What most women take as a first sign of early pregnancy is a missed period but truthfully, there are a few other signs that can be detected earlier than a missed period that could mean you’re pregnant. Keep in mind that these symptoms are generally counted on as reliable indicators of pregnancy but are in no way a guarantee—it’s always best to get tested by your physician. So what are some very early pregnancy signs and symptoms?
The Spring time change is approaching, and On March 13th at 2:00 a.m. we move our clocks forward by one hour and instead of rejoicing about more daylight and the cue that winter is almost over, parents everywhere await the horror. Yes, just when you have your baby on a great sleep schedule, Spring Daylight Saving Time hits and screws it all up!
The other day I was so engrossed with something happening on a Facebook feed, I didn’t realize my children were completely trashing our playroom. Cry for attention maybe? It’s so easy to get distracted with the never ending access to people and entertainment with smart technology. What started as a “quick check” of Facebook turned into, well, a lot longer.
My first child had a delivery that made many a mom hate me. This wonderfully compliant girl arrived at exactly forty weeks and one day. I arrived at the hospital, received an epidural, and birthed a baby girl in under two hours. Quick, uneventful, successful.
See? You hate me. But don’t worry, it won’t last.
Especially if they’ve been trying to conceive, women can become understandably obsessed with recognizing early pregnancy signs and symptoms. We all know that you wait until you’ve missed a period, take a test, and you will know for sure. But what about the other little signs that women seem to know, but the books rarely mention? They are called ‘soft signs of pregnancy’ or ‘signs of implantation’ and are hardly discussed. Once, when I was a week late, somebody asked me – do you feel pregnant? Pardon? Feel?
When I had my first baby and became a stay-at-home-mom, I hit a wall of loneliness after about 8 weeks of having zero adult conversation throughout the day and never going anywhere because my baby hated the car more than anything else. I desperately needed to find people I could connect with in order to save my sanity. My wonderful doula suggested that I meet up with a group of girls who called themselves the Booby Buddies (a bunch of breastfeeding mamas offering each other support). Feeling really awkward, I timidly contacted one of the girls in the group and she promptly invited me over for a play date.
I travel often with my kids and while it’s much easier now as they’re getting older, I still remember the horrific time with one baby in a carrier, the other standing beside me trying to manoeuvre in a tiny airplane stall. And then there’s the flight where at least one child has cried for 9 straight hours. Yes, I have experienced flights from hell, and lived to tell the tale.
Last week, I showed up to my friend Jana’s house (where we co-teach our kids three days a week) late and frazzled. The morning had started off fine, but time slipped away from me between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. The kids’ morning routine somehow devolved into missing shoes and arguments about whose turn it was to scoop the litter box. I forgot our eldest had a class at a different house than the other kids, and scrambled to throw together a sack lunch. I ran out of time to shower. As we raced out the door, bickering and angst nipped at our heels. By the time we got to Jana’s house, SO late, I was full-on cranky and ragged and ready to admit defeat.
It can be just as hard to be active outdoors in gross weather as it is to stick to your diet goals during the holidays. The great news is that Gore-Tex has now been invented, and warm inner layers are far more stylish than the long-johns of old. Living in the Pacific Northwest, my family is very lucky to have hiking and ski hills at our doorstep, but getting outside still takes motivation when the weather isn’t co-operating.
There aren’t many scarier experiences in a woman’s life than when she is thinking she may be having a miscarriage. Statistics tell us that around 50% of pregnancies do end in miscarriages, but most of those women have no idea they were even pregnant in the first place. The majority of miscarriages happen in the first two weeks after conception, and the woman thinks she is just having a slightly heavier menstrual cycle than normal. However, when miscarriage happens further along in the pregnancy it can be truly devastating, especially to those parents who have planned and perhaps waited for years for their baby. Many women will ask – how can I tell if I have miscarried?