By Lucy Coffin on 10/13/2019

Tips for saving your sanity and giving you the best chance of success.

Tears streaming down your face?…yup.

Feeling like a crazy person?…yup

Not sure you even recognise (or like) yourself?…yup

Full of hope and optimism one minute and total despair the next, over and over again?…yup.

Not wanting to tempt fate or let yourself hope in case you have even further to fall?…yup.

Wanting to feel serene and positive so you can manifest your dreams, and totally beating yourself up with guilt that you’re full of fear instead?…yup.

Googling every twinge or cramp and bit of tenderness, or total and utter lack of symptoms?…yup.

Spiralling through every ‘what if’ in the history of womankind?…yup.

And feeling cut loose, abandoned and totally alone?…oh yep.

It doesn’t matter, does it, whether you’re trying naturally or with a little love and science, the two weeks post ovulation or transfer are the craziest, most sanity-destroying days ever?!

Not only that but time suddenly seems to go so ridiculously slowly, as anxiety levels ramp up the closer you get to the day of reckoning.

A lot of ladies have been there this week, so here’s our Two Week Wait Survival Guide, with all our best tips for your head and your heart, and to hopefully give you the best chance of success too.

Tips for your body

What to eat

Anecdotally, the best foods to eat to support implantation are sunflower oil, avocado, a slice of pineapple, 2 brazil nuts per day, and if you like it and your body tolerates it, a glass of milk each day.

All great stuff to include if it feels good but don’t eat or drink anything you don’t like as your body really won’t find it helpful! 

Go at your pace

This is your time. Some of our ladies feel like they should be resting up, not doing anything and end up climbing the walls, and others find themselves back in a busy job and longing to hide under the duvet. Go with which ever feels best for you as the evidence shows you are as likely to conceive either way, but just know that your embryo may implant anytime between day 5 to 11 post ovulation / transfer so the important thing is to be gentle with movements during that time. 

Things that help and things to avoid

Keeping yourself warm, especially around your lower back, is perfect, so lots of warm, comfy clothes but avoid putting any heat directly on to your belly, like hot water bottles. Hot baths and swimming pools are best avoided too. 

Also, try to stick to plain products without parabens in and just use as little as you can, especially from ovulation / transfer day until test day. Avoiding perfumed products such as body cream, shower gel, perfumes etc. helps to keep your hormones and immune system as quiet and receptive as possible. 
Treatments…

Specialist fertility reflexology, Reiki, and acupuncture can all be really lovely, relaxing treatments that can help to support implantation and are calming and comforting at the same time, but only go with what feels good for you.

Symptoms

This is probably the single biggest head fuck of them all, and will leave you checking your body for every twinge, sign of tenderness, terrified of going to the loo in case there’s any spotting, and just generally feeling like a complete head-case. We promise though, there is no right way or wrong way to feel during the two week wait. Some cramping and spotting can be an indication of implantation (and might feel just like your period starting) but having no signs and symptoms or ‘feelings’ whatsoever is just as likely to be positive.

When to test

You can test from when your embryos are 12 days old (ovulation or egg collection day is day 0) but an accurate result may not show up until day 14. Give yourself a little breathing space around the test itself, knowing that all the worries and fears from previous tests will wack the volume up on your anxiety levels. Some of our ladies have felt so traumatised by the actual testing that it’s been really lovely to do some work together or have a ceremony to clear some of this past fear and negative associations so that they’ve been able to step in to this new moment without it weighing them down so heavily.

Tips for your head and your heart

Permission to feel it all

It’s totally normal to feel it all. You don’t have to breeze through this feeling the picture of serenity and positivity for it to work. Many of our ladies have been utterly convinced it’s not worked only to find out it has. Equally, being told an embryo is not grade A can leave you feeling convinced there’s no hope but so often these are the very ones that become beautiful babies.

Distract yourself

The temptation to google will be immense!! More often than not though it leaves you feeling even more overwhelmed and crazy-headed than before. Support and distraction can often work better to give your head something else to focus on. Total permission to throw yourself in to box sets, journal writing, and anything else that helps to pass the time. 

Radical TLC and relaxation time

Be exquisitely kind to yourself. Go wild with as many lovely things as you can, drinks in your favourite mug, movies…whatever feels good.
Relaxation tracks are another great way to help. No set prescription, no having to listen or do visualisations every day, but just knowing you can dip in out any time you feel like it. They don’t need to be tracks focused on implantation either. Some of these have negative associations from previous months or cycles but simple sleep tracks, or ones to soothe worries and fears can be an absolute godsend.

Support

Last but probably the biggest of them all. Whether you’ve chosen to tell people that you’re trying to conceive or going through IVF or have kept it to yourself, this is your time. You get to surround yourself with people that feel good to you, as well as giving yourself some space from anything or anyone that feels like a drain on your reserves.

Need a little extra help?

The Finding Calm Kit has proved to be a lifeline for many of our ladies during the two week wait, so click here if you’d like to find out more x x x