When I was pregnant, I thought I knew what to expect… Morning sickness, missed period, all pretty standard, right? Wrong! As it turns out, there are several totally weird early pregnancy symptoms. And guess what?
Pregnancy comes crashing into a woman’s life with a hormone cocktail that can make us feel the craziest things. It seemed as if every day I was feeling something new.
Don’t get caught off guard, check out the list of lesser-known pregnancy symptoms!
#1 Cramps
One of the unexpected signs of early pregnancy is cramping.
In most cases, feeling mild tummy cramps is perfectly normal. It makes sense since your body is packed with hormones and your uterus is expanding.
My cramps lasted a couple of months, they weren’t intense, but they sure were one of my weird early pregnancy symptoms.
Even though they are normal, don’t hesitate to let your doctor know, especially if the cramp’s intensity increases or you bleed. It’s always best to be cautious!
#2 Elevated Body Temperature
Did you know that when you’re pregnant your blood flow will need to increase?
I had no idea.
That is, of course, until I seemed to be running a high temperature, and my doctor surprisingly told me that everything was OK. It was just my new normal.
Go figure.
The truth of the matter is that the blood flow to the skin will raise your body temperature. Going as high as 37.8 C (100.04 F), so you may feel a bit lightheaded, or slightly dizzy, especially from week 6 to week 12, while you’re getting used to your new you!
#3 Vaginal Discharge
The estrogen levels in your body increase during pregnancy, which leads to a thick, milky white vaginal discharge. The discharge will even increase and your pregnancy progress.
A normal vaginal discharge can feel uncomfortable, but washing the area with any kind of special soap isn’t recommended. It’s best to just wash your parts with water. If it’s too uncomfortable, ask your doctor for help.
#4 Dizziness
Along with the increase in the bloodstream, the hormonal changes tied to pregnancy affect your blood vessels, relaxing them. Thus, lowering your blood pressure.
Dizziness is one of those weird early pregnancy symptoms that may last throughout your whole pregnancy.
In your first trimester, morning sickness and hormonal changes are to blame. In your second and third trimester, your womb will be expanding, applying pressure to your blood vessels and making you dizzy when you suddenly stand up, or when you have been lying on your bed for a while.
A word of warning, dizziness isn’t always normal during pregnancy. If you are so dizzy that you faint, or if you can lead a normal life because of how dizzy you are, you may have low levels of iron in your bloodstream, so be sure to call your doctor if it gets too intense.
Dizziness in late pregnancy is also one of the lesser-known (and less common) symptoms of preeclampsia. When I was pregnant with preeclampsia I couldn’t walk for more than 5 minutes without fainting. I even tried to shop for my boy’s newborn clothes one afternoon and spent the whole time sitting on the steps of the mall, waiting to get back home.
In conclusion, light dizziness is ok, but if it gets more intense, you should have your doctor check that everything is OK.
#5 False Period
When the fertilized egg attaches to the uterine wall, there can be light spotting. This happens after two weeks of conception, so it’s normally confused with a woman’s period.
Bleeding can also be a sign of an ectopic pregnancy (a life-threatening complication in which the egg implants outside of the uterus), miscarriage threatens, or irritation.
#6 Mood Swings
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that mood swings are a package deal when you’re pregnant. But here I was, crying as I had never cried before because I wanted to take my mom to the beach but I couldn’t because… well… I was working… and pregnant, and we lived nowhere near a beach.
It was so intense that my mom had to actually stop what she was doing and drive to my house to comfort me. Other things I cried intensely about were:
- Because I dropped a watermelon.
- Because I finished a game I was playing on PS4.
- Because I wanted my husband to bring me a banana and he brought me the wrong kind of banana.
- Because I wanted to try sushi with chocolate so badly that my husband made one for me, and it didn’t taste good… but I still wanted to eat it.
I’m just not like that, usually, I’m a semi-functional, centered person. But pregnancy changed me. I went from completely normal to have all these weird early pregnancy symptoms.
It’s funny now, looking backward, but at the time it was as if some uncontrollable force had taken over my emotions.
And it had: hormones!
