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Whether you’ve missed your period or not, when you’re trying to conceive a baby, the waiting period can be terrible. Most pregnancy tests are not truly reliable until after you’ve missed your period. You’re waiting and waiting and the waiting is killing you, other than getting a home pregnancy test, how do you know if you’re pregnant?

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Am I pregnant? 10 signs that you may be pregnant, you know, other than peeing on a stick.

1. Breast Tenderness

You are going to find that a lot of the common pregnancy symptoms are similar to pre-menstruation symptoms (PMS) and tender breasts is one of the most common symptoms of early pregnancy. Some pregnant women report that while breast tenderness in pregnancy is similar to tenderness in PMS, many say that it’s more sensitive and tender in pregnancy. The feeling is more intense when pregnancy has occurred.

2. Cramps

While this symptom can be a little unnerving it’s completely normal to feel light cramping early on in pregnancy. It’s your uterus stretching to get ready to be home for a little nugget for the next 40 or so weeks. There’s also something called implantation cramping and while that is a little more tricky to pinpoint as the cause of cramps it is possible.

3. Gas and Bloating

This was always one of the very first signs I experienced when I was pregnant. I’m not a very gassy person by nature but man could I belch unlike no other early in pregnancy! You also feel bloated early in pregnancy and while that’s not a result of your growing belly it’s your digestive system slowing down due to a little hormone called progesterone.

4. Tiredness

During the first trimester, your body is doing all of the work to sustain human life until the placenta is fully formed, it’s an exhausting task. Again, it’s one of those pesky hormone things.

5. Nausea

Say it with me….HORMONES! Having a little bit of nausea and aversion to certain types of food can all be a sign that you’re pregnant. Yep, definitely is a possibility.

6. Frequent Urination

The body amps up its liquid production which makes you want to pee…a lot. Get used to it mama, peeing frequently comes with the pregnancy territory.

7. Mood Swings

Probably the least desirable symptom of pregnancy are mood swings. Happy one minute and sobbing over the store being out of Honey Nut Cheerios the next (no, I never cried over that one), mood swings are a result of the increase in hormones.

8. Heightened sense of smell

Some women report experiencing a heightened sense of smell early on in pregnancy. This was another symptom that I usually had when I was newly pregnant and I usually gagged, a lot, when it came to nasty smells.

9. Elevated Basal Body Temperature

If you’ve been charting your basal body temperature (BBT) then you know that your temperature becomes elevated before you ovulate and will stay elevated until you get your period. If you are pregnant your body temperature will remain elevated. When I was trying to conceive my second child I charted my temperature, in large part it was because I was trying to conceive a girl (which I did), and even though I took an early home pregnancy test that was negative I knew that I was pregnant because my temp remained elevated.

10. Light Spotting

This symptom can be a little unnerving when you’re actively trying to conceive. If you experience light spotting before you expect to get your period this is okay and could be implantation bleeding. That occurs when the egg is attaching itself into the uterine wall.

 

The best way to know if you are pregnant is to wait until you’ve missed your period and then take a test, however, I could never wait that long, especially when we were actively trying. Use some of these symptoms to help ease your mind and give you a little patience. Remember, if you have any questions or concerns contact your doctor or midwife. Here’s keeping my fingers crossed that your baby dust is sticky!