The Official TTC Thread!

[Sha]

Date: 1/10/2009 12:36:48 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 1/10/2009 12:22:37 PM
Author: Sha
sunkist, could that spike be your O temp rise instead? CD12 doesn''t look like O to me, because of the lack of a significant temp rise after that.

DD, thanks for clarifying. So what are the numbers, as per your source, for BD two days before O only? Does BD two days before O generally carry a greater conception chance than BD on the day of O itself? Seems like most people make sure to have sex on O day.....I''m just wondering if it you only have two chances to BD...whether it''s better to have sex two days before O than the day of O. Or does it depend on the presence of ewcm?

Sorry for all the questions... I''m obsessing a lot today...

So what those number mean is that if 100 women have sex two days before ovulation, 20 will get a BFP. If 100 women have sex the day before ovulation 40 will get a BFP. And if 100 have sex the day of ovulation 20 will get preggo. That doesn''t mean that out of 100 women 80 will get preggo if they all have sex on one of those days

you have to think of it as each day being a new sample of women who only had sex that day! So you can''t really calculate your own personal odds based on those numbers because they are population stats, and also you have to factor in that roughly 50% of those conceptions will implant and not stick past 5 weeks

, and then another 15% or so will not last past 8-10 weeks

... this is why even though the rates of conception seem so high the day before ovulation (40% sounds high to me!) the rates of a pregnancy that lasts past 5 weeks (i.e., not ''chemical'') in a sample of 100 women in a given month is more like 20% (then of course some of those women will m/c later on). So all the numbers really mean is that the highest liklihood of getting KTFU is if you try to hit those three days (O - 2, O - 1, and O).

I guess the point is that you can time things just right and try to increase your adds, but the odds are still not very high in any given month which is why average time to conceive is 6 months.

Thanks, Dreamer. That makes sense... I just wish my odds were better this month, so I guess I''m looking for some sort of hope based on stats. Will just have to wait!!! This tww is really torturous!! 4 dpo today. Yawnnn.....

Waxing, I''m sorry for your loss as well...

I hope you find lots of support and encouragement here as you TTC again. Welcome!

 

[sunkist]

Fisher are you still waiting for O? I see a lot of charts on FF that have big dips right before their O. And you can see on my chart this month that I had a big dip on my O day (or at least it will say that hopefully tomorrow when I'm three days past O...) . So, if you temp'd at the regular time of day, I say just use it. I think your double temp confirmed that it wasn't lying to you, even though I know it's frustrating!

And I think even with a big dip you can still have a normal month cause, remeber, just looking at the whole overall picture is all that counts. One temp alone is kinda meaningless.

I love how we can all support eachother here, don't you

Wanna share you chart, Fisher?

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Hey Sunkist! Hope your weekend's been good!! If only it were longer, huh?

I have not yet O'd and I typically don't O this *early* in my cycle, which is why I was so confused this morning by such a dramatic drop. I'm going to see what happens tomorrow, though. I can't even tell you how excited I'd be to have a 30 day cycle though. Whoo hoo. Big time excited, that's what! Like this ---->

***
I got my new cell phone. A real treat. $79, no less!! I was so hyper excited. The sales lady giggled and said she'd not seen anyone so excited over a phone in a long time. It's a Centro by Palm, and it does *so* much. Puts my old phone to shame. And puts me to shame a little, too. I'm struggling with understanding it. My niece has one and she said she'd call and walk me through everything. My almost 14yo niece has to walk me through it. So sad.

What I was really excited about was to have a phone with internet capabilities. My phone plan has had it for a while, and my phone didn't have the power to really navigate the net well enough to bother with it. So now, I'm all excited to try to log into Pricescope while we're getting the oil changed in Paul's car. No such luck. It said login failure. I have no clue why. I can log into other sites, though (like myspace). So, I'm completed befuddled with confusion. Paul said he'd try to figure it out. Secretly, I was so excited to have a means of posting and emailing from the hospital when we finally have a baby some day. Haha. Too funny that it seriously went through my mind on the way home today. Shameless.

Anyone have any ideas what I could be doing to prevent me from being able to log in from my phone??

 

[peonygirl]

Waxing, I am SO sorry about your loss! Unfortunately I know several people with late term losses, and it just seems SO devasting! Even when one has living children, it''s not really eased because you know exactly what you''re missing. If I may ask, were you able to hold your baby and take pictures? I find pictures of stillborn babies to be hauntingly beautiful.

As for me, today is CD20 with no sign of ovulation. I have NO idea when I''ll ovulate. So far for me I''ve ovualted on day: 17, 21, 21, 33, and 43. What will it be next, 53?

''Tis rather depressing. On the upside, I did tell some friends about my miscarriage, and I''ve received emails, cards, and even a big bouquet of flowers. All very sweet of my friends.

Hope everyone is doing well!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

undefined

 

[waxing lyrical]

Thank you for your condolences and kind words, ladies. Our girls are 4 and 2.

Peonygirl, we spent a little over three hours with him and got to take pictures. We cherish them very much.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

That "undefined" post was from my phone. I couldn't find how to type anything. What a nerd.

Today is CD18 for me, so I'm right with you Peony.

Hoping for a sooner ovulation for both of us this cycle, girl!!! My past O's have been 26, 20, and 44. Hmph. Let's both be hoping for another 20 zone O this go-round.

My temp today shot back up to where it usually is, so I'm not sure yesterday's low temp meant anything at all. Odd. This does remind me though that even though we've been TTC since the summer, this is only cycle 5 for us. (The first cycle I didn't temp.) Somehow, that makes me feel better about the length of time it seems to be taking. They say 6 cycles is average, no?

How sweet that you've had support from your friends. I know it means so much!!

Hey Sunkist, did you get your crosshairs? Hope so!!

Happy Monday to all!

 

[steph72276]

Hey, girls. Hope everyone is having a great Monday. My doc gave me some birth control pills to start taking, but after talking with my hubby, we decided not to go on the pill right now. Doesn''t seem like it makes sense to go on it for just 3 months anyway. We are going to use another method, but if it happens sooner than 3 months, that is okay with me. My cousin just went through the same thing where she lost the baby at 9 weeks, had a D&C and her doc told her she could start trying right away, so I think it will be okay. Anyway, have a great day!

 

[steph72276]

Waxing, I''m so very sorry for your loss. 2 weeks ago lost our little one. I was only 9 weeks along, so I know it''s not the same. I can''t even imagine going through what you did and it scares me that it could happen with our next one. Just know that my heart goes out to you and I hope you have another baby in your arms really soon.

 

[sunkist]

Peony, that''s wonderful your friends have been so thoughtful! How sweet of them!

Fisher, yes I got cross hairs this morning for Friday CD17. Yay! But my temp fell a bit today. I''ve had a little trouble waking up at the right time the last few days, whether early or late...

Steph, I think that''s a good idea to hold off on the BCP. I was wondering, why introduce hormones for 3 months and then have to adjust to getting off them again?

Have a wonderful Monday everyone!

 

[peonygirl]

Steph, I agree that it doesn't make sense to go on BC pills right now. Just curious, but was the dr. who said to wait 3 months an older physician? When I looked through DH's ob/gyn textbooks it said that drs used to recommend waiting to TTC again after an early loss, but that this was neither empirical nor necessary in most cases.

Waxing, how are your girls coping with the loss? I imagine that the 2-year-old doesn't really understand, but it's probably harder for the 4-year-old? Hugs!

 

[steph72276]

Date: 1/12/2009 10:27:57 AM
Author: peonygirl
Steph, I agree that it doesn''t make sense to go on BC pills right now. Just curious, but was the dr. who said to wait 3 months an older physician? When I looked through DH''s ob/gyn textbooks it said that drs used to recommend waiting to TTC again after an early loss, but that this was neither empirical nor necessary in most cases.


Waxing, how are your girls coping with the loss? I imagine that the 2-year-old doesn''t really understand, but it''s probably harder for the 4-year-old? Hugs!

Peony, no actually she is quite young. I am 30 and I would say she looks to me right about my age. I have read that too. I think they usually recommend 3 months if you had to have a D&C, but I''m not really sure?

 

[Dreamer_D]

Steph I think both my friends who had you situation did not wait very long, maybe one cycle?? My intuition would be that if you body isn''t ready, then you won''t get KTFU? If medical opinions vary then you can probably make your own call...

 

[NovemberBride]

Waxing, I am so sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine how hard that must be. Welcome to the board and I hope you are KTFU again very soon.

Peony, I am glad you have such sweet and considerate friends - just imagine how great they''ll be when you are pregnant!

Fisher, I totally hear you on having issues working a cell phone or other electronic device, I am constantly asking DH and my two little brothers for help. Unfortunately, I completely fulfill the cliche that women are bad with electronics. In fact, my little brother just gave me a crash course in using my digital camera this weekend. Maybe I''ll finally be able to take and post some pics of my e-ring and wedding band.

This weekend was really fun, I went to a baby shower for one of my oldest friends. This is her third baby, but her first girl. She got so many cute little girl clothes! I am also throwing a baby shower next weekend for my BFF. It is her first baby and she is planning to tell everyone what she is having at the shower (although I am pretty sure it is a boy, since she keeps saying "when we bring him home" or "when he is born" by accident!) Everyone keeps asking me and DH when we are going to start trying, which makes me even more glad that we aren''t telling anyone we are, I think it would drive me crazy if everyone was asking if I was ktfu every time I saw them.

I am on CD 17 here and DH and I have been doing pretty good with DTD every other day (snce my last cycle was so long, we are trying to do every other day for as long as possible until we confirm I o''d.) My temps are all over the place- i.e. at 97.5 one day and 98.4 the next. I have been pretty good with waking up at the same time and I haven''t been sick or drinking or anything, so I am not sure what the issue is. Any ideas?

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 1/12/2009 12:13:17 PM
Author: NovemberBride
My temps are all over the place- i.e. at 97.5 one day and 98.4 the next. I have been pretty good with waking up at the same time and I haven''t been sick or drinking or anything, so I am not sure what the issue is. Any ideas?

One of the things that regulates temps pre- and post-O is the level of hormones... so as ovulation nears and estogen starts to rise, this stabalizes temps in a lower range. So it is possible that O may still be a little ways off

Or you just have wackadoo temps! LOL! That is equally possible! Take a look at the gallery in FF and you will see all sorts of patterns.

If you have another longer cycle you may want to do the pre-O and post-O blood tests just to see how things are going? I think they do one at CD-3 and another at 7 DPO.

 

[Festy]

Waxing, welcome to the thread! I am so sorry for your loss.

Fisher, hehe, enjoy your new toy! Here''s hoping for a 30 day cycle.

Sunkist - I''m doin'' the crosshair dance for ya! (This is a more restrained version of the BFP dance).

Steph, I''m glad you won''t have to bother with BCP for 3 months too. That sounded like a bit of a hassle.

I hope everyone else is doing well...Blushing, InLuv, Sha. Lysser, I see you made the jump to the preggo thread. Hooray! But I know you''ll see this post, too.

**************

CD, ooh let''s see, 15 for me? I think? I''m not sure our BDing was very well timed this month, but I feel ok about that. Still waiting for the sore nips (sorry!) to confirm O happened. I''m expecting that in the next couple of days. Had some weird CM this month, which I am actaully too bashful to describe, despite my free-wheeling use of the n*p word!

 

[steph72276]

Date: 1/12/2009 12:00:54 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Steph I think both my friends who had you situation did not wait very long, maybe one cycle?? My intuition would be that if you body isn''t ready, then you won''t get KTFU? If medical opinions vary then you can probably make your own call...

Dreamer, thank you for the info about your friends. That is kind of what I''m hearing from everybody, so I think as long as I wait a month or 2 I should be fine.

 

[sunkist]

Festy, thanks for joining in the crosshairs dance!! I did my own little one while getting ready this morning

I''m feeling pretty relaxed about the whole TTC thing so far. I''m just always eager to know what my temp is going to be the next morning. I''m happy about my progress so far though, we''ll see how it goes.

November, how fun to go to lots of baby showers! That means buying baby gifts and I love choosing those. Way to go on the BD every other day.

We have a lot of ladies coming up on O day

Do we have a PS Ovulation fairy?? If we do, here''s wishing she brings you all lots of O dust!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Aye, no crosshairs for me. So, no such luck with a 30 day cycle. Hmm. Dare I dream for a 34 day cycle? Yes, I shall!

Who knows. We''re both trying to commit to a more laid back approach. I don''t know, but *so* many of my friends got preggo once they *stopped* trying. A lot to be said for what stress and a mind can do, I think.

Congrats on those crosshairs, Sunkist. So exciting! Here''s hoping you don''t need to chart next cycle, because there won''t be one and instead you''ll be eagerly awaiting a baby bump showing!

Peony, how are your temps coming? Do they seem to be more "regular" than they were last cycle?

November, I hope your O finds you soon. Cycle buddies need to hang together like that!

Festy, hope you get your O confirmation soon, too!

Steph, welcome back in the swing of things soon, girl!

 

[steph72276]

Date: 1/13/2009 7:26:12 AM
Author: fisherofmengirly
Aye, no crosshairs for me. So, no such luck with a 30 day cycle. Hmm. Dare I dream for a 34 day cycle? Yes, I shall!


Who knows. We''re both trying to commit to a more laid back approach. I don''t know, but *so* many of my friends got preggo once they *stopped* trying. A lot to be said for what stress and a mind can do, I think.


Congrats on those crosshairs, Sunkist. So exciting! Here''s hoping you don''t need to chart next cycle, because there won''t be one and instead you''ll be eagerly awaiting a baby bump showing!

Peony, how are your temps coming? Do they seem to be more ''regular'' than they were last cycle?


November, I hope your O finds you soon. Cycle buddies need to hang together like that!

Festy, hope you get your O confirmation soon, too!


Steph, welcome back in the swing of things soon, girl!

Fisher, I think you are so right about the stress playing a part. The laid back approach is what my hubby and I did. We didn''t put pressure on ourselves and said we would just have fun trying and see what happened and got pregnant the second month off bc both times. I think when we do start trying again, we are going for the same approach for at least 6 months or so before I start with all the charting and stuff. You know, sometimes you just have to forget about the science part and just let things happen naturally I think.

 

[blushingbride]

Hi All!

Work has been a killer and it''s only going to get worse so, I''ll been sending baby dust from afar to all of you! However, I still wanted to sneak away from work for 5 min. to say hello.

Waxing - I''m truly sorry for the loss of your baby. I hope you find some comfort and support on this thread and best of luck to you and your hubby in the future! I hope you get a FAST BFP!!

Peony, Fisher, Amber, Festy, InLuv, Sunkist, Steph, Lovely, LL, November and anyone else I may have missed, I''m ROOTING for you!!!

As for me, I''m at CD 14 and got my first high reading on my monitor today so, of course we''ve been covering our bases. DH got his SA back and the results were completely normal!

WHEW!!! We were very relieved - my doc told me that if we aren''t preggos in 3 months to come back to see her and then it''s on to the next thing I guess. Considering that I''m ovulating normally and DH''s guys are A-OK I''m hoping that it will happen for us soon naturally. Fingers crossed...

 

[Festy]

Yes, laid back approach is what I''m shooting for from now on. Of course having charted for three months and being fairly confident about when I ovulate, it''s hard not to keep those days in the back of my mind.

Hi Blushing! That is super awesome news about the SA! You must feel so relieved.

Fisher, thanks for thinking of me. I won''t get any crosshairs this cycle cuz I''m not temping this go-round, but I''ll probably take a stab in the dark and say I O''d on CD 13! See how laid back I am? I barely have a pulse.

 

[Sha]

Blushing, that''s great about your DH''s s/a!

It must be a relief not to have worries in that department, on top of all the other anxieties that pop up when TTC.

Peony and Fisher, I hope you see earlier O''s this cycle. I know what that ''waiting to O'' frustation is like!

 

[sunkist]

Blushing that''s awesome news!!

Hooray! If it doesn''t happen in the next 3 months, which I hope it does, I have heard a lot of stories of people who jut went to a first appt with a fertility specialist and then conceived the next month without doing any treatment. Maybe the spermies and egg are scared into getting their act together

I dunno. Anyways, I''m rooting for you Blushing!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Blushing,

I bet that awesome news is a big sigh of relief. Yay!!

I hope there is NO need for any more Dr. visits of any sort like that, and that you get your good news about growing a baby soon!

***
You know who I''ve been thinking about lately? Ebree. I wonder how in the world she''s doing these days. In case you''re lurking, Hi! Hope things are going well for you. Thinking about you and hoping great things for you, girly!!

***
Yesterday I got an email from my friend, Sarah. She goes in today for a D&E. Thank you for the thoughts and prayers; they are doing amazingly well through all of this. She really wanted to see if she could have the baby herself, but then the worry about infection and complications came up, and there was no sign of any contractions or anything of that nature. They''re hoping to be able to find out the gender today, though, which she says will give her a sense of peace about things. The kids are taking it really hard, and the little boy (2yo) is so sympathetic to everyone''s sadness. He''s the little consoler, going around the house hugging and patting them on the back when they appear sad to him. Sarah said she would never have thought that her young children were as compassionate as they are, which has been a blessing to see in the midst of all this. I guess every situation really does give you an opportunity to see the bright side of things. Maybe.

***
My cousin also announced yesterday that she is pregnant with baby number three. She has a 2 1/2 year old son and an 8 month old son. Her daughter is due in June. Back to back to back, but that''s the way they wanted it, and I''m glad it worked out for her. She''s hoping that her older son will be out of diapers before the baby''s born. Three kids in diapers would be hard, I''m sure.

For the first time when I told Paul that someone was pregnant, I saw the look in his eyes change. Not like he was upset or not happy for them, but more of this wishful look. Times like that are when I think that he has more of an attachment to being a father than he lets on sometimes. I think he keeps it in at times for the sake of me, but I think sometimes it''d be good to hear his emotions on this long waiting game of ours, too. He''s said before that he''s sure we''ll be parents, and as am I, but he doesn''t have to always be the peppy cheerleader type in this area. He thinks that''s what I need, so I appreciate him doing it. It helps a lot most of the time. Still, seeing that look in his eyes only reminded me that this phase we''re in is painful for him at times, too. It was comforting to know that he''s there with me, wanting to enter into parenthood just as much. Isn''t it funny how something like that, seemingly sad, can make you feel closer to someone?

Anyway, onward and upward!

I can''t wait for the first announcement of a baby to come of this year!! And then, all those to follow.

 

[steph72276]

Fisher, thinking about your friend. It is certainly not an easy thing and how sweet that the 2 year old is so compassionate to everyone. I know you and your hubby will be pregnant before you know it and time flies by so fast, your little one will be 4 like Andrew and you will say, where did all the time go. Just enjoy each other right now and I know it will happen for you soon!

 

[peonygirl]

Hey Fisher! I''m so sorry about your friend.

It sounds like she''s hanging in there (along with her sweet kids!) and will get a resolution soon. Please keep us updated!

Here is my current chart. Day 24 and nada. Apparently my last two cycles weren''t flukes, and super long cycles appear to be my new reality. The ttw is a cinch compared to waiting to O. Luckily I''m keeping myself busy and trying not to think about it too much. Also, after looking over my pregnancy chart and trying to figure our what we did differently that month, DH and I decided to try to BD less often until I think I might be Oing in order to make sure that the boys are well-stocked, ha! It was actually DH''s idea based on the fact that we hadn''t BDed for two days last time until I got my positive OPK.

Also, another frustrating thing was that in my first three cycles (the ones that were 31, 36, and 35 days), my OPK line would slowly darken (over 3-4 days) from nothing up until the day that I Oed and then fade. With these longer cycles, there is a distinct line of medium-darkness for almost my entire cycle! I wonder why it does that; it''s frustrating because I only have about a day advance warning before I''m going to O, so I have to be VERY vigilant. I wouldn''t have it any other way though, as charting gives me the best possible chance of getting pregnant again!

 

[sunkist]

Hi Peony

Sorry O hasn''t showed up yet! And that is so strange that your OPK is showing med-dark everyday. How will you know when it''s different for when O really does come? Hopefully you can you tell by your CM. It''s going to come though, Peony, and I know you''ll be ready for it when it does

Fisher, I''m right there with you waiting for everyone''s BFPs to start coming in! It''s just all this darn waiting that stinks

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Peony,

I *totally* hear you on the waiting to O stretch being harder than the two week wait. No doubt that''s true for longer cycles. It''s insane!! It will come, and I''m hoping that this is a shorter cycle for you... followed by a return to the short ones you had before!! (You know, if this isn''t "the" cycle for you two.)

*****

So, as it seems is true every single cycle, I''ve got my hopes up that I had an early (for me) ovulation this go round. One more elevated temp. tomorrow will confirm and give me crosshairs. Then there''s the wait to see if FF pulls them away from me, like FF is known to do. Good ol'' FF. I''ve not had 98 degree temps yet, and I won''t really calm down about any O being "for sure" until I reach that point, since that''s where my temp goes after O, but I am a slow riser most of the time.

The wierd thing is that if I did O already, FF is saying it would be on CD16 (yeah, 16..... that''s EARLY for me!!! I so want to do a happy dance!!), but then on CD18, I had a low drop, too. So I wonder if it''s "bad" to have a drop 2 days past ovulation? I mean, would that imply that my egg was bad or that something was wrong? Just wondering. It could have also been a fluke because it was a day when I fell asleep with the therm. in my mouth and I didn''t check the temp after it beeped, I just turned it off and put it on the endtable by the bed and went back to sleep, thinking it was a "boring" temp, you know, so early in my cycle. When I checked it about 2 hours later, I was shocked that it was another drop, re-temped, and got 97.70.

So, I''m not sure, but wanted to see if anyone had any ideas.

(I know you''re not supposed to do this, and I''m *supposed* to be more laid back about this now, but.... I was playing with temp. possibilities for tomorrow and anything above 97.70 will make the crosshairs come up, on CD16).

 

[Sha]

Fisher, I''m not sure about CD16 for O.... you did have a big temp spike but it was still pretty much in the range of your other pre-O temps. And then the other temp is pretty low as well. I''ve had fall-back rises after I''ve O''d, on 2 dpo, but they were at the coverline instead of back down to where my pre-O temps were. I guess the next few day''s temps will clarify if you really did O or not, though- I''m just speculating. I completely empathize with you on the anxiety of waiting to O, though, and I really hope it happens soon!

Where is everybody else in their cycle?

I''m at 8 dpo.....waitng and waiting.. It''s torturous!!! I feel very unpregnant, though.

On 5 dpo I was hopeful because I had some strange cramps for about an hour ...then some brownishs-smeared cm later in the afternoon. It could be completely related to anything though. Nothing since then.... no sore bb''s, no tiredness, nothing...

Bah.