The two-week wait (or TWW, for short) is the two-week period that happens right after ovulation leading up to your next menstruation. This is because it takes approximately two weeks after conception for pregnancy hormone hCG to raise enough for a pregnancy test to detect it and let you know that you are pregnant.
For the women that are actively trying to conceive, the first day of their next expected period is the earliest day for the pregnancy test to be taken in order to learn whether they have successfully conceived or not. Taking a pregnancy test before this day is not reliable, as it can result in a false-negative or a false-positive result.
The two-week wait starts days past ovulation ends, and it lasts two weeks, just like the name suggests. This is enough time for the pregnancy hormone to rise enough to be detected by a pregnancy test or a blood test.
The majority of women going through the two-week waiting period have to fight the urge to google early pregnancy symptoms every day and take a blood test as soon as you are allowed to. If you are, in fact, pregnant, symptoms are going to be different in the first and second weeks of the TWW.
During days zero to seven past ovulation, which is the first week of TWW, the symptoms that are the most common include:
Between days seven and ten of the two-week wait period, a different set of symptoms is going to appear. Some of them include:
All of these changes appear due to the levels of hormone hCG slowly rising during early pregnancy. You might find that all of these symptoms will become more noticeable over time as the hCG levels rise even more.
Two weeks usually pass by extremely fast, but if it is a two-week wait you are going through, it can feel like a century slowly ticking, second by second. Time will pass by quicker if you keep yourself busy by doing things that are safe to do. Here are some things you can (and should) do during your two-week wait period:
Moderate exercise (in the form that you enjoy) during your two-week wait period is going to benefit you greatly. Moderate exercise is a powerful stress-reliever, and it is a lovely way to help keep your body healthy in preparation for a potential pregnancy. If you have been avoiding exercise, TWW is to dust off your running shoes, renew that yoga class membership, or hit the gym with your gym buddy.
Going on hikes and skipping rope counts too! Just make sure to take it easy and do not push yourself too much; do your best to avoid any injury.
If you are indeed pregnant and the baby is on the way, your life will be changed forever, and one thing you will always be missing is time, mostly to do the things for yourself. So TWW is the perfect time to practice self-care and do the things you enjoy doing on your own, such as sleeping, watching movies, reading classics, going on long walks by the beach, painting, or whatever else you like.
Your partner is on the fertility journey with you, and no matter how complicated and challenging it is at times, they are there to support you and listen to your worries and feelings. Use the TWW to connect with and support each other along the way.
Even if you do not have a partner to lean on, there is always that one special person that is the best listening ear in the world. Make sure to talk about your feelings, as bottling them up is the last thing you should do.
There are some things that you should definitely avoid doing during your two-week wait period to help protect your health but also your sanity.
Here is what you should not do during your two-week wait period.
The truth is that you may or may not be pregnant during your two-week wait period. However, it is always better to err on the side of caution in order to protect your potential baby. During your two-week wait period, you should avoid smoking, drinking any kind of alcohol, as well as any other activity that could be harmful to a potential new pregnancy.
Your TWW is not the time to take up a new, intense form of exercise, but you can continue with your existing workout regime. If you are not on a self-care train already, your two-week wait period is the perfect time to start taking the best possible care of yourself.
If you are trying to conceive, the decision about which details you are willing to share is personal, and it is completely up to you. However, during your two-week wait period, it might be a good idea to refrain from announcing that you are trying or waiting to see the results of the pregnancy test.
Even if you are experiencing symptoms of early pregnancy until the TWW is up, it’s too soon to know for sure whether you are pregnant or not, and it is too soon to take home pregnancy tests. If you are trying to conceive, refraining from sharing the big news until you are entirely sure will help you avoid the disappointment and awkwardness of retracting a pregnancy announcement.
Retracting such happy news might also be discouraging in your journey for the baby, and it is best to avoid the feeling of discouragement.
If you are actively trying to conceive, it is understandable that you want to know if you are pregnant as soon as possible; the excitement is just too much to contain! However, taking too many pregnancy tests way too early, as well as getting a blood test too early could lead to unnecessary disappointment and even more stress that you definitely do not need. If you take a home pregnancy test before your two-week wait period ends, you might get a false positive pregnancy test from a chemical pregnancy, which is a type of early miscarriage. Another option is getting a false negative on your pregnancy tests because your pregnancy hormone hCG levels are not high enough to detect yet, which is also not ideal. The best way to make sure that the pregnancy test result is accurate is to wait the full two weeks to take pregnancy tests, even though it does not feel very good.
The two-week wait can be pretty stressful for women (as well as couples together) who are trying hard to conceive because you are in the stage of the unknown, and there is nothing you can do but wait it out. Here are some tips that are going to help you survive the two-week wait without driving yourself crazy.
When you are trying to conceive, having trustworthy people that you can share your feelings with can help you cope with the stress of not knowing and waiting. It can also help you cope with possible infertility.
Staying busy doing this waiting game is going to keep your mind off that potential plus on the pregnancy test, crossing the days on the calendar, and this very stressful time. During your two-week wait, do your best to keep yourself busy by doing (safe) things you like doing.
This might be a bit too much to ask, but taking pregnancy tests, as well as dissecting and analyzing every single symptom you think you are having is not a good and healthy thing to do. Many of the early signs of pregnancy are caused by the hormones naturally present every two-week wait. This is why women who are trying to conceive sometimes feel pregnant even though they are not because they concentrate on that possibility way too much. So stay positive and stay away from pregnancy-related google searches and stop obsessing, because other than nerve wracking, it will not bring anything good.
Relaxation techniques can be of great help to relieve stress during this stressful time of awaiting potential pregnancy, which can feel like the longest wait of your life, especially if it is your first time doing it. Some of the most relaxing activities you can partake in include breathing exercises, coloring, getting a massage, yoga, meditation, acupuncture, listening to music, or playing music, organizing your home, reading a book, watching movies, sewing, and knitting, and many more.
The two-week wait (or TWW, for short) is the two-week period that happens right after ovulation leading up to your next menstruation.
During your two-week wait period, you should avoid intense physical labor, smoking, drinking, and you should eat healthy as well as do your best to avoid stress.
Some of the most common signs of successful implantation include sensitive breasts, bloating, constipation, extreme mood swings, changing tastes, a blocked nose, and many others.
Alcohol affects conception and implantation. Consuming alcohol also increases the risk of early pregnancy loss. If you are actively trying to conceive, your best bet is to stay away from drinking altogether.
You can, but it is not recommended, as alcohol consumption will affect implantation and early pregnancy.
Avoiding strenuous physical activities, such as heavy weight-lifting or high-impact cardio, is recommended during your two-week wait. However, after the first few days of our waiting period, some moderate exercising (150 minutes per week) is acceptable, such as walking or swimming.
No studies and research show that massages can directly affect fertility positively or negatively. You can get a massage during your two-week wait.
If you are in the process of trying to get pregnant, it is a good idea to stop eating raw fish right away, sushi included.
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