Signs and Symptoms of Pregnancy - Month One

written August 13, 2011
4 weeks

"I know my body."

At least that's what I kept telling my husband. Then he'd laugh at me because more often than not, something opposite usually happened.

I really feel like I do know my body more than most though. I know when I'm ovulating. I know when TOM is coming (time of the month). I know when I'm getting a bad bad headache. I know when I'm about to get sick. I know when I take a drug besides Advil or Tylenol. I know what happens 20 minutes later when I eat a candy bar or drink a soda or too many carbs. I feel like I'm really in tune to my body. So why was I so in shock when two lines appeared on the pregnancy test?

Here are some of the early signs I should've been aware of:

1. I was thirsty a lot.
I thought, man...maybe I have diabetes all of a sudden? My mouth always felt dry. I was thirsty and I was drinking a lot of water. I love water, but usually I'm never thirsty. I thought maybe I was eating saltier foods.

2. I got hit with a bad case of the d. TMI? Well, that hasn't happened to me in a long time and when it does, it's usually because I ran outside in the heat and sun without a lot of water or I partied hard the night before...or I ate tons of asparagus and spinach. I did none of those. Earlier that day I went to lunch with my boss. I had my usual calzone from Old Chicago. Then as soon as 4:30 hit, I was running for the toilet. And I was running the entire night and morning. I called in sick to work the next day and felt really strange. Lightheaded. Thirsty. Skinny. Nauseous. Then I remembered I ate a whole cucumber the night before. Could that have been it?

3. Up and down soreness. Usually my "girls" get tender the week before TOM visits. They did like normal so I figured TOM was coming. I was getting my usual dull five minute cramps and I even woke with a dull headache one of the mornings. All signs TOM was coming. My girls have been super sore the past two months before TOM came; however, this time the soreness in that area went away, and TOM never came.

4. Couldn't go anymore. I was having the hardest time going to the bathroom. I figured everything came out of me two weeks before, but even so I'm always regular. I was not. Everything was painful. Something was definitely off. I've never had this problem. Ever. I kept eating more vegetables and a fiber-rich diet...still nothing.

5. Energy level. Some days I had so much energy I could've ran two marathons. Some days I felt like a walking zombie going through the motions. I figured it was me struggling to go into work. Or maybe I was taking on too many projects again. Nope.
6. Late. TOM never is later than 29 days and he was late.
What are some weird symptoms you had?