14 Things Women Trying to Conceive Can Relate To

Guest blog by Rachael Pace, a relationship expert and featured writer for Marriage.com.

Do you worry that pregnancy isn’t happening as fast as you had initially hoped?

Are there times when having sex with your partner feels more like a chore than a fun and romantic way to connect?

Have you started speaking in abbreviations?

Congratulations! You are now part of the worldwide sisterhood of women who are trying to conceive.

Starting a family is an exciting and sometimes overwhelming process that takes a lot of time, patience, and more knowledge than you had ever imagined.

From Googling some of the most outlandish fertility questions and parenting tips to calling your hubby home from work for a quickie on ovulation days, here are 14 things every woman trying to get pregnant can relate to.

1. There are only Two Time lines

Now that you are trying to get pregnant, your life only has two time lines. Ovulating and not ovulating.

When you’re ovulating, things are hot and heavy.

During ovulation week you hold back on anything you think could be harmful to your future baby. Alcohol, coffee, sushi. The only time you spoil yourself is during period week.

2. You Know Your Options

You know it all.

You’ve spent weeks and months brushing up on your fertility training. You know more about your cervix than you ever thought possible.

Another thing you know is your options. If natural conception isn’t working for you and your husband, you’re well-versed in in-vitro fertilization, fertility drugs, intrauterine insemination, donor eggs, and embryos.

3. You’ll Try Anything Once

Now that you’re trying to get pregnant, you’ll try anything.

Eating honey and cinnamon to enhance fertility? Done.

Trying acupuncture to relieve stress and make a baby? Sure!

Only use certain sex positions? Okay.

Of course, as long as you’re having intercourse, there is no wrong way to make a baby. But there are some sex positions that can help your chances.

Any sex position that allows for deep penetration that reaches the cervix. Doggie style, putting your legs up on your shoulders, and laying down immediately after intercourse for at least 15 minutes are all great pregnancy tips that can increase your chances of conceiving.

4. Your Phone Apps are All Fertility Related

Move over social media, your app space on your phone is now solely reserved for fertility-related information.

You track your periods, ovulation, and basal body temperature.

You have found apps that connect to your calendar that you can share with your spouse. You have a community of other moms online to gab about cervical data with.

You are the baby tracking expert.

5. Acronyms are Your Life

Are you TTC? Do you know your BBT?

This fertility shorthand seemed like a whole other language when you first started trying to conceive.

But now? You’ve become fluent in mom language. Soon you’ll be counting weeks instead of months if all goes well.

6. Sex Becomes Stressful

Forget a fun and relaxing roll in the hay. You’re trying to get pregnant now.

Sex has turned from a romantic and pleasurable experience to a collection of thermometers and fertility dates.

7. Your Diet is Crazy

Now that you’re trying to expand your family, you’ve become an expert on the pre-baby diet. Paying attention to your health during those conception months sets you up for a safe and happy pregnancy.

You avoid trans fats, stick to whole milk, and have iron-rich meals. Not to mention, you’re taking folate and a host of other prenatal vitamins to stay ahead of the game before conception.

8. Your Past Relief Now Becomes Your enemy

Getting your period was a reason to celebrate. Well, sort of.

Before you were trying to get pregnant, having your period meant you got away with another month of being baby-free.

Nowadays, not only does getting your period bring cramps and mood swings, but it also makes you feel like a complete failure.

Having your period is mother nature’s cruel reminder that you are still not pregnant.

9. You Know all the Signs of Infertility

According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 11% of women and 9% of men will experience fertility problems. As a woman who is trying to conceive, this is your worst nightmare.

After months of trying to get pregnant, you have become the expert of the most common signs of infertility in men and women.

Irregular periods, hormone fluctuations, painful sex, testicle pain or swelling, inability to ejaculate, and erectile dysfunction are all on your list of signs to watch out for.

10. Your Google Search History

Am I pregnant?

How long should you try to get pregnant before worrying?

How long after coming off the BCP should I get pregnant?

One of the biggest things couples who are trying to conceive can relate to is the strange abundance of pregnancy tips and fertility question that suddenly invade your search history.

11. Everyone Becomes an Expert

Advice can be nice, especially when you first decide to start a family.

It often feels like the moment you say that you’re trying to conceive, everyone from your co-worker to your dentist are ready to weigh in on what fertility tips and tricks worked for them.

This turns you into a host for strange pregnancy-related trivia, parenting tips, and mostly unwanted advice.

12. Everything is a Sign

Now that you’re on the baby track, everything from your bowel movements to that slight twitch you felt after intercourse suddenly becomes a sign that you might be pregnant.  

Suddenly you’re searching the most random pregnancy signs and symptoms like a madwoman.

13. You Start Buying in Bulk

It used to be that buying a pregnancy test was reserved for emergencies only.

Now taking a pregnancy test has become a ritual.

These days, you’ve pre-emptively cleared the stockpile of tampons and panty liners you kept in the bottom drawer of the bathroom cabinet to replace it with a bulk pack of pregnancy tests you bought at Costco.

14. Pregnancy Announcements are the Worst

As happy as you feel for friends, family, and associates who are celebrating bringing a little bundle of joy into the world, you’re a little jealous, too.

After months and months of trying to conceive, hearing someone else’s pregnancy announcement can be somewhat devastating.

Rachael Pace is a relationship expert with years of experience in training and helping couples. She has helped countless individuals and organizations around the world, offering effective and efficient solutions for healthy and successful relationships. She is a featured writer for Marriage.com, a reliable resource to support healthy happy marriages.