Congratulations on making steps toward TTC! It is an exciting journey. I hope you don't need this advice and that you get your BFP right away!
The parts I was least prepared for were the mental and emotional challenges. Looking back, I wish I had known how high the highs would be and how low the lows would be. Perhaps I could have better prepared myself mentally, knowing what I was up against. It is a month-long roller coast that I felt like I couldn't get off of until we had success, which made it even more tortuous at times.
The days leading up to O day are full of excitement and optimism. Tracking and charting is fun, new data each day adds to the overall picture on the chart and I felt pretty well in control of everything. If our BD timing was good, I was high as a kite! If we missed O day, or BDed too far ahead, or anything I didn't deem perfect, I was crushed.
After O day, time stops. The TWW is agonizing and you have to find ways to distract yourself. I found that symptom spotting was the worst thing I could do. I tried to lose track of how many DPO I was and find practical reasons for any symptoms that cropped up. Bloated = had two beers yesterday. Tired = didn't sleep well. Emotional = stress. Cramping = gas. Temp dip = fluke. Some people love symptom spotting and have fun doing it, so if that's you, go for it! It just was no bueno for me. I ended up having zero symptoms before my BFP and here I am at 5w3d without any symptoms of pregnancy other than very light AF-like cramping and exhaustion, which didn't kick in until after my missed period.
Back to the TWW. Make a plan for testing and make sure you are armed with three times more tests than you think you'll need. Get a big pack of ICs if you want to POAS a lot without guilt. And don't feel bad if you don't stick to your plan! There is nothing wrong with testing early, just make sure you have an arsenal of tests in case you get a BFP because you'll want to pee on all of them over the next few weeks! I liked to start at 10DPO, sometimes 9DPO just for kicks. Some people wait until AF is due, and that's great too! You'll likely get a nice clear line at that point. I enjoyed staring at the little strips for an hour, so that was my cup of tea.
If AF shows, be prepared to feel emotions you haven't experienced before! Communicate well ahead of time with your partner that you don't know what to expect and ask him to be your source of support, if you have that kind of relationship. It can be devastating and if you get a little emotional during AF anyway, those days can really be a challenge. Try to stay optimistic, but let yourself grieve for an unsuccessful cycle. Bottling up feelings does nobody any good!
Keep a list (on paper or in your mind) of things you can do to help cope. A nice glass of wine and bubble bath, a concert, pizza, going for hike, meditation, massage, etc. When you are stressed, it's very helpful to have "tools" at your disposal for treating yourself physically and emotionally. Make your mental and emotional self-care intentional.
Again, I hope you don't have to experience this, but if you do end up TTC for several months, just keep your "eye on the prize" and find other things to focus on throughout your days. It can be a long and grueling journey, but there is always light at the end. Lean on your partner if you can, and if he prefers not to be involved (like mine - he preferred a more organic NTNP approach), find a girlfriend to confide in and come here to ask questions and vent.
Best of luck and lots of baby dust to you!
