I really wasn’t going to post about this. It feels embarrassing and quite scary. I don’t know if it’s something I should draw attention to, and if it’s a case of ‘too much information’. It isn’t something a lot of people talk about – I’ve certainly not really had a conversation about it openly, and I’m only writing about it just now to try to get out of my head.
So, trying to conceive. It’s a tricky one. I’m feeling in a very lonely place with it at the moment. No-one mentions much about the loneliness of trying to conceive. And, with increased social media presence, it seems as though everyone else is pregnant. Which of course isn’t true, but it’s how you feel when you are going through the monthly pregnancy lotto. Because what is pregnancy, if not a big old game of chance?
I also have lots of friends and family who are pregnant or have newborns at the moment. I am so thrilled and excited for them, please don’t think this diminishes that in any way. But, I also feel sad as I wait for my own good news. I feel bad even writing this, as I know how lucky I am to have my wee boy. I know plenty of people don’t get the chance to even have one baby, and I’ve been blessed with The Munchkin, who I believe to be quite simply the best little human on the planet. The Husband wonders whether we should even be thinking about rolling the dice again, having been given this wee cracker straight off the bat. And he’s got a point. But I desperately want him to have a sibling (or two, shhh!). He adores other children, and watching him interacting with other kids makes my heart melt. He is a sweetheart and would make the best big brother!
We tried for ten months before I became pregnant with The Munchkin. That is not an inordinate amount of time to be trying by any stretch of the imagination, and we didn’t need any interventions to help, so by all accounts we were very lucky. But there was agony in those months. There is something so very soul crushing about the umpteenth negative pregnancy test, because you don’t have the patience to just WAIT to see if your period comes. My cycles were irregular after years of hormonal contraception, and I soon found I knew too much about pregnancy tests, hormones, cervical mucus, temperature testing, ovulation kits, charting etc. etc. (the list is pretty endless). If you don’t know what some of those words and terms mean, you are very lucky and will hopefully continue to be blissfully unaware.
I would start off the month disappointed by the appearance of my period, along with the usual hideous bad and low moods. PMS is total shit. I would also be down about the whole process of trying to conceive. ‘It’s not supposed to be like this, is it?’, I would think. No-one ever tells you it could be difficult. In fact, you spend your whole life being told you need to avoid pregnancy. You end up thinking it must be the easiest thing in the world to actually have a baby now you’ve decided you want to. Think again…I really wish someone had told me about the long-term effects of hormonal contraception when I was younger. And I wish they had told me there were a variety of other options. Did you know it can take a year for your cycles to regulate after taking the pill? I didn’t, until I wanted to have a baby and was then stuck in limbo for months.
Towards the end of my period, I would start to get a bit more upbeat and look at this new cycle as a fresh opportunity. Into week two of the cycle, and I would be getting excited that this could be the month I would fall pregnant. I would have started my ovulation testing, and would be looking out for the tell-tale signs. Temperature testing was something I did too, but found it unreliable as I was too erratic at doing it regularly. I would make sure I was eating well and taking pre-natal vitamins.
Soon enough, the window of opportunity would come and go. And again, you’re counting days. And watching for signs. But now you’re watching for signs of pregnancy. And you always think you’re seeing them. Because Mother Nature is hilarious, many pregnancy symptoms are similar to the symptoms of PMS. Your heart is telling you this is the month, and your head is starting to believe it. Your head is persuaded it’s a good idea to take an early pregnancy test (it’s never a good idea, but you ALWAYS do it anyway), and you are brought right back down to earth with a bump by the non-appearance of that elusive second line.
Undeterred, you persuade yourself it’s your own fault for testing early, and you could still be pregnant. After all, you’re still getting all these signs, aren’t you? The next day you get your period. And you feel foul. You feel upset, and jealous, and isolated, and dejected. So, what do you do? You start the whole process again, of course! (And eat chocolate. All the chocolate. Oh, and wine. Cos, you can do that, you’re not pregnant). The crazy carousel of fertility fun. It seems to be never-ending, and for some it is.
I was lucky to get my BFP (I hate that I even know the acronym big fat positive, never mind have just used it – don’t surf the internet ‘trying to conceive’ (TTC) boards, it fills you simultaneously with hope and dread). I could not believe it when it happened. You think when you are trying to get pregnant, that as soon as you become pregnant, you’re sorted. But then the new round of worrying starts…how on earth do you get to the point of actually having a baby, with everything that can go wrong? That’s a whole other ball game!
None of this is easy on your mental health. And when you have some issues in that area anyway, it can make for a whole mess of anxiety. Prior to conceiving last time, I had an episode of low mood around new year. The same happened this year. Luckily, I had my medication and coping mechanisms in place, and it didn’t take hold the way it did last time. But I did get that familiar, creeping feeling of hollowness. It’s a weird, unnerving feeling, as if you are looking at things from the outside. A numbness. It caught me off guard last time, but this time I was ready for it.
Don’t get me wrong, my low mood wasn’t solely down to trying (and failing) to conceive. I’ve had a whole host of other stuff going on, including breastfeeding hormones, weird periods, and home renovation stress (see previous post all about this here). Nevertheless, I had kind of naively thought getting pregnant the second-time round would be easier. I mean, I know it can happen, right? But all too soon, the familiar worries and anxieties are back. And it’s creeping up to the ten-month mark again. You know stress and anxiety are terrible for your procreation chances too, right? …Such a dick move. And now I also add in a dose of guilt, because I have a wee one, and I know lots of people who are trying don’t. What kind of mum does it make me, to be so desperate to have another? Well, it’s actually because of how much I adore this little guy, that I would even consider having another.
Anyway, I digress. Hopefully we’ll get good news soon. And if not, that’s ok too. We’ll deal with it whatever. I don’t know exactly what I wanted or expected the point of this piece to be. Hopefully it might be useful for someone else in the same boat to read my experience. Maybe you don’t really speak about it either, or feel like you are the only one struggling. Hang in there, and hang out here – if you feel you’d like to, share your experience below.
I read this and hoped you find the bloggers who do talk about this sort of stuff because I think it would help you feel less isolated with those feelings. We are never as different as we think we are and connection with those going through similar stuff helps I find. All the best moving forwards. #BlogCrush
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Thank you. I definitely agree about connecting helping. I’ve had lots of people reach out and share their experience so it has definitely been a positive thing. It would be good if we all just talked more to each other! Thanks for reading and commenting 🙂
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I feel your struggle! We ended up adoption and it was the best choice for our family. #thatfridaylinky
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It is great to hear adoption worked for your family, I’d love to know more about it – will check out your blog. Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment 🙂
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You are very strong to share this! Be very proud of yourself and I agree more education is needed on the pros and cons of contraception. Sending lots of baby dust your way xx #BlogCrush
Soffy // themumaffairs.blogspot.com
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Thank you so much! Definitely think contraceptive education needs an overhaul. Thank you for taking the time to read and for your kind words 🙂
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It’s a very tough thing to go through and I truly admire that you’re sharing this, as it might help others in the same boat. Thanks for joining in with #ThatFridayLinky
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Thank you for reading and your support 🙂
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I hope you find the right people to connect with and good luck very honest post Thank you for linking to #Thatfridaylinky please come back next week
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Thanks so much! I will definitely be back, it’s a great linky 🙂
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It took us almost 3 years before I fell pregnant with Little O, just at the point I had basically given up. I am unsure if I want another child but I don’t actually think I would fall pregnant again realistically even if I did, pushing 40 and with how much we struggled the first time. We were in the process of being “investigated” but I fell pregnant before we ever found out if anything was wrong so there is a good chance we just got lucky.
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That must have been so tough, Abbi, and thank goodness for Little O! We were very lucky to have not needed investigation or intervention. Wouldn’t it be great if there was an easy way to know if everything was A-ok and you just need to keep trying/get lucky?! Hope whatever you decide works out. Thank you for sharing your story xx
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It’s so easy for men but the female investigations are somewhat brutal once you get past the hormonal bit. Fortunately I miraculously fell pregnant just when I was about to get to the invasive ones, for which I am eternally grateful.
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I’ve not really looked in to it very much, but thought that would be the case. I’m fairly confident my current issues are hormonal, so hopefully more easily sorted but who knows -just crossing my fingers really!
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I hope that you get your good news soon, I can imagine that it’s so stressful to be in that cycle of constantly waiting. #BlogCrush
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Thank you 🙂
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Oh I really hope you get your good news really soon! You are spot on though, we spend so long trying to avoid getting pregnant and being preached to about contraception that you really do end up thinking it’s not actually that hard! It took us 11month to conceive my first, I was only 21 and we were very much trying so I was shocked it took so long, I found out later though that being on the pill for years really messes with your cycle. Fingers crossed you get your bfp soon xx #BlogCrush
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Thanks so much! I think there must be so many people who get the same shock of difficulty conceiving after hormonal contraception. Definitely a gap in sexual health education there! Thanks for reading and your support 🙂
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Wow great read… although properly wasn’t great doing it while walking to work I’m a blubbering mess and nearly got ran over haha. Remember that all us women are here for each other.
Positive minds R x
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Thanks so much Rebecca 🙂 So sorry I made you cry and nearly get run over though! Positive thoughts your way too xx
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