The Official TTC Thread!

[CoralQuiz]

Thanks for the kind words ladies. Lots and lots of love && dust to all of you! (Especially my TWW buddies!)

 

[Bliss]

AllieLuv! Awww, so excited about your first ultrasound. Sending tons of happy dust your way! How nice will it be to see your bean?

Ohhh, I understand about being anxious sometimes... it is natural. You will see, everything will proceed naturally and you will have a perfect pregnancy! Hahaha about the crazy boobs! Rest rest rest! Enjoy life without morning sickness! Thanks for giving me hope on the BFP, but it''s so faint I think it''s really wonky leftover hormones!

How ya doing, Bella??? When are you going to start your OPKs?

CORAL!!! CONGRATS!!! YAY FOR JERK STORES!!!!! You go, girl!!!

Here is to a happy, healthy and perfect pregnancy!

Topo!!! Thanks! Oh boy, just waiting for AF at this point! Yeah, those prescribed prenatal vitamins run about $50-100 a month. I didn''t find them to be worth it, personally. Sending you lots of baby dust!!! Oooh, very exciting for you! Those are all symptoms!

Hey PO! Welcome back! Hmmm, could the pink be...? The body interprets travel as stress, so that might delay your cycle. Hugs!

puppmom, thanks! Thinking of you. These lines are sooooo faint, though... I think they are crazy negatives! Maybe I just have a level of 5 naturally since the m/c. They aren''t getting any darker and are soooo light it''s crazy! When I was knocked up last time, the positives were super dark immediately. I think my body is playing tricks on me!

noelwr, woohoo! I''m on cycle 2, too! I think Bella is in her first week so maybe you can be cycle sistas! Oh, I see Bella posted already. Are you temping, noelwr? Your trip looked fab!!!

Loves Vintage! Hello!!! I just got back from the doctor''s office for a blood draw! LOL. After spending close to $100 on a zillion FRER tests, I decided to just go in for a simple blood test.

I honestly think they''re going to call me in a few days to say that my hCG is around 5-6 and is probably staying around that level post m/c. I feel like I ovulated and maybe the FRERs are really that sensitive. I''ve read they can pick up hCG of 6. At hCG of 12 even, I was getting positives that were way darker than the ones I''m getting now.

dcgator!!! Thanks for showing me the brighter side. I think I did O a couple of days ago. My temp finally spiked in a big way, so wow...if it was indeed an O, it came super late! How are you doing?

Steal, you cracked me up just now! Thanks for checking in!

DUST TO YOU 2WW LADIES!!!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Congrats CORAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Bliss!

Glad it seems pretty sure that you O, yay!!! So hopefully next month the OPKs and temping will give you a little advance notice Did you talk to Dr. Kind and Nerdy?

 

[Bliss]

Hey Bella! I didn''t see Dr. Kind & Nerdy today! I didn''t have a lot of time so I just dropped by to give them blood. They said I should know in a few days. I must say, I feel so relieved! Now I can just relax and not worry/speculate/test anymore! Whew.

 

[AllieLuv83]

Thanks Bliss...you make me feel so much better. My two coworkers look at me like I am the most morbid person in the world. I think being in PS, and babycenter sort of jaded me. I think it is true what they say. Ignorance is "bliss". If I thought about all of the things that COULD go wrong I would go crazy.

March 9th can''t come soon enough Then we can finally tell the whole family!

 

[AllieLuv83]

Congratulations Coral! Yay for Jerkstores

 

[Bella_mezzo]

OPK question...I took an OPK on Sat at CD8 and the control line came up dark immediately, everything else was white.

I forgot yesterday

today is SC 10 and I took an OPK and the control line took a few minutes to come up and is very much lighter than the other day, it looks like there''s a faint faint almost invisible test line, but I can only see it in certain lights.

I know the estrogen decreases as the ovulation hormone increase, but does anyone else''s control line get really really light, or did I get a bad stick?

 

[Bliss]

Hey Bella! Which ones are you using, Answer? I was using First Response which I think is similar; and yes, sometimes when my test line was super dark, it almost seemed to "mute" the control line. When I had a super dark positive, the control line looked a whole lot lighter. I think it''s normal! You''ll see as you get dark positives, the control line will be lighter sometimes. It''s an interesting phenomenon!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

thanks Bliss, I was like, "what''s wrong with my pee"

I am using Answer. If this trend continues I may get a positive tomorrow or the next day which is when I would expect it

 

[Loves Vintage]

Bliss - I'm glad you had blood work done today and glad to hear that you're relieved. I feel that way sometimes too. It is nice to turn things over to the medical professionals once in a while! Hopefully, they have your results sooner than they expect, and you get some answers.

 

[Po10472]

YAY Coral, wonderful news hon.

Sending you heaps of sticky bean dust and hope you have a healthy and happy 9 months.

Po
x

 

[Ryan Claire]

Congrats Coral! Love the test pix... hope it makes its way into a baby book!

TopopDazzle I hope you are next!

Bliss sorry about your strange positive hpts. The blood test was smart and I hope you get your answer soon.

CDN - I take Nature''s Made Prenatals and Nature''s Made Fish oil - the prenatals are smaller (for prenatals) and easy to swallow. The fish oil are big but I am ok with that... no fishy burps or anything.

Po hope you are still in it! Update please.

LV - how are you hanging in there - any closer to Oing? Really hoping this cycle works out for you... when I read about all the measures your doctor is taking to assess what works, monitor your progress, and ensure conception it sounds very hopeful. Fingers and toes crossed. My sister is doing IVF - she has done 3. The first was unsuccessful, the second she lost after 48 hours of the positive blood test, the third she lost after 8 weeks. I has been a very tough road for her and her husband and I really feel for people going through this process after miscarriages. Dust dust dust....

I had my OBGYN appointment... and although we have only been trying officially for 2 months, we are pretty sure I have not ovulated in the 7 months since coming off BC so she prescribed me Clomid for two cycles. She said that if it does not happen in these 2 cycles to try again naturally. That maybe my body will kick back into gear afterwards (doesn''t sound so scientific to me... but I am going with it). I am hopeful that the Clomid will work and that at least we will have a chance. I am nervous about the disappointment if it doesn''t work... but I am trying to take it one day at a time. Unfortunately in this TTC process, it feels like the days move in slow motion... I started Provera yesterday and will take it for 5 days... then get my period within 2 weeks (hopefully) and start 50mg of Clomid CD3-8. Fingers crossed for March.

 

[AllieLuv83]

Speaking of prenatals. I am taking NatureMade Prenatal+DHA and this was the first morning that I had the fish burps. I read somewhere that you shouldn't take the DHA that is derived from fish oil. Someone said to find a vitamin that is derived from plant oils or something. What is your take on this one ladies? I am assuming since NatureMade put the prenatal and the DHA together they thought through the effects on the baby.

ETA: Today is my first day taking NatureMade with DHA and holy smokes I am nauseated. My stomach is not happy with me!

 

[Lanie]

Bliss -- sorry about the weirdness! Was your blood test to confirm/deny pregnancy specifically, or to assess HCG levels? Or a little of both??? What could be going on????? That's so crazy with a positive test one minute and negative the next. I bet you are on pins and needles to get the results back!

Noel -- I'm the EXACT cycle day as you! CD6 today!

RyanClaire -- yay! I'm glad you got the Clomid. Let me know how you feel on it when you start it up. Hope the Provera gives you a period soon!

Po -- I saw that you posted...any update on the mysterious bleeding/spotting?

Coral -- Congrats!!!! THat was quick! Best of luck to you and a happy, healthy 9 months ahead!!!

Do any of the CBEFM users here know if you skip a day of POAS, what happens? It asked for me to test this morning and of course, I never ordered more sticks for it. I completely forgot about it! Any ideas if that means I can't use it at all this cycle???

 

[LadyBlue]

Coral!! Congratulations!!!

This month it was negative

. I guess I''m going to have to try harder in the future

. We decided to put the TTC in hold for a couple of months. DH got a great job offer, so until we decided what to do, we have to wait. We don''t want to get pregnant changing insurances at the same time.

I will be back as soon as he nail the new job

 

[swimmer]

Date: 2/18/2010 3:07:28 PM
Author: Loves Vintage

Anyway, Follistim - I''m glad to hear you liked it so much!! Yesterday, the nurse estimated the out-of-pocket costs for drugs only for one IUI cycle to be $1,500 to $3,000! The starting dose, 2 Follistim 600 iui cartridges, is around $800. (You were at 75? Maybe the pens and cartridges are different?) According to the nurse, some people need up to 5 cartridges, depending on how they respond. They expect I will only need 2 cartridges. You mentioned Ovidrel, which is the trigger shot, similar to Novarel, I believe. I will still do the trigger shot so that ovulation is timed for the IUI. My RE does back-to-back IUIs. So, I would have the trigger shot on a Monday, for example, have an IUI on Tuesday, ovulate about 12 hours after that, and then have another IUI on Wednesday (or about 12 hours after ovulation).


I do think my DH will do the injections if I ask him to. We used to give injectable drugs to one of my greyhounds, who had a neurological disorder. I did the first few injections (needle and syringe), but had a really hard time with it. After that, my DH did everything -- prepared the solution and injected him. I woudln''t even be in the room, and my good boy (the greyhound) wouldn''t even flinch at it! Anyway, long story short, he would do it, but I might be ok on my own. I think it''s fairly easy to administer (no long needles, etc.), right?


When to start? I had blood work and an ultrasound yesterday. I have some nice little follicles right now, but am a ways away from ovulation. It may be 2 - 4 weeks before AF. I tend to think it will be closer to 4 weeks because I used to have a long LP on a natural cycle, and it will probably be at least a week before I ovulate.


Fortunately, I already have two Follistim 600 cartridges. They were ordered in December, in preparation for my first IUI, in case the Clomid did not work. This was under my old insurance, so I paid $40-ish for the two cartridges. It is really funny because I was soooo mad that they ordered all of these drugs for me that I might not ever need to use! Funny now because they are sitting in my fridge all nice and paid for! Love how things always wind up working out in the end . . . well, most of the time anyway. I also have one Novarel because they ship two at a time. So, all of this means that I better get pregnant this time around so I don''t have to pay for any unexpected RX expenses with after-tax dollars!!

Oh wow! So sorry for my delay in response! OK, how totally fantastic that you already have a round in the fridge, yay! You will totally get knocked up either this round with your nice looking follies or next with calling the big guns in for support. Your DH is awesome! Excellent that he will man up for the shots. I cannot believe how expensive all the meds are. Seriously, and we don''t need insurance reform? Well, the cost is totally worth it when it works, but for rounds that don''t... That would make it even more tough. We canceled our vacation in order to do the medicated iui, just knowing that it would work out and be worth it in the end. You did so well on clomid, it will be even better this round...you might want to also revisit the odds of twins...but I honestly tried not to think about that and just focused on how it was going to work. You are going to be pregnant so soon. That is all there is to it. Hugs!

 

[noelwr]

yay Lanie, cycle twins and Turkey babies (fingers crossed). and Bella as our big sister letting us know what''s waiting for us just around the corner.

so DH thinks he is the expert on my body and told me AF should be ending today. I had to remind him that I am no longer on BC and therefore things could be different, but this time he is correct. I think AF went back to Phoenix.

Lanie - first of all, why did CBFM tell you to test today? I thought it tells you to test on Day 6 (which is CD7)... so I''m testing tomorrow. from what I understood from the instructions, you should set it the day after you get your period if your period arrives later than your testing time, which I''m guessing it always will if you have to test with first morning urine. or is it because you''ve already been using the test for a few months and you have short cycles? just interested because I''m new to this. second, also from the instructions I understood that if you miss a test or you do not do it properly (though I don''t understand how that is possible as all you have to do is POAS for 3 secs; how could someone screw that up?), then it is possible that it will not be able to always accurately determine your high or peak fertility moments days. it will then use past information from previous months to estimate. so I think just because you miss a test, doesn''t mean you are out for a whole cycle. and because it''s only Day 6, I think it should be accurately able to determine for you this cycle. if you missed a test right before you expected to Peak it would probably be more serious. anyway, that''s all my opinion, and this all from someone who hasn''t used it before.

 

[sweetlime]

Date: 2/23/2010 9:14:51 AM
Author: Lanie

Do any of the CBEFM users here know if you skip a day of POAS, what happens? It asked for me to test this morning and of course, I never ordered more sticks for it. I completely forgot about it! Any ideas if that means I can''t use it at all this cycle???

Hi Lanie, I''m new to this board and I just used the CBEFM for the first time this cycle. I forgot to test on Day 6, but I tested each day thereafter and still got a Peak reading. Even if you skip a day, I think the monitor will use whatever information it has to figure out your cycle. There''s also a 1-800 number in the instruction booklet that you can call for more advice. Good luck!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Ryan Claire - Oh no, I didn't know your sister has gone through so much. I recall you mentioned she had a m/c previously, but I don't think I knew that she had had IVF. It must be so hard for her and her husband. Is she doing a 4th cycle now? Were they able to assess what had caused either m/c, or how to avoid another in the future? Had she done IUIs as well? I know that so much time and effort and HOPE is devoted to each cycle. She must have been devastated after each loss.

Glad to hear your dr's appointment went well. Yay for Clomid!! I forget -- do you have an ovulation monitor or will you use OPK's? I think the Clomid may afftect temp'ing so they don't recommend it, right? Do you have pre-seed? You may wish to add that in case you have a decrease in CM from the Clomid.

Though I may ovulate this cycle, we are not trying this cycle. Per the RE, we are waiting for one natural period to arrive and will then proceed with an IUI. It will probably be at least another 3 weeks before a new cycle starts. Patience, patience, patience.

I went for acupuncture again. I know you like to hear about it, right? Anyway, I had a mild headache with mild nausea when I arrived and told the acupuncturist this, so she changed the points to ones that should help with the headache. By the time I left, the pain was greatly reduced, but I still felt nausea and just odd. By the time I got home, though, headache was gone, nausea was gone and I was good to go. Odd, but good. She put a few needles in the side of my head, where the pain was, and I could almost feel the pain being drawn out.

She also did scraping aka Gua Sha on my back. She was very gentle, because I hadn't had it before. It was nice though. Invigorating. Anyway, I will continue to go.

Swimmer - Thanks for your response! You mentioned twins!! Twins would be such a blessing! Shhh. Don't tell my DH I said that! Yes, you are right. It is just a matter of time. Patience, patience for me though.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Hi Sweetlime!!! What a great name, by the way! Welcome, welcome!!

Feel free to tell us more about you, if you''d like, of course. If I read your post correctly, sounds like you''re in the 2 week wait now? Lots and lots of luck for you!

 

[cara]

Allie, just wanted to say that I too have hold off on the DHA sometimes. Just thinking about taking it and the fish burps makes me sick. Bleh! Also I have taken to taking all the pills just before bed. Though even then I occasionally wake up with fish burps from the DHA so sometimes I give myself a pass. I think its the oil itself that must cause the fishy taste, as mine says pretty plainly it is not from a fish source.

 

[sweetlime]

Date: 2/23/2010 11:49:45 AM
Author: Loves Vintage
Hi Sweetlime!!! What a great name, by the way! Welcome, welcome!!

Feel free to tell us more about you, if you''d like, of course. If I read your post correctly, sounds like you''re in the 2 week wait now? Lots and lots of luck for you!

Thanks LV! I am in the 2 week wait now. I''m 32 and went off BC last September. I didn''t have the discipline to temp every morning, so I finally broke down and bought the CBEFM (which thankfully was a qualified expense under my health FSA). The good thing I learned from the monitor is that I ovulate a lot earlier in my cycle than I previously thought.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

I have officailly rounded the corner into crazy TTC land

I am sitting at my desk with an OPK placed on top of a post-it so it doesn''t touch my desk, and with another sheet of paper on top of a stack of folders shielding it just incase a coworker stops by

Yep, that''s right since you are supposed to take the OPKs during the day I decided to take one today at work, and since we don''t have small private bathrooms ar work, I am waiting for it to "develop"at my desk. I am officially weird

Anyway, I think it''s been about 5 minutes and the verdict is...the same as yesterday light control line, very, very faint (almost invisibel LH line). I''m on CD 11.

 

[dcgator]

Date: 2/23/2010 1:03:42 PM
Author: Bella_mezzo
I have officailly rounded the corner into crazy TTC land

I am sitting at my desk with an OPK placed on top of a post-it so it doesn''t touch my desk, and with another sheet of paper on top of a stack of folders shielding it just incase a coworker stops by

Yep, that''s right since you are supposed to take the OPKs during the day I decided to take one today at work, and since we don''t have small private bathrooms ar work, I am waiting for it to ''develop''at my desk. I am officially weird

Anyway, I think it''s been about 5 minutes and the verdict is...the same as yesterday light control line, very, very faint (almost invisibel LH line). I''m on CD 11.

Hey Bella:

You are not wierd, you are just special

. J/K. I think that is one reason why I like the FR OKP is b/c you can take it any time of the day. Otherwise, I would be doing the exact same thing as you, lol

.

For my OPK, I also started testing on CD 10 too, even though my last cycle had me O''ing around day 14 or 15. As for the lines and the CD''s, I got faint (non-positive) lines on CD 10-12 and got two dark lines (positive) on CD 13 and 14. After observing my temp shift, it confirmed that I O''ed on CD14. So, if you have a relatively normal cycle, then just wait a day or two and you should have some "positve" results...hehe.

Good luck!

 

[noelwr]

Bella - how courageous of you! I have some OPKs (came with Pre-Seed) and was just reading the instructions and the crazy thing is that in Dutch it says that the best time to test is anywhere between 10am and 10pm (preferably 12pm) and not to have peed 4 hrs before or had anything to drink 2 hrs before. in English it says best time to test is anywhere between 10am and 8pm (preferably 1pm) and just not have had anything to drink 2 hrs before. I wonder why Dutch speakers have different times than English speakers and why they are not allowed to pee before but English speakers are! haha... think they messed up with the translation.

 

[dcgator]

Date: 2/22/2010 3:57:15 PM
Author: CoralQuiz
I have no willpower.... tested again and got a faint but super obvious BFP within 90secs of POAS

Thanks for your encouragement, you are all so kind and wonderful!!!!!!

YIPPEEEE!

One more Feb BFP!!!!! Congrats to you and your DH Miss CoralQuiz! I wish you a happy and healthy 9 months (or 38 weeks left

)

*****

Ladies, are we at 3 or 4 this month now?

Are we going to hit 5 again this month, Topodazzle or Po perhaps?...Ohhh the suspense!

*****
Sweetlime: Welcome to the TTC neighborhood. Since you are already in the 2WW, hopefully your stay will be uber short

*****
LV: Hang in there in my dear. Hopefully AF will hurry up and get her tanned tushie over to you so you can carry on with your IUI and then you can get KU!

*****
Gaby: Sorry for the BFN this month. But, congrats to DH on the new job. I hope everything works out well and you are able to get back to TTC soon!

*****
Ryan Claire: I hope that the Provera/Clomid therapy works out for you and you get a very happy result! Fingers crossed...

*****
Bliss: Sounds like you have got the whole situation under control. I think that taking a blood sample is the best thing you could do. You are too cool under pressure girl. Even if the HPT only picked up the post m/c levels, the temperature spike doesn''t lie, so yeah for O''ing

. I know you have been waiting for that, so although your egg choose to make a dramatic entrance, maybe she wanted to grab your attention in a big way, drama queen...

lol.

 

[Bliss]

AllieLuv! Awwww, thanks. Oh, I hope March 9th comes quickly for you, too! Yay! You will feel so much better once you see your bean waving at you going, "Hi Mama!" On the prenatals... I read that some people think it''s best to get DHA from plant sources because of concerns about mercury/heavy metals in the fish oil. But from what I''ve read, it''s a minimal concern. Sorry about the fish burps! Maybe take them with food?

Loves Vintage - whew! It was a huge relief! I don''t even have a desire to test anymore, which is tremendously comforting. I think I''m just OK with them figuring it out and letting me know that my hCG is normal, just slightly elevated considering. And I can wait for AF without any anxiety. Ahhhh, relief! On your end, it sounds like you are totally hooked up and set to make a baby! How lucky, like swimmer wrote, that you have the extra round in the fridge! I agree that you will be a Jerkstore again on round 2! Your acupuncture experiences sound awesome.

Po, how are you doing?

Ryan Claire, how are you? Thanks for the kind words! I feel so much better now that I''ll know for sure what is going on. Are you sure you haven''t ovulated? The Clomid sounds promising - I hope it jump starts everything for you. Life does move in slow motion sometimes, doesn''t it? I feel that way when charting. I just want one complete chart so I can know definitively what is going on. Each day is another point on my chart and it''s too slow! Ha ha.

LANIE! Hello there! The blood test was (I think) qualitative and quantitative. So hopefully I''ll know both if it''s there and how much. Who knows what was going on. I do not feel pregnant AT ALL (feel great!) and I''m almost sure it''s leftover hCG. But gosh, what would cause a level of 12 to stick around for 4 weeks? FRER must be crazy sensitive, is what I''m thinking. I may be around a 5-6 and that''s what it''s picking up. I don''t use the CBFM but I think skipping one day is OK.

Hey Gaby! I''m sorry about the bfn. But yay for trying in the future! Enjoy these few months when it''s just the two of you! Awwww... that''s a really smart thing to do esp. if you''re going to be switching insurance in the interim. Looking forward to seeing you back here!

noelwr, thinking of you! Wow, your DH is psychic! Dust to you! HAHA on how the Dutch are not allowed to POAS before we are!

Sweetlime, good luck!!! Welcome!

Cara, howdy! That''s smart to take the prenatals before bed. I''ve heard it also helps with morning sickness once you''re pregnant, too. Hope you have better luck with the FBs!

BELLA!!!! How are you doing? Omg, that is so funny! I can imagine you sneaking peeks at your OPK! Ohhh, sounds like you''re close to getting your blazing positive! Exciting!

Have fun!

DCGATOR! Woohoo for your temp shift! Yay! I had a super big temp spike today again, so either way - I am feeling good that I ovulated. Cervix went back to firm, closed and low. The show''s over! LOL! I have no desire to test anymore, which is good since I was a POAS addict. Now, I''m kind of OK with waiting for AF and learning what my hCG level is. Thinking it''s around 5-6... that FRER is good!

Dust to you all ladies and congrats again to our Feb BFPs!!!!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Day two of the OPK on a post-it hidden behind a pile of papers and folders on my desk at work

The control line is medium light, slightly darker than yesterday, but the test line (while still lighter) is definitely visible and darker than yesterday

. I am on CD 12 right now, so here''s hoping that my normal predictable 28 day cycle is back in action and that I''ll ovulate on Friday and we''ll get KTFU this month

 

[icekid]

Date: 2/24/2010 12:57:04 PM
Author: Bella_mezzo
Day two of the OPK on a post-it hidden behind a pile of papers and folders on my desk at work

Haha, Bella! You''re killing me. Do you think anyone would look at me funny if I just tucked those babies in the pocket of my scrubs??

Coral- Congrats you little jerkstore

Sticky bean dust!

Bliss- Keep us updates on your HCG status. Glad they were able to get a blood draw to get some answers for you.

Once again, I THINK I may have ovulated. There was definitely a noticeable change in CM; of course, that has happened during this cycle before!

I''m ready to move on to better and shorter cycles, though.

Yesterday at work, I was the ONLY non-pregnant female in my operating room. Pregnant nurse, pregnant surgeon, pregnant anesthesia attending. AND the surgery resident''s wife is pregnant, too! Hopefully it is contagious

 

[Po10472]

Hola

Well, I have an unwelcome visitor who has decided to arrive 2 days early. My spotting wasn''t IB, it was her and she''s been making her appearance since Sunday night which was cd26. I''m a 30/31 cycler and always have been with the exception of last month when she came a day early. Humph!!

Ocht well, there''s always March I suppose. I refuse to be despondent as it won''t help.

So here''s to bd''ing like bunnies and lotsa march madness!!

Po
x