Odd (but common) pregnancy symptoms

Nausea, headaches, heartburn and more. If you’ve dealt with any pregnancy symptoms, you know that most of them are far from fun. Fortunately, there are a few symptoms that you may have already noticed, or that could be on the horizon, that you might actually enjoy — or at the very least they may provide a little entertainment.

Vivid dreams

Vivid dreams tend to pick up in the third trimester. For folks whose dreams steer clear of nightmare territory, this can be a particularly fun symptom. Many pregnant folks even keep a dream journal to remember them! You can add a dream journal note in Ovia by tapping the + in the top right corner on your timeline, tapping “Write a note,” and selecting “Dream journal.” Here’s hoping you enjoy nothing but sweet dreams.

Heightened sense of smell

Can you suddenly smell blooming flowers from a block away? Are you confident that you know exactly what your downstairs neighbor is cooking? You may just have acquired a brand new superpower! Fingers crossed that it stays fun for you, because a heightened sense of smell can sometimes contribute to morning sickness.

Cravings

We’ve all heard of wild food cravings during pregnancy, pickles and ice cream among them. While your own cravings may take the form of similarly exciting food combinations, for a lot of pregnant folks, cravings typically manifest as just an intense need to have a particular food right now right now right now. Sometimes when cravings come on you can happily meet that urge — a mango and yogurt smoothie as a snack, kimchi with dinner, a hot dog and mustard breakfast — and sometimes they can be tough. As with most food choices, you’ll want to try your best to not think of certain foods as “good” or “bad.” Instead, it can be meaningful to listen to and honor your feelings of hunger and fullness — and those cravings — and to eat for pleasure and satisfaction. So if you have an increased appetite for ice cream (whether with pickles or not), enjoy a bowl! It will bring you pleasure, fill you up, and your baby needs that calcium to build strong bones and muscles. (Keep in mind that if you have cravings for non-food items, like dirt or paper, you might be suffering from a nutritional deficiency called pica, and you should speak to your healthcare provider.) For more information of what’s safe to eat during pregnancy, head over to our Food safety lookup tool in the “More” menu.

Increased sex drive

An increased sex drive is one of the most common pregnancy symptoms. And unless you have a particular pregnancy complication (like an opened cervix, placenta previa, or leaking amniotic fluid — check with your provider), sex during pregnancy is totally safe, so this is one pregnancy symptom you can enjoy! You may need to get a little creative with positions as your bump grows and your body changes, so talk with your partner about what’s comfortable for you and have some fun.

Reviewed by the Ovia Health Clinical Team