Not everyone has an easy time conceiving. Some people take years, and eventually those tests add up.

Personally it took us 20 cycles before we had a single positive. I had lots of months where I didn’t test at all, some where I tested once, some where I really had a feeling they were it and I tested a couple of times (testing early can give a false negative).

It is common when you do finally conceive to keep testing and watch the lines get darker. Many people have chemical pregnancies. These are very very early miscarriages that we only know about because the tests have gotten so good. Back in the day where you had to wait several days to a week after a missed period to test, you would never even know that you had a chemical. Now, you may get an early positive but have the lines get lighter over the next few days. If you’re having fertility struggles, it’s helpful to know whether you are conceiving and losing pregnancies early or not conceiving at all.

When we did conceive I think I took about 4 tests over the course of a few days but online I often see people do 6-8. Many people will test until they get a “dye-stealer” which means that the test line is darker than the control line. People take this as a positive sign that it is progressing well.