(top left to right) Grandma and Me; Mom and me; (bottom left to right) My Bunny & Me; Mom-In-Law and Me As we are all getting used to the “new normal”, staying home shouldn’t really stop us from showing our love and gratitude for the people we love. With each new day, calendar forwards without a change and occasions come on the defined time – unaware of the fact that we are under lockdown due to COVID-19. With the occasions falling on a calendar day, the only difference I find is that everything is home-bound instead of a fun-filled evening watching the most awaited blockbuster at Cineplex followed by dinner at your favorite restaurant or traveling to the nearby destination and spending a night at the lake-side hotel! But this shouldn’t stop the fun or stop you from celebrating and acknowledging the special days – Birthday, Anniversary, Festivals, and appreciation days such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day! Since 2020 is a special year, Mother’s Day celebration ...
I can remember it was February 2016 and we were celebrating the Henna function for my sister's wedding in India. I had only been in India for about 5 - 6 days since I landed and was scheduled to return next week. I had a terribly upset stomach. It made me feel so sick that I just couldn't eat anything except plain rice and yoghurt. I am a big junkie when it comes to Indian street food. From the day 1 I ate all my favourite foods including pani puri, sev puri, chana chor & more. And all through my trip I blamed the street for my upset stomach.
However, I had a funny feeling near my belly button which I couldn't relate to anything but tickles and heaviness. It felt like a stone placed on my stomach. I only told my mom I feel I might have conceived. But we did not discuss further as we were all so busy with the wedding.
It was only after we returned back to Canada, I started throwing up crazily, still blaming the street food and change in the weather and travel and every other thing I could think of. Only after 4 days, I spoke to my hubby if I should test. And finally, I tested positive!
But before I tested, I noticed a few early symptoms of pregnancy, which I did not pay attention to, but my body was trying to tell me that you are going to be a mom. Before I share some of those early symptoms, here are some of the obvious pregnancy symptoms:
1) Missed Period: This is the most common and predicable first sign of pregnancy. If you missed your period the first normal thought would be pregnancy. I missed my period and had passed over 10 days before I tested. But because I was travelling and was over exhausted from the celebrations I did not think of testing.
Missed period cannot always be the sign of pregnancy, as it can also be caused due to exhaustion, travel, exercising, changes in weather condition or thyroid. My period in the past month was delayed by a week. When I went to my doctor, she tested me for pregnancy as well as put me through Thyroid tests. Well all came back normal and I wasn't pregnant either. But when I tested positive, there were other symptoms along with the missed period.
2) Feeling that You are Pregnant: It is a non-descriptive feeling but your body tells you that you are going through something very wonderful. As I said above, I had a stomach upset and even though I blamed other conditions, I felt that I was pregnant; and I was! I can recollect feeling tired, moody, exhausted and slight abdominal cramps much before my cycle date.
3) Skin Tone Changes: There is a very magical glow in your skin tone, especially on your face. People around you might compliment you for looking different that normal. I felt my skin glowing how it was after a facial or spa session. My cousin even ask me to take the pregnancy test as he confidently felt I was pregnant!
Other Early Pregnancy Symptoms:
1) Nausea: Commonly known as "morning-sickness" in pregnancy can really happen at any time of the day, that is noon or evening or night as well. This is again a symptom which you may experience either early on or later in your pregnancy. For me nausea with severe vomiting was the symptom more than my missed period which convinced me to test for pregnancy.
2) Mood Swings: I am a very moody person, but I think the mood swings during pregnancy comes along with emotional roller coaster. I experienced severe mood swings being happy now and wanting to cry the next. But I was lucky to have my husband around to help me cope up with these changes.
3) Food Aversions: I think from the very very beginning, I had picked up liking salty and spicy food. Though I am a sugar-loving person, I hated sweets and sugary stuff. I had only a few items on my menu which included potato, potato and potato!
4)Metallic Taste: This is a silly symptom, but your mouth taste weird. It feels like you have eaten your car keys and the taste of that metal has rested in your mouth. I had this feeling almost from day one and it was there at least until my second trimester.
4)Metallic Taste: This is a silly symptom, but your mouth taste weird. It feels like you have eaten your car keys and the taste of that metal has rested in your mouth. I had this feeling almost from day one and it was there at least until my second trimester.
5) Swollen and Tender Breasts: Some of the most earliest sign I could physically feel were swollen and tender breasts. I could also see dark blue veins clearly visible above my breasts. I later found out this happens because your body is undergoing hormonal changes and there is an increased blood supply to your breasts preparing you for upcoming journey of pregnancy.
6) Home Pregnancy Test: The best way to rest all your curiosity is to take a home pregnancy test. You can buy it at any drug store and test it at home. Most tests say its best to test with the first urine in the morning to get the most accurate results.
Note: It is best to check with your health practitioner about any symptoms that you feel are unknown or new to your body. Even if you test positive at home, visit your physician to confirm your pregnancy.
If you experience any or all of these symptoms and your doctor confirmed your pregnancy, congratulations! Your sprinkle of joy is on the way!!