I am new to this topic, pregnancy, and any input would be a blessing. I am very in tune with my body, but there are some things that are so infrequent that I am curious about.

So, I feel that I might be pregnant, which is a wonderful thing, but what are the signs that some of you with the experience have felt.

Please share stories about the beginning, middle and end. I want to hear it all. If I am, I have a lot to gain from all of you and if you have gone through it raw, even better.

I can't wait to hear what you all have to share.

Well, during both of my pregnancies, I wasn't raw, but one of the first signs that I knew I was prego...I had heartburn. I normally NEVER have heartburn. As a matter of fact, I knew I was prego with #2 even before my period was late because of the heartburn. I never got sick with either one though. I loved being pregnant and felt so wonderful and beautiful through both of them. Its such a miraculous time in your life. Savor it!!! One of the other tell-tale signs for me, was that certain smells bothered me when I was pregnant. I couldn't stand the smell of cooking meat, and I wasn't even vegetarian at the time. If you think you are, they have early detection tests now that are very accurate. I used one of those with baby #2. Keep us posted and, if you are, get your rest. The body goes into over-drive forming a little human being and it can zap you of your energy. Actually, my oldest one is 11 and my youngest is 3.....they're still zapping me of my energy!! God love 'em!!!

i've had 8 pregnancies, 5 births and 3 miscarriages, and i would say that the first sign for me in each case was intense tiredness. i mean, i would literally lay down and go out instantly into the deepest sleep for a couple of hours and wake up all groggy. with one of my pregnancies i knew i was pregnant before i even missed my moon just because of the quality of the nap i took! the other sign for me is tender breasts. during some of my pregnancies i had very specific cravings. for one all i wanted to eat was lambsquarter! i would graze in the fields and just eat tons of it! for another pregnancy all i wanted was huckleberries. i would go for walks in the forest and just feast on handfuls of them. i couldn't get enough.

i loved being pregnant and my children are the greatest! they are 21, 18, 17, 14 & 6 now. i had them all naturally, 4 at home and one in a hospital. i highly recommend giving birth at home. it's a much more pleasant experience than in a hospital.

keep us posted on your condition!

Basically what these ladies said. I felt very tired, that wouldn't go away until three months,nausea, vomitting, constipation, and breast tenderness. I have a 2-year-old and an 8 month old. I recommend going natural, also! Yeah! Keepus posted! Such a miraculous time!

Thank you everyone! I'll keep you all updated. I hope that I am, but we shall see.

Another question, were any of you raw during the pregnancy and are you children raw?

As for a home birth, absolutely. I would never want to bring a baby into this world via a dirty hospital. I have checked out some really cool sites on Unassisted Childbirth and I am definitely interested.

Did any on you have a gurgly belly ache initially? I have had this for a few days, which is so unlike me. The body is so amazing!

maybe you`d like to check out Jinjee`s experiences with raw children-she has 4 beautiful kids and she also has a lovely ebook about her experiences as well as other pregnancy book suggestions.

What a lovely time for you!

I've had 8 pregnancies - four kids, three miscarriages, and a tubal pregnancy that had to be terminated. In every case, very early on, I "swooned" - just once, but it felt like the room was spinning and gravity became much more intense. Never actually fainted, but just had that moment of intense sensation.

Also, in most pregnancies, I experienced at least one strange craving. (The best one was the night I fed my husband and myself each a big bowl of pimento stuffed olives for supper - amazingly, he ate it with as much gusto as I did!!!). That particular child is now 17 years old, and she has been totally addicted to olives her entire life!

Good luck!

Twice pregnant, (I'm pretty sure), very early miscarriage first time, now have 9-month-old beautiful baby, Both times my first clue was swollen tender breasts, which I felt as a teenager more than in my twenties. Another thing I experienced and that I've heard is certain shifts in focus and emotions and thinking and all that. Suddenly you look at your relationship differently, one woman said she suddenly had nesting urges and wanted to return home from abroad, I suddenly felt more protective of myself, whether it be uneasiness in big ocean waves or fear walking alone.

It's a very magical time, for sure.

Giving birth was by far the most empowering thing I have ever done, the most amazing experience.

Blessings to you on your journey!!

love, adrienne

ps--oh yeah, another thing I heard, as I was counseled by other mamas when deciding whether to keep the baby (I felt in a scary situation) that the reason I was afraid about being pregnant when other times I thought I was I was happy either way, was that this time I really was pregnant!! Hormones or whatever (it all exists for a reason) can make things rocky the first trimester, as your greater body and self tries to adjust and shift to make the pregnancy and your life fit.

anyway, it's awesome

If one is pregnant she will find signs everywhere. It will echo within the depths of your soul and reveal itself through nature. Certainly there are vital signs that one may observe physically. Just as the other mothers have pointed out one may have tender breasts, feel more inclined to rest, be emotional and sensitive; however, according to my studies I have learnt that another physical sign is that of the cervical position. Once a wombman is pregnant the cervix becomes swollen with blood and will move into a posterior position. I think certain features will vary according to the individual. Some may find the cervix to be low/high and firm/soft in early pregnancy. In my overstanding I also think that cervical fluid will change in texture as the mucous plug will begin to form. Be intuitively sensitive to the spiritual signs that reaveal through subltle current and vibration.

I had a dream the first time that I menstruated out a big red cabbage... !! :~D

Too funny blissmummy! I dreamt that I was pregnant with my third child and I ate a whole watermelon!

All of your responses are too cute. Isn't it funny how we relate fruit and vegetables to creation of another.

I have felt blissful. I can't stop smiling, I find humor in all and I love my husband more and more everyday. I hope that I am pregnant, but if not, life goes on and so does our love for one another. When we are ready a soul will come down to bless our lives.

Have any of you heard of calling down a soul during the 3rd month of pregnancy. I have heard that this is when we are chosen. This is true for many faiths, but I was curious if anyone else had a ceremony for this?

So much to think about and what a wonderful time in my life! Thank you mamas!

Update: I AM PREGNANT! Now comes the fun part! I know that it will all come to me and there are lots of resources to be found out there.

Any suggestions on raw vegan pregnancy are always welcomed.

Have any of you had unassisted childbirth?

8 more months to go!

Congratulations!! How exciting!!

This is the first I read of this thread and I had a feeling you were too. How loverly to get an answer right here.

YAHHHHH!!!
Sheryl

PS Check out amazon.com - there is an amazing selection of books there on unassisted and natural child birth. Lots of web sites too. One really informative one is [www.unassistedchildbirth.com]

Congratulations!

Thanks Mamas! I ordered Primal Mothering in a Modern World and I've been contemplating Jinji's ebook.

Keep the info coming.

Has anyone gone through this raw and vegan?

What a wonderful moment in life!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I had a feeling you were pregnant too. Enjoy!!!

CONDGRADULAIONS! You are in for an amazing journey!

i had 3 unassisted childbirths, with just my partner and my friends there, no doctors or midwives. they were intense but also wonderful! i've also attended over 40 unassisted home births of my friends over the past 25 years. in fact, i was priveledged to be a birth 4 nights ago. so beautiful!

after all my birth experiences there are only a couple of things i know for sure to look out for..

if the baby @#$%& while still in the water it's very possible that he/she could end up with an eye infection. my first birth was wonderful, but my baby came two weeks late and she had @#$%& in the water, which is common for late babies. a week after she was born she ended up with an eye infection and 105 degree fever which lasted for several days. i tried every home remedy my friends and i could find but nothing helped. she was sooo sick. finally i felt i had no choice but to to bring her to a doctor. she was given antibiotics (the only time she's ever had them in her life and she's now 21). sooo, if it turns out that your baby @#$%& in the water you may want to bring her to a doctor or midwife fairly soon and get something like arythramiacin put in his/her eys. it comes in a little squeeze tube and isn't painful for the baby. this way you could stop any infection before it starts and gets potentially serious and avoid a trip to the doctor and possibly having to use anitibiotics. after my first birth i always had a tube of arythramiacine on hand, just in case. never had to use it though.

the other thing is beware of hemorraging! one of my friends hemorraged. luckily those of us there with her had enough combined knowledge to know what was happening. she was rushed to the hospital. she almost died she lost soo much blood, but she ended up being ok. so i think it's extremely important to be educated as to how much is too much blood.

even counting those two very intense experiences, every birth i have attended has been absolutely magical and deeply profound!