# Doper Moms - When did you \*know\* you were pregnant? (TMI?) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 27, 2005, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815 "2005-08-27T00:08:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@sj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sj2)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/1 "2005-08-27T00:08:14Z")
Hey gals, So it is a pretty simple question–when did you feel/sense that you were in the ‘family way’? Was it before your missed period? What did you feel? Did you ever psych yourself into a false alarm? I still have a week until my first missed day, but I do feel a bit strange. I’ve also nixed cigarettes and coffee within the last few weeks so that may explain the moods and the dizzy feeling…and the constipation. The only “girl” clue is I feel a bit clogged in the vaginal area, like I have a tampon in and I feel a bit hard and crampy. It’s only been about a week since ovulation though…which makes me think it may be the caffeine and cigarettes and wishfulness. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/2 "2005-08-27T00:17:58Z")
> [@sj2](#): > > Hey gals, > > So it is a pretty simple question–when did you feel/sense that you were in the ‘family way’? Was it before your missed period? I suspected pregnancy well before I missed a period. There was just this feeling of pelvic tension and activity somehow in the day or two following conception. I tested with First Response ten days after “the incident”, about 5 days before my period was due. Yup. Pregnant. The typical signs didn’t kick in until I was 5 - 6 weeks pregnant (sore breasts, morning sickness). ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/3 "2005-08-27T00:25:44Z")
It sounds so trite, but I knew I was pregnant before taking any tests with all three children. With the oldest and youngest, I knew before I’d missed my period. With the middle, I knew as soon as I was a couple days late. Never taken a pregnancy test that wasn’t positive… so now I just don’t take pregnancy tests 😉 The only time I felt there were any signs was with my first, when I was extremely weepy for no apparent reason. The other two times, I just knew instinctively I guess. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/4 "2005-08-27T01:05:55Z")
I was abnormally exhausted within 5 days of conception. Had no idea I was pregnant, but in hindsight am glad I skipped a wild (for me) night out b/c I was so doggone tired. I think it was a week later that I took the pregnancy test & it was a strong positive. I bought the test b/c I figured either I was pregnant or had some incredible disease, I just felt sickish all over. ---
**Author:** ![wonder9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c57346/32.png) [@wonder9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonder9)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/5 "2005-08-27T01:45:27Z")
Warning…many, if not most women, do not know they are pregnant before that first missed period. Some may not know until many missed periods. And many women think they’re pregnant when they’re not. So, that said… I didn’t know I was pregnant with my first son because (I later found out) I had conceived only days before. But I was SOOOOOOOO sleepy and tired. Also, my husband told me that touching my skin was like touching a furnance. I found out I was pregnant a few days later. That was only 2 weeks after conception, I think. With my second son, my first sign was that I couldn’t wear a seat belt across my chest comfortably because my chest was so senstive (Re:chest…it was actually a more specific part of my chest but I don’t want to offend the pure at heart). This was also before I had missed a period. But, I’ve had friends who had no idea they were pregnant until several months had gone by. And I’ve had friends who swear that they knew they’d been impregnante at the moment it happened. Anyway, don’t buy a layette…or plan an abortion…until you know for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/6 "2005-08-27T02:13:08Z")
I’ll chime in with the other side of the coin, I was out of my first trimester before I knew! In fact, my then-boyfriend was the one who was concerned, he went and got the test kit and insisted I use it. I’ve never had much of a regular cycle nor have I ever tried to keep track. Lack of a period counts as a bonus in my book, so why _miss_ it? If there were any early symptoms, I certainly wasn’t self-aware enough to notice. Probably just chalked them up to fleeting weirdness, I was totally not even suspecting. Nothing suddenly tasted weird, no nausea, nada. On the plus side, I felt great being pregnant, very much into the happy glowing thing and healthy as a horse all the way thru. So maybe my hormones are just weirdly balanced to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/7 "2005-08-27T02:42:56Z")
> [@sj2](#): > > So it is a pretty simple question–when did you feel/sense that you were in the ‘family way’? Was it before your missed period? With exception to the four months before I conceived my son, I’ve never had a very reliable cycle (skipping several months was normal). Those four months were like clockwork but when I skipped the fifth, I didn’t think anything of it. I knew I was pregnant when the mere taste of chicken made me vomit uncontrollably. Three days later, I had two extremely dark purple lines maybe 30 seconds after peeing on the stick. I was maybe 2 or 3 weeks out then. ---
**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/8 "2005-08-27T03:03:15Z")
I’d had a couple miscarriages and several false alarms, so I didn’t pay too much attention to any symptoms until my period was about a week late this time around. Didn’t want to get my hopes up too much, y’know. But I obviously knew _something_ was up, because I suggested to my husband we stop at the drugstore on the way home. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/9 "2005-08-27T03:17:06Z")
The thing about the period, too, is that you can have spotting through the first months. I knew a woman, a co-worker, who was pregnant & didn’t realize it until she was in the hospital to deliver her daughter! Truly! She told me that what threw her off is she had heavy spotting early on, and then hadn’t had any sex to coincide with later missed periods. Obviously she was in deep denial - the women in our office who’d had kids all remarked that she must be pregnant long before she acknowledged it. ---
**Author:** ![MizGrand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@MizGrand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizGrand)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/10 "2005-08-27T13:26:46Z")
I know it’s strange, but I knew I was pregnant (both times) almost instantaneously. I’d had a couple miscarriages and know my body really well. Within just a couple of days after conception I would feel like a squiggly sensation in my abdomen and my boobs would be tender. With first baby I got pregnant initially in October. Lost that one in early December but was PG again within two weeks. A miracle, I know. Doc was impressed. With second child, I “just had a feeling” two days after procreation. Went online to check the hormone level recognition of OTC PG tests, bought the one indicating it would work with the least amount of hormones present, and lo-and-behold, I was indeed pregnant. That one was a “mistake”, until the kid was born, and then it became a “surprise”. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![kiffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/d78d45/32.png) [@kiffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiffa)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/11 "2005-08-27T13:50:02Z")
Every time I conceived I had what I call a “frisson” in my uterus. This frisson feels like a shaking bowl of jello for about 10 seconds. It only happens about 2 weeks into the pregnancy; I’ve never felt it any other time. It’s like the uterus goes ATTENSHUN! work for another 38 weeks! Regular early pregnancy symptoms become noticable two three days later 'cept for the twins - it was overnight, 24/7, comatose hell for three months then blissful three months when I wanted to be cuddled and have sex and then another 2 months of “life as an aircraft carrier”. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/12 "2005-08-27T18:43:49Z")
My husband was the one who noticed I had missed my first period. I was about 6 weeks past conception. But then I regularly had 31-33 day cycles so I was really only about a week overdue for my period. I didn’t “feel” pregnant until I was about 12 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![MissGypsy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@MissGypsy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissGypsy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/13 "2005-08-27T22:00:39Z")
With my first, I knew within a week of conception. I felt very sensitive, everywhere on my body. (I’d had a previous miscarriage, and I felt the same that time, too, before the miscarriage.) With my last, I didn’t have a clue. I had (what seemed like) periods, and by the time I finally figured it out, I was well into the second trimester. What clued me in was a little tiny kick from within. I sat up straight, and thought, “Wait, when was my last period?” (I’ve been horribly irregular since the birth of my first.) I couldn’t remember. But I dug through the receipts and noticed that I’d bought pads three times in the past six months, which is pretty typical for me. But that little “kick”… I told my SO to go get me a pregnancy test, and sure enough, I was. And I was almost five months along, I discovered when the doc did an ultrasound. Hadn’t gained more than 10 pounds, and no other symptoms. I was shocked that I didn’t notice before, considering I’d already had a baby a couple of years earlier. I’d have thought I’d be more aware, but there wasn’t much to notice with the last one. Weird, I know. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/14 "2005-08-27T22:22:13Z")
Over three years of infertility, I psyched myself into believing I was pregnant perhaps a dozen times. When it happened - after giving up, we almost missed it. ---
**Author:** ![Shana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Shana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shana)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/15 "2005-08-27T22:41:45Z")
I could swear my clothes just weren’t fitting right - not tight necessarily, just fitting strangely. Also, my moods were pretty erratic and I just had a feeling. I thought I could feel some kind of activity in my uterus, but maybe I was just tripping out. Oh, and my boobs were definitely bigger. ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/16 "2005-08-27T23:29:12Z")
With my first, walking past the meat counter in a supermarket a week before my period was due, and feeling immensely sick clued me in. I felt sick right away but it was low-grade 24 hours a day nausea, not morning sickness as such. (Never threw up with him but had a few near misses.) With my second, I knew for fairly certain more than a week before my period was due - the same icky feeling and that certain “busyness” in my uterus, sore boobs and a feeling of something massive impending. Both my kids were weekend visit gifts from my husband while he was off working for 6 months each time! Second kid was conceived on Halloween night… ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/17 "2005-08-28T00:29:30Z")
I knew within a few weeks after conception with each of my three children. With the first I was in an excellent Vietnamese resturant in Denver and all of a sudden, the food tasted _really strange_. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/18 "2005-08-28T02:01:31Z")
> [@sj2](#): > > Did you ever psych yourself into a false alarm? I won’t comment on the rest, as I have no kids, but I have done this, and it wasn’t a good thing. I’m sure every woman who is sexually active has been here. Your imagination tends to run away with you. ---
**Author:** ![sj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@sj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sj2)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/19 "2005-08-28T02:13:24Z")
Thanks for the input guys. I am 85 percent sure that this is no ordinary PMS. We will see on the 7th (or before)! ---
**Author:** ![Nimue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Nimue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nimue)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815/20 "2005-11-21T17:48:20Z")
I hope it’s okay to resurrect this relatively recent thread rather than start a new one on the same topic. What can I say, I’m OP-shy. We’ve just started trying for #2 and I swear, I woke up the next day feeling different. The “next day” was yesterday, and I still feel different today. I feel tender and heavy, somehow, inside. And slightly queasy, though nothing too bad. That thing where certain odors put you off. I didn’t have any morning sickness the first time around and hope I don’t now – although I’ve heard that morning sickness is worse with girls and it would be nice to have a girl this time… We were also lucky enough to get pregnant on the first try, last time. Is it possible to feel pregnant quite this soon? The first time around I didn’t feel pregnant for months, even once I was rubber-banding my trouser buttons and starting to feel flutters. I knew it, in an academic sort of way, but didn’t feel any kind of “presence”. I know that’s normal, the first time. I also know it’s normal to be more sensitive to these feelings the second time around. But, really, can one feel different in only a matter of hours?! Doesn’t conception itself frequently take a day or two? I’m desperate to discuss this with someone female who knows, but don’t want to bring it upwith any family or close friends yet for fear this is all psychosomatic. The next week or two, until I can do a home pregnancy test, is going to be slightly nervewracking. I guess we’ll keep “trying” just in case, meanwhile. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-moms-when-did-you-know-you-were-pregnant-tmi/318815.md?page=2)