When a woman is pregnant, her body will send her signals long before she ever takes a pregnancy test or misses a period. If you’re looking to become a mother—or just want to know what’s going on with your body—here are some signs that you may be pregnant.
1) Your favorite jeans have suddenly stopped fitting.
The first sign many women have that they are pregnant is that they are struggling to button pants that they wore just a couple of days earlier. That’s because pregnancy can cause immediate bloating.
Your hormones will kick into overdrive right away, leading to extra bloating of your abdomen. If you’re bloated and can’t figure out why, it may be due to pregnancy.
2) You have intense food cravings.
Everybody has food cravings from time to time, but if you feel like you need a cheeseburger or some other random food NOW, that could be because you’re pregnant. This is especially true if you wake up during the night with these cravings.
The flip side of this is that when you’re pregnant, your favorite foods may make you feel queasy. If you’ve just noticed a general weirdness about food, it may be related to hormone changes caused by pregnancy.
3) You’ve been nauseated and it doesn’t seem to be getting better.
Many women experience nausea in the first trimester of pregnancy. This typically happens in the morning but can happen throughout the day. Many women just chalk it up to a stomach bug at first.
If you’ve felt nauseated and it hasn’t gotten any better after a few days, that could be a sign that you’re pregnant.
4) You’re extremely emotional over minor things.
Your hormonal changes will cause you to get emotional over strange things or to flip out over minor inconveniences. If you find yourself crying at that rental car commercial or flipping out at your partner for no reason, that could be because you’re pregnant.
Mood swings are a perfectly normal part of pregnancy. They’ll happen throughout the nine months but can be especially pronounced right in the beginning.
5) You’re having cramps but no period.
Every woman knows how awful period cramps can be. Being pregnant results in similar cramps but without a period.
If you’re feeling cramping but it’s not your time of the month, that’s a sign that you’re pregnant. You may also experience spotting with the cramping, which is a sign of pregnancy if it’s not on your cycle.
6) You fall asleep watching your favorite shows.
Women are notorious for falling asleep during certain movies or TV shows, but most would never fall asleep during the show they’ve been waiting all week to watch. If you can’t keep your eyes open even though you’ve been dying to see what happens on How to Get Away With Murder, you may be pregnant.
That’s because the fetus growing inside your womb is sucking up a lot of your energy. Being tired all the time is just a part of being pregnant, so be prepared to deal with nine months of falling asleep on the couch.
