The Official TTC Thread!

[ChinaCat]

Re: caffeine. What DD says is true. However, I was like you Mandarine, and really tried to make the most of everything before I had to give it all up. I drank about 1-2 cups of coffee in the morning, and sometimes tea in the afternoon until I find out I was preggo. My doctor has said a certain amount of caffeine even while preggo is ok- probably up to 2 cups a day. But remember, there is caffeine in other stuff (like chocolate!) that counts as well. Oh, and definitely was partaking of the wine until I find out. Now I can''t get near the smell so it''s not even an option.

I think if I had a m/c or was worried, I probably would have cut it down, but I wasn''t that worried about it (and I really didn''t think I would get KU so fast). Now I just drink decaf, which really doesn''t bother me- it''s the ritual that I love, not the caffeine. I occasionally have the real stuff, but I try to limit it.

I LOVE "Get on the floor!" You guys are cracking me up.

InLuv- Glad you are feeling better this cycle!

November- So glad you badgered your way into an earlier appointment!!!!! Let us know how it goes.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Just to be clear, the added m/c risk with caffein only happens at higher doses... I think it was more than 300mg per day?? If anyone is really curious they can google the exact amount. But in moderation it is probably not at issue. If we get too obsessive we would all be on organic macrobiotic diets drinking nothing but ionized filtered water all day long

 

[ChinaCat]

DD- That sounds about right. I agree, everyone should do what feels right for them. I have a close friend who gave up all alcohol, sugar, and caffeine while TTC. It worked for her (advice of acupuncturist) but was too extreme for me. Now, maybe if I had been trying for awhile or there was a reason to give it up (she had a high FSH level), of course there are circumstances. But jeez, there is a LOT that you have to give up while preggo (all worth it) but I think moderation is the key. Otherwise you will drive yourself CRAZY with all of the potential issues out there. You wouldn''t eat or drink anything.

Oh, and I think even Gwyneth Paltrow, who was on a strict macrobiotic diet before preggo, gave it up while preggo. She said her baby wanted grilled cheese.

 

[swimmer]

Date: 2/5/2009 1:57:04 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Just to be clear, the added m/c risk with caffein only happens at higher doses... I think it was more than 300mg per day?? If anyone is really curious they can google the exact amount. But in moderation it is probably not at issue. If we get too obsessive we would all be on organic macrobiotic diets drinking nothing but ionized filtered water all day long

mmmmm, ionized filtered water. delicious. yeah, that seems a bit much. i am however wondering about sugar and insulin related issues. oh, the more research one does the more it seems amazing that anyone ever gets knocked up.

That is a very funny competitive bd marathon going on!

 

[Festy]

Here''s a great article about caffeine (I lurve the ability to bookmark). While it mentions all kinds of health-related myths it doesn''t address pregnancy or TTC. However, there''s a helpful chart listing the amount of caffeine in various foods and beverages.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/health/05brod.html?em

 

[Sha]

Date: 2/4/2009 8:49:47 PM
Author: drk
Thanks for all the positive thoughts everyone - you''re all so sweet! I''m going to keep this extra short since i haven''t done any studying today and want to be in bed by 10pm. I barely slept last night, nor did DH. I was stressing about him not sleeping almost as much as I was about me not sleeping, cause I figured he''d be even less in the mood the more tired he was. Well, his volume was a little better today (still only 0.6cc, while the range of normal is something like 2.5-6cc), though fewer sperm in there (only 10-15 million/cc, which was really low), but at least more of them were swimming away. She was happier with today''s sample than yesterday''s for sure (though I think only about 5million total got put back in). I think I had ovulation abdo discomfort starting around 4am this morning, with the worst of it from aroudn 6am-10am, so I''m hoping that my 10:45am IUI will have caught a couple of eggs today despite DH''s abysmal numbers. The follicles were definitely all either fully collapsed or in the process of collapsing when we looked this morning.

I''m running on so little sleep that I have no energy for too many comments on other people, but I have to say:
Festy - I love your ROTFLMAO emoticon a few posts up. How on earth do you make it? It even rolls around and everything! (I''m such a kid, to get such a kick out of an emoticon, aren''t I?).

Hopefully I''ll have more time and energy to get more personal tomorrow!
Infertility bites the big one, I have to say... I''m so ready for it to be over and done with.
Kate

Kate, I hope your IUI is successful!

 

[sunkist]

Wow, Mandarine and Festy way to go on the team spirit! Go BD marathon! I''m still rooting for both of you

November that''s awesome the nurse got you and earlier appt! Yay



I got my crosshairs ladies! So now it''s the waiting game. Or do we still have a knitting club around here? Anyways, I''m in the TWW

Anyone else there too? If my AF stays away, I''m thinking I could test on Valentine''s day. That would be 12DPO and of my two charted cycles I had LP lenghts of 10 and 8. Sooo, if AF doesn''t show her ugly face maybe I''ll get to POAS!

Ahh, hopeful thinking

Ok, so I''m playing around with possible temps I could get tomorrow. Depending if my temp goes higher or lower, FF might change my O day to CD17 instead of CD16. And that would be fine with me cause I''d get a better score on my BD timing! Plus I think it makes more sense in relation to those OPK tests I took. Granted I only took them on two days, but the 2nd day''s test was so much more positive than the first day''s. And then I took another test the evening of the 2nd day and it wasn''t positive anymore. So something was happening, I''m sure. But we''ll just have to see where my temp goes in the morning. I''ve already hit my highest temp of my 2 past cycles though. All three times I''ve maxed out at 97.8. What''s it going to be tomorrow?? I''m so curious!

I''m posting my chart too, even though it could change tomorrow. (Sorry I''m posting so much about myself

Did anyone need help going to sleep tonight? haha)

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Sunkist,

Yay for crosshairs!

Oh how I hope they don't move... it ends up being a curse! Haha. Not really, but I get so annoyed by jumping crosshairs on FF.

I'd almost forgotten about the knitters. Yeah, I hope you're knitting that baby in super tight, girlie!!

I think all of us automatically shift to more of the "me" phase in posting on here near and past O. That's when you really get to wondering if your cycle has finally made you a mother! I'm totally guilty of talking about myself on here way too much. I sorta think that's part of what this whole thread is for, though. Venting. Questioning. Hoping. Hoping for others. Being confused with others. And supporting others in their confusion and hope.

So, fess up: have you carried your baby bag out yet?

*****
Dr.K,

Hoping hoping hoping to hear good news from you soon!!!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Hey Sunkist, nice looking chart! I think that it is clear you ovulated, that is a lovely bi-phasic chart, but I have come to believe that obsessing over the exact day of ovulation based on temps etc. is a lost cause... the reality is that with temping we can only really be accurate to within a couple of days either direction of the temp shift, so it could have been a day sooner than FF says or a day later. Either way, you have gotten in som BDin the window so it is possible you are preggo! As for the LPs, my guess is that you will be a shorter LP person, if I were betting I''d guess 10 days or so (the 8 was probably a wackadoo cycle like I had in my third month off the pill), so testing on 12DPO *may* give you an accurate result!

 

[Mandarine]

Sunkist, I don''t know anything about charting...but Dreamer says it looks promisiing so....yay!!!!

Fingers crossed!!!

Dreamer, since you are here and you know so much

...can you point me to a good post or site explaining how to read the CM?. Without scooping I was able to get a good look..(sorry TMI). Anyway, I had some the day before yesterday and this am (both times different) but I want to see if I can figure out what it means

I am sure this has been discussed before...but I''ve been looking through the old pages in the thread and can''t find it

Festy, where are you my friend?...hope DH is feeling better today!!!

. No action for me this AM!...but tonight I''m on it

 

[natalina]

Oooooo Sunkist! I''m so excited for you!

 

[swimmer]

Sunkist, that is an amazing looking chart.

DrK, I hope your IUI went well. Technology is so amazing!

Mandarine, the fertilityfriend online course is really informative. You just sign up and they email you a lesson every day. Or just read DD''s very informative posts, not sure how many pages back though!

Hope Fisher, Peony, and everyone else are doing well...wow, DD, you are getting there!

 

[Festy]

Good morning ladies,

In the spirit of posting about me, I''ll share my chart so far. You''ll notice today''s temp is not entered. Funny thing happened. The first time I took it this morning it was a record-breaking 97.86! My temps barely get that high in the LP. Now, this is the same BBT I''ve been using for months and I think it''s on its way out. But I haven''t wanted to switch BBTs mid-stream. So I took it again: 97.50. Then I took it again: 96.37 (WTF?) And again: 97.00. And yet again, 97.13. Let me show those temps in a list:

97.86 (no way)
97.50 (more reasonable, but still probably a little high)
96.37 (again, WTF)
97.00
97.13 (I''m guessing this is most likely, given past charts)

Only time will tell what my "real" temp was...the BBT does sit next to the radiator, but I''ve always done that and it''s never been a problem. The real clincher will be to see what''s going on with CM. Think I''ll go check that right now! Oh, if you''d like to stalk my past charts, you can do that here: http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/22404b. I''ll be back to give my usual shout-outs.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Mandarine I don''t personally think there is a great website describing CM or how to assess it! You can check FF and www.ovusoft.com which is the companion site for Taking Charge of Your Fertility. Back in June I posted this about CF to summarize my personal observations:

Okay, this will be TMI but I feel like I got a really good handle on this stuff this past cycle and it is really important for predicting your fertile phase...

My first two cycles off the pill I had LITTLE OR NO CF, and so was very confused about what was going on. If you have recently come off the pill, this could be an issue for you so it may take some time for it to appear.

Drink at least 8oz of water per hour during the middle of your cycle. CF is made of water, so lots of water will make you produce more of it!

You may need to assess my CF internally to get a good idea of what is going on. Since you are expressing confusion, you probably need to do the internal assessment. Remember, CF comes from the cervix and for many women it hangs out up there. To properly sample it, you need to insert *2 fingers* held straight and touching one another (like if you were making a gun with your hand *bang* *bang*), into your vajayjay until you feel the tip of your cervix, then you need to separate the two fingers and circle them around either side of your cervix a couple times. Then put them together again and keeping them slightly bent, pull them out. By swirling your fingers around your cervix you will "scoop" up the CF, and keeping them a teensy bit bent when you pull them out helps keep the CF from coming off again. If you only use one finger, the cf will not stick to your finger so you may not be able to get it out of your body to assess it! With the two finger method you will be able to pull it out-a there and look at it.

"Dry" CF is infertile and at this stage your fingers will just glisten slightly. At this phase in your cycle it may be very difficult to do the internal sample, and it probably isn''t required. Just remember that you can often *feel* dry at the outside but have tonnes of EWCF internally (it hangs out near the cervix and may not drip out if it is very thick) so to be safe you shouldn''t assume yo uare infertile just b/c you feel dry externally.
"Sticky" CF is also infertile and it will stick to your fingers but it will appear slightly sticky, tacky, or gluelike, it will be yellow, or white, or cloudy
"Creamy" CF is considered fertile and you should BD when you notice it *unless* from months of experience you know that this is a common type of CF for you during your infertile time (it is for me). It is white or cloudy, and feels like lotion between your fingers... very lotiony or maybe a little thinner like milk.
"Watery" CF is fertile and your should definitely BD when you get it! It will look and feel just like water. This CF will usually cause your panties to get wet. Remember fertile CF will make a round wet spot whereas infertile CF ill make a white square or line in your panties.
"Egg-White" CF... this is the one you really want! BD every day you have it! When you pull your fingers out, this CF will be like slimy watery, gooey, runny snot all over your fingers! Sorry, that is gross, but it is true. It will feel veeeery slippery between your fingers, and if you rub it between your thumb and index fingers, and then separate those two fingers, it will streeeeetch... If you drop it into a glass of water it will form a ball and sink to the bottom. At this time your will get a wet and lubricated feeling in your vajayjay.

Many women get a patch of fertile watery or EWCF right before their period, and I have had watery CF every since I got preggo... so it is possible that you are nearing the end of your cycle if you see it a second time. It is also possible that you did not ovulate the first time you saw the EWCF, and your body is gearing up again to ovulate. Since you are not temping, you cannot be sure you ovulated yet, so you should BD every day you think you have fertile CF.

Let me know if you have any other questions, I am not shy in case you didn''t notice

ETA: There is really no mistaking EWCF.. .it is very obvious. As I mentioned, my first two cycles off the pill I did not get any and I was like, "Is this it?? Is this it?" But then my third cycle I got it and was like, "OOOOoooohhhh! I get it!" There really is no mistaking it!

 

[Festy]

Sunkist, great chart! It looks like you''re in good shape.

Mandarine - Hiya! Isn''t DD the best? Have fun scooping! DH is still feeling under the weather and stayed home from work today. I told him I wanted to feel some sympathy but was having a hard time since he went to the Celtics/Lakers game last night and stayed for the WHOLE thing! He claimed he was staying home today to conserve his energy for BDing tonight. I told him he''d better be ON THE FLOOR waiting for me when I get home.

I know you''re all dying to know how my CM check went so I won''t keep you in suspense any longer! Still fertile, so no O for me yet. Phew.

I do in fact have a job and I''m now going to go do it.

 

[Mandarine]

Dreamer,

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

I think I am nearing the very sticky phase!. Is it normal that I didn''t have to scoop but it basically just came out? (I had a sneeze attack and BAM!)..lol. It''s not unusual for me to see it (even while on the pill). I''m definitely getting on the floor this entire weekend!!

It''s between watery and egg white....it''s stretchy but not suuuper stretchy!

Now I see why Festy went undercover when posting in this thread. I don''t need people IRL figuring out who I am and knowing about my CM! haha

Festy - You crack me up!...LOL. Mental picture of DH waiting for you on the floor! hahaha

 

[Sha]

sunkist, yay for crosshairs!! Are you our first Twwaiter?

Festy - that's really strange. They say you should use the first temp, but...that's really high, even if that was an O-rise temp. Hmmm...

---------------------------------------------

I am really in need of charting help too! I'm kind of freaking out!

DH and I bd'd on CD11, just for kicks. On CD12 I had ewcm and a low temp - 97.34. Was really surprised by the ewcm because I'd never had fertile cm that early in that my cycle. Figured I was gearing up to O sometime soon. Took an OPK at 2:00 pm - it was negative, very faint second line. Took it again at 8:00 pm. The line was a little darker - but still faint. I put that down as a negative result, since the second line was not even close to the darkness of the control line. Figured it would probably get darker in the coming days.

On CD13 I woke up and took my temp - it was 97.76. I thought - what the heck? That's kind of high - I hope I haven't O'd. Also realized when I woke up that I had come down with a cold - felt snuffly and bad all day. Didn't have a fever though. Was considering BD'ing but didn't really feel up to it. Decided to take an OPK - thinking it would've been darker than the day before - and it was even lighter than on day 12! You could barely see anything!! So then I started thinking - I wonder if the cold has thrown up my O?

Also realized that I didn't seem to have any ewcm that day.

Today- CD14 - I took my temp and it was 98.26!! Now I'm freaking out because I'm wondering if this is an O rise!!!

Or could it be due to the cold? I'm really hoping i haven't O'd!!! DH and I only got one BD in on CD11!!

Please tell me what you think?

 

[Sha]

Here''s my chart... hope it''s viewable...

 

[Festy]

Hi Sha,

I feel your pain! When do you typically O? Do you have past charts that you could post, or link to your FF home page?

 

[Dreamer_D]

Mandarine every woman has a different Basic Infertile Pattern (BIP) for their CF. Some are dry, some are creamy or sticky... it takes time to figure that out! So for you, lots of sticky type may be your infertile pattern--if you had it while on the pill, it is probably not fertile CF since you are not fertile on the pill! It also takes time to figure out what IS your own persoanl fertile CF. One thing that is important to know about EW is that it will NOT break when stretched. You can stretch it and stretch it and it will just get to be a thinner and thinner strand. If it is breaking after an inch or so, than it is eithr sticky or it is semen! Sometimes it is hard to tell semen from true CF. You can do the water test: put the sampl in a glass of water, true CF will ball up and sink whereas semen will sort of disolve off your fingers as you rub them. You can also rub your fingers together after you sample: true EW will stay slippery for a looooong time whereas semen will sort of dry out on your fingers and you rub them. Watery is easier to assess in the panties rather than on the fingers, since how do you see water on your hands?? Round wet patches on panties = watery. and yes, it is normal for it to be apparent extrernally. I still think internal checking is important because *some* CF may get out to the open, but the most important fertile types may only hang out at the cervix. Still, many women can assess CF externally. CF takes a fem months to figure out. You will get there! Plus, if you are getting on the floor EOD anyways it doesn''t matter much whether you correctly assess you CF.

Sha can''t tell from one temp whether you ovulated. Clomid messes up your CF so you also can''t go by that too much, and I *think* I recall it messes up OPKs too? Even if it doesn''t mess up the OPK, lots of women find they never get positives on OPKs so don''t worry, they are confusing. All you can do now is try to BD today and hope you catch it! All this just goes to show how hard it can be to time BD right... that''s partly why I got sucked into the whole every-day thing... I worried so much about skipping a day in case it was "the day"!

 

[Sha]

Hi Festy,
I'm a typically late O'er - between CDs 19-21 non-medicated. My first cycle on Clomid I O'd on CD17.

 

[sunkist]

Good morning everyone! I''m home sick from work today

Just really stuffed up with a cold. So I''ll make my day worth while and check out Pricescope

and of course get some rest too.

Mandarine you were asking about CM information. FF is a good resource and i also found THIS website to be helpful. It''s an online book from Justisse Method and it''s a FAM that focuses on CM. So it goes into lots of detail on how to check CM, how to wipe, how often to check it. And on Chp 4 page 31 there are a few photos on what it looks like.

Kinda icky, but still helpful!

DrK i was reading your post about your IUI, I hope all went well! And I''m curious, what does it mean when your follicle collapses?

Fisher No, I haven''t taken my bag out yet!!

I did put any baby items I have in it though such as a little sleeper outfit and a blanket. That''s all I have, I promise! I just wanted to try it out for size

I have been temped to take it out because it would have looked cute with what I was wearing, but I can just imagine the look from my husband that I''m wearing a baby bag before we have a bun in the oven

Oh! Festy! On your BBT woes, what I''ve been doing is double temping right in a row. I don''t even take the BBT out of my mouth. I just turn it off and turn it back on so it stays in the same position under my tongue. Temps don''t vary as much as when I took it out and exposed it to the air before I re-temped. But I still feel like they are close enough that they are valid. I don''t know if my new method proves anything or not, haha!, it just seems to make me feel better about my temps.


Thanks Fisher, DD, Mandy, Nata, Swimmer, Festy and Sha for the good vibes!

Oh, and thanks for all the comments on my chart too! I feel so flattered, never had such a *pretty* chart before

heehee. So my temp went up today and it''s .5 deg higher than it''s ever been. And .5 doesn''t sound like much I realize, but that was just my first temp. I temped a couple times after that right in a row and it those temps were even a bit higher. Plus, you all know on your chart it looks like a lot! Anyways, I''m not going to worry about my changing O day. But I''d love to get some of you in the TWW wait with me! Sending O dust to every one~

 

[Festy]

Sha...I doubt I could add to the helpful points that DD made. I guess you just have to wait and see. This is my first time trying OPK strips and I have a feeling I'm going to be one of those people for whom they don't work. But we'll see.

 

[Mandarine]

Sunkist hope you feel better! Thanks for the link, I''ll check it out now. Pictures may be good for reference!.

Dreamer Thanks again! That''s so helpful! I guess I will get to understand it better when I start seeing patterns from cycle to cycle. As long as DH cooperates I think I''m signing up for every day (from yesterday to Tuesday or so)..then maybe EOD the rest of the week

 

[sunkist]

Hey Sha! Sorry about your funky temps. Are you still on Clomid now? Still CD12 seems pretty early for an O, but it can happen. It does look like it could be an O, but it''s hard to tell. Tomorrow''s temps always give you a better picture of course

If you level off up there at the top tomorrow, that would tell us more that you O''d. And if that''s so, it totally stinks that it caught you off gaurd! Darn those hard to read OPKs! Well I''ll hope that you didn''t O yet so you can still catch it, K? But still of you O''d on CD12, I think you still got in some strategic days. So don''t give up hope.

 

[sunkist]

Mandy that's pretty awesome you hubby has a sign up sheet!

I wish my hubby came with one of those.

And Festy I'm just checking out your FF homepage

Your charts looking great this month, very steady temps

looks like O is coming soon for you. Good luck!!!!!

 

[Mandarine]

hehe, he doesn''t have a sign up sheet but that''s a good idea

...I have a mental sheet though and I signed our names up!

I''m so sleepy today...all I want to do is crawl in bed!!! I work from home so it''s very tempting to do just that!

 

[ChinaCat]

Mandarine- I am so glad you are on this thread. Much needed comic relief! Love how you are "egging" the other girls on.

And though we are not TTC (but KU), I am SO using Get on the Floor. Like telling my hubby, you better be on the floor when I get home. Sounds kinda fun and sexy.

Love it!!!!!!

 

[Mandarine]

LMAO!! Be on the floor when I get home was just too much. Festy had me chocking up on my coffee with that one!.

I love it too and might steal it

...since I am the one that works from home maybe I can send DH an email saying "Baby, I'll be on the floor when you get home!"...HAHAHA!

Thanks China, I love being back on PS

 

[Festy]

Date: 2/6/2009 1:06:52 PM
Author: Mandarine
LMAO!! Be on the floor when I get home was just too much. Festy had me chocking up on my coffee with that one!.

I love it too and might steal it

...since I am the one that works from home maybe I can send DH an email saying ''Baby, I''ll be on the floor when you get home!''...HAHAHA!

Thanks China, I love being back on PS

Hehe, I was thinking I might clue DH in on our GOF shenanigans. He rolled his eyes when I told him about the BD acronym. But geesh, whaddyagonnado? Type " dear hubby and I are hoping to have sexual intercourse tonight?" Now *that* would be weird.