I'd wait until at least 14DPO before you test. I'm assuming you know when you O'd by your temp rise, are you using any online software such as fertilityfriend or ovusoft to help you calculate? (They aren't always 100% accurate, but they give good guidelines for new charters until you can better interpret your chart yourself).

The first time I was pregnant last December, my biggest sign was that I was late. Only looking back did I realize I had a slight backache, I was bloated and my boobs were a little more sore than normal. Unfortunately, that ended in a miscarriage two weeks after I took my HPT.

The second time I was pregnant this March, we had been actively TTC and I just knew I was pg. I was thirstier than normal and had to pee a lot, my boobs were fuller and sore, I was bloated and tired. Again, unfortunately, that one also ended in a miscarriage about four weeks after I took my HPT.

This time, my biggest sign was being late again. We weren't trying (in fact we were going to wait until next year). The sore boobs and bloating followed along with tiredness and this time extreme hunger. I'll eat and about an hour later I feel as if my stomach is going to cave in, I'm so hungry already. I also get up at least once in the middle of the night to pee. I've made it farther than I ever have with my other two pregnancies, so hopefully this one sticks.

Another message board I frequent has a lot of women who are very knowledgable about TTC and charting. Constant Chatter - Family Planning boards You'll find some good information there, too. HTH!

I know, now you know more than you ever wanted about me

[carnation]

I miscarried my 4th pregnancy. I noticed that the signs all left about a week before I lost the baby. So in subsequent pregnancies, I learned to value all the crummy stuff like nausea and soreness because it meant that there was still a baby inside to keep those preganancy hormones raging.

ISUKappa, good luck!

[BirthaBlue4]

Pregnancy breast soreness is differnet from normal breat soreness. I knew something wasn't right when I wa staking off my bra. When I pulled it off and your boobs "fall" it felt lik ethe devil had his fingers inpeded in my breasts. I literally saw stars for a second. Now, mine may have been severe, but you get what I mean.

Also look for nausea. When I was pregnant, before I knew, I felt little quick spurts of nausea, so quick you may have ignored it. That's like a warning sign.

And you may just feel "funny". Looking back, I realized that I felt "off" a little bit.

To piggyback on what carnation said, I read an article in a prenancy medical journal when I was at an appointment that said that they have found that in a lot of cases, morning sickness/nausea is your body's way of keeping you from eating certain things that would mess with your system while your body is getting used to and accepting the baby. I thought that was interesting, and I didn't feel so bad about the 5 MONTHS of extreme nausea I had. Oh, and your cravings will correspond to what your body needs, is, if you're low on iron, you'll crave beef and meats. I thought that was interesting too, because the only things I craved was beef (as in steak or something) and potatoes and onions.

[Tippiechick]

Thought I had the flu. I was EXHAUSTED, and my boobs were not just sore, they were downright painful. I peed at least 10 times a day.

[lauralaylin]

Thank you thank you thank you to everyone for your responses!!! I think it's much better to hear what has happened to actual people vs just reading some random potential signs in a list!

I read somewhere (I wish I knew where, my mom found the link) that the implantation dip was in range, although barely. But at other places I've read (and what many of you have said), I have been out of range by a day or two. But I also dipped a bit yesterday and the day before, so I am wondering if it's just a fluke. I've also noticed that every site says something different about everything.

I'm not sure exactly when I ovulated, it was either the day before my temp spike or the day before that. Assuming it was the later of the two, I'm today at day 13 I believe. I have no idea how long my LP is, but since my cycles are so unbelievably long, I would guess it may be on the long side. I'm not using software yet, I don't want to spend the money unless it takes me a few more cycles to get pregnant. If not by the end of the year, then I will probably buy software.

The thirstier comment is very interesting. I have been really thirsty in the last few days. I'm not retaining water like I normally do, it's been going right through me. However, I'm on a sort of diet, not truly dieting but eating had gotten a bit out of hand in the last few months. So maybe that has something to do with it since there isn't as much food in my belly? The tiredness is also happening. I have been unemployed for two months now, and yesterday was the first time I took a nap. I wanted to today too but couldn't. I'm also suddenly waking up at 6am every day, when it had been 9am since I quit my job (and believe me, I'm totally enjoying that while it lasts since I know this will be the last time I do that for 20 years!). I'm figuring that isn't a sign, but it's totally uncharacteristic of me.

ISUKappa, good luck with your pregnancy, I really hope this time everything goes right. You have had such a trying year! How far along are you? Also, thanks for the link, I didn't know about that site!

[ISUKappa]

lauralaylin www.fertilityfriend.com is a free online charting service. There's an option to upgrade to pay for VIP, but you can get the same results through the free side.

Have you read Taking Charge of Your Fertility? That's probably the best book that explains about cycles and fertility and temping and understanding how your body works.

Technically, implantation can happen anywhere from 5dpo to 12 dpo, but it's most common to happen around 7-10 dpo. If you're 13dpo today, you can probably safely test tomorrow or Monday and know whether or not you're pg. Plus, if your temp continues to stay up, there's a better chance you're pg. You'll know AF is on the way if/when your temp drops very suddenly (like .5-1 degree from one day to the next)

Check out some of the charts in the gallery on www.fertilityfriend.com. That can really help you get a good idea of what different charts (pregnancy, non pregnancy, etc...) look like.

I charted for over 18 months and it definitely gets easier to interpret the more cycles you have to go by. You'll also get a good feel for how your own body works and the signals it produces right around ovulation and again before AF. Good luck!

[AGDee]

For me, it was just being a day late and very tired... like, feeling like you're on Benadryl tired. I think I was ravenously hungry too, but that happens to me during PMS a lot, so I wasn't sure. The tenderness in the breasts felt the same as it usually did and I didn't feel nauseous at all until a week or two after the pregnancy test came out blue. Since I have cramping on ovulation, I was pretty sure I was pregnant with my son the morning after my husband and I had unprotected relations. I had that pain and I told him "I think we're going to be pregnant again". Two weeks later, no period on the due date so the next day I did a test and voila.. blue!

[lauralaylin]

Thanks again everyone, I really appreciate all of your information! I am happy to say that I am pregnant! I found out yesterday morning. I am very excited to say the least. I am really surprised it happened so quickly, I was prepared for a few years of trying.

And I have to recommend, like ISUKappa did, Taking Charge of Your Fertility. It is an excellent book and helped me a great deal. I think it's a must for all women, whether you are trying to get pregnant or not.