How do you know if you are pregnant? There are some early pregnancy symptoms that you can look out for if you are trying for a baby.
Here are 10 hints you might be pregnant.
1. Tiredness and dizziness
An awful lot happens in the early stages of pregnancy and your body may well let you know it's preparing for the miracle of creation by making you drop off at every opportunity. You may also find yourself swooning like a Victorian heroine, which is not as much fun as it sounds.
2. Stomach pain
Annoyingly, a lot of the early signs of pregnancy are also signs you are getting your period. Stomach pain is similar to the cramping you get before a period and is caused by the embryo embedding itself into the uterus. You may also have a muscular pain as your ligaments in your tummy start to stretch and loosen. The best advice I got in early pregnancy was to get used to weird tummy pains as they are a regular occurrence in pregnancy (it certainly helped me to stop fretting over every niggle). However, if the pain is severe, you should always get it checked out.
3. Spotting and bleeding
Yet another sign you've got your period! But it can also be a sign of pregnancy. You may notice the bleeding is not typical of a period, and the blood may be a different colour or less heavy. Bleeding in early pregnancy is very common. Mention it to your midwife or doctor, but don't start worrying unless it becomes heavy.
4. Weeing
Wee is a common theme throughout pregnancy and you may find yourself discussing it more than usual (along with poo - there's little dignity in pregnancy). If you suddenly feel the urge to visit the lavatory every five minutes, chances are your hormones are already starting work on a new lifeform.
5. Bionic smell
Suddenly the smell of perfume or a faint odour from the kitchen bin becomes like nasal Kryptonite, repulsing you and making you retch. If you've noticed that you now have super-human smelling abilities, chances are you could be incubating a future financial burden.
6. Sickness
Along with the bionic nasal abilities, you may also find the thought of food makes you want to heave. Or the thought of anything really. Nausea is your body's fun way of kicking off a pregnancy and it can start very early on. The only food I could bear the thought of for the first few months was starch based and my husband got pretty bored of mashed potato, bread, pasta and rice.
7. Taste of metal
Reasons for the strange metallic taste in your mouth seems to be a subject of dispute, with some doctors claiming its the vitamins you're taking, and others suggesting it's related to the change in your taste during pregnancy. Either that or you've been licking too many coins due to some weird craving.
8. Sore boobs
If your Michael Bublés start acting like divas, you may well have a tiny squatter living in your uterus. Obviously, this is also a sign that your period is on the way, so it's not a sure-fire way of knowing. Check to see if your nipples are darkening and if your veins are easier to spot. Oh, and if you've gone up a cupsize, it may be time to start checking out maternity bras.
9. Temperature
This is one for those who are taking a scientific approach to the fertilisation rather than relying on dumb luck like we did. If you check your temperature regularly, an elevated reading could be a sign that you'll soon be bringing forth a bundle of joy.
10. Positive pregnancy test
It may sound stupid, but a pregnancy test is the best way to get a straight answer from your body. Best of all, you don't need to wait until your period is over-due to start weeing on sticks. Some tests are now able to seek out the pregnancy hormones five days before your period due date (ask in your local pharmacy). Don't forget, you may get a false negative, but false positives are extremely rare. You can find out more on the NHS website.