2 week wait

Today is the 12th September 2017- I have spent today consolling a poor, tiny, teething Leo who is having a bit of a rough time with his gums but never fails to amaze me by smiling and giggling (between crying fits). It is one of the hardest things I have found so far about motherhood as it genuinely pains me to see him upset but in the back of my mind this won't be for long!

On the 12th September last year it was spent in a very different way...me and my husband woke up that day in a hotel in Nottingham (completely recommend Best Western Notts if anyone needs a hotel there) and traveled the short journey to CARE, our fertility clinic. We both changed into our sexy, blue scrubs and headed into theater to have our little embryo transferred back into my womb. We had our egg collection 5 days previous so our little one was already 5 days grown by this point and just needed to be transferred back and fingers crossed! It was the most surreal experience in my life, everything is filmed so we literally watched them implant our baby on a TV screen like it was a movie. After transfer all you can do is wait, it is grueling, long, tiring, emotional and felt like it lasted a year rather than just 14 days but that's how long we had to wait before taking a pregnancy test!

This post isn't just for IVF mummies out there! The 2 week wait is the same for absolutely anyone trying to get pregnant and I thought I would write some tips on how to survive the wait and make it through without going insane.

1. Avoid the internet
This is much easier said than done, I understand that but the more you can avoid google the better! Right at the beginning of my two week wait I banned myself from googling any symptoms and I am so glad that I did. Every single twinge and change in my body I was praying would be a sign that our little embryo was making itself at home but you just don't know. It can feel like forever but just try and keep your mind distracted and look after yourself!

2. Yoga
I first started yoga when I was in my early teens and I found it brilliant as a stress reliever! It got me through my GCSE's without a mental breakdown and although I gave it up for many years I started to do some very light yoga on YouTube during my 2WW! It would take my mind off all of the 'over thinking' that was going on inside my head and gave me a quiet half hour every day to care for my changing body and breathe through my stresses and strains. There are lots of classes and groups that you can join but for starters I find following someone on YouTube to be a really good start for beginners. I watched 'Yoga with Adrienne'!

3. Teamwork
Although it is different for everyone in this situation, it is likely that you are going through this wait with your partner. I was lucky enough to get two weeks off work to have our IVF treatment but for my husband it was straight back to work and normality of dealing with your worries alongside a full time job. I always remember thinking that he was going through all of this just in the same way that I was and loving him even more because he was so focused on how I was doing. We found that a night away in a hotel or even just a nice dinner and movie night cuddled up on the sofa did wonders for us!

4. Don't be tempted to test
I know a lot of other IVF women and women who are just excited to be trying to get pregnant and they take a pregnancy test on an almost daily basis. If this helps you deal with everything then by all means do it but for us, we were so heartbroken by negative results that we'd received in the past that we wanted to wait as long as possible before testing! This gave us a clearer head to deal with the outcome however it would be, luckily for us it was a big positive and we found out at 5 weeks pregnant!

5. TLC
Put your feet up, watch your favourite programme, read a good book and have a piece of chocolate. Sure anyone who is trying to conceive should try and eat fairly healthy but is one mars bar going to push you over the edge? NO! Being mentally healthy is such an important thing and taking care of yourself couldn't be more integral than when you are waiting on news that could change your life forever!