Pregnancy Symptoms - What are Common Symptoms and How to Prepare for Them

Are You Pregnant?

Most women, whether they've had a baby or not, know the common pregnancy symptoms and basically what to expect when they conceive. However, knowing about them and actually experiencing them are often two entirely different things. While you can be aware and somewhat prepared, pregnancy symptoms hit differently, some more severely than others and some negligible. Some women have a few and others many. Each woman is different.

With the availability of pregnancy quizzes on the computer, it is possible to take a short pregnancy quiz that will ask you a series of questions about how you're feeling and then suggest at the end of the quiz that you take a pregnancy test if your answers are in line with pregnancy signs. If you do happen to take a test and discover a positive result, then you'll be back at the computer in a heartbeat to access a pregnancy calculator in order to find out when you'll be having your baby. It's all a lot of fun. But, the serious stuff starts a week or so into the pregnancy, when pregnancy symptoms take over.

The Early Signs of Pregnancy

The first and most obvious pregnancy symptom, and perhaps the earliest sign, is a missed period. Although you can find out if you are pregnant up to six days before the missed period, it's being late that makes it real. Then comes nausea, which can happen before a missed period as well. One good way to deal with this pregnancy symptom is to have some soda crackers by the bed so that you can eat a couple before you even lift your head off the pillow in the morning. The dry crackers help to keep the stomach settled and alleviate some of the nausea and vomiting that can accompany pregnancy.

Implantation Bleeding - Don't Worry

Another pregnancy symptom is cramping. This often occurs when the embryo makes its way into the uterus. Implantation bleeding, which happens when the embryo plants itself into the uterine wall, accompanied by cramps lets you know things are on the move. You can follow your pregnancy from the point of conception all the way through to childbirth with the help of a pregnancy calendar. Available in stores or on the internet, a pregnancy calendar shows you how your baby is growing and tells you what is happening and what to expect from week to week. The bleeding should only last a very short time although cramping can go on intermittently throughout the pregnancy. Ligaments stretching, gas pains, and a growing uterus all contribute to pregnancy symptoms of cramps.

The Bustline You've Been Longing For

Be prepared for sore breasts. Even though you'll love the Dolly Parton look you'll be sporting before long, getting there can be uncomfortable and sometimes downright painful. If your breasts are swollen and have a tingling feeling, you are likely experiencing another pregnancy symptom with this early sign. The best thing to do to easy the discomfort is to be careful. Wear a good bra and try not to allow anyone or anything to bump into your chest.

A Novel Experience

By the time you are about six weeks into this project you'll find you are making tracks to the bathroom more frequently than you thought humanly possible. There's not much you can do about it, just make sure you go when you need to. Holding urine is not a healthy habit at any time, but more so when you're pregnant. It can lead to a bladder infection, something you can well do without. One of the funny quirks of pregnancy symptoms that never makes sense is the fact that at about the same time your bladder moves into overdrive, you become fatigued and can't get enough sleep. So, you nap as often as possible and wake up to run to the bathroom.

Are you having fun yet?