It’s over… or is it?

For every cycle that we’re are trying to conceive there is a definitive moment where we know it’s all over… or so I thought! 

Each month we brave the two week wait with some degree of madness… trying not to spot symptoms, reading too much online, wondering, hoping… when really all we can do is wait. But with something so earth-shatteringly life-changing it’s impossible to “just see what happens!”

Then one day we wake up with the special sinking soggy feeling and head to the bathroom. Red. Our period has arrrived and the devastation hits that this is not our month. It doesn’t matter whether this is our first cycle or twentieth. Loss is felt for the baby that could have been. 

So we pull ourselves together, cry in Tesco car park as we have to get supplies, and carry on as best we can. 

But…

There is something different. It’s not as heavy as usual, cramps are there but less, overnight it stops, it varies in an unusual order between pink, red and brown. You find yourselves looking at the tampon and wondering if there are any clots or not?

You totally dismiss it as “all in your head” and get on with the week. But all along there is this little niggle… 

Something makes you want to take a test and as you squint at the very faint line you wonder if you are imagining it! But I’ve had a period… doesn’t that mean it can’t possibly be right? 

Yes it can – it was implantation bleeding!

Implantation bleeding is more common than you think. My doctor just told me that one in three ladies get it. It’s just another of those things that “no one told me about” until it happens!

Basically it happens when the embryo settles into the womb lining and disturbs it. Some can come loose and flow out making us believe it’s the start of a normal period. 

Here are a few articles about it from various sources…

• Is It Implantation Bleeding — Or Just My Period? from What to Expect
• Implantation Bleeding from Bounty
• What is Implantation Bleeding from Check Pregnancy
• How long does implantation bleeding last from Made for Mums

One thing that confused me was that most articles say that the bleed is brown or pink. I definitely had red. I’m also super upset to realise that you should NOT use a tampon during pregnancy. I’m probably not the only one to mistake implantation bleeding for a proper period but I still feel bad – like I’ve already got a bad mark on my list! It’s another thing that you just don’t know about until it happens! 

I guess the best advice I can give is that everyone’s body is different and that there isn’t a solid set of rules. 

I’ve been chatting with @Me2mummy on Twitter over the last few weeks and it’s been lovely to have someone to compare notes with. I’m about ten days ahead of her and she’s been experiencing some similar implantation bleeding. She’s also written a blog post about it. 

I’ve got everything crossed for her and all the other mums to be who have experience or are experiencing implantation bleeding. 

It would be lovely to share a few details if this is something you’ve had so that those who come after us can have some real stories to compare and relate to…

This is me in a nutshell…

• Day 27-29 lighter than normal bleed, not quite filling tampons, especially not overnight. 
• Feeing very tearful, slightly sore boobs (they are much worse now!), 
• Light cramping and twinges in lower abdomen
• Metallic taste in mouth but not really feeling sick 
• Day 33 light positive line on simple Tesco pregnancy test
• Day 41 Still pregnant and fingers crossed for healthy pregnancy. 

[post back-dated for clarity of timeline – written 28th March 2017]