The Official TTC Thread!

[icekid]

Date: 10/26/2009 6:35:02 PM
Author: HOUMedGal

IceKid...good luck making it till March!!



Well, I''ve got a confession to make...we decided, what the heck, let''s start actually trying this month!

........ AH! You''re killing me!!

Not that I have any time this month to GOTF anyway (q3 in the ICU meh.) I am with you in the impatience, and apparently it only worsens when the TTC actually commences. Sending you knocked up vibes

 

[Lanie]

Date: 10/26/2009 7:57:10 PM
Author: Bliss
Thanks, Lucy.lucy.80!!!!!

I have long cycles, too! I am around 36-37 days! Shocker! I had never known before charting...just always assumed AF drifted from month to month. Dust to you! I am trying to live without as much coffee....sooooo hard!

Geri, I think charting would really help you make that decision! Why not give it a go? For me, the day DH bought me the book suggested here, Take Charge of Your Fertility, I was charting. It''s fascinating! I sat down and read it cover to cover in one sitting, practically. Really incredible read!

LINDESY!!!! I teared up reading you post. There is so much sincerity and warmth from your posts and I can tell how much this means to you and your DH. Congratulations. So happy for you. STICKY VIBES and dust dust dust! YAY. Oh, how amazing!

Laila, THANK YOU!!!!!! DUST TO YOU!!!!!!

Puppmom THANK YOU!!!!! I hope all of our stays are short. Wow, it is so scary and exciting at the same time. I don''t want to get my hopes up but I can''t help it... so tough to wait. It really pulls on your heartstrings.

KimberlyH THANK YOU... that is an amazing mantra. I really need it because sometimes I get so stressed out with fear of never getting pregnant! It''s so irrational, but it''s there. I wonder why that is? It must come from over eagerness.

NewShiny Thanks! HAPPY BABY DUST!

HOUMedGal I AM THE SAME WAY. I have no idea if I''m pregnant or not but I am dying to pee on sticks! Last month, I spent a small fortune on those pee sticks! I went through them like candy. Took one every couple of hours! Crazy, I know! I was just so excited... I googled all the early pregnancy symptoms, swore I had nausea...imagined all the symptoms... Oy! I wonder if I even imagined the implantation cramps!

Now I''m just trying to relax and not test for a while. It seems to stress me out and it''s sooooo crushing when I get a BFT. I actually teared up over it last month! My mom thinks I''m nuts because when it''ll happen, it''ll happen. And we have only begun to try... It''s just so hard for accomplished women who are used to getting what they want... having careers and shaping our own destinies...and in this area, feel so helpless! It''s so out of our control! I mean, we can do a lot, but the rest is waiting and up to nature! Incredibly humbling. I guess it truly is a miracle when one gets a beautiful baby! In your words, it is truly a rollercoaster of emotions.

I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU, TOO! Congrats on TTC and baby dust!!!!!

That sent chills up my spine...don''t know why.

2 of my closest friends are trying so hard right now. I always check to see if they are drinking alcohol when we go out because they won''t say anything officially until they are out of the first trimester. Every time I listen to see what my friend orders and she orders wine, I get sad. That sounds funny to type, but it''s so true. BUT I have also seen years and years of trying end up with happy, healthy babies too!

 

[HOUMedGal]

Date: 10/26/2009 8:20:24 PM
Author: icekid

Date: 10/26/2009 6:35:02 PM
Author: HOUMedGal

IceKid...good luck making it till March!!



Well, I''ve got a confession to make...we decided, what the heck, let''s start actually trying this month!

........ AH! You''re killing me!!

Not that I have any time this month to GOTF anyway (q3 in the ICU meh.) I am with you in the impatience, and apparently it only worsens when the TTC actually commences. Sending you knocked up vibes

Hehe, sorry if I''m enabling you to be a resident mom.

Q3 in the ICU, blegh! I have NICU in December (will be q4) so if I''m preggo now I may still be in the throes of 1st trimester feeling-icky-time by then. And I''m in the PICU (q5, thank God) in May, so if I''m preggo now I''ll be starting my 3rd tri then...could also be fun.

But yanno, I figure there''s really no perfect time for us (i.e. women who work long/hard hours) to do this, so we just have to do it and not let our jobs dictate our lives. Plus, who knows how long it will take...I would probably kick myself for not starting to try sooner if I waited several more months to start and then had a hard time getting pregnant. I''m just so tired of putting my "real life" on hold for my career, and everything else is pretty much perfect right now, so that''s why we decided to go ahead.

So you really think you''ll be able to wait till March??

 

[HOUMedGal]

Date: 10/26/2009 8:30:21 PM
Author: Lanie

Date: 10/26/2009 7:57:10 PM
Author: Bliss
And we have only begun to try... It''s just so hard for accomplished women who are used to getting what they want... having careers and shaping our own destinies...and in this area, feel so helpless! It''s so out of our control! I mean, we can do a lot, but the rest is waiting and up to nature! Incredibly humbling. I guess it truly is a miracle when one gets a beautiful baby! In your words, it is truly a rollercoaster of emotions.

I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU, TOO! Congrats on TTC and baby dust!!!!!

That sent chills up my spine...don''t know why.

2 of my closest friends are trying so hard right now. I always check to see if they are drinking alcohol when we go out because they won''t say anything officially until they are out of the first trimester. Every time I listen to see what my friend orders and she orders wine, I get sad. That sounds funny to type, but it''s so true. BUT I have also seen years and years of trying end up with happy, healthy babies too!

Agreed. It is very humbling to have such a lack of control over when things happen. And it is truly a miracle to be given the privilege and responsibility of a precious new life.

 

[geri]

Thanks for the welcome everyone.

As of this afternoon, I have a copy of TCOYF (I''m not in the US so it took me a little while to find) so will start reading it soon. I''m not sure whether to read it in front of SO though. While he seems more keen than me to have kids, I don''t want the reality of "timing" BD to freak him out.

I haven''t been charting yet but even paying a little more attention to my body has been interesting. I normally have a 30-32 day cycle and had been guessing when I was O''ing based on a 14 day luteal phase. This would have meant I should have O''d about the 24th but based on observing CF, I think I may have O''d on about the 20th or 21st, which would mean I have a luteal phase of 16-17 days. I know the 14 days is an average but does this sound right? If it is, it is no wonder we have been missing the boat!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Hi Geri,

I'd like to suggest, in addition to the TCOYF book, that you try Fertility Friend. There is a free trial period, and there is a lot of useful information on the site. If you do decide to track your temps, then you can record your temps on the site, as opposed to on paper -- much easier.

I did track my temps, on and off, starting September of last year, but have since stopped temping and use OPK (Ovulation Predictor Kit) sticks to predict ovulation. I've stopped temping because I nearly always ovluate on CD14, although the length of my luteal phase often varies. With that said, I am glad that I did temp because I was able to see first-hand when my temps confirmed ovulation, and I was able to better relate what I was reading in TCOYF to my own body based on my own records.

If I am interpreting what you've said above correctly, then your observations about your CF indicate that you would have ovulated on CD14, but that your LP is longer than the typical 14 days. An LP of 16-17 days is completely possible. According to FF, 10-16 days is the typical LP length. I have had LPs of longer than 16 days, as I have had varying cycle lengths. I would still recommend either temping or OPKs, or preferably both.

Regarding your SO, from my experience, my DH was a bit reluctant about my TCOMF at first, but a few months in and he was recording my temps for me on FF (because I am not a very good record-keeper.

) Everyone is different though. He may or may not want to be involved at this point.

 

[Bliss]

Lanie, I think my friends do the same to me! It made me tear up to read what you wrote. I get sad inside when my friend tells me AF came that month because she's been trying as well. I had no idea this part would be so hard! I can't imagine a long journey of this and if God wills it, I often wonder if I have it in me to go the distance. It's too heartbreaking at times because at this point, I want a baby so badly. Where did this crazy urge come from? It's mystifying! Are you trying as well or a guardian angel who comes to wish us support from time to time?

HOUMedGal,here's to hoping your stay is short!!!!

geri, YAY! So glad you got the book! Loves Vintage is right, Fertility Friend is awesome. It was so helpful to me. It's kind of funny how this month when I was ovulating we had such a huge laugh together. DH said, "I am starting to feel like a cow! The way you look at me is how the farmer would look at a cow he's about to milk!" We laughed so hard we had tears streaming down our faces. So it can be a lot of fun, too. Now, I'm like, "Where's my cow? It's milkin' time!!!" And that just sends us into fits of laughter. Crazy. But fun! Sometimes you gotta LOL.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Date: 10/27/2009 4:17:37 PM
Author: Bliss

geri, YAY! So glad you got the book! Loves Vintage is right, Fertility Friend is awesome. It was so helpful to me. It''s kind of funny how this month when I was ovulating we had such a huge laugh together. DH said, ''I am starting to feel like a cow! The way you look at me is how the farmer would look at a cow he''s about to milk!'' We laughed so hard we had tears streaming down our faces. So it can be a lot of fun, too. Now, I''m like, ''Where''s my cow? It''s milkin'' time!!!'' And that just sends us into fits of laughter. Crazy. But fun! Sometimes you gotta LOL.

Bliss,

That is very, very funny! Where are you in your cycle now? Are you waiting to test? That''s what I gathered from your post on the prior page, but I wasn''t sure if you just meant you were going to try to take it easy on the testing in general. I''m a big fan of the internet cheapies: Cheap Tests . I purchased 30 a while ago, and they seem to last forever. Now that (like you), I am aware that I sometimes have long cycles, I tend to test a lot less frequently. The first two long cycles, I was sure I was pregnant, but just couldn''t get the darn tests to comply!! Of course, I was not really pregnant. Since then, my cycles have been shorter anyway. Go figure.

I''m on CD21 and had bloodwork today to see if my progesterone level is low like it was last month. My doctor said the lower level wasn''t really a concern. I am going to a RE next month, and I look forward to it, or at least to getting some answers. This was a very bad month for us timing wise, so there is virtually no chance that I will be positive this month, which oddly, is ok. It''s nice to have a break from the anticipation.

 

[Bliss]

Date: 10/27/2009 5:01:39 PM
Author: Loves Vintage

Date: 10/27/2009 4:17:37 PM

Author: Bliss


geri, YAY! So glad you got the book! Loves Vintage is right, Fertility Friend is awesome. It was so helpful to me. It's kind of funny how this month when I was ovulating we had such a huge laugh together. DH said, 'I am starting to feel like a cow! The way you look at me is how the farmer would look at a cow he's about to milk!' We laughed so hard we had tears streaming down our faces. So it can be a lot of fun, too. Now, I'm like, 'Where's my cow? It's milkin' time!!!' And that just sends us into fits of laughter. Crazy. But fun! Sometimes you gotta LOL.

Bliss,


That is very, very funny! Where are you in your cycle now? Are you waiting to test? That's what I gathered from your post on the prior page, but I wasn't sure if you just meant you were going to try to take it easy on the testing in general. I'm a big fan of the internet cheapies: Cheap Tests . I purchased 30 a while ago, and they seem to last forever. Now that (like you), I am aware that I sometimes have long cycles, I tend to test a lot less frequently. The first two long cycles, I was sure I was pregnant, but just couldn't get the darn tests to comply!! Of course, I was not really pregnant. Since then, my cycles have been shorter anyway. Go figure.


I'm on CD21 and had bloodwork today to see if my progesterone level is low like it was last month. My doctor said the lower level wasn't really a concern. I am going to a RE next month, and I look forward to it, or at least to getting some answers. This was a very bad month for us timing wise, so there is virtually no chance that I will be positive this month, which oddly, is ok. It's nice to have a break from the anticipation.

Loves Vintage, thank you....THANK YOU for that link! I have been trying to find out where all these awesome cheapies are! I tested so much last month - couldn't help it! And they're all wrapped up like candy bars so you get that glee from holding the crackly foil wrapper anticipating the result. BFNs are the worst, though! So this month, I am trying to hold off on testing.

Reading through this thread (I'm on page 104) I suddenly remembered I had an extra pregnancy test somewhere in my drawers so I ran and found it. It's sitting on my dresser. I'm about 9 DPO. Trying to resist the urge to POAS and ruin my night if I get a BFN!!!

I am still giggling over the cow analogy. Next month, I may get a pair of overalls and carry a bucket for effect. Can you believe we were (TMI ALERT) BD-ing as we were howling with laughter? DH was laughing so hard I fell off and that sent us into hysteria. He wouldn't let me try to "milk" the cow anymore but I was so grimly determined I kept trying to climb back on...just gasping for air, howling with laughter...we were dying. So funny and crazy at the same time! And yes, I successfully milked Bessie that night! LOL.

There can be some fun and hilarity to this crazy process after all.

So you're on CD21? I am so happy that the doctor says there's no real concern there. But I hope next month clears up some questions. I must admit that I'm still so new to all of this! After the crushing visit from AF last month, I also felt a relief from not stressing too much. It was a little vacation from it all. I keep trying to remind myself to chillax! Everyone keeps telling me that if I keep stressing it'll never happen and for some reason, that stresses me out!

Lots of fairy and baby dust to you!!!

 

[geri]

Loves Vintage - yes, you are interpreting it correctly although who knows whether I was reading the signs properly on my first attempt, especially since I only started part way through the cycle. I think temping would definitely help. I''m on CD 22 so will have to wait another 10 days or so before I can usefully start temping. That gives me about 10 days to decide how much to involve SO. He has a science background so would probably get so into it that he would drive me nuts! Good luck with the test results and the RE.

Bliss - you made me laugh. Glad you can still have a fun time. I know what you mean about relaxing. Even though we weren''t officially TTC, I must admit there was a little twinge of disappointment (but bizarrely, also relief) whan AF arrived each month. Funnily enough, a few months on, I am more relaxed about it. While I want to give myself a good chance, I don''t want to be thinking about it all the time (although, that is probably a little inconsistent with posting on this site!).

 

[HOUMedGal]

Date: 10/27/2009 6:21:13 PM
Author: Bliss

I am still giggling over the cow analogy. Next month, I may get a pair of overalls and carry a bucket for effect. Can you believe we were (TMI ALERT) BD-ing as we were howling with laughter? DH was laughing so hard I fell off and that sent us into hysteria. He wouldn''t let me try to ''milk'' the cow anymore but I was so grimly determined I kept trying to climb back on...just gasping for air, howling with laughter...we were dying. So funny and crazy at the same time! And yes, I successfully milked Bessie that night! LOL.

LMAO at "milking Bessie"!! DEFINITELY get the overalls and bucket for next month!! LOL!!!

 

[MakingTheGrade]

My hubby and I aren''t TTC ...yet.

I''m currently a 2nd year in med school, and I get a lot of different advice on when a good time to have a baby is. It''s almost getting to the point where I want to just do it now so I can stop deliberating!

I''m thinking 4th year is the way to go, but now I"m trying to figure out all the logistics because I''m neurotic and like to have as many ducks in a row as possible before I start. Like whether to deliver at the hospital I train at? Where to find a good OB and if I want one that works in my hospital system? Possibly being pregnant while interviewing for residency?

UGH.

For those of you who are wiser than I and farther along on your medical career path, I"m ALL ears! I don''t really know who to ask for advice since I don''t really know the ms3 or ms4s, much less know if any of them are having kids and would let me pick their brain, lol.

 

[cara]

Making the grade, I''m not a doc but my husband is. The big problem I see with being preggo in year 4 is having a baby in intern year. Unless you are doing some chill program, being able to feed, change and clothe yourself is about all the outside of work human-care seems reasonable to take on. Would you plan to take time off in between? I guess I have seen some male docs have babies intern year, but their wives were putting in the lion''s share of the baby-raising.

Year 4 is pretty chill, but you might want to be able to travel for interviews (so not about to deliver or with brand new baby during interview season.) As for interviewing while visibly pregnant, I think its like anything else. Docs are human, and even in they aren''t supposed to take it into consideration, how can they not? What they do with that information probably depends a bit on the specialty and the person interviewing you. But you can''t live your life avoiding other people''s biases. Good luck!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Date: 10/27/2009 6:21:13 PM
Author: Bliss

Date: 10/27/2009 5:01:39 PM
Author: Loves Vintage

Date: 10/27/2009 4:17:37 PM

Author: Bliss


geri, YAY! So glad you got the book! Loves Vintage is right, Fertility Friend is awesome. It was so helpful to me. It''s kind of funny how this month when I was ovulating we had such a huge laugh together. DH said, ''I am starting to feel like a cow! The way you look at me is how the farmer would look at a cow he''s about to milk!'' We laughed so hard we had tears streaming down our faces. So it can be a lot of fun, too. Now, I''m like, ''Where''s my cow? It''s milkin'' time!!!'' And that just sends us into fits of laughter. Crazy. But fun! Sometimes you gotta LOL.

Bliss,


That is very, very funny! Where are you in your cycle now? Are you waiting to test? That''s what I gathered from your post on the prior page, but I wasn''t sure if you just meant you were going to try to take it easy on the testing in general. I''m a big fan of the internet cheapies: Cheap Tests . I purchased 30 a while ago, and they seem to last forever. Now that (like you), I am aware that I sometimes have long cycles, I tend to test a lot less frequently. The first two long cycles, I was sure I was pregnant, but just couldn''t get the darn tests to comply!! Of course, I was not really pregnant. Since then, my cycles have been shorter anyway. Go figure.


I''m on CD21 and had bloodwork today to see if my progesterone level is low like it was last month. My doctor said the lower level wasn''t really a concern. I am going to a RE next month, and I look forward to it, or at least to getting some answers. This was a very bad month for us timing wise, so there is virtually no chance that I will be positive this month, which oddly, is ok. It''s nice to have a break from the anticipation.

Loves Vintage, thank you....THANK YOU for that link! I have been trying to find out where all these awesome cheapies are! I tested so much last month - couldn''t help it! And they''re all wrapped up like candy bars so you get that glee from holding the crackly foil wrapper anticipating the result. BFNs are the worst, though! So this month, I am trying to hold off on testing.

Reading through this thread (I''m on page 104) I suddenly remembered I had an extra pregnancy test somewhere in my drawers so I ran and found it. It''s sitting on my dresser. I''m about 9 DPO. Trying to resist the urge to POAS and ruin my night if I get a BFN!!!

I am still giggling over the cow analogy. Next month, I may get a pair of overalls and carry a bucket for effect. Can you believe we were (TMI ALERT) BD-ing as we were howling with laughter? DH was laughing so hard I fell off and that sent us into hysteria. He wouldn''t let me try to ''milk'' the cow anymore but I was so grimly determined I kept trying to climb back on...just gasping for air, howling with laughter...we were dying. So funny and crazy at the same time! And yes, I successfully milked Bessie that night! LOL.

There can be some fun and hilarity to this crazy process after all.

So you''re on CD21? I am so happy that the doctor says there''s no real concern there. But I hope next month clears up some questions. I must admit that I''m still so new to all of this! After the crushing visit from AF last month, I also felt a relief from not stressing too much. It was a little vacation from it all. I keep trying to remind myself to chillax! Everyone keeps telling me that if I keep stressing it''ll never happen and for some reason, that stresses me out!

Lots of fairy and baby dust to you!!!

Bliss, That''s so funny! Best to have fun and not turn this into a process!

Yes, today is CD22. I do worry about the stressing too much too. Not sure what to do about it, really, I mean how could I not think about it. Aha, just re-read my prior senstence -- worried about stressing, that pretty much sums up my life.

Oh, you can also order OPK strips from that same company.

So, what''s with no coffee or reduced coffee during TTC? I meant to ask about that, but kept forgetting, probably because I don''t want to hear the answer!!

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Thanks for the response Cara!

I''m actually at a school that only does 1.5 years of basic sciences, so I"ll be done with my core rotations middle of my 3rd year, which gives me an extra semester of relative cushiness. I was thinking of maybe starting to try to conceive near the end of my core rotations, so that I could deliver the baby early in my 4th year, which would let me spend close to a year with it before I was off to start internship and so that I could hopefully interview while not being pregnant (I''ll probably just LOOK like I''m still preggo, haha). I''m not as worried about my interviewers bias as I am about the logistics of traveling while pregnant (and the wreck that my husband would be to have me running around the country in the winter with a baby in me).

Also, my dad will probably come live with us (it''s a cultural norm for me) to help raise the baby during the first 2 or 3 years. My husband is on board with that (bless his patient and understanding heart), and he also has a job that allows him to work from home at least once a week (possibly more if he asked for it).

So I THINK that''s a reasonable game plan, but if I''ve learned anything from medical school, it''s that I truly know nothing, haha. So I''m trying to learn from as many people in/related to the medical field as possible since I''m sure there are a million things I''m not accounting for or thinking about.

 

[Laila619]

Loves Vintage,

I didn''t know you are seeing a RE next month; that''s great! I am too. I''m so excited to be done with my gyn, who as nice as he is, just can''t really do anything.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Hi Laila,

Yes, I am! 11/11 and really looking forward to it. Fortunately, my plan does not require a referral, because I would not want to approach my current doctor for one, although, who knows, she might have given me one just to get me off her back.

I am not that BAD, really, but when I know test results are in, or should be in, then all I ask for is a call back.

I will likely ask the RE if he has a recommendation for an Ob/Gyn because I don't think the current dr and I are a good match.

Have you had any bloodwork yet, or will you have that done next month? I remembered that you were going in November to -- hopefully, we'll both have some answers soon.

Off-topic: How's your new kitten doing? Have you decided on a name?

 

[Laila619]

LV, no bloodwork yet, I am assuming I will get that done in November. My plan required a referral, so I will just get everything done with the RE now. That is annoying about your doc not calling back/getting you your results right away!

I would be a bit irked too! Did you get DH's SA results yet? Crossing fingers everything is fine.

The new kitten is doing great, thanks for asking!

DH wanted to name her Cassie.

 

[Loves Vintage]

DH's SA results came back fine. It took about a week and a half to get the results, but they are ok, so that's a relief.

Cassie is a very cute name!

Speaking of names, I don't know how DH and I will ever agree on a baby name when the time comes. I like names like Summer, Autumn, Meadow, Fern, and he likes, uhm, more traditional names. I'm sure we'll figure something out, when the time comes . . . .

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Shout out to Swimmer!!! I was thinking about you today and got to thinking you must be ending the first trimester by now, right? Congratulations, lady! How have you been doing?

I also wanted to ask you (and anyone else with history with metformin) if it made you sick, and if so, how far into taking it. I started on it this cycle, low dose (500mg, seems like a big number, but the Dr. said it's not) and I had none of the side effects, but was warned it can cause rolling nausea. I've been feeling bouts of nausea for the past couple days (started Monday night), but not a constant, just every now and then. I wonder if this side effect could kick in after nearly a month of taking it? I've not read that it can, but that doesn't mean anything and I know every body is different, but it seems rather late for a side effect of that nature. It's a weird queasy, too. Almost like it's not in my tummy, but a little higher. Perhaps I'm just odd. Or it could be a bug I've gotten. Not sure. Today I got warm and that never happens because I continually stay cold. Eh... flu season is upon us!

Thinking good thoughts for all the women here (and welcome to all the newbies!

); still doing my thing with taking a break from being around so much, but thinking about you all the same!

(PS--Yoga is a dream! Literally; the relaxation exercises put me to sleep like a baby. I've been sleeping through the night since I started, and that's a BIG improvement for this worrisome, restless sleeper. Anyone dealing with stress--TTC or otherwise--I recommend it!)

 

[swimmer]

Hi Fisher, Thanks!
Hmmm, reading online about metformin makes it sound like there are tons of side effects, I''ve only encountered the positive ones. It seems like anything past the first 2 weeks in would not be related to the met. You sound like you are in a good place, yoga sounds great. Do you have a plan to increase the Met or are you staying at 500? Have you had any changes in energy, weight, etc? Man I miss metformin...in Europe pregnant women take it the entire pregnancy, but since it hasn''t been fda approved, women in the us don''t. (i have told you this before, my short term memory is weak these days.) But man I was happy to have that extra bit of stickyness to help prevent m/c in the first 10 weeks, are you going to keep taking it when you get preggo? I''m sure you have chatted about this with your doc and have a super plan.

Yeah, I''m 13 weeks, crazy! You will be here soon. All is good, most pants still fit, but not sure how much longer.

I keep coming back here to see if different folks are posting...at this point I am assuming that some ladies are just not telling us that they are preggo and will show up like Ebree at 12 weeks or something. At least, that is what my heart is hoping...

 

[drk]

Fisher - I''m still on the met. My family doc prescribed it, but my RE recommended ramping it up slowly. 500mg once a day the first week, then 500mg twice a day the second week, then 500mg am and 1000mg pm the next week, then finally 1000mg am and pm. If you started getting side effects, you were supposed to drop back to the previous dosage for a week before trying to go up again. I never noticed any side effects at all. And I think I ramped up even quicker than recommended. She seemed to say that you needed at least 1500mg a day for it to be effective in improving ovulation/hormones. Hope you stop feeling sick soon!

 

[HOUMedGal]

Hi, MakingTheGrade!

Just wanted to give MHO on your situation...I''m currently a second year peds resident, and I went to a med school like yours, where we only had 1.5 years of clinicals and thus, a really nice cushy 4th year. I think I had about 6 months off 4th year.....man, those were the good times!!

I knew several people who had kids during med school, and as far as I know, they''ve all settled into residency well. I agree that it won''t be easy to have a child during intern year (like Cara said, there were indeed times last year when I could barely keep track of myself, much less anyone else) but I do think it''s do-able, especially if your baby is approaching 1 year old and you''ve already settled nicely into parenthood. In fact, one of my co-residents is married to another peds resident in the year above us (so she''s now a second year, he''s a third year) and their son was between 12 and 18 months when she started internship...which also means that during the year before that, her hubby was an intern! And they have done just fine. Their son is a precious, happy, well-adjusted little boy and they manage to always seem amazingly well-put-together.

I think having a baby toward the beginning of 4th year would be good...like you said, your 4th year will be cushy and it sounds like you''ve got a solid family support system. And you''ll get to really enjoy the 1st year of baby''s life. Having a baby during intern year is more difficult. I know just one resident in my class who had her baby during intern year, and she admits that it''s been pretty hard. I know several guys whose wives have had babies intern year, but that''s a bit different. Later in residency is easier as well...I''m shooting for a beginning-of-3rd-year baby myself.

Now, I also have to add that all of this should be colored by what specialty you''re leaning towards as well...some specialties have notoriously harder residencies than others (i.e. surgery). Some will have you doing a harder transitional intern year and then easier years after that, while some are just plain easier from the get-go. And I feel that some programs are more family-friendly than others....luckily, my program is very family friendly, and it''s quite common for our residents to have babies during second and especially third year.

Do you know what specialty you want to do?

I guess, in summary, if you''re the kind of person who needs everything to be *perfect* before you have the baby, then you should probably wait. But, if you''re the type who feels confident that you will be able to deal with whatever comes your way, and challenges here and there won''t ruin things for you or make you feel like a bad parent, then go for it!

I would try to avoid delivering at your training hospital, unless it''s far and away THE place to deliver in town. Ask some of your upperclassmen or residents with kids where they delivered. It would just be really awkward for one of your classmates, or a resident that you work with, to see your hoo-ha, yanno? LOL.

 

[HOUMedGal]

Date: 10/28/2009 3:58:12 PM
Author: Loves Vintage
DH''s SA results came back fine. It took about a week and a half to get the results, but they are ok, so that''s a relief.

 

[swimmer]

Date: 10/28/2009 8:03:04 PM
Author: HOUMedGal

Date: 10/28/2009 3:58:12 PM

Author: Loves Vintage

DH''s SA results came back fine. It took about a week and a half to get the results, but they are ok, so that''s a relief.

Sorry I missed this awesome news! Woot Woot LV! (well, LV''s DH that is...)

 

[swimmer]

DRK, that is great that you are still on met. I was taking 750am and pm, and well, I can''t tell if my total lack o'' energy is b/c of pregnancy or lack of met. I could have/should have pushed to keep taking it, but the docs were like "this is the way we do it in the US..." how is that bebe cookin''?

 

[Loves Vintage]

Thank you HOUMedGal and Swimmer! I would pass along the applause to DH, but he would probably be

if I told him the PS ladies applauded his SA results. Lol.

Good to hear from you, Swimmer!

Glad everything is going well.

 

[NewShiny]

Fisher, I hear you on the trying to stay low-key thing. I had a good long talk with my BFF when I was in CA a few weeks ago. She has a 4 month old, but went through the same thing that I did about a year and a half ago. I told her I was so tense all the time and feeling really negative and disappointed in my body. She told me to take a deep breath every time I felt myself tense up. I have been doing this for the past couple of weeks and I have learned two things. First, I have been really, really tense. Second, it feel so much better to take a deep breath and just relax. I am also a huge fan of yoga, and practice weekly. Take some classes in addition to the videos if you can. A good yoga teacher can really help you learn things you thought you couldn''t do.

I am excited for the newbies and all of your new charts (post ''em if you have ''em please and the discussions about POAS. I stopped POAS around month 3 or 4 of trying. The disappointment wasn''t worth the expense. It was fun at first though. I hope you all get your BFPs really quickly so you can experience the fun and excitement right away.

Bliss, your milk and cow story is hilarious!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

I woke up early this morning so I went back and read the posts I''d missed. Yay for positive results, Vintage, and yippeeee to Lindsey for the flicker! How wonderful!

My husband''s best friend passed away in May from a tragic accident involving a train, and I was talking with his wife, who''s a dear friend of ours as well. She and her husband tried for a number of years to have their first son, and even did clomid for three cycles. She had horrible side effects, so they then stopped all efforts (no more dr. visits, etc., but they were still trying for a baby). Eventually they had their son. Then when they tried for number two, he came along right away. I was talking with her a while back about our continued efforts to grow our family. She said something that I''m sure is true for her, but really, it kind of haunts me. She said that at the time, she had no idea why it was taking so long (almost 5 years), but that now she understands because she wouldn''t have old age with her husband, so God gave her extra time with just the two them before they had kids. They were married 7 years before their first chilld was born. Interesting. Honestly, every once in a while, I will wonder if that''s our fate, too... for what it''s worth, it does make me treasure this time with just myself and Paul all the more, because you don''t get that back.

Don''t really know why I posted that story other than because it''s been in my mind for a while now and I really don''t know how to process it. Paul says it''s just her understanding of things from her shoes at this point in her life. I know that not every couple who struggles to have a baby will have a spouse tragically killed. It''s just one of those things that reminds us to enjoy every stage of life, including the stage where it''s just you and your hubby. Those are wonderful moments!!

Metformin, no notice in energy changes, although it has increased some since starting with the chiro. I''ve lost about 4 pounds this month, but my Dr. said that weight loss is usually from longer use of metformin than the length of time I''ve been on it (about a month), and with higher doses. No mention of increasing it that I''m aware of (she pretty much knows how I feel about medications in general), and I''ll be taking it (if I get pregnant while I''m on it) through week 8-10.

By the way, my chiro is pregnant!! She had a miracle baby in 2008, and now will have another in 2010. (She had some major illnesses as a child and teen... told her she''d never have a baby. Ever.) I''m excited to have a friend who lives in the same state as me pregnant, now to just go through it with her!

Still feeling off, don''t know if it''s a flu or what. I feel sick to my tummy, but higher than that, too, like a weird rumbly in something just above my tummy. Maybe my esphogus. I dunno.

(Confession: I will still check on the prego thread for belly shots tomorrow; I cannot avoid all things baby!!)

Anyone here near testing days? I don''t test anymore, but sure look forward to others''!

 

[drk]

HMG - interestingly, where to deliver isn''t a huge deal to me. Of the two teaching hospitals I worked at that do OB, I did my 2 month OB rotation at one, and spent 9 months doing OB anesthesia there. The other I did 4 months of OB anesthesia at. I decided that I''d rather deliver at the one I spent more time at if I were to deliver at a downtown teaching hospital. Had I had the kid during residency, I''d have been a little leary of having another resident I might end up working with deliver it, but it wouldn''t have been a big deal. I could have requested staff only and minimal other people in the room at delivery, and I think they''d have been fine with it. Could have asked that the L&D nurse do all my cervical checks and for them to call the doc only if things needed special assessment or for delivery. Benefits to delivering there are that I know everyone pretty well, from L&D nurses to staff OBs to all the anesthesia staff. I know that they have a great NICU, have RTs show at any delivery where any sort of trouble could be expected, and can do a stat c/s truly stat if it''s needed. I let the med student and resident assess me when I was in a couple weeks ago for possible preterm labour. Sure, I no longer train there, but the male resident and I had worked together there in the past. He''s seen it all before, and one hooha is about as thrilling as another. Dignity disappears in childbirth, and that''s just life. Whatever will get me and baby safely through it.

The other teaching hospital has a slightly less advanced NICU, I don''t know the staff as well, and I didn''t get the impression that they managed high risk stuff as well. (Like the patient they called me for a stat C/S for, didn''t give me much info other than non-reassuring fetal heart trace, and then took 20 min to get the patient into the OR. I had been there ages before, with drugs drawn up and ready to top off the epidural to do the C/S. Then she finally gets to the OR (I hadn''t seen her because I thought they''d roll through the door any second), I get the monitors on (cause God forbid they should help with any of that while I get the epidural set for the C/S), and then I notice her BP is running at 210/110. Oh, did they forget to mention her pregnancy-induced hypertension that had been getting worse through the evening? Had they started magnesium like they should have to prevent seizures? Nope! Since the fetal heart tracing looked fine by then, I made them wait on the C/S until I had the magnesium going in and the BP under better control. The OB staff was actually arguing with me about it, which I thought was shocking. Oh, and the patient had a difficult-looking airway and would have been a very challenging general anesthetic if seizures or stroke or anything had gone bad. So I didn''t really want to deliver there.

I''m also willing to give birth at the hospital I currently work at, should they decide at some point that I''m low-risk for delivering early. No residents, but I work in the OR with the OB, and do epidurals for the OB nurses. I wouldn''t have a problem with them seeing whatever they need to see. Of course, 3 years of infertility treatments, including 2 years of lots of transvag monitoring ultrasounds has probably blunted my sensitivity to that sort of thing a little.

So MTG - pick a place to deliver where you feel you and your baby will get great care, whether you figure that out from referrals from colleagues/friends/family, or from what you experience during your rotations. At a teaching centre, you can probably request that other students/residents be minimally involved in your care.