What is the 2 week wait?
The time between ovulation and when the next period would be if pregnancy does not occur is known as the 2 week wait. This time goes on for what feels like forever. Symptoms of early pregnancy can be very similar to impending period symptoms so not to drive yourselves mad reading into every sign. Everyone experiences pregnancy differently, only a pregnancy test will be able to confirm whether or not pregnancy has started. Distraction is key here. Keep busy.
Things to do in the 2 week wait
Support the Mothership. Not knowing what’s going on inside your body can be a difficult time for some people. Offer to take the Mothership out, see friends and plan your days to keep you both busy.
Mothership should be taking 400mcg folic acid daily by now. If not taking it already, this should start as soon as possible. Folic acid is a vitamin that helps with the growth and development of the baby. Many conception and pregnancy multivitamins will already contain the recommended daily dose.
If you are a smoker or a drinker now is as good a time as any to quit. Mothership might be pregnant and smoke can be harmful to the baby. Support the Mothership and the possible pregnancy by getting help to quit, Its good for everyone.
Spotting and bleeding
A little blood during the 2 week wait can be a good sign. The embryo may be implanting into the uterus, this can cause implantation bleeding. Implantation bleeding is fairy common, occurring in around 25% of pregnancies.
Time to test
Try to resist early testing as this can lead to unnecessary disappointment. This is particularly important if the mothership has had ivf medications. The trigger injection gives the body synthetic hCG, the hormone tests use to detect a pregnancy. It can take up to 10 days for this to leave the system. Testing too soon after a trigger shot could give a false positive.
Testing is an exciting an nerve wracking part of the journey for everyone involved. Many intended parents like to see the result at the same time and share that moment together. It might be a good idea to discuss with your partner and/or Mothership how you might like to find out the result.
Read about our experience of the 2ww, implantation bleeding and 4am pregnancy tests here.