50+ Women Share Their Pregnancy Symptoms- What They Didn't Tell You About Pregnancy

Pregnancy is such a miraculous thing to go through. Not only are you going to be carrying a baby in your womb for idealy 40 weeks, your body is going to do some pretty weird things to adjust to baby. Weird things that you knew you'd signed up for when you got pregnant and decided to continue with it and some weird things that took you by surprise.

Pregnancy is Different for Everyone!

I've been pregnant three times and each pregnancy was different.

For every one of them, I had morning sickness, but it was only the first one where I craved jalapeno poppers and chocolate milk everyday.

It wasn't until my second pregnancy when my right hip and leg would go numb after standing for a few moments and the same thing happened with my third.

During each pregnancy, my hair grew thicker, curlier, and everywhere. My feet actually grew in size and I also developed astigmatism.

Thankfully, after delivering my babies, my hair went back to normal.

After writing the "What They Didn't Tell You About Pregnancy" series, I thought that I'd write a segment where other women would contribute the weird things that happened during their pregnancies. Some are beautiful and others are weird.

I'll let you be the one who decides which is which.

Lost Appetites

Maria- I lost my appetite for the first two trimesters. Caused me to nearly black out twice.

Bailey- I actually ended up losing 15lbs in my first trimester and then I fainted which caused my head to crack open. You can definitely say I had a rough pregnancy.

Rebecca- livingwithpeas.com My partner was banned from eating nachos because the smell of it made me vomit, it still makes me feel nauseated two years later! livingwithpeas.com

Nausea

Laura- I had nausea and fatigue the first trimester.

Blake- Blakewithoutcoffee.com I had HG (Hyperemesis gravidarum) and lost 30lbs my first trimester, needing IVs and medication that only sometimes helped. I actually needed to get a new job too because I couldn’t physically do the one I had. I also had a really weird rash on my face too, but it wasn’t pupps! Blakewithoutcoffee.com

Kate- katemartin.co I found out I was pregnant because I thought I had the stomach flu. I stayed severely nauseated until I was eighteen weeks and started taking Prilosec. At one point, I was throwing up between 7:30-8:30 every night like clockwork! I also learned the importance of being careful what foods you eat when you’re seriously nauseated all the time. After that cleared up, I swelled so badly I had to wear my husband’s shoes to work. Definitely got a result that was worth it though! katemartin.co

Amy- Paleobythepenny.com  I had nausea and came up with a smoothie loaded with veggies that would actually help me. Kinda cool! Pregnancy is so hard. Thankfully my nausea has only lasted the first trimester or so. Usually this would be my only meal besides snacking on an apple or something like that. So I really tried to incorporate lots of veggies so I got some kind of nutrition in the day. I think the most helpful part though was the protein powder I used. I used Vital Proteins Collagen. Collagen is good for the belly and digestion. I have the smoothie recipe in a blog post if you don’t mind me sharing from there: paleobythepenny.com/greensmoothie

Alena- www.happyandthankfulmom.com Every pregnancy has different symptoms. With my second child, I was having vertigo and morning sickness, while pregnancy symptoms with my third child was fatigue, nausea and poor appetite.  www.happyandthankfulmom.com

Tamara-  I had horrible nausea all through all three pregnancies (3 girls). I had to be on medication. I was beyond sensitive to smells. I worked at a restaurant during all three. Let me tell you how fun it is to serve clients food that is making you dry heave while you are carrying it and when you walk up to them someone at the table is wearing enough perfume to supply a small nation. I live in Fl so the older population loses their sense of smell and tend to load it on for a night out. I am sweaty and nauseous just typing this and remembering. THREE pregnancies like this. 😂😂😂

Weird Sense of Smell

Lisa- Upforbeauty.com I had a heightened sense of smell in the beginning which made me realise I was pregnant again.😱And then my 3rd pregnancy was like I’d had a gastric band fitted! I was never hungry and couldn’t each much! I also developed a low platelet count with each of my 3 pregnancies, but then went away after each baby was born!! Weird things happen from being pregnant! Upforbeauty.com

Sarah- How I knew I was pregnant with my 2nd...my husband smelled like rotten onions to me! For weeks! 🤣

Akela- My sense of smell was crazy strong, started smelling bananas from the other side of the house 🙃

Ashley- Irishtwinsmomma.com My 1st pregnancy I was so tired and its like my body hated the smell of chicken, coffee, perfume, cologne, and alcohol. My husband was stuck not having a beer at all during the pregnancy because I could smell it coming out his pores and would get so nauseated. My second pregnancy I was so tired and nauseated that for 4 months I hated ginger snaps, tums, and ginger ale. I am serious! I hate it breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Irishtwinsmomma.com

Breast Pain/Sensitivity/Veins

Mom- My boobs hurt with you. That's kind of how I knew I was pregnant.

McKenna- In the beginning I figured out I was pregnant because my boobs were all the sudden veiny. Like bright blue veins.

Scary Symptoms

I wanted to put scary symptoms in here, because I believe that it's better to be prepared than freaking out and wondering what something means. Many of these wonderful ladies even talked about how they found out and what happened to them after finding out.

Remember to educate yourself and don't self diagnose yourself if you think that something is wrong. Call your doctor and ask them what they think.

Holley- scholarlymomma.com But I got readmitted for a pulmonary embolism just one week after giving birth to my daughter. Pregnancy increases your risk of these. I had chest pains and shortness of breath. Common symptoms of high blood pressure, which I also had, but the doctor on call was extra cautious. Saved my life. My blog is scholarlymomma.com

Laura O- I had my first, last, and only panic attack when I was about 8mos pregnant.

Laura D- I was winded with my last pregnancy...watch out for swelling in the body, especially legs and extreme winded-ness, these can be danger signs of preeclampsia!

McKenna- warriorlifeplanner.com My gums bled A LOT. It looked like I pulled out teeth every time I brushed them. I also had Tinnitus in my ears. Very odd. warriorlifeplanner.com

LeighAnn- crayonsandstickyhands.com I had really itchy palms and feet and I would have never thought to really bring that up to my doctor or that itching could be anything super serious. It could be Cholestasis.

They ran the bloodwork on me but I went into labor before the results came back so we ended up not having to worry about it. They actually never even told me the results. 🤷🏽‍♀️ I had her at 35 weeks. It seems so silly but it can be SO serious. I was trying to explain to my boss why I needed to leave work because the dr wanted me to come in immediately because I was “itchy”. crayonsandstickyhands.com

Gina-  I had itchy palms and feet and am so glad I said something to my doctor as it can be a very risky condition. Thankfully I was induced and my daughter delivered healthy at 37 weeks. So don't ignore weird symptoms! It felt like ants were crawling all over me, but I was sure it was allergies or dry skin. When my blood tests came back showing cholestasis and I read up about it, it was terrifying! I had twice weekly NSTs and weekly ultrasounds until I was induced.

Alena- happyandthankfulmom.com My pregnancy symptom with my first child was quite scary. I was spotting on and off. I went to see my OB/GYN thinking I’m having a weird monthly period. And that’s when I found out I was pregnant.  happyandthankfulmom.com

Jade- realbadmommy.com I had a lesser know one called cholestasis. It’s where the liver stops breaking down bile salts and you get really itchy hands and feet. When I called the midwives they told me I had to get in to hospital immediately because of the risk of stillbirth. I had twice weekly monitoring for the remainder of my pregnancy and had to be induced. Was very scary and painful! My website is realbadmommy.com 

Cori-  thismaagnificentlife.com During both of my pregnancies I developed Sinus Tachycardia (rapid heart beating for no reason) During my second pregnancy, I had extreme indigestion, which turned out to be gall stones. The pregnancy exacerbated the situation until my son moved down in the 3rd trimester. It was extremely painful. I had to wait until I was 6 weeks postpartum before I could have it removed. I also lost about 15 pounds the first trimester of each pregnancy. Instead of being sick, I simply couldn’t eat more than a few bites at a time. thismaagnificentlife.com

Sunya-  With my 1st pregnancy I had pre-diabetes and severe acid reflux so for 1st trimester I had to eat a salad with peaches everyday for lunch and take 1/2 prenatal pill at lunch and 1/2 at evening snack time. It's wierd but it worked. I was able to work and not throw up. I also took a daily nap after but what the hey I was able to work. 😁

Cravings

Kelsey- I thought pregnancy was a piece of cake so I ate all the cake, hence the weight gain.

• Christy- thisisreallifemama.com When I was pregnant with my daughter, one of my first symptoms (and something I'd never heard of before) was extreme thirst! I was parched! I ended up looking it up and apparently it's a thing! (Now I'm still thirsty because of her, but a wine will quench it. 😉 www.thisisreallifemama.com

Rebecca- livingwithpeas.com I had such a craving for humbug mints and the stereotypical vinegar/pickle juice and ate them the whole time 😂 livingwithpeas.com

Sonia- justonemommysview.com I know a friend of mine had cravings for washing sponges 😝 she literally chewed on them all the time (new ones of course) 🤪justonemommysview.com

Bonny- I knew with my first when I started to crave, of all things, double zout (salted Dutch licorice).

Lisa-  Upforbeauty.com I developed a sweet tooth with my first! I don’t normally like puddings, but when I was pregnant and went to a restaurant I would go straight to the desert menu before looking at dinners and loved cream cakes!Upforbeauty.com

Rometta- I had weird craving when I was pregnant with 3 out of 4 children 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️

Kristena- zerototwentyone.com The nausea was a big issue with me and cravings for Cheez-its, slim jims, and candy. LOL! zerototwentyone.com

Kim- organizedhomeschool.com I also craved pineapples in my 4th pregnancy and ate so many that I had ulcers from it. Not smart on my part, but I couldn't stop at just one! organizedhomeschool.com

Strange Body Symptoms

Jennifer- oneboldmama.com I had hiccups like crazy! It would happen a couple times a day almost everyday and they would last about 20 minutes. It was exhausting towards the end of my pregnancy. oneboldmama.com

Shonna- My first pregnancy I had migraines. The doc said it was my morning sickness.

McKenna- I had some odd symptoms like itchy feet and hands. They would itch so bad!

Brooke- I had terrible numbness in my arms when I slept from my elbows to my hands. It didn't matter which way I slept my arms would always go completely numb. It was apparently pregnancy induced carpal tunnel and I had to start sleeping with these wrist braces on and that relieved it for the most part.

Erin- klockefarmwife.com I would get a rash if certain body parts got too warm. So in the shower, while sleeping, exercising. None of my baby books talked about it but it stopped shortly after giving birth! ! klockefarmwife.com

AmyLee- Notsomodernmommy.com I have weird pain in my leg and Pica.... It's real and it's weird. Notsomodernmommy.com

Amanda- thedeterminedmom.com I had a really watery like runny nose and was dizzy every time! Just when I was in the super early stages before I took the test. thedeterminedmom.com

Meg- mommingadventures.com My weirdest symptom before a positive test was sneezing like 20 times a day. Had it with my first and second pregnancy. mommingadventures.com

Julie- I had tingling/numbness in my hands/fingers and supposedly insulin dependent gestational diabetes, although I still am not convinced.

Kate- katemartin.co I swelled so badly I had to wear my husband’s shoes to work. katemartin.co

Bonny- My mom (who passed many years ago), told me she found out she was pregnant when she went to the eye doctor. She thought she needed glasses.

"Nope, no glasses needed. You're pregnant". 

Madiken- helselworks.com I’m pregnant with my first. I sneeze violently 2-3 times in a row multiple times/ day and it seems to coincide with me needing to eat right away! So odd... helselworks.com

Emily- alongcamelittles.com I knew I was pregnant the second time around because my cat only likes me when I’m pregnant 😂 does that count? alongcamelittles.com

Lisa- Upforbeauty.com My eyesight went funny and I could no longer read signs in the dark when I was driving! Vision back to normal after baby born! Upforbeauty.com

Neha-  thebeautifulmama.com First thing that I failed to notice and realized later was, I was in a movie and one hour in, I felt like my pants are bugging me and kept thinking, maybe too tight. When will I go back home and get into some PJs. 

Later one day, I had a relaxed morning, no chores kinda morning, and I had bad cramps on my leg. That rang an alarm. Cramps never happen to me unless I am too exhausted or have walked miles. www.thebeautifulmama.com

Jalina- thissideofif.com My pregnancy symptoms are weird right from the beginning because I usually start getting them right at 5dpo, days before a HPT would give a positive result! Early symptoms: strong round ligament pain, increased need for glasses (trouble focusing my eyes), fatigue, excessive thirst, and really high body temperature (like consistently 99.5-100 degrees). Unusual symptoms: left knee pain, acne breakout on my cheeks rather than my hairline/jawline as usual, and an itchy rash on my right wrist that I only get when pregnant. Also unusual: NO nausea with any of my 8 pregnancies, and with my last two pregnancies (miscarried), my 2.5-year-old would kiss my belly but never did before I was pregnant or after I miscarried. (He starting this behavior before I received a +HPT with either of them.) thissideofif.com

Robyn- I knew I was pregnant when early on because I was so hot 🔥 like i was stood in -15c in a tshirt whining I was too warm. Being that warm made me feel sick.

Tara-  Besides the usual nausea, fatigue, and swollen and sore chest, and heartburn, I had restless leg syndrome. It got so bad I brought it up with my OB doctor and she said it was due to low iron. The gummy prenatal I was taking didn’t contain iron, so I supplemented with an iron supplement and the RLS went away. (Good to know!)

Gessell- thrivingmamablog.com I got a patch of malesa (sp?) brown skin discoloration on my hand within days of conceiving. Wigged me out cause I didn't know I was pregnant. www.thrivingmamablog.com


Lydia- I swear I’ve had it all this pregnancy. My weirdest was metal mouth - a Metallic taste in my mouth, particularly after eating. I also ended up with bacterial vaginitis and then yeast (a side effect of the antibiotics for the bacterial infection). Pregnancy just messes all kinds of things up.

Ami- My hair went darker during my pregnancies and stayed that way.

Hayley- www.lifeasabutterfly.com My heart rate on my Fitbit increased...it’s an exact science don’t you know! 😉  www.lifeasabutterfly.com

Amanda-  I got hair under my chin/neck area! 🤷🏻‍♀️. Really annoying and gross! 😂 it wasn’t obvious or thick or anything like that. But It was just weird. Lol I also had my first yeast infection.

Kaylee- mamaandmore.com I’ve always had ear problems (it has to do with my cleft lip), but while I was pregnant my ear would CONSTANTLY pop in and out. Like when you’re recovering from a cold and your ear pops and makes you hear better or worse? IT WAS AWFUL. I finally went to an ENT when my son was a few weeks old and he told me it was just hormones. 🤷🏻‍♀️ mamaandmore.com

June- theexperiencedmama.com My tell-tale pregnancy sign is dizziness. I never feel dizzy except when I first become pregnant. It's enough that I need to lie down for a while. It only lasts a day or two. After that, headaches and a serious coffee aversion are my other typical signs. I've had six pregnancies, and it's been the same with every single one! theexperiencedmama.com

Jesse-  Bloating up like a balloon! 😂

Patricia- I had back to back UTIs for 20 weeks with my first pregnancy. It was very odd. My OB/GYN said she had never seen that before 😕

Vanessa- I’d like to suggest a topic that I’ve never seen written about. The growth spurts. I always thought I would grow large slowly. I was shocked at how i would stay the same size for a week and then the baby would have a growth spurt and I would grow overnight and feel so tight and stretching! That was a surprise.

Michelle-  modernfamilymusings.com With my first I had no idea I was pregnant until I was 20 weeks, had bleeding gums, nose bleeds and 6 cavities after (my teeth were ruined and later found out I was vitamin D & calcium deficient after the pregnancy!) and body acne. Second pregnancy I had a lot of hair loss and developed alopecia areata postpartum and shingles from the stress of the pregnancy on my body. Third pregnancy is shockingly going smooth so far haha. modernfamilymusings.com 🤪

Naa- motheringmadeeasy.com I was pregnant but I didn't know I was. When my skin started to breakout, I panicked a bit. I was worried- what did I eat or do to trigger a breakout? It took a couple of days before it finally dawned on me! I could be pregnant and I was.
Pregnancy could cause an increase in androgen hormones. This causes breakouts in pregnancy.
Some women may have skin issues induced by pregnancy. The issues may last just for the first trimester or throughout the pregnancy.
motheringmadeeasy.com

McKayla- motivationformom.com One pregnancy symptom I had that I wasn’t expecting to be as bad as it was, was the mood swings. Everyone says they have mood-swings, but MAN! I was crying over everything. My husband ran over a squirrel, and I was hysterical. Like hyperventilating, crying, totally sad. And this was all the time. The WHOLE pregnancy. I loved being pregnant, but you wouldn’t know because I was always crying! https://www.motivationformom.com/8-things-need-find-pregnant/

Bridget- letslivemini.com  I had crazy muscle cramps in my legs especially at night. It happened with my first and second pregnancies. With my second pregnancy, I had gingivitis. My OBGYN said it's a pregnancy symptom but it went away after some time. letslivemini.com

Exhaustion

Pooja- www.colossalumbrella.com I had a wonderful pregnancy and I enjoyed working out as well. The only problem I had was too much sleep. I use to sleep for long hours and used to snore which was quite strange and a problem for my husband. Writer of www.colossalumbrella.com

Darya- amomfromaforeignland.com We are trying for a baby and i think i might be pregnant. I hope. I have strange very vivid dreams and laugh and cry at the same time. I've had these with my other pregnancy, i hope its a sign for that too. I have restless nights because of it. amomfromaforeignland.com

Hip Pain/ Sciatica 

Stephanie- I had mostly normal pregnancies, but I remember having terrible hip pain with Jocelyn. She sat so low on my pelvis.

McKenna- warriorlifeplanner.com I had bad sciatic pain. To the point where I couldn’t walk, sit or lay down. I started going to the chiropractor and that helped A LOT. warriorlifeplanner.com

MaKenna-  MamaKenna.com I had BAD sciatica pain. It would get so bad I could barely walk or do anything! I also had restless leg syndrome really bad. I would get it every single night! And I never even had it until I got pregnant! MamaKenna.com

Rebecca- livingwithpeas.com I had really bad SPD (Symphysis Pubis dysfunction) with my twins. My pelvis would click in and out of place and even turning over in bed was AGONY 😫 livingwithpeas.com

Laura- I had back/rib/hip ache in later trimesters

Julie- I had Sciatica in my back.

Blake- Blakewithoutcoffee.comI had symphysis pubis dysfunction during my third trimester, I could barely walk. Blakewithoutcoffee.com

Amy- I have had awful sciatica for my previous pregnancy and current.

Tamara-  After working 8 - 10 hours shifts standing up when I would get home and slow down the sciatica made it so I had to hold on to things to walk around the house because the pain was so bad. Yeah, good times man, good times.... All three girls were huge and healthy though. It worked out ok.

Heartburn

Shelly- I had horrible heartburn with all 3 pregnancies. It felt like my throat was on fire ALL of the time.

AmyLee- Notsomodernmommy.com I’m pregnant right now with #5 and my heartburn is like radio active. Notsomodernmommy.com

Julie- I had heartburn, tingling/numbness in my hands/fingers and supposed insulin dependent gestational diabetes, although I still am not convinced.

Tamara- I had reflux at night so bad that I would wake up and have to head for the toilet, pure acid fire.

Kim- organizedhomeschool.com I had chronic heartburn the last 3 months of all 4 of my pregnancies and had to sleep upright in my bed or a chair! It wasn't fun at all! organizedhomeschool.com

Advice

Courtney- My mother in law told me several times throughout all 3 of my pregnancies to use a wash cloth to “rough up” my nipples since nursing hurts so badly in the beginning. I did not take this advice and I’m glad I didn’t!

Shubhi- I was told to eat dry coconut with sugar crystals to have a white skin tone baby.

Amber W- Rub Digest Zen and peppermint clockwise on sternum for heartburn.

Amber K- Orange juice stopped me from passing out lol

Maria- headoverheelshealth.org Don't try anything new (food) while pregnant. If it bothers you for any reason, you probably won't eat it again. www.headoverheelshealth.org

Conclusion

Pregnancy and motherhood can definitely be a weird and also rewarding experience.

For me, my first trimester was always awful because of the morning sickness. I was glad to learn that there was a medication that I could take for my last pregnancy which made the nausea not as bad so I wasn't throwing up all of the time at work. 

After that, pregnancy was a breeze for me. It was true that I had astigmatism and that my leg would go numb, but I felt healthy and happy. 

Some women feel great the whole pregnancy and for others, it can be quite trying, but in the end, we all get a baby as the prize, which can be very rewarding!

Did you experience any of these symptoms? Was there one that you experienced that wasn't mentioned?

What symptoms or advice were you given when you were pregnant?