And so the symptoms begin...

This pregnancy seems to be so different than my other one. There are so many new things I am experiencing for the first time, or at least at a lot earlier stage. A lot of these ailments I've found are common in a lot of pregnancies, and I thought I would share some of the information I've found on them.

My most painful things I've noticed with this pregnancy is pelvic joint pain (also known as symphysis pubis dysfunction) and leg pain believed to be caused by my sciotic nerve.

Pelvic joint pain- This describes my symptoms to the tee. I still have yet to talk to my doctor about it but we will our next doctor appointment. I have had a lot of trouble moving around, but I thought it was from working out too hard. On Sunday I knew something was up because after sitting down for just the hour it really hurt to walk around. I felt a lot of pressure in my groin area and my pelvis, but it was instantly relieved when I sat down and it didn't feel like a pain caused by my abdomen for the baby. It mostly felt like pressure and it's been hard to move around and walk especially after I've been sitting. Once I start walking for a while it gets more comfortable, but right at first it kills and I'm always hurting on the inside of my thighs. So after a week of this I decided maybe I should try and see if this was something normal in pregnancy. I found a lot of information on it, and I think this describes it best. Again, I still have to talk to my doctor about it - but this seems to fit.

In pregnancy the hormone relaxin is released to soften the joints in preparation for the birth of your baby, but in around one in 35 women the hormone causes the ligaments to soften and stretch too much and become painful. The job of the symphysis pubis joint, the joint that connects the pelvis bones together, is to hold the pelvis steady when we're using our legs, and if the ligaments have softened or stretched too much it won't work properly and strain is put on the other pelvic joints, causing pain. The main symptoms are pain in your pubic area, groin, the inside of your thighs and sometimes in your lower back and hips. The pain is worse when you walk or move and climbing stairs is especially painful. Getting in and out of the car or turning in bed is also painful. Opening your legs is difficult and painful.

I have all the symptoms, so they say the easiest way to see if you have this is by taking a urine sample to exclude any other causes (such as urine infection) and examining the pelvic joints to see how they work. So we'll see how that goes. There are several things you can do to treat SPD, but until I talk to my doctor I've only done a few. I've just been taking it easy and it seems to help a lot with the pain.

Sciatica During Pregnancy: Another symptom I've been having a lot of trouble with is intense hip pain while I'm sleeping. I've also had a lot of numbness in my legs and sometimes very sharp shooting pains from my knees down. It's all been very strange, but it sounds a lot like something caused by a sciotic nerve. I haven't mentioned it to our doctor either, so we'll do that at our next appointment. I remember telling my first OB about the hip pains (I had a lot of hip pain while I slept the last month I was pregnant) and asked what I could do about it and he just said "Have the baby." Lame-o. Yet another reason why I'm glad we went with another doctor. I found so much information on how to relieve the pain and why its caused. Such a lame doctor. He was no help at all.

Many women develop sciatica during pregnancy, though sciatica isn't a result necessarily of being pregnant. The sciatic nerve is a long nerve that runs from the lower back to the back of the legs and feet. Typically this nerve allows feeling in the muscles of the legs and feet. Sometimes persistent or chronic pressure to the sciatic nerve can result in weakness in the leg or surrounding areas, numbness or even tingling. Some women describe the sensation as similar to the feeling of pins and needles you get when your leg falls asleep. Some women assume that the baby presses on the sciatic nerve resulting in pain or discomfort. This is not necessarily however the case. Many times sciatic pain during pregnancy results from damage to a disc in the spine. This can cause inflammation in the tissues surrounding the never or result in direct pressure to the nerve (if for example, the disc has slipped out of place and is compressing the nerve). Women who are pregnant are more prone to disc injury, hence the relationship.

Many women will have developed sciatica at some point or another whether pregnant or not. It may be coincidence that they experience pain and discomfort during their pregnancy. Some women will feel pain or tingling in their back and leg while others will only notice discomfort in one or the other area. Some women experience pelvic pain during pregnancy which is sometimes mistaken for sciatic pain. Some theories suggest that gluteus or psoas muscles that are too tight can help contribute to sciatic pain.

They offer a variety of treatments, from therapy to chiropractic care and massage. So far we have only used massage and I've noticed it has helped. I've also used a little bit of heat, and making sure I've had good posture while I sleep with more support and my shooting hip pain has not been nearly as bad and James is finally able to get some sleep. Sleeping on our nice memory foam pad has really been the most help I think, in giving me support where I need it. It's been such a blessing.

Morning Sickness: Everyone has heard about and been warned about morning sickness. I am surprised at how many of my friends are shocked, however, to find that morning sickness isn't actually literally just being sick in the morning. I felt some nausea with my first pregnancy, but it was very easily controlled by what I ate and it was never a serious problem. This pregnancy, however, I was sick even before we tested to see if we were pregnant and I was blessed to be involved in the vomiting aspect of nausea during pregnancy.

About three quarters of pregnant women experience nausea and sometimes vomiting during their first trimester. The nausea usually starts around six weeks of pregnancy, but it can begin as early as four weeks. It tends to get worse over the next month or so. About half of the women who get it feel complete relief by about 14 weeks. For most of the rest, it takes another month or so for the queasiness to ease up, though it may return later and come and go throughout pregnancy. No one knows the real cause for morning sickness, but they believe it tends to be caused by hormones being produced in your pregnancy because the timing seems to coincide with times when hormone levels rise.

Early Heartburn: I didn't get heartburn with our first pregnancy until around week 30. This time? Week 11! I hadn't even hit the 2nd trimester yet!

During pregnancy, the placenta produces the hormone progesterone, which relaxes the smooth muscles of the uterus. This hormone also relaxes the valve that separates the esophagus from the stomach, allowing gastric acids to seep back up, which causes that unpleasant burning sensation. Progesterone also slows down the wavelike contractions of your esophagus and intestines, making digestion sluggish. Later in pregnancy, your growing baby crowds your abdominal cavity, pushing the stomach acids back up into the esophagus. There are certain things you can do to avoid having worse heartburn, such as watching the types of food you eat, eating smaller meals, and not eating close to bed time. Some other random things that have been suggested? Chewing gum right after a meal (saliva neutralizes acids), wear loose clothing, and bending at your knees instead of your waist.

Headaches: I had constant headaches from about week 8 on. I was told by my doctor to try to hold out until week 13 to take any form of medicine for it, so I mostly just suffered through them. The only problem is when I get headaches it effects the rest of my body and I normally end of throwing up and getting wiped out for a few days afterwards. Our doctor finally suggested the main reason that pregnant women get more headaches is because of dehydration, so James has worked really hard with reminding me to drink A LOT of water everyday. I'm happy to say the splitting headaches are a lot less frequent.

Headaches may occur at any time during your pregnancy, but they tend to be most common during the first and third trimesters. An increase in headaches during the first trimester is believed to be caused by the surge of hormones along with an increase in the blood volume circulating throughout your body. These headaches may be further aggravated by stress, poor posture or changes in your vision. They can also be caused by lack of sleep, low blood sugar, dehydration, caffeine withdrawal, and stress. Headaches during the third trimester tend to be related more to poor posture and tension from carrying extra weight.

So remember to practice on your posture, especially during your last trimester; Get plenty of rest and relaxation, exercise and have a well balanced meal with 9-10 glasses (at least) of water a day.

Bleeding gums: In the beginning of our pregnancy my mouth was really sensitive. I actually looked it up a few months ago and found an article stating that bleeding gums are sometimes worsened when you throw up and brush right afterwards and they suggested you rinse your mouth out with water and wait a few minutes before brushing. I tried it and haven't had a sore mouth since. Weird, huh?

Swollen, tender gums that bleed when you floss or brush are a common complaint during pregnancy. They're caused by higher progesterone levels, which make your gums react more to the bacteria in plaque, and by an increased blood supply to your mouth. This so-called pregnancy gingivitis affects about half of pregnant women.

Bloody nose: I've had quite a few bloody noses this pregnancy. I never had any with my first pregnancy.

Nosebleeds tend to occur more often during pregnancy. Pregnancy can cause the blood vessels in your nose to expand, and your increased blood supply puts more pressure on those delicate vessels, causing them to rupture more easily

There are a lot of other things your body goes through when you are pregnant. One thing that continues to amaze me is how each pregnancy is so different from one another. No two pregnancies are the same. I think that is part of the fun in sharing stories and experiences. You can connect because you have similarities and also because of the differences.

These are just the symptoms I am experiencing at the moment... Are there any other symptoms that you guys have experienced in your pregnancies that aren't mentioned? I'd love to hear about them. :)