The Two-Week-Wait….

Stay busy, confident and in a positive mindset

“The Two Week Wait” (aka TWW) is a term/phrase that is readily known in the infertility/ttc community. This is the 14 days post ovulation/transfer that will either result in a positive pregnancy test or negative. It’s full of angst, nerves, excitement and PLENTY of symptoms. These symptoms could be a result of the excessive hormones/triggers you use to induce ovulation OR it could be symptoms of pregnancy OR just your cycle on its way. This is the reason why the TWW is usually the most frustrating and nerve racking part of the process. There is NOTHING you can do to alter the results, there is NO preparations you need to take, No check ups every few days… simply hang out for 2 weeks, seems easy but it’s far from it.

Last time I wrote I was just 1 nights sleep and a few hours from my first IUI cycle – so before I go on and on about my TWW let me quickly review my day of IUI. We were without child care for our son so we decided because of the time between my husbands portion and mine that we’d watch a movie in the car (LOVE the minivan) and that instead of sitting in a waiting room we’d stay in the car with Aiden or find a park or something to play at. On the way to the appointment I decided I’d try acupuncture (as suggested by my doctor) before the IUI – which turned into both before and after 🙂 So after Andy did his part we didn’t have too much time to waste, so we just hung out in the car. I eventually headed into the healing arts center (attached to the fertility center) and got checked in.

We had decided on acupuncture before and after which meant they’d do the IUI in the healing arts room, rather than having me go back and forth. They also offered me a valium to help relax – which I accepted. They gave me slippers to put on and brought me upstairs to a nice waiting room and porch to wait. A short time later they brought me back and did the first round of acupuncture. This round was meant to help relax my cervix and prepare my body to accept the IUI. I’ve never done acupuncture previously but definitely could feel a difference. After about 30 minutes or so they came and removed the needles and the nurses came in and performed the IUI – was LESS then I expected… super quick and easy no pain and no problems. The IUI was followed by a second round of acupuncture meant to prevent any cramping or contracting. I wouldn’t know any difference but I didn’t feel any different. A short time later a nurse came to review my progesterone in oil intramuscular injections that I started 3 days post IUI  and set up my 7 and 14 day follow ups for blood work.  That was it… pretty simple not problems and very relaxing.

I went home and laid down for about an hour, the nurses had said to relax but that I could resume normal day activity. After my rest we began a LONG day of picking up and moving a used playground for Aiden. I’m sure the nurses didn’t mean move a playground as part of their “everyday activity”, however we had the assistance and I didn’t do too much. I did opt out of the U-Haul return trip and really just laid down the entire evening.

The 17 foot U-Haul with the playground hanging out the back.

Back to my TWW….

I made the decision to wait to take a pregnancy test instead of either (1) testing out my trigger and doing daily testing to see it from negative to positive or negative to negative OR (2) testing a few days prior to going in for my 14 day blood work. I made this decision and (thankfully but not surprisingly) my husband supported me – for me I’ve always found out I was expecting by a home pregnancy kit, since my losses  I then jumped into panic mode and wanted to know my HCG-beta and progesterone counts immediately. These test numbers confirm and help track the progress of an early pregnancy – they give good look at if the pregnancy will develop or if it would be a “chemical” pregnancy or miscarriage early. For instance – these tests confirmed that we had a blighted ovum the last time around.  So for me a HPT wouldn’t give me any sense of calm – it instead would give me anxiety.

I look at this process as a journey with multiple hurdles or obstacles along the way. The first being getting pregnant – for many women with infertility this is the BIGGEST hurdle, the one that seems insurmountable and looming. Once they past this mile marker and the pregnancy continues on they are able to relax a bit. However, for me the IUI and the TWW is part 1 of my hurdle. I don’t necessarily have a glaring infertility problem, I can get pregnant, it’s staying pregnant that has proved to be my biggest obstacle. The decision not to test is my conscious decision to TRUST in this process and to have CONFIDENCED in my journey and staying as positive as possible. If I tested at home and it was negative it still means I’d have to wait for day 14 blood work and then start the process, if I tested at home and it was positive I’d still have to wait for day 14 testing and I’d be extremely anxious for my beta testing. Regardless it wouldn’t be a positive experience and for me that’s what I want and I know that I just need to trust in this – I am strong enough to accept what lies before me and know that identifying this sooner doesn’t change the outcome. To really make sure this happened and I held true to this I stayed busy.

The first week was pretty simple – my in-laws came to visit and we stayed pretty busy with the new playground and a few activities the days flew by. The day 7 blood work gave us indication that my progesterone was over 40 (very good numbers) thanks to my injections. They also checked my estrogen levels which they said were in the normal range even though they dropped a bit (175 2 days prior to IUI to 133 7 days post IUI). We left right from the physician’s office to meet my brother in Massachusetts where he’d then bring Aiden and I to Rhode Island for my nieces christening. Andy met us in Rhode Island late Sunday night  and we spent until Tuesday evening there with family.

Aiden and I after the christening 🙂

The time visiting family was the best overall way to keep me busy – although I thought about my numbers and the possible results I didn’t feel a great deal of anxiety until I got home and had sometime to think about it… so I jumped back to keeping busy. We did some errands out of town and focused on our daily routine rather than the looming tests Friday.

Best possible advice for anyone approaching their TWW and what “worked” for me:

• Remember your “why” – this was your foundation as to what you are going through this process and coming back to this removes all the doubt or negativity.
• Make decisions and STICK WITH IT – making the decision not to test wasn’t always easy – their were moments that I wanted to but it wasn’t going to change my results and the outcome of that test would have created more anxiety for me.
• Surround yourself with supporters and push the haters to the side – not everyone is going to understand your “why” and that’s okay. Rely on the people that support you and during that TWW keep in touch with them you don’t need to talk about your journey, process and waiting just have normal days but stay busy. I was incredibly blessed by timing and having family events but even without my family I had some incredible friends who passed along words of faith and positive prayers and thoughts. The support and outpouring was amazing – this is because I opened myself up and I’m so glad I did.Below I have included some of the passages they passed along. Thank you to my friends and family for your encouragement!