6-7 DPO

I'm cramping a little today, nothing major or really painful, just dull cramps. I'm hoping that it's not a sign that my period is on its way... I keep telling myself it could be implantation cramping, which I suppose it could be, but I'm trying to prepare myself for it being my period instead. It would be the right kind of time for implantation to occur, though - I'm 6-7 DPO right now, if I'm right about when I ovulated, and implantation is supposed to occur at 5-10 DPO. Also, if I'm right about my ovulation date, then it should be too early for my period.

I'm still kinda bloated and gassy, and I feel a little lightheaded, but I don't think either of those things can be attributed to pregnancy - well, they can, but they're also attributable to a lot of other things! I've had a few episodes of mild nausea over the past 3-4 days, but nothing severe. The thing is, some women have lots of symptoms very early, while some have very few or even no symptoms until they're like 6-8 weeks pregnant. It's easy to look on every little thing as being a 'good sign' and in doing so, you could be setting yourself up for a big disappointment.That's what's so frustrating about this whole thing - so many things can be a symptom of pregnancy but also a symptom of an impending period.

Hubby thinks I expect to get pregnant right away, which is really not the case - I really hope to get pregnant right away, but the sensible side of me knows it's likely to take some time. I keep trying to be positive but sometimes I just think I should stop thinking about it, because the chances aren't really in our favor if you look at the statistics! Healthy fertile couples apparently have a 20% chance of conceiving with each cycle, so that's an 80% chance of not conceiving with each month, too.

I'll confess, on Friday night the waiting was really getting to me and I did a pregnancy test just in case I might have ovulated earlier than I thought. Well, I really thought I could see a very very faint positive result, but I think I was seeing what I wanted to see. The line was definitely there, albeit really faint, but I suspect it was some kind of glitch or something. It wasn't enough to convince me that it was real, anyway.

I'd love to be able to do a test now but it would most likely be a waste of a test. At 6-7 DPO it's too early. Some people have had positive results after 8 DPO but I think they're in the minority. It's a shame the tests are single use - it'd be great if you could get one that was somehow reusable, I don't know if that's even possible but it would be worth paying extra for! I got 2 packs of 2 First Response Early Result HPTs and they were $8 per pack, so if I take one too early that's $4 down the drain each time, which doesn't seem like a lot but if this baby-making process goes on for many months (I hope it doesn't!) then that would start to add up. I need to refrain from testing before 12 DPO, so at least I'm in with a good chance of getting a positive result if in fact I am pregnant. It could still be negative if there isn't enough hCG in my system, though - which would mean re-testing in 2-3 days to see if anything's changed.

I guess at the end of the day, what will be will be. I sincerely hope that when I take that test it's positive, but I need to be realistic about it.