No two pregnancies are alike. They can vary greatly from woman to woman and even with subsequent pregnancies with the same woman. Just as every little baby is unique and special just for being themselves so it is the same with every pregnancy. Every pregnancy will be different.
Early Signs Of Pregnancy
The majority of women will experience some of the early signs of pregnancy which will prompt them to take a pregnancy test. Probably the widely recognized early symptom of pregnancy is missing a period, however, not every woman will miss their periods. There are actually some women who experience periodic bleeding throughout their pregnancy. Other early signs can be fatigue, nausea or morning sickness and breast changes.
Home pregnancy tests can be found at almost every grocery or drugstore. While these tests are designed to be accurate they are not fail proof. However, a false negative is much more likely than a false positive. If the test indicates the HCG hormone is present and it gives you a positive result it is more than likely correct. However, if you think you may be pregnant a doctor can administer a test that will let you know for sure.
First Trimester
In the first trimester, many women will experience nausea or morning sickness. The term “morning sickness” is somewhat of a misnomer because you can have this nausea at any time of the day or night, not just in the morning. There are some women that never have morning sickness and nausea, however, and there are women who will have one pregnancy with no morning sickness while the next pregnancy they may have ferocious morning sickness. Every pregnancy is different even for the same woman.
Another very common complaint in pregnancy is exhaustion and fatigue. You may find yourself sleeping 9 to 10 hours a night and still requiring a 2 hour nap every afternoon. Or if you are lucky you may have energy with just a normal amount of sleep. Typically in the third trimester shortly before the birth, a woman’s energy level will rise and many women experience a phenomenon called “nesting”. Nesting is when everything in your house and home gets cleaned and sparkled up, even if you have never been a great housekeeper in the past. It is not uncommon for a woman who is 8 ½ months pregnant to be cleaning her grout with a toothbrush. It’s just part of the pregnancy, something inside the mother clicks and she wants to make everything clean and perfect for her new little bundle of joy.
Pregnancy What To Expect
Listed below is some physical changes to expectduring the first trimester of pregnancy.
- Morning sickness – nausea which can strike at any time of the day or night.
- Tender breasts – Right after conceiving hormonal changes tend to make your breasts tender.
- Greater urination – You will probably find yourself urinating more frequently than normal.
- Fatigue – Fatigue in addition will rank very well amongst first trimester conditions.
- Food cravings – You are going to find yourself craving certain foods.
- Heartburn – In order to avoid heartburn symptoms try to eat smaller and more frequent meals.
Some women will develop a huge belly and there will be no denying that they are pregnant, while others may be able to get to the 9th month before anyone notices the changes. It all depends upon the woman. However, contrary to what you may have heard there are very few women who are able to leave the hospital wearing their pre-pregnancy clothes. It just doesn’t happen often. Usually, even if the woman didn’t gain a lot of weight, there is water retention and so forth, so don’t feel bad if you can’t fit into your old jeans for a month or two. You just had a baby, your body went through huge changes, give yourself a break. You can lose the weight in the next few months.
Most women will lose the baby fat faster if they choose to breastfeed their baby. Breast milk is the best possible choice for healthy nutrition for a growing baby. Formula will work but it can never come close to what nature has provided. Breast feeding is also better for the mom as it helps the uterus to contract and helps you lose weight faster. There have also been other documented health benefits for the mother to breastfeed, so if it is possible you really should do it. It’s better for your baby, better for you and the way nature intended.
After the six week checkup following the birth of your baby, the doctor will generally give you the okay to resume your exercise program. Most women really need about 6 weeks or so to recover and since you probably won’t be getting much sleep, you should take the 6 weeks to rest and recuperate. One of the best pieces of advice for a brand-new mom is “if the baby is sleeping you should sleep too!!” (even if it’s 10:00 am!).