pregnancyAbout 30 seconds after you find out you're pregnant, you enter a crazy world called: IS THIS NORMAL? Your digestive system gets all techy, your body leaks goo, and everything smells unfamiliar. This was one of the big shocks of pregnancy for me. Usually if you feel bad, that means something is wrong. But with pregnancy, if you feel bad, it most likely means everything is just fine and dandy, puking lady!

The range of "normal" symptoms and experiences during pregnancy is almost as wide as your expanding ass. Belly! I mean belly. Here's just a sampling of things that happen during pregnancy that feel wrong but probably mean everything's great.

  1. EXTREME! Fatigue -- even after the first trimester. You're not dying. You're just pregnant. 
  2. You feel like you have the flu, only without the fever, aches, and stuffy nose. Very common in the first trimester. Call your doctor if you do get a fever, though.
  3. What you once loved (food, your husband) now smells utterly revolting. It's pretty common to have a stronger and altered sense of smell during pregnancy. Your husband won't smell like that after you have the baby. 
  4. You're spotting blood. I spotted a lot during my pregnancy and kept worrying that I was having a miscarriage -- but actually some spotting is typical. Call your doctor if the amount of blood increases dramatically, though.
  5. Sci-fi movie-style vaginal discharge. It may be slimy and yellow, or thick and white. There's so much of it! It's just leukorrhea, caused by hormonal changes. But if it smells off, definitely call your doctor.
  6. You're cramping like you're on your period. This is common in the first weeks of pregnancy. If the pain suddenly gets worse, call your doctor.
  7. Endless headaches. It's not a brain tumor. It's pregnancy.
  8. You sprout spots or skin tags. Many women get brown spots and skin tags around their body during pregnancy. The spots are called melasma, and sometimes it goes away after pregnancy. Sometimes.
  9. Your tailbone hurts like hell. Your joints are moving around during pregnancy -- they literally become more loose to accommodate your growing belly and all the shifts in weight. Which brings us to ...
  10. Sharp abdominal pains in the second and third trimester. This is your round ligament, which supports your belly. It's being stretched. Ouch. If those pains get severe, though, call your doctor.
  11. Your hands go numb. This can happen if you've suffered carpal tunnel before when your arms and fingers become swollen (you've noticed you can't remove your wedding ring anymore, right?).
  12. Tender, swollen gums. That happens, too. Normal. Most likely your teeth won't fall out.
  13. Your pee smells weird. This is partly because you're smelling things differently, but your pee may be different just because.
  14. Metallic taste in your mouth. That's caused by hormonal changes, not some bizarre form of iron overdose -- unless you've actually been overdosing on iron supplements.

OMG, pregnancy: The good times just keep rolling on! But don't worry, be happy, and when in doubt, talk with your doctor or midwife. Better safe than sorry, of course. Still, if you can save yourself from some unnecessary worry, you and your baby will both be better off. 

Have you had any of these "troubling" symptoms?

 

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