Phantom symptoms

The worst part of the two week wait is the sudden onslaught of symptoms - more specifically, phantom symptoms. These are the things that you feel because you think you're knocked up, or just because you're looking way too hard for signs that you could be.


The problem is that the majority of early pregnancy symptoms can be attributed to far more mundane causes, so it's very easy to read into them more than you should. For example, here's a rundown of the boxes I ticked today on my handy dandy Fertility Friend chart:

HEARTBURN
Knocked up? Classic early pregnancy sign, especially if, like Juno said, you have heartburn down to your knees.
Or not? It might be caused by something I ate, since I'm a little prone to it anyway.

HEADACHE
Knocked up? I didn't know this was an early pregnancy sign, but for some reason Fertility Friend gives me points for it anyway. Ah well.
Or not? It could be just about anything, from stress to tiredness to not drinking enough water.

CRAMPS
Knocked up? I had these like a mofo when I got my first BFP, every day for the first two weeks. Today's was fairly mild.
Or not? A random cramp here and there is less than convincing. If I wasn't actively trying to get pregnant, I don't know if I'd even be paying much attention to it.

GASSINESS
Knocked up? Another classic! Gas (whether it's burping or farting) is another good early indicator of being knocked up.
Or not? It might be from the deli meat I've been eating lately (don't laugh - sometimes it makes me gassy).

FATIGUE
Knocked up? I was beat today, which is a little unusual considering that I got about seven hours of sleep last night - less than my preferred eight, but still plenty of rest.
Or not? This is probably the only one of my phantom symptoms that I'd consider plausible, since as I've mentioned before, the fatigue you feel in the first trimester is unbelievable - but even then I'm not buying it unless it continues for the next few days.

BLOATED
Knocked up? Yet another classic - bloating is probably one of the first symptoms you experience when you're knocked up.
Or not? I'm not gonna lie, I've been eating a lot of sandwiches and peanut M&Ms lately. Enough said.

So you can see what I mean - at only DPO7, it's pretty much impossible to tell and waaaaaay too early to be obsessing over this stuff. Sure, they could be (very) early pregnancy symptoms. On the other hand, pretty much all of them can also be accounted for by ordinary, non-baby related things. So to minimize the craziness in my head, I'm betting on the side of phantom symptoms - that way if I'm right it won't be such a disappointment when we have to start a new cycle of trying...and if I'm wrong, it will be a fabulous surprise!