Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Pregnancy symptoms

Beethoven,

Hm. Let's see. I had no symptoms except a missed period. I p**d on the stick, it came back negative. Finally called my doctor and had a blood test, I was 2 months pregnant already. I had an incredible energy, kind of like Dandello. I never had nausea, I had some mild tenderness in the baby feeding body parts (but that wasn't unusual during certain times of the month), and I craved hard-boiled eggs. I did get heartburn really bad once, (so sorry you did, too, shimauma) when I was 5 months along, so I just started eating 6 small meals throughout the day.

I did have an increased sense of taste, though. Not so much the smell, but the taste and texture of foods was something I was very sensitive about. I couldn't stand yogurt with fruit in it for some reason. Plain yogurt, flavored but with no bits it, but not with bits. Ugh!

I do agree with Sue and Caroline - I KNEW when I was pregnant.

However, before anyone throws rotten tomatoes at me for the lack of nausea, I made up for that on the other end. Like Carolm, I suffered from post-partum depression and it was worse after each pregnancy. My kids are 10, 7, and 5, with only 18 months between the younger two. I've only (finally) kicked the last of the depression this past fall (sept/oct 2006). There's nothing worse than having a disease that doesn't show and affects your mental abilities, which affects your social and behavioral abilities. And yes, Carolm, it counts as PPD even if you're pregnant again. I hope you don't get hit with the huge whammy I did after the second birth. Talk about falling off a cliff...

Funny thing was, I never, once, in all four of my pregnancies, ever showed positive on the p** test. Ever. My second pregnancy ended in an 9 week miscarriage, and initially the emergency room refused to believe I was pregnant because the p** test was negative. My husband got big and bad and made them give me a blood test, which showed, of course, that yes I was pregnant. I required 4 units of blood during surgery. That took me a while to recover from.

So not everyone reacts the same. The infinite variation of the human race is absolutely amazing.

I hope this helps, Beethoven.

mmouse

EDIT One weird symptom I had was that my vision changed so much during my pregnancies that my glasses didn't work at all, and my husband had to drive for the last 2 months with all three, because I couldn't see far enough to be safe driving. I was grateful to have his support throughout everything.

I always think this too, then roll my eyes at the cliche when it turns out to be true. But that's probably because I didn't feel like that at all. No nausea (not once in the whole pregnancy), no tenderness, no smells/aversions. No feeling at all that I was pregant. I only knew because my husband and I were trying to conceive, so I took the test on the first day the calendar said it might possibly show up. During the pregnancy, I didn't feel tired - I did yoga up until the week before I gave birth. The only things I craved were milk and hard cheese. So since I felt so great during my pregnancy, I end up thinking that the illness-giveaway-clue is a bit too convenient.

My mother had some strange things in her pregnancies.

1. She would be having "morning sickness" before she even missed her period. With her sixth pregnancy she thought she had the flu and was taking Pepto for a couple of days until she realized it was just in the morning. Later in the pregnancy she'd feel sick all day.

2. She was a big time cravings person. With me it was rye bread and butter milk. My sister it was Barbecue from a specific barbecue joint.

3. She would gain weight fast at the beginning and the doctors would panic and actual put her on a 2000 calorie diet. (Back in the 50's and 60's when they set how much you could gain.) Then at the end of the pregnancy she would loose weight. An example is when she went in to have me she weighted 130 pounds at 5 ft 6 inches and I weighted over 7 pounds.

It has been my experience that just about anything can happen in a pregnancy.

At first, I didn't show any symptoms. Certainly no morning sickness - although twice I threw up. In both cases, I had been very hungry for an extended period of time with no food at hand. And when I finally got it, I couldn't stomach it. As my pregnancy continued, I developed another problem: Whenever I stood rather still for some time - especially when it was hot - I'd nearly faint, and obviously my blood pressure went down. (Once, my plood pressure was taken a short while after I lost consciousness under these circumstances. It was 90 to 60 - and I was feeling rather fine by then! No idea how low it had been before...).

Okay, and my tummy felt so hot that it made me feel really uncomfortable. I was lucky not to be pregnant during the summer months, I guess.

Apart from that, I only suffered the usual backache and swollen feet, had to go to relieve myself more and more often, developed a really huge appetite (but no strange stuff - although there was that week where I was terribly fond of licking salt... don't ask, I just did it.)... Oh, and I got pretty emotional. Unfortunately, I'm still (four years after!) more emotional than I used to be before the pregnancy. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Best of all, though, was that my bosom grew for slightly more than a full cup size during the first two or three months. Oh, what I forgot to mention before: My 'baby feeding body parts' were not only very tender and swollen, but even started production during my third or fourth month - which I found rather strange.

Something I'd not really consider a symptom of the pregnancy itself is the following: During the second and third trimester, my tummy grew rapidly - faster than I could adjust to it. Which caused me some problems when moving around, my tummy always getting in the way. And I remember having problems with stairs at the end because I couldn't see where I had to set my feet.

Unlike most others, I was measuring my temperature every morning when I conceived. Not that I wanted to conceive in the first place, though. More like an accident. Did you know human sperm can survive for up to a week in and around the uterus? For me, it had been four or five days between the last intercourse and ovulation. And a few days after that, I was spotting.

Hopefully it won't be too bad. Didn't struggle with it at all with the first two, but the second two are 18 months [to the day] apart - a God planned thing for sure. These two will be somewhere between 27 and 28 months apart - depending on when he decides to show up. Until DD1 stopped nursing last May, I'd been either pregnant or nursing [or both] for well over 5 years. I'm on meds for it - twice a day now. The stress over the last few weeks was incredible. Everything hit at once [doesn't it always?]. Several solid marriages suddenly disintegrated [friends], another friend's was probably disintegrating [didn't admit to the affair until 2 days ago, but we all suspected but couldn't 'spy' b/c it was in another state], pipe burst in the basement that wasn't covered by our warranty, found out I had no classes this summer [instead of my usual 2] and that we had 4 between us for fall [instead of the usual 7]. Add that to the raging hormones and I spent days trying to figure out how I could afford to live when DH decided to leave and whether or not I'd fight him for custody of the kids. Two days later I had a dream he was cheating on me with one of my best friends [this is before the other friend's affair came out]. At 3 in the morning it made perfect sense... And of course I didn't get to talk to my doc about it that week b/c two minutes after she came in, she got called to delivery.

We're aware of the problem this time and I can take my meds the whole time so that's not an issue.

We were temping etc. this time too, but I was sick the week I ovulated and so thought I ovulated about 2 days earlier than I did [temp artificially high a couple days early] and that I wasn't pregnant b/c of that. That was also the week DD5 was running a temp of up to 105 and eventually was diagnosed with pneumonia. The spotting was what first gave it away. Test was positive, though faint b/c I hadn't missed yet [you should have seen how faint DD1's was - probably 1 day after implantation]. DH didn't believe me for sure until the blood test came back the next day.

Carol

I may just have to hate you for that. :p It's thirteen years later and I still can't walk into one of our local convenience stores without a little dry heave. It's the garlic bread they bake in there or something but it's just... <shudder> I was sicker than I thought was humanly possible for about the first three months. Whenever I read those "cliches" I get a little sympathy nausea for Lois.

I forgot to add that I also had "hot flashes" like someone else mentioned. It was the dead of winter and I was roasting near the end of my pregnancy. Someone else said that they heard women miss being pregnant. That idea is so foreign to me as to be laughable. I was beyond delighted to get my body back. The first thing I did when I got home from the hospital was go lie on the floor on my stomach. You just never know how much you miss something until it's taken from you.

Oh, and in the final trimester of my pregnancy (and for a few years afterwards) my right hip would pop. Just *pop* and then snap back in again. My doctor said it was a good thing (my body being accomodating or something), but it freaked me out. It didn't hurt but it was unpleasant and would make me stumble around like a drunken pirate (and I was already ungainly enough and off balance with all that belly in front of me).

So, no, I don't miss being pregnant at all.

I had to stop reading the symptoms about halfway through.

I figure if I ever want to have a kid I had better stop seeing how horrible the whole process is or I'm just going to start wearing a chastity belt and not let anyone near me ever again.


~Jojo, who knows the whole process isn't horrible and you get a pretty nice present at the end but still isn't sold on the idea.

Oh don't worry, JoJo -- it doesn't usually kill you. You just *feel* like you're going to die.

It was a pretty awesome rush, though, the first time I felt my baby move inside me. That part was just awe-inspiring. Well, at least til they get big enough to stomp on your bladder...

I'm glad I have my kids, and that I had the experience of being pregnant twice. It was amazing. But I have no desire to do it again.

PJ

I suspect the people with experience who write 'Lois is preggers' stories tend to give her many of the same symptoms they had. I know I do - no coffee or chocolate from the time the baby starts kicking until they're weaned, serious blimp-hood issues, etc.

Heh. And that's just the pregnancy. The stories you *really* don't want to hear are about labor.

LOL!!!!

I seem to remember KathyB posting several years ago about driving herself to the hospital when she was in labor...

I've got good stories and bad stories there too - I'm sure most of us do .
Carol

Yes, we don't want to hear the labor stories, the cholic stories, the teething stories, the potting training woes or the ungrateful horrors are children grow into because we can't possibly know anything. The current generation always feels smarter than the last and they just don't know what they are talking about. Face it sometimes you think the most joy and pleasure your children ever gave you was when you made them. But hark there is hope, one day your children will have children and then you get your long over due and just revenge.

Or you do what I did. I don't have children but I have 15 nieces and nephews. I borrow them, spoil them, then give them back.

I've enjoyed reading about the pregnancy experience of others. The only stomach flu symptoms I experienced was the nausea and being extremely tired, but some of the standard pregnancy stuff happened with me as well.

First, I was over-the-top emotional before and after I realized I was pregnant. I'm not one of those that know their bodies so well that they knew immediately - I didn't know I was pregnant until my period was a week overdue and I took a home test. One of the things I remember most during the first trimester was being dog tired. I remember having a conversation with my husband once after dinner. Apparently, I fell asleep mid-sentence and when I woke up 2 hours later, picking up on the conversation right where I'd left off.

I craved dairy products (milk, yogurt and ice cream) but I don't know if it was because of or in spite of the morning sickness. It was pretty bad through my 5th month. I took to wearing sea-sickness bands pretty much all the time (the ones the hold a bead against a pressure point below the wrist) and that helped me keep my meals down. The only times I ever threw up after that was when I tried sleeping without the bands on.

Other more unique syptoms - I used to hiccup once or twice when my body needed to eat. I didn't feel like eating, but if I paid attention to the hiccup and ate a snack or meal soon after, I could head off the more severe bouts of sickness. Others have mentioned the sentive and swollen breasts, but I experienced sensitivity in other areas as well. I don't know if I can mention where in the g-folder, but certain acitivities got even better during pregnancy right up until the day before I delivered.

Also, my hair grew at about twice the rate as normal, got really thick and started to curl for the first time in my life. Of course, almost immediately after delivery, I started shedding until it was more like normal. I don't remember having a runny or stuffy nose, but I do remember having a lot of nose bleeds.

Another side effect I wasn't expecting was the forgetfulness. I know it doesn't happen to everyone, but I remember leading a team meeting at work and completely losing my train of thought mid-sentence. I wasn't distracted, the thought was just gone - - and it happened twice in the same meeting (I think I was about 5 months along). I told them that the 'baby is sucking brain cells' and they laughed, but it was kind of unnerving.

Other standard stuff - I gained a lot of weight, couldn't sleep well at night (whether from hot flashes, weird dreams or discomfort), got stretch marks during the final month, swollen feet, back-ache, yadda yadda yadda.

Hope that was helpful,
BJ

*chants to herself* Babies come from storks... babies come from storks. If I keep saying it over and over think it will be true?

*snicker* you wish. Actually the getting of the baby is rather fun...

mmouse

Ditto. I'm personally waiting for my sister and my best friends to get cracking. My best friend is fully aware of the future artist in her family.

Jen

I've heard that before! You want more reasons to hate me? Reasonable weight gain (26 pounds, though I looked HUGE since I'm only 5'4"), no stretch marks, no sleeping problems. I did have swelled feet, but that was only about 3 days before I went into labor. You probably all think I'm lying, right?

No crazy emotional stuff from me during my pregnancy either. I never felt better in my whole life than when I was pregnant. You know that "glow" people say pregnant women have? I could feel the energy bursting out of me. And actually, in the nearly four years since I had my son, I have missed the feeling of being pregnant. If I could be on a time loop from conception to 8 months, then start over, I'd be happy for a long time.

The labor, however, was a completely different story. I'll spare you the details, though feel free to ruminate on the following fact...
FIFTY-NINE HOURS!!!!!

Sorry it's been a few days, but I have been busy

first of all
Labby: Thanks for clearing up the FLU issue, I guess it must be a language thing, that I may have heard the term stomach/tummy flu via media and cultural exchange programs we Australians rely on (Face it people there is no Australian television or movie industry if we rely on 75% of our visual entertainment from the US and 20% from the UK)
but I had never used the term myself, nor had my mum when I asked her about the FLU-like experiences of pregnancy
(I have decided philosophically that I do not like the term symptoms being used as it infers pregnancy as being a disease; that is really complex issue philosophically, as disease entails a sense of sub-optimum Health (another complex term philosophically)


I am "enjoying" the descriptions you have generously provided, as they all pretty much fit into my physiological knowledge of hormonal changes during pregnancy, and the effects these hormones have on all of the various body systems. (NOTE if you are curious, I would be happy to explain anything... but 1. think you may be bored stiff, 2. want to keep this short 3. you haven't asked me yet and some may not want me to for whatever reasons they have--- JOJO's stork theory for instance, I do not want to disrespect her religious beliefs.)

I know that morning sickness for some can be so extreme that by the end of the pregnancy (due to nutritional deficiency related weight loss) they have lost so much of their own weight that just before the birth they weigh in at the same weight as 9 months previously (my cousin did this with her now 3 yr old). The baby's hormones program it to "suck" as much nutrition as it can get and to thrive and grow. as such its growth is at the expense of the mother and would not be compromised unless the mother's own health was compromised to the extent of a spontaneous miscarriage

The thicker hair thing is interesting. If you are OK with this I would love to use this specifically in anything I write (whether published or not). The hair growth is obviously a product of the baby's added hormones to your system, and is lost with birth removing the additional growth hormones pumped into you from your baby...
It is something I don't think I have heard before, yet makes so much sense...


thanks again
Helena

Come to think of it, I had some additional (and thicker) hair growth, too. I noticed that I didn't leave as many hairs behind as before the pregnancy. But afterwards... well, I was back to normal within half a year. :p

And sensitivity to smells - I couldn't stand the smell of cigarettes, but this sensitivity started about four weeks before conception. It doesn't make any sense to me, but that's the way it was.