Wondering if you are pregnant is one of the most crazy-making parts of infertility. I spent so much time agonizing over every little symptom, wondering if it might be for real this time. The hard part is that PMS and early pregnancy have a lot in common. For some women the signs are subtle and easy to miss, for others they are unmistakable from the beginning. Many women tell me they were sick right off, but the average seems to be close to what I experienced with nausea setting in around week 6.

Here are some typical signs of early pregnancy:

* Swollen or tender breasts. Now, this is also common for some women with PMS, but for me it was more pronounced than usual. I was noticing this from about day 7.

* Feeling full or bloated. The body starts to retain water in your abdomen pretty quickly for some women. Also, as your uterus begins to grow, you may feel a heaviness or light cramping.

* Basal body temperature stays elevated. If you are tracking your temperatures to predict ovulation, your temperature should stay elevated if you are pregnant. If you are not pregnant, your temperature will drop slightly around day 10 or so. I was using a very sensitive pregnancy test, so I was tested positive about the same time a temperature drop, or not, would have begun to clue me in.

* Fatigue. Tired, soo, very tired. I was starting to feel sleepy by about 2 weeks. Most women report that they feel extra sleepy during the first trimester. I suspect this is the body's way of making sure we don't try to climb Mount Everest while the baby is settling in and setting up housekeeping.

* Sense of smell. For many women, one of the first signs of pregnancy is that their sense of smell becomes heightened. Even with my chronic allergies, I could smell perfume, food or body odor from quite a distance. I started telling my husband to brush his teeth every 5 minutes and forbade him to eat garlic.

I highly recommend getting some cheap early pregnancy tests. They made me stay much saner during the TTC process. The day I first saw a positive test strip I was in shock. I had to take 4 tests to even begin to believe. Cheap (but effective) test strips are a life-saver! The ones from Amazon work well and are super cheap.