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Very early signs of pregnancy - are there 10 pregnancy signs? Yes, there are signs that indicate very early that you are pregnant. Some women will experience one or two of them, others will have several of the very early signs of pregnancy. Once you have conceived, it will take about a week for the fertilized egg to implant in the uterus. As implantation happens, it’s now possible to experience one or more of the 10 pregnancy signs and begin to know you are pregnant. Around this time, hormone levels begin to change, and the body reacts to these new hormone levels.

Here are 10 pregnancy signs:

1. Light Spotting - if you have conceived, spotting can happen when implantation occurs before your menstrual period should begin. Pregnancy bleeding from implantation is pinkish or brownish and not heavy. A normal menstrual flow should begin light, become heavy, then taper off again before ending.

2. More Frequent Urination - urinating more often is one of the very early signs of pregnancy. Many women experience more frequent urination even before a missed period, usually from about 7-12 days after the temperature rise at ovulation. The changes in hormone levels produced by implantation of the embryo, especially the hormone “human chorionic gonadotropin” (hCG), cause more frequent urination.

3. Elevated Body Temperature - it’s normal to have an increase in body temperature at ovulation. Your basal body temperature staying elevated after ovulation is completed and remaining elevated through when your period should begin can be one of the very early signs of pregnancy.

4. Missing a Menstrual Period - a missed period is one of the obvious 10 pregnancy signs. However, you can miss a period for other reasons including illness, stress, hormone imbalance and reactions to foods or medications. If your menstrual cycle normally occurs very regularly, missing a period can be a sign.

5. Fatigue - lack of energy as one of the very early signs of pregnancy may be hard to distinguish from other kinds of exhaustion. Feeling tired is related to the change in hormones in the body, which usually disappears as the body adjusts to the new hormone levels.

6. Cramping - the uterus can contract often and regularly. Moving around, exercise and orgasm all can trigger uterine cramping in early pregnancy.

7. Nausea - morning sickness is the name given to feeling nauseated when pregnant. Of the 10 pregnancy signs, only about half of pregnant women experience nausea, and feeling nauseated can happen any time of the day or night.

8. Tender Nipples and Breasts - one of the very early signs of pregnancy is a feeling of tenderness in the breasts and nipples. The good news is that these feelings of tenderness go away as the body becomes accustomed to the new hormone levels.

9. Darker Areolas - the area around the nipples becomes darker as early as one week after conception. The bumps on the areolas may look more prominent.

10. Constipation - you may notice a change in your bowels in early pregnancy. The intestines may relax and function less due to changing hormones and be one of the 10 pregnancy signs.

Once the very early signs of pregnancy are experienced, confirm pregnancy by using one of the better home pregnancy tests. There are major differences in the reliability of the home tests for pregnancy. A blood pregnancy test can be accurate as early as 8 to 10 days after conception, and a urine pregnancy test can be accurate as early as 10 to 14 days following conception. Pregnancy tests are not 100% accurate. If you feel you are pregnant but your pregnancy test result is negative, do the test again in a week or so and see your physician.

Remember to take good care of your body even before you become pregnant. Give up smoking and alcohol, eat healthy and begin exercising. Those first few weeks and your health are vitally important to help support healthy development of your new baby. Becoming pregnant and enjoying a successful pregnancy is a complex but wonderful experience. Besides knowing the 10 pregnancy signs, learn as much as you can about fertility, pregnancy and your health so your new baby will have the very best beginning to life that is possible.

Copyright 2005 InfoSearch Publishing

Read more on the very early pregnancy test that is the most accurate and where to find it. Olinda Rola is President of InfoSearch Publishing and webmaster of http://www.safemenopausesolutions.com - visit and learn more about ovulation and fertility, prenatal vitamins, pregnancy and caring for yourself.

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Many parents today worry about being strict and enforcing discipline with their children out of fear of losing them as friends. However, if you really look at the parent/child relationship it’s actually quite different from that of a friend. With none of my friends did I ever share the deep and intimate connection that I share with my kids. If I were ever asked if I wanted to be my child’s friend instead, I would quickly say “No way!” I consider that as quite a step down from the connection we presently have as parent and child.

Many adults have personally experienced growing up and growing away from a constant power struggle with their own parents. No matter what you did as a child it was never quite good enough, never right. As a result, it is not always a pleasure to hang out with your own parents. With this in mind, now that we are parents, we want to do things differently — we want to maintain a life-long friendship and rewarding connection with our kids. But exactly how do we do that?

First, let’s consider a more interesting way of asking that familiar ‘parent or friend’ question. Ask instead, “How can you keep the deep connection with your child while going through the childhood years and at the same time hold your child accountable to the rules?” I have discovered, through many years of research and experience, that by building awareness and curiosity while focusing on discipline without punishment, that parents now have the opportunity to break the old parenting patterns and build the type of parent/child relationship we really want.

As an example, let’s look at something that often gets in-between the strong connection we all had with our parents when we were small children… power-struggles! Two emotionally engaged parties colliding — both parties judging each other and making each other wrong. Out of that struggle, dishonesty, manipulation, and distrust arises and deepens. This eventually makes it very uncomfortable to be around the people you once loved and respected more than anyone.

The easiest way I have found to avoid power struggles is to quit thinking of yourself as your child’s ‘boss’ and establish yourself as their ‘coach’ instead. Just this change in attitude alone can make a HUGE difference! Think of it like a sports team or a board game. All the players on the team (your children) know the rules and the consequences for breaking each rule. In a game the consequence may be losing a turn or paying a fine. On your family team the consequence may be a time-out and a cleaning assignment. But in either case, breaking a rule is not a power-struggle anymore. No one is bad or wrong and the emotional charge is removed from the situation.

When you are the coach of the family team, you are in charge and you decide what you need in order to have fun. You make the rules and you hold your child accountable to your rules. The kids can even create their own consequences (subject to your approval of course). This greatly lessens the chance of having a consequence turn into a power struggle or punishment since it was clearly understood and agreed upon in advance.

You do not have to be perfect. In fact, it is much better if you are not perfect (or pretend to be perfect!) as long as mistakes are looked at openly and honestly — for both parents and children alike — without judgment and criticism. Your child’s trust will deepen when they can reliably count on such honesty and accountability all around.

My own experience so far is very positive. In the 16 years that I have worked with parents in this method I can see with them and with my own family, that the respect and connection between the parents and children has not just remained intact, it has deepened as their children have grown older. Even the notoriously difficult teenage years become much much easier. When the connection is one of honesty and respect without judgment, teenagers will continue to rely on their parents for guidance.

Bottom line, by using MacKenzie Responsive Parenting, it’s not only a lot more fun for you to be a parent to your child than to be a friend, it’s a lot more valuable as well. Your kids will have many friends who may come and go throughout their life, but they will only have one chance to have a deep parental bond and from that learn how to become effective parents themselves.

(C) Copyright 2005, Nue Nue Education

You are welcome to post/distribute/publish this article provided that the article is published in it’s entirety with no changes and full contact information is provided.

Nicole Mackenzie’s simple, yet proven Responsive Parenting Method shows parents how to raise more responsible and happier kids using non-judgmental awareness, curiosity and discipline without punishment - plus have fun in the process! Nicole is an author and mother of 6 children. She has been a facilitator, speaker, coach and trainer for 16 years. For a free parenting eClass, email: eclass9step@morefunlessworkparenting.com or visit http://rulenumberone.com.

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