Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

The Official TTC Thread!

Marym - Could be that you have not been timing properly, so you may have nothing to worry about. You may also consider adding the Instead to your repertoire. A bunch of us tried it last cycle (including me and prego-PuppMom). I followed Lindsey's advice from a few pages ago. Insert preseed as directed before BD, then I put a little preseed in the Instead before inserting 20-30 mins after BD. Chandler, AZ sounds nice and warm, though it could be in the mountains (I don't even know!). I'm in CT, near New Haven. It is quite chilly here today!

Dreamer and Cara - Thanks for chiming in! Please do so often!! We need your knowledge!!!

Jena - IT COULD BE!! I am going through the same thing right now. Have you been temping? Is your temp still up?

*******

My update: I started feeling a headache before I left work, had dinner, then fell asleep because the headache was getting worse. Woke up a few hours later with SEVERE nausea, which is typical for me with a migraine. It was a terrible, terrible night. I was up every hour or two vomiting. [cry,cry,cry] It was awful.

The GOOD NEWS is that AF IS NOT HERE, and I had more very slight light brown spotting last night. I am convinced that it's implantation spotting. Today is CD28/10DPO!

I still feel nauseous, so I stayed home from work. Thought I was feeling better. Took my dogs outside for a run in the yard, had a sip of coke, and now am feeling sick again. [cry,cry,cry]
 
Jena - I think it''s impossible to tell, but will keep my fingers crossed for you.

LV - you poor thing with migraines! I have no idea what they feel like but I get really upset with people who blow off appointments with saying they have a migraine, when in fact you really know they don''t have them because it''s a horrible condition you don''t wish on your worst enemy and not something you conveniently get once in a while. DH gets a migraine after his epileptic seizures (which he thankfully doesn''t suffer much from), and he feels very nauseous and just overall depressed. anyway... hope you feel better soon. does it help to think that maybe some positive things are going on inside you?
 
Noel- Thanks! I hope it''s good news!

LV- No, I haven''t been temping yet, I was going to just try watching signs of O for a couple months and then if nothing I was going to try OV test kits and temping! Good luck to you, I hope to hear good news from you soon! :)
 
Hello ladies...as my time for starting to TTC grows near I figure I would pop back in here. I think from the temping, the cf and the ovulation pains I have deducted that I usually O around day 13. last month I did not O until day 16 and that set my period back three days. I was concerned. This month like clock work small pains in my left side on day 13, CF up the yin yang. I feel ready :) I am currently in the process of dropping a few lbs, and getting into the working out habit. I want to be healthy for my pregnancy. I am struggling with giving up my coffee
7.gif
and my splenda but will do so for the baby! We are officially due to start trying in February :) yay!
 
Allie I am an addict and one of the first things that happened when preggo was the smell of coffee just turned me off... i was able to cut back to a half or quarter cup per day almost instantly, where I normally have two cups religiously in the morning and sometimes another dose in the afternoon or evening. Finding a non-caffientated diet coke substitute for drinking at lunch and/or dinner was a bit harder, but mostly because I wanted something carbonated but not caffienated.

I looked up the artificial sweeteners thing too and if anyone can find any reason at all why pregnant women shouldn''t have splenda I''d love to see it. It appears to pass right through with almost no absorbtion and there is no data or even speculation on how or why it might be able to affect a fetus. If you want to give it up just to give it up, go for it, but I''d be careful not to just replace it with sugar as I don''t think that would actually be a healthy switch. Nutrasweet also seemed pretty safe.
 
Date: 12/1/2009 11:42:04 AM
Author: AllieLuv83
Hello ladies...as my time for starting to TTC grows near I figure I would pop back in here. I think from the temping, the cf and the ovulation pains I have deducted that I usually O around day 13. last month I did not O until day 16 and that set my period back three days. I was concerned. This month like clock work small pains in my left side on day 13, CF up the yin yang. I feel ready :) I am currently in the process of dropping a few lbs, and getting into the working out habit. I want to be healthy for my pregnancy. I am struggling with giving up my coffee
7.gif
and my splenda but will do so for the baby! We are officially due to start trying in February :) yay!
Click to expand...
Us too!
1.gif
Are you planning on giving up coffee for TTC or just when you are pregnant? In either case you can still have coffee/caffeine just in moderation. What are your plans for working out? I also want to start doing something. I''d like to be somewhat used to working out when I''m pregnant, so I am thinking I should start now.

Fisher- Nice to see you stopping in. Hooray for ovulating on your own and in a timely fashion too! I''m hoping you guys were able to GOTF around O time!

CONGRATS Puppmom and Noelwr!!!!!! Hope you have happy and healthy pregnancies!


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

Is anyone having trouble with acne? What are you doing about it? I have been off of BC for going on a year now and my skin is finally starting to show it. I went to the doctor''s today and he said it''s probably a hormone imbalance and that he can''t prescribe me anything because it would harm a baby. Or I could go back on BC, but that would be stupid at this point since we will be TTC so soon. Soooo.... I already use salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide (same stuff in Proactive). Can anyone recommend anything else? I am getting blackheads on my back and face and I think I need some sort of exfoliant to scrub it off. My skin is very durable (oily and doesn''t dry out) so the stronger the better.

I am also trying to not think about the fact that I have some of the PCOS symptoms (acne, irregular cycles), I don''t have the weight/hair issues though.... but maybe that is what is going on with me afterall. I guess we''ll see when we start TTC.
 
Noel, Thank you for your kind words. You're very sweet. And, yes it did help to think that something wonderful may be happening in my body, even though it was otherwise feeling so wretched. I am feeling much much better now and even had some toast and tea. Sometimes, it just takes time, and it eventually passes.

Sorry to hear about your DH's seizures and migraines, but glad to hear that they are mostly controlled.

How are you feeling these days? I read in the other thread that you were considering a Grandmother stocking for your mom, to share the news with her. I thought that was a really great idea. I think you should do it!
1.gif


Mia, Threadjack warning. How is your Japan trip coming along? I commented in your other Japan thread way back when, not sure if you ever saw it. How many days will you go for?

Jena, I'm hoping to hear good news from you too!! Keep us updated!!
 
hi mia! Since I stopped b/c I had bad breakouts too- my dermatologist gave me an RX for benzoyl peroxide face pads & Erythromycin 2% Pads (dr said it was the same stuff used to make cornflakes and was safe when TTC) it actually worked!
 
Hi all! Happy early birthday, Loves Vintage! No spotting sounds promising, the same thing happened to puppmom when she got her BFP.

*Question for swimmer*,

My doctor wants me to go on Metformin. I do not have any insulin issues or elevated levels according to my bloodwork, nor do I have PCOS. He just thinks it will be beneficial. When you went on it, did you experience any serious side effects? Did you have insulin resistance, or was it just for TTC purposes? And for how long were you on it? Thanks!!
1.gif
Hope your pg is going well.

BABY DUST TO EVERYONE!
35.gif
 
@Cara - My sister in law told me that you can''t have any artificial sweeteners while preggo so don''t quote me on that one I was just going by what she was saying to me. I do wish that my affections for coffee will be not too bad to overcome.

@Mia - I want to give up caffeine for the pregnancy as well as while we TTC or at least cut back. I can definitely do away with the soda''s and maybe do just one cup of coffee daily while we TTC. Isn''t it such an exciting time? I started back to the gym last week. I do 30-45 mins of cardio 4-5 days a week and then some weight training like 40 minutes total weekly.
 
Hello Ladies!

I was a pretty sporadic poster here in the TTC thread, but I wanted to share my experiences leading up to my positive preggo test (i'm 10.5 weeks PG)

First things first was to buy and read TCOYF- lots of great, invaluable information! I had every intention of temping, but my work schedule at the time was nuts- i was traveling quite a bit for work, so it just didn't work for me.

Next steps were to
1)- Get healthy. I wanted to get my body in shape, and just become more active. I have struggled with weight all my life. Well, it was time to get serious and just do it. I lost 25 lbs and my BMI went from 27 to 24.
2)- Get off BC ASAP. I'd been on the pill for 18 years on/off. I figured it would take some time for my cycles to regulate. Sure enough, it took about 7 months until I was at around 27-28 days. My first cycle off the pill was 45 days long!
3)- Take prenatals

As I mentioned before, I wasn't able to temp, so I paid close attention to my CM. Wow, I had never made the correlation between that and ovulation before! But once i knew what to look for, I was then able to know when I was going to ovulate. I also tracked my cycles and CM status on the website mymonthlycycles.com. It helped me "chart" things and know exactly which day I would ovulate. I recorded info for like 10 months before we officially began TTC

But even then, I did use ovulation strips, and other things to "help". earlyregnancytests.com was a great site to order the strips, as well as pre-seed.

I got PG on the 7th cycle, 1 month after going to my Doc (who's also a fertility specialist) to get checked out. I went through 2 rounds of bloodwork, and an initial ultrasound (which found some traces of endometriosis).

I think back to what we did differently during cycle 7, and what jumps out at me is that we were sooo relaxed! It didn't feel like a baby-making marathon. We took a couple of days off, and also BD in the morning (new one for us). We also used LESS pre-seed than usual- me thinks that the usual dose was too much and it just ended up running out.

In the end, it just took time, and our lucky time was during cycle 7 - it was just "meant to be". We believe that we conceived on our 3rd Wedding Anniversary! We were in Vegas taking a mid-week getaway, and just had the time of our lives. Needless to say, DH jokes about naming the Bebe "Mandalay" !!

I learned SO MUCH from the wonderful, knowledgeable ladies here and just wanted to share in hopes that I could help someone else.

Baby dust and good vibes to all!
 
Hello again everyone!


Dreamer- thanks for your post. That gives me a lot to think about. I think it could be that this is a shorter than unsual cycle. We tried to time the last couple of months a little before and during CD14 with no luck, so when the monitor gave us the egg on CD11 it was a positive sign that maybe our timing was just a little off. At least I hope that''s what it is. Anyway, I got high fertility on CDs 9 & 10, and peak fertility on days 11 and 12, followed by another high day on CD13. We BD''d on CDs 8-12 and were just too exhausted to do anything on CD13. If I don''t get PG this month I will definitely consider that maybe the monitor is a little off, and will BD accordingly
9.gif


LovesVintage- thanks for the tip on the Instead cups. I will definitely try those if things don''t pan out this month.
- sorry to hear that you have been unwell lately. Hope you are feeling better!:) And yes, I do enjoy the weather in AZ, but I lived in New England for several years and definitely miss lots of things about it. Especially the fall season!

Thanks also to everyone else for your welcomes and insights. I do appreciate it!
16.gif
 
Date: 12/1/2009 9:37:29 PM
Author: marym




Dreamer- thanks for your post. That gives me a lot to think about. I think it could be that this is a shorter than unsual cycle.



Oops, I meant shorter than usual!
Click to expand...
 
Marym, I haven't used your monitor, but assuming it measures lutenizing hormone (LH) which peaks BEFORE ovulation, if you got "peak" readings on days 11 and 12, that would put ovulation on day 11, 12, 13, or 14, with CD12 or CD13 being more likely. The monitor is a great tool because it gives you a heads up just before ovulation, which is the best time for effective BD (when you have the best quality cervical mucus and because you want the sperm in position waiting for the egg rather than the other way around!), but its still not going to be giving you extreme precision at pinpointing ovulation timing exactly. We don't know on which day your LH level actually peaked, because the monitor doesn't give us a number or anything it just tells you that your LH level on a given day is above some cutoff level it uses to determine when to read "peak" and when to read "high". And we don't know whether you are a woman that ovulates 12 hours after your LH peak or 48 hours later.

And it sounds like this is your first month using the monitor? So you probably need a few more months of tracking before you know if this is a completely average month or a little off. Long way of saying, use the tools for info but BD a little on the edges too! And I wouldn't worry too much about improper timing previously - it may or may not have been a factor. Hopefully future research will be unnecessary b/c your timing this month is great!

ETA: Congrats ChargerGrrl!
 
I agree with everyone that the best thing you can do, even prior to TTC, is get healthy. that''s eating healthy and exercising.

the only thing I''m struggling with is giving up green tea. they say the antioxidants in there keep the fetus from being able to absorb other good nutrients. but fruit has antioxidants and you''re supposed to eat a lot of that! just doesn''t make sense to me.

cara - In the book SKINNY B*TCH BUN IN THE OVEN, there''s a whole section on why artificial sweeteners are BAD. of course you shouldn''t believe everything you read, but that might be interesting for you to go through. if you''ve found anything on green tea, I''d love to hear it.

LV - I am feeling well. I had a bit of an "oh crap" moment yesterday when I read about other women getting ultrasounds already at 6-7 weeks and I have to wait until the 10th for mine. but then again, most pregnancies progress normally, so I''m not going to let it stress me out. DH also said I should do the grandmother stocking, and when I asked what about if something happens and there is no baby?, he said that eventually there will be one so she will get to use it.
1.gif
he''s so sweet.
 
@Cara - Do you think there are other means for more accurately pin pointing ovulation (besides the monitor). I have been relying on temps, cervical fluid and position. I have also been more in tune with the ovulation pains that I have been experiencing but never noticed until now. I am just so concerned about it taking us a long time to get a preggo I want to be as prepared as possible!
 
Allie - I don''t think you can actually pinpoint exactly when ovulation occurs or otherwise it would be much easier for everyone. and even if you can, it doesn''t guarantee a fertlized egg. maybe a bit extreme but if this an option for you: try BDing every day CD10 - 18? but the overall impression I get from a lot of women is that the less you stress about it and make a timing science out of it, the more chance you have at success.
 
Noel - I''m glad to hear that you are feeling well. I''m sure you have nothing to worry about, so don''t worry about waiting until the 10th week. Have you had any blood work? I haven''t really paid much attention to what happens after you get pregnant, testing-wise, since I''m still working on the getting pregnant part, so I''m not really sure what is typical.

Re: green tea, I think I have read others state on here or on the pregnancy thread that they''ve reduced and/or cut out green tea. Can you substitute some herbal tea? I really enjoy the raspberry leaf tea now, but I''ve also read that you should not have that during early pregnancy, but maybe something else nice? I''ve also been making chai tea lately, brewed from a bag, then adding a little cream and sugar (which I don''t usually add to tea) and it is lovely. Maybe you''d like decaf chai?

*****

My daily update: I spoke with the nurse at the RE''s office. She said that the spotting *could be* due to the low estrogen. I explained that I''ve never, ever had spotting before, so presumably, I''ve had low estrogen before, and never had the spotting, so why would I now? Also, the estrogen could have gone up, it dips after ovulation, then rises again and plateaus. Given that my blood work was taken not long after ovulation, then this would make sense. She offered to send me for blood work, but that would be either tomorrow or the next day and I am leaving for vacation early tomorrow morning, so I will test on my own.

IF I am not pregnant, then I will have blood work on CD3, and they would like to do an US, but that may not be possible if I am still away. Starting on CD3, for 5 nights in a row, I will take 100mg Clomid (seems high to start), US and BW on CD8. If no dominant follicle at that point, then injectables will be introduced (SAME CYCLE.) I was surprised by this! Sounds agressive, no? They would do an IUI, but I think we will wait and try on our next month, and see how things go.
 
Wow, that does seem aggressive LV! I have never heard that before. I like a proactive doctor though!

I have heard that spotting = low progesterone, not low estrogen. That's why some women spot a bit before a full on period, because progesterone crashes before AF comes.

Is the CD 3 bloodwork for your FSH test?
 
Laila, I am not sure why they do blood work (or an ultrasound, for that matter) on CD3. I guess it is so they have a baseline to compare the CD8 tests to, so they can see how things are progressing? I will call to ask.

I know, I am not going to argue with proactiveness at this point. I did ask what the statistics are for IUI success, and she said I would have to discuss that with the doctor specifically. He does not authorize the nurses to discuss statistics, so I will have to ask that too, at some point, since it would obviously be relevant to our decision whether and/or when to do an IUI. So many questions . . . .
 
Allie, LH levels are more precise than temps alone at determining ovulation timing... Though the fact that the monitors and OPK strips don't give numeric output might hamper things a bit, instead they give "high" "low" kinds of output. If you are using some LH-monitor or taking your temperature and getting clear, interpretable results (ie. not a woman with no temp shift or difficult to interpret LH readings) and then combining that info with cervical position or fluid, you should be getting enough info to make a good estimate of o-day each month. Go with it! Maybe your estimate is off by a day sometimes, maybe on a bad month its off by two days, but just BD in the fertile window and maybe an extra day or so and hopefully it takes. These tools are good for getting you in the right ballpark. Short of daily or twice daily ultrasounds, or if you are lucky enough to feel and recognize o-pain, you aren't going to get more precise info. Also, don't worry about o-day shifting around by a few days. That's totally normal, most women aren't clocks despite the lore.
 
Laila, Just heard from my RE''s office. She said they always do CD3 blood work, every cycle, so that they will have a baseline of my hormone levels to compare later results too. The DR said it''s ok if I do not have the US, that I should have the BW done while I am on vacation.
 
Ahh that makes sense, LV! Sorry if this is too personal a question and you don''t have to answer, but is your FSH under 10?
 
No problem. I have only had one CD3 test, and that was back in September with the regular ob/gyn. When I first visited the RE, I was already on CD5 or so, so we skipped the baseline blood work. So, back in September, my FSH level was 4.4. I'm not sure what that means, but it looks like it is in range. Curious why you asked if it was less than 10 though . . .

ETA: Oh, I just did some reading and think I see what you were thinking. I haven't been told that there are any issues with ovarian reserve. Is that what you meant?
 
Wow, 4.4 is AWESOME! That's seriously like the ovarian reserve of a 21 year old. I am a few years younger than you and mine was 6.3. I am jealous!

10 is the cut-off for what is considered high, at least that's why my doc says.
 
Oh, I had no idea!! Sounds good to me! The dosage that they prescribed, and the use of injectables if the clomid is not working, is standard protocol for their office, as far as I can tell, so it''s not specific to my condition at all.

Have you been reading any fertility books? Any to recommend? Or, just doing research on-line?
 
OK a little update on my "spotting" It was a little more than spotting and red (TMI I know.. sorry) but it only was 1 day and it has stopped now, it was 5 days before my pd is due which is this Friday and I am pretty regular on a 28 day cycle.. I keep reading that implantation bleeding isn''t usually red, but then some people say that it is. Everyones body is different I know. I think I am going to wait until Friday to POAS just to make sure. Anybody that has gone through this and has any insight for me I would love to hear it! Thanks!
 
Well I am 14DPO and, despite being erratic, my temperature is till above coverline and no sign of the usual spotting pre AF but the HPT says BFN
5.gif
. Despite AF not being due till Sunday, I thought I would test because we have our work Xmas party tomorrow and I wanted to know whether I could enjoy a champagne or two. I assume it''s unlikely that I''m KU but don''t know whether to just enjoy myself or whether I should still be careful. Any thoughts?
 
Date: 12/2/2009 7:35:22 PM
Author: geri
Well I am 14DPO and, despite being erratic, my temperature is till above coverline and no sign of the usual spotting pre AF but the HPT says BFN
5.gif
. Despite AF not being due till Sunday, I thought I would test because we have our work Xmas party tomorrow and I wanted to know whether I could enjoy a champagne or two. I assume it''s unlikely that I''m KU but don''t know whether to just enjoy myself or whether I should still be careful. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

You don''t share a blood supply yet even if you were preggo.
 
Date: 12/2/2009 8:59:18 PM
Author: neatfreak
Date: 12/2/2009 7:35:22 PM

Author: geri

Well I am 14DPO and, despite being erratic, my temperature is till above coverline and no sign of the usual spotting pre AF but the HPT says BFN
5.gif
. Despite AF not being due till Sunday, I thought I would test because we have our work Xmas party tomorrow and I wanted to know whether I could enjoy a champagne or two. I assume it''s unlikely that I''m KU but don''t know whether to just enjoy myself or whether I should still be careful. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...


You don''t share a blood supply yet even if you were preggo.
Click to expand...

But is alcohol restricted to the blood stream? Its a solvent, crosses the blood-brain barrier, and is known to affect cell division. Which is not to say that a glass of champagne will do anything bad, but I guess I''ve always been confused by this blood-sharing distinction on the alcohol advice.

Me personally I''d restrict my drinking based on the likeliness of being preggo. Not totally abstain unless pregnancy was likely, and not sweat it if I had a few drinks only to find out later I was pregnant against the odds. But really, it depends on you and your risk tolerance (will you completely abstain during pregnancy, etc.) and how much you mind abstaining while TTC.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top