Take a Poll of Early Pregnancy Signs

[Peggy O'Mara]

A lot of women come to the site who want to find out if they are pregnant. I thought it would be helpful to do a poll of early pregnancy signs. Please take the poll and let's see what the top early pregnancy signs are in our community. How do you know if you are pregnant?

[dealic]

About 1 week post ovulation I had breast tenderness and my husband insisted my breasts were larger (I couldn't tell). I also had random, unexplained nausea (eg I turned off the radio in the car because a song made me want to throw up). I got a positive pregnancy test 10 days post ovulation, and spent the next 3 days sleeping about 16 hours a day. So those are my top 3, and all 3 showed up before my first missed period.

[LilyTiger]

My earliest signs (first week after my missed period) were mild cramping (different from menstrual cramps), bloating, and breast tenderness.  The next week, extreme fatigue kicked in.  I was sleeping around 14 hours a day.

Morning sickness didn't kick in until week 7 or so.  Food aversions were strong starting around week 6. 

[amberskyfire]

The biggest one for me isn't even on here - cramps. I had tons of cramps for the first few days of implantation. It was the ONLY sign I was pregnant, but it was a big one and I knew without a doubt I was pregnant because of them without ever taking a test.

[Silverbirch]

I found out last week that I am expecting my 5th child.  One of the things, not on the poll, which alerts me to pregnancy is thrush :(

I only ever get thrush in the early weeks of pregnancy. Plus hunger!  not cravings per se, but real hunger, especially in the evenings.

[GoBecGo]

I couldn't answer because the only sign i get for sure is late AF and a positive test.  I've had 6 pregnancies and a million maybe's and my PMT signs are so variable and so similar it's really the ONLY way to tell - pee on a stick when AF is AWOL.

[moonheart]

I actually get more than the three I chose, but listed the top three. I also have a general "knowing that I am pregnant even before signs show up. I can't explain it, but I just know I am pregnant very soon after conception. My symptoms show up about a week to four days before i miss my period.

[amymccabe]

I had morning sickness a week before my period was due.  I also ended up with hyperemesis gravidarum during the entire pregnancy, so that might not be normal.

[amymccabe]

Originally Posted by moonheart 

I actually get more than the three I chose, but listed the top three. I also have a general "knowing that I am pregnant even before signs show up. I can't explain it, but I just know I am pregnant very soon after conception. My symptoms show up about a week to four days before i miss my period.

This was exactly how it was in my first pregnancy.  I just knew I was pregnant right away. 

[planteater]

The three signs I was pregnant aren't on the list. They were: heartburn (almost daily, which is unusual for me), breast changes (not tenderness so much at first, more like visible swelling that would come and go), and extreme hunger (my appetite was insatiable! This went away as the first trimester got underway).

[monkeyscience]

First pregnancy, so I have to agree with the I-peed-on-a-stick-and-then-I-knew comment! In retrospect, I had a LOT of cramping starting around 8 DPO, but I thought for sure it meant AF was coming. My BBT also went high and stayed high, but I have had some false alarms with that before. I chose morning sickness, too, but that didn't hit until 4 weeks 6 days. But then it hit with a VENGEANCE. I didn't think you were supposed to get sick until at least 6 weeks, but definitely not the case for me. I'm 15 weeks today and still dealing with the last vestiges of morning sickness.

But like a lot of ladies have said before on a lot of other threads... there is not a single symptom (besides a +HPT) that guarantees you're pregnant, and you can totally be pregnant without having a single symptom. I've had about every pregnancy symptom in the book so far, but NOT breast tenderness... currently the most popular option on this poll. Other than a couple of minutes here or there, absolutely none. (And believe me, I would trade a LOT of my symptoms for some breast tenderness!) So this poll can give people some fun symptoms to obsess over (or to worry about lacking), but you're still not going to know for sure until you can test.

[Greenlea]

With my 1st pregnancy it was like AF was coming.  I had cramps and breast tenderness.  So I didn't really think anything of it...until I was about a week past due.  Then with my 2nd pregnancy I didn't have any breast tenderness or cramps, only nausea.  So again, I really didn't think anything of it.

[SKJ2011]

My only reliable symptom of pregnancy is also not listed - extreme thirst.  For both my pregnancies, that was the only thing that differed from the months I got AF.  The first pregnancy, I knew I was pregnant around 7 DPO b/c I could not drink enough water.  I was always thirsty.  This time, I was not convinced I was pregnant since I didn't have any symptoms out of the ordinary.  but, a few days after my positive test, the thirst struck with a vengeance. 

[butterfly_mommy]

A symptom I get that is not listed and is prob my earliest is a strange metallic taste in my mouth. I have gotten that with all my pregnancies and never get it any other time. Also I sneeze a lot and usually double or triple sneezes.

[kbrisson]

I was out of breath with my first. I was pretty sure that I was pregnant right after conception because I get a crampy feeling when I ovulate and between that day and when I could first do a test I found that I would get out of breath really easy. Just going up the stairs or changing the sheets on the bed seemed like quite the chore as far as my breathing was concerned. I looked it up and discovered that it's not uncommon for women to feel this way due to hormone changes in early pregnancy. Aside from being pretty sure I was pregnant because of knowing that I ovulated the morning after having sex, this was my first actual sign that something was going on.

[LolzyChick]

Before and during missing my period, there was a good two weeks that I was sick (not morning sickness, I had been kissing a sickie), which is unusual for me, because usually the longest I'm sick is a couple days. And my immune system being that shot just wasn't normal. =X

And I'm sorry I can't give more advice than that, this is my first time being pregnant!! ^^;

[paulycat]

I knew I was pregnant with my DD when I could not stand the smell of things. My sense of scent was so heightened I couldn't even go into the grocery store!! Around 8 weeks the nausea hit and I was also diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum  :(

[KirstenO]

About 8ish days after conception I had 4 days where my stomach didn't work...at all.  I was concerned I was going to explode.  I was Christmas time. When my stomach started working again it did not explode as I was expecting, it proceeded as if nothing had ever happened.  It was another week and a half before I even suspected I was pregnant & had a missed period.  

[ocelotmom]

I didn't have breast tenderness, but I did notice that the veins in my breasts were more prominent. That's what convinced me to take a test, 

None of these symptoms except implantation bleeding really kicked in until about a week after my period was due.

My personal weird pregnancy symptom is diarrhea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kbrisson 

I was out of breath with my first.

This was true of me with my second. I was doing aikido at the time, and just didn't have the stamina that I'd had before.
 

[Peggy O'Mara]

Originally Posted by amberskyfire 

The biggest one for me isn't even on here - cramps. I had tons of cramps for the first few days of implantation. It was the ONLY sign I was pregnant, but it was a big one and I knew without a doubt I was pregnant because of them without ever taking a test.

Good point, thanks. I can't change the poll now, but your post will help others.