New Mom Vibes

My pregnancy was unplanned. My husband-to-be and I weren’t planning on starting a family until our mid-thirties so when I started feeling sick with these strange symptoms, pregnancy was the last thing on my mind.
The way I found out that I was pregnant was actually through a dream! In my dream, I was at the grocery store frantically looking for medicine for unfamiliar pains and stomach issues I’d been having over the past couple of weeks. Officially giving up on trying to find the cause of this unknown sickness, I screamed out “what’s wrong with me!” Out of nowhere, my best friend, who is also pregnant, appeared in my dream and said “Teralyn, don’t you get it? You’re pregnant! All of the symptoms that you’ve been having are pregnancy symptoms!” At that point, I jolted awake at 6:00 am and went to the store to get a pregnancy test. It didn’t even take the test 5 seconds to show a well-defined positive line. My dream was right.
If it weren’t for my dream, I would’ve never thought that the weird things that were happening to my body were pregnancy symptoms. I didn’t have any nausea (at that time) or frequent urination, which is normally seen as clear signs of pregnancy. There are many other symptoms that most people never tell you about. Here are some of those other unwelcoming symptoms that might mean that you’re pregnant
1. Heartburn and Indigestion
Heartburn and indigestion were the most prominent symptoms for me. I always felt like I had food stuck in my esophagus which caused this constant feeling of having a lump in my throat. My esophagus also felt like it was on fire and water would slightly help cool it off. After drinking apple cider for weeks which didn’t help, I ended up in urgent care the day of my bridal shower getting diagnosed acid reflux disease and boy was the doctor wrong.
Apparently, heartburn in early pregnancy is caused by the hormone progesterone which can relax the valve between your esophagus and your stomach. This allows some stomach acid to leak into your esophagus causing heartburn.

2. Metallic Taste in Your Mouth
I don’t think this symptom is as common as others but in the mornings, I would get this strong, disgusting metallic taste in my mouth and had NO clue what it was. It tasted like I had been sucking on a handful of pennies. It was terrible.
The metallic taste is also caused by those increasing hormone levels. The good thing is, it means that your hormones are in full force which is good for the development of the baby.

3. Abdominal Cramps
This may be an obvious sign to others but for some reason it wasn’t for me since pregnancy wasn’t on my mind. Every morning when I was visiting my mom in Florida, I would mention to her that I woke up with cramps but my period never came on. It didn’t dawn either one of us that I should at least take a pregnancy test.
Mild cramping can be from the egg implanting or from your uterus stretching during the early stages. Some women even have light bleeding due to implantation
4. Uncontrollable Mood Swings
For a few weeks before finding out I was pregnant, I just felt “off”. I couldn’t explain what it was but every little thing annoyed me and I would snap at my fiancé over everything. I would get extremely angry or cry uncontrollably over the smallest things. It was an extreme version of PMS so I just assumed that’s what it was.
Once again, blame it on those ever-changing hormones which can cause changes in your mood. Some women have heightened emotions and can even feel depressed or anxious.

Thank God for my dream that encouraged me to take a pregnancy test! Some of my symptoms were unfamiliar to me or very similar to PMS symptoms.
What are some symptoms that you experienced as early signs of pregnancy?