The two-week wait is often a time of high anxiety, worry, and frustration for women trying to conceive. The two-week wait, which is the time between ovulation and your expected period, is when we’re wondering, 'Did I get pregnant this month?' 'Will this be the month when my period is late, and I’ll take the pregnancy test, getting two pink lines, instead of a lonely one?'
During treatment cycles, the two-week wait can be even more frustrating than during a non-treatment cycle. In the midst of fertility treatments, I think our fear of failure, and our hopes, are higher. There are many 'what-ifs' floating around. What if the cycle fails? Will we try again? Can we afford to try again? Do I want to try again?
Whether you’re trying to get through the two-week wait of a treatment cycle, or a regular do-it-yourself cycle, here are some survival tips. I can’t promise they’ll take away all the anxiety, but hopefully they’ll make the 14 days a tad more bearable.
Two-Week Wait Survival Tip #1 – Stop Obsessing Over “Pregnancy Symptoms”
OK, perhaps it’s too much to ask you to flat-out stop obsessing. But at the very least, take whatever pregnancy “symptom” you think you’re having along with a grain of salt.
Many of the so-called early signs of pregnancy are caused by the hormones that are naturally present every two-week wait. This is why those months when you were sure you were pregnant, because you felt pregnant, didn’t result in a positive pregnancy test.
Feeling pregnant does not always mean that you are, and keeping in mind that the “signs” don’t mean anything can help lower your anxiety.
- Feeling Pregnant? How to Cope
- Can You Detect Early Pregnancy With Your BBT Chart?
- Early Pregnancy Signs (Remember: Read with a grain of salt.)
Two-Week Wait Survival Tip #2 – Keep Busy
Ever notice how time seems to slow down when you’re either really nervous about something, or anxiously awaiting a deadline? Kind of like how the night before an exciting holiday has the same number of hours as every other day, but they tick by so much slower.
The two-week wait can be like this. One way to help the time go by faster, or at least in normal speed, is by keeping busy. Keeping busy may mean working more, but it can also mean planning meaningful, distracting fun.
For example, perhaps the two-week wait would be a great time to:
- Schedule a date with your partner, or with some friends.
- Rent or go see a movie.
- Plan a day for those errands you keep not getting around to doing.
- Learn a new hobby you’ve been meaning to pursue.
- Clean out a closet or two. (Imagine how neat the house could be if every two-week wait, we passed the time cleaning! I'm not sharing this tip with my husband...)
It doesn’t really matter how you fill the time, as long as you fill it with something.
Two-Week Wait Survival Tip #3 – Schedule Obsessing Time
This sounds odd, but it actually works. Even if you’re not consciously analyzing each sniffle as a potential pregnancy sign, it may be lurking in the back of your brain. We pretend we’re not obsessing during the two-week wait, but we’re working slower, we’re spacey, and we’re generally more anxious.
One way to deal with this is to schedule 15 minutes, once or twice a day, to obsess about the two-week wait, in whatever way you'd like.
That might mean scouring your BBT chart for signs, or getting out your calendar and counting (for the tenth time) how many more days until you can take a pregnancy test. It might mean visiting online infertility forums, such as the Infertility Form right here on About.com, to vent about your two-week wait frustrations. Or, it might mean sharing your thoughts about fertility topics by commenting on an infertility blog. My About.com Fertility Blog is a great place to start.
Whatever you do, though, schedule the time. You make a promise to yourself that you’re only going to be 'two-week-wait crazy' between 8:30 and 8:45 a.m., and 7:30 and 7:45 p.m., for example.
It sounds like it wouldn’t work, but actually it can.
Two-Week Wait Survival Tip #4 – Get Support from People who Understand
Having someone to talk to during your scheduled obsessing time, or any time for that matter, can help you cope with the two-week wait. It can also help you cope with other aspects of infertility. Infertility is very difficult emotionally, and you don’t have to do it alone.
A few ways you can find support include:
- Connecting with others online, like in our Infertility Forum
- Joining a live infertility support group
- Finding a therapist who specializes in infertility
I personally have not tried out a live infertility support group, but I’ve heard many good things from women who have. I have found great support online, and I think my online fertility-challenged friends have made the entire process of trying to get pregnant so much easier for me. (Emotionally, anyway.)
I’ve also found therapy to be a great way to cope with infertility, including the two-week wait.
Two-Week Wait Survival Tip #5 – Use Relaxation Techniques to Feel Calmer
Relaxation techniques can be of great help during this time. There are many ways to deal with anxiety, from breathing exercises to meditation.
Guided imagery has been shown in research studies to help lower stress and anxiety levels, and I highly recommend the audio program Help with Fertility. There is an excellent book on yoga and fertility, Fully Fertile, which talks about using yoga for relaxation. Acupuncture is another option for stress relief, and may even improve your fertility.
Click to continue to page two, for more two-week wait coping tips.
