Let us tell ya, those two weeks of waiting after an artificial insemination aren’t exactly the fastest two weeks you’ll experience. Each passing day, each questioning thought passed by slowly for us. To get right to it, we’d advise anyone on the same boat to create a full schedule or literally go away for vacation if you can! That said, if you’re an expert at being patient then these two weeks are perfect for you. They say that people underestimate how hard it is to wait until they find out if they’ve successfully conceived or not. This is true. No matter how many times we told ourselves we’d be good at being patient, it was hard. Also, while we’re at it y’all, don’t use Google!
I’m feeling cramps on my right side. Does this mean I’m not pregnant?
My breasts are swollen. Am I pregnant?
I am not craving any particular food. Am I not pregnant?
I have a gut feeling that I’m pregnant. Is my gut feeling right?
There are so many answers that will pop up for questions like these. None of them will give you the truth. Only time will. All you can do is let your body do what it needs to do. If you conceive, yay! If you don’t, take all the time you need to process before you try again (if you wish to try again).
Here’s how it went for us. I invested my energy and focus to encourage Maya in relaxing and staying in the present moment; being where her feet are at. I focused on lifting her up and being extra optimistic around her. If she had any particular wishes, I did my best to make them happen. I also made suggestions that I felt were important to do such as going on longer, daily walks and playing “this game” or reading “that book”. We experienced three two-week-waits (TWW) before we conceived with our first child. For us, the TWW became easier as time went on with our journey. The first TWW was the hardest one of the three since the whole experience was novel to us and we were giddy with anxiety!
For the first unmedicated IUI, Maya knew she wasn’t pregnant because on the 14th day Aunt Flo came to town as Maya’s ovulation schedule predicted. For the second unmedicated IUI, Maya tested on the 14th day post-insemination and it was a negative. She chose to take this pregnancy test alone while I was still asleep. I eventually woke up and noticed she wasn’t in bed so I went to the bathroom to see if she was there. She wasn’t there. I went into her work space and found her working as usual, her back facing me. Before approaching her, I knew she had a negative on her pregnancy test. I went up to her to see how she feeling. She looked up at me and shook her head but looked determined to moving forward and trying again the next cycle. That’s when we both agreed that we’d give another unmedicated IUI procedure one last try before considering to move onto a medicated IUI procedure. The third TWW was the easiest one of all three; not because it ended with a baby though. Like we said from the beginning, a full schedule was key. During our third TWW, we began our house-hunt for our first purchased home together. That consumed our time and attention. We even stopped counting down the days until we’d administer the pregnancy test again. If you’re about to experience your first TWW, good luck! If you’re about to experience your tenth TWW, you’re strong and resilient. If you experienced TWW already, share your tips below in the comments!
Have at it.
The Ariel Series 