The Official TTC Thread!

[Lanie]

LV -- the nurse called the number for the follistim? I meant to answer you earlier about my friend on it...I thought she was currently on it, but she''s waiting for the go ahead and then she''s starting it this cycle. Whatever that means.

Split shank -- I''m not a doctor obviously, but I''ve had that before and my RE said it was old blood just coming out. something about your system having too much progesterone, that it starts expelling it before a period. But that''s not to say it can''t be implantation spotting! I don''t want to squash your hopes...How exciting if it is implantation!!!

 

[split_shank]

Hey Lanie!!!! Thanks! That sounds about spot on! Pun intended

And no, no squashing, no hopes were up yet

 

[split_shank]

and just in case the hopes do come up...how long after implantation bleeding could ''one'' test???

 

[Loves Vintage]

Lanie, Yes, she said she called the number for Follistim, to see if they had this as a documented side effect, since she had never heard of it before. The doctor hadn''t either.

Not sure where your friend is in her cycle. I think they typically do an ultrasound on CD3 to make sure you are clear to start whatever ovulation induction drugs are planned for that cycle. I wish her lots of luck with the Follistim, and, erh, please don''t mention the blurred vision.

Follistim is actually supposed to have less side effects than the clomid. It should not thin the lining, either, so that is another reason why the dr is ok with my not taking the estrogen now. She also said that the Follistim produces estrogen (clomid does not) which is why it does not thin the lining -- the estrogen is supposed to make it nice and thick. So, I wonder if that''s why I had this reaction -- too much estrogen????

Enjoy your spring break! I wish I was having one too!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

LV-So glad that your Dr doesn''t think it''s the Follistim!!!!! Hope that you don''t experience this again!

It definitely seems like AF is here for the duration, so I am officially CD1 now...sort of disappointing, but way, way better in terms of my new job since nov/Dec is the busy time and it would be tough for me to miss half of Nov and all of Dec. but...if I get pregnant this cycle and have to miss the latter part of Dec I am ok with that

So, snow babies here we come

Best wishes for a great "march madness" of BDing and sticky beans for everyone here

 

[Lanie]

Split shank -- google implantation spotting, but if I remember correctly, it''s about 7 days - 10ish days after ovulation??? Which is right in line with spotting before AF so it makes it difficult! How many days past O are you? I just googled quickly and saw something that said it is pinkish-brownish and isn''t like a normal period!

Bella -- NO NO NO NO!!!! WTF? I''m so sorry! Are you sure you started?

LV -- that sounds about right (regarding my friend). I won''t mention the blurred vision. That''s still so weird. Did your vision clear up now?

 

[Loves Vintage]

Bella - Sorry about AF, but on to a new cycle!!

Lanie - It is crazy. Yes, it was back to normal before I left for work. I read contracts all.day.long. Vision is fine. I would not have come to work today if my vision had been affected. Driving would have been a problem.

To better explain the blurriness, when I looked at my computer screen, I could see that there was text, like I could distinguish between multiple lines of a paragraph, but there was no way I could determine what any of the words were! It seemed to get progressively better after a while. Maybe because I kept trying to focus, it got better. I have no idea, no explanation for it. I wish I would have blocked each eye, to see if I could see clearly with one, but not the other, but that thought didn't cross my mind until many hours later.

The estradiol was to be taken in the am and the pm. I did take one this morning and didn't even think it was possibly the cause. I was convinced it was the follistim. Maybe some of the women who report blurred vision with Clomid are really experiencing it because of the estrogen . . . .

 

[Kunzite]

dcgator – did you get your temp shift today? Your kitty is so adorable. I want to rub his tummy.

geri – sorry to hear about the accident, that’s so scary! Very happy to hear that your DH is okay.

LV – your DH sounds like a great guy. It’s so great to hear that he was able to handle the injections with flying colors. Huge hug for the crazy eye syndrome. I know how scary things like that can be. I’m so happy you don’t have to give up on this cycle. That must be such a relief.

Bliss – just noticed what you wrote about your friend and the kitty poo. I would be furious with that guy. I cannot tolerate when people act like that

Splitshank – March Madness! I love it, it’s so appropriate for us to have our first cycle as MM! It would be even better if the Jayhawks won the championship. Rock chalk Jayhawk KU! Have a great, relaxing, vacation.

Noelwr – Sorry about the recent BFN, but I’ll cross my fingers for your super test tomorrow.

Lanie – Yahoo for spring break! My SM is a teacher and so her and my dad are on a cruise starting today. I just talked to him on the phone and he said, we really thought you and DH would surprise us in Florida and say you were going with us. Don’t I wish!!

Thanks everyone for the kind words about my baby kitty.

I mentioned awhile back that we had bought a crib for my baby niece because my sister is visiting soon. Well it’s just sitting in the spare room because I was SOOO excited to put it together and get to look at it. Well, the strange thing is that I never go in there. I thought for sure the urge to go stare at a crib in my own house would be overwhelming and that it would become a daily thing… but it hasn’t. I am more than a little surprised by that. Maybe the baby mania has ceased for a little while and now I can carry on being a normal person

 

[noelwr]

I did it! or rather I should say: I didn''t do it!

I didn''t POAS this morning. there is hope for me (my sanity), yet. I am so proud of myself.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

yay noelwr

way to have willpower!

i ate a packet of cookies for breakfast

not so much will power here

 

[noelwr]

I went to look at cars today and have a test-drive scheduled for Tuesday. so the will power didn''t spill over into my wallet

 

[HOUMedGal]

Good morning, ladies!

It''s a gorgeous day here in Houston, and I am just finishing up a moonlighting shift at work in the newborn nursery.

Totally swooning over the precious babies. It''s fun to come to work and wish all your patients a happy birthday!!

Wow, so much has gone on in here since the last time I posted...new faces, new fertility monitors, new symptoms (Sorry to hear about all that blurry vision nonsense, LV...hope you''re feeling better!)...I need to catch up!

You guys will probably be seeing more of me around here again...DH and I decided that we''re back in the game starting next cycle.

He got a job that he can stay in until my residency is over and we''re ready to leave Houston, so money concerns are definitely decreased. Plus, we decided that life is too short and too precious to keep putting this off...we are so ready to be parents. It''s ridiculous, we BOTH get googly eyed when we see cute little kids. LOL. It''s amazing how much better I felt emotionally once we decided that we were officially starting to try again...I have still been pretty sad since the miscarriage, and thinking obsessively since then about when we can try again, and I think that actually doing it will be the last piece to complete my healing process.

So I''ll be reading back to catch up and to meet all the new faces here! I look forward to catching up with the "oldies" and getting to know the "newbies", and sharing in all of your joy when each one of us gets our good news!!

I''m currently in the middle of my 3rd post-MC cycle, on CD20. I actually ovulated this cycle

which I think is the first time since the MC! FertilityFriend is saying it happened on CD17, which correlates perfectly with my sore bb''s, EWCM, and the raging positive OPK that i got on CD16. We didn''t try this cycle, so I''m not really in the TWW, but once my next AF comes the gloves are off! LOL!

Lots of dust to all!!!

 

[noelwr]

welcome back, HMG! and congrats on DH getting a new job.

I''m not holding my breath to be knocked up this cycle, which means I''ll most likely be trying with you, Lanie and Bells for end December babies! now we just gotta keep our fingers crossed for the rest of the ladies still in March Madness.

 

[HOUMedGal]

Hey Noel!!

Glad to see you over here doing well...maybe next month will be the magical one for us!

So who all is in the TWW right now?? What direction do I need to be sending the good implantation/blastocyst development vibes?? LOL!

 

[dcgator]

Hi ladies,

I hope everyone''s weekend is going ok. The weather here is downright icky, so DH and I are just lounging on the sofa and laying about house, until we head out later to a movie and bowling

.

Splint Shank: Any news on AF? I hope you have gotten a better idea of what''s happening.

LV: I am glad to hear that your doc got back to you. Hopefully you just had a one-off reaction and now that you are off the estradiol, everything will be back to normal. Good luck with the Follistom and this cycle!

Bella: I am sorry that you got AF today, but like you said, it will be better to be pregnant a bit later. So, hopefully your body just knew better and now it will happily give you a LO next month. Woohoo for March Madness babies!

Lanie: How are things going on your end?

Noelwr: Good job on holding out with the HPT. Hopefully you will be rewarded manana with a positive HPT

Houie: Welcome back! I am glad to hear that you and your DH are ready to jump back into the TTC pool. Good luck with the next cycle and hopefully you will be in the running for the March Madness

*****
As for my cycle, I think it is being a bit screwy this month. I am at CD 13, and should be having eleveated temps, but they are going down. I had an nearly positive OPK yesterday and a slighty elevated temp (I am a gradual riser) but I had a negative OPK this morning and a lower temp. So, while I am excited that my CF is in line, I think my uber stressful week is catching up with my cylce. I guess we will see if my body decides to O in the next couple days....

 

[icekid]

I''m trying to enjoy my last couple of days before (boooo) starting up ICU hours again, but still wanted to pop in with a quick message.

split_shank- here is to hoping that it really was implantation spotting! Since this generally happens around days 6-10ish, I''d think you could get a solid answer in 4 days.

LV- So scary about the blurred vision! Hope it was a one-time occurrence and you can continue on with the Follistim.

Bella- GAH stupid AF; she is such a jerk!

Kunzite- Congrats on official commencement of TTC

Noelwr- I congratulate you on your non-POAS morning. Is tomorrow looking more promising?

HMG- Congrats to hubby on the new job, and even bigger congrats to you both on being able to get busy at TTC again

And it sounds like wonderful timing, too, since your cycle is getting back on track so beautifully. I definitely sensed a sadness when you discussed waiting a while, so this is such wonderful news.

dcgator- I wish us all MUCH less stress, as it would probably make our cycles much more easy to predict. Hope the weather is lending itself to some quality BD time though

if you think O will be in the next couple days!

Shockingly enough, I still have absolutely no clue what is going on with my body. Boobs are sore today, which is new. And lots of CF this AM.... who knows?!

 

[noelwr]

I am bored because DH went to pick up something in Amsterdam, so I went back to find out where in our cycles we are. Please don't ask anyone directly about 2WW until they mention it themselves as they might like to keep it private or might not be TTC this cycle.

Bella_mezzo - CD2
Loves Vintage - CD6
Bliss - CD7 (EVA6)
Kunzite - CD8
charbie - CD12
dcgator - CD13
Ryan Claire - CD13
Po10472 - CD18
geri - CD18
plantationcatt - CD20
HOUMedGal - CD20
noelwr - CD24
Lanie - going for Christmas baby

declared TWW: catluver & noelwr

 

[brightlight]

Hi future mommies to be,

Sorry it''s taken me so long to come back. I''ve been really busy. Plus, I ovulated last week, so I''ve been getting busy too. Anyway, we''ve been planning for pregnancy for a year (saving extra money, eating healthier, switching insurance plans, research, vitamins, etc.) and have been trying to get pregnant for two months now. We''ve been BDing every other day. I''d love to eventually have a girl and a boy. Since this will be our first baby, I don''t really have a preference (ok, maybe a slight twinge of desire to have a girl first). I really just want a happy, healthy baby.

Are any of you trying gender selection methods like O+12, Shettles, or specific diets to alter the ph of your CF? How legitimate do you think these methods are? Like I said, I don''t really have a gender preference for our first baby, but I''ll probably want the opposite gender for our second baby.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

welcome bright light!

Af is kicking my a@# with serious cramps and a migraine

can''t wait to move to a better part of this cycle!!!

 

[Bliss]

Noelwr, that is so great! Eva 6!!!! LOL

I just realized it's going to be one LONG month - and I'm tired already!

Eva wants FMU, so that was 6am. Usually, I sleepwalk to the bathroom and back. But today, I had to POAS and plug it for analysis! I was wide awake since it was my first time and I wanted to do everything right. Then at 9:30, my BBT alarm goes off! Zzzzzzzzz... I am sleepy already thinking about the rest of the month! DH was alarmed when he rolled over in bed and I was missing this morning. I was with Eva.

She is so cool, though! I love it! Today showed a very dark estrogen line and a faint LH line. It'll be interesting to see how it all changes!

Loves Vintage, hope you are feeling better. Yay for continuing the cycle!

Bella, so sorry AF arrived! Awwww, it's OK because you can get KTFU later this month maybe! I just have a feeling you're going to be a jerkstore so March can still be your month! Sorry AF is so wicked this month, though.

Kunzite - yay for being in a more peaceful place! How nice that you got a crib for your baby niece! How exciting, too! You can get in some practice when she comes to visit!

HOU!!!! Hello! I have missed you! Oh, what great news that you're TTC! Yay for ovulation, too! Sorry you're still feeling sad sometimes. I know exactly how that feels. But there are more and more good and even GREAT days since that I'm grateful for. This time around, I feel like we'll be stronger and more at peace with the whole process. We're both in cycle 3! I'm CD6 today and had my first convo with Eva, my CBFM. She looks like Eva from WALL-E, I think!

dcgator! CD13 is still early... hope the big O comes soon! I'm with you on the confusing body signals!

icekid! Hmmmm....sounds promising!!! Dust!

brightlight - welcome back! Yay for ovulating! I'm with you on wishing for one of each. I really want to have at least *one* girl!

Presenting....Eva!

 

[CDNinNYC]

Hey Ladies!

I haven''t posted in a while since we''re not trying yet and I have nothing to report but wanted to pop in and say hello since I''ve been following along with all your posts.

Best of luck to you all and here''s hoping for some December babies!

 

[split_shank]

Um... still nothing....

Kinda getting a little antsy.

WILL be testing before we leave on vacation on Wednesday if AF doesn''t officially check in. I guess she just dropped off her bags for now.

As soon as I change my pending beach drink menu to a non alcoholic version, she''ll barge right in... so we''ll just wait a day.. or two.. Either way it is ruining my plans for a BD marathon while on vacation. haha!

 

[geri]

Hi everyone

Thanks DCG, LV, Bliss, Kunzite and anyone I missed for all your thoughts re SO after the car accident. All seems to be well other than minor stiffness which is great.

Noelwr - So proud of you for not POAS! Good luck for today. What car were you test driving? We are unexpectedly in the market for a new car!!

LV - I hope you are feeling better. I'm so pleased your doctor is so accessible and responsive - it makes such a difference.

HOU - Welcome back! Congrats to DH on his job and your decision to TTC again!!

Bliss - You just crack me up! Thanks for the laughs.

SS - I'm so sorry AF is being a pain. I hope it is good news for you. I know how you feel re vacation plans - despite my best laid plans, my wonky cycles mean I will probably have AF on my wedding day and the start of our honeymoon. Soooo frustrating!

I am on CD19 today and, despite some wonky temps, FF gave me an O day of CD16 so we didn't completely miss the fertile window although our timing was less than ideal. So we are technically in the 2WW but I'm just not feeling it this month (not in terms of symptoms because it is too early for that but just the general vibe) so I may be joining all those going for December babies!!

Good luck to all those coming up to O day and those in the 2WW.

 

[Po10472]

Greetings fellow ttc''ers

I''ve been mia the last few days, but back now feeling better and just used my monitor and on cd19 and still high. Looks like there''s no peak for me this month although I do think I''ve ov''d but the machine is still getting to know me so hasn''t registered it. I can tell when I ov normally but I have stupidly relied on the monitor. I don''t know if its maybe been affected by the fact that I was feeling poorly and have been exercising and reducing my calorie intake a lot this month or really I don''t ov every month.

Whatever it is, I just need to keep remaining positive as I don''t want to start getting too down in the dumps and stressed about it all.

Hope you all have a good day.

Po
x

 

[noelwr]

another BFN for me this morning. pretty sure it didn't happen this cycle. not going to bother to POAS tomorrow either.

Po - I also think you must have Od but CBFM missed your Peak.

Bliss - great pics! lmao. they look like twins! by the way, and you probably already know this, the estrogen line will get lighter when your estrogen levels increase, while the LH line will get darker when LH increases. also, after you get a Peak, by default Eva will give you a 2nd day Peak followed by a High, even though you might actually be at Low again. I think that's just in case you O late. but really all the test sticks after the 1st Peak are a waste, in my opinion. haha, I act like I've been using it for years!

brightlight - we'll just be happy to get pregnant, so we're not doing any gender selection methods. let us know if it works for you, though.

split_shank - sorry, hon! that sounds frustrating.

Bells - do you ever use a heating pad to help relieve the cramps? I love those things. I use them when I go to sleep. helps keep me warm during the winter night.

geri - it's a Lexus RX300. I've always wanted a Lexus SUV, so my dream might come true! it's 2nd hand, of course, because those things start at EUR 80k new here! cars are extremely expensive in Holland due to taxes.

 

[HOUMedGal]

Good morning, friends! Thanks for the warm welcome back!

Dcgator - sorry for the confusing temps and OPK's. I've been really confused wtih mine ever since my MC...first off, there was no ovulation the first two cycles. Also, I used to have much higher post-O temps than I'm having this cycle, but FF still says I ovulated, and I definitely had all my typical symptoms (sore boobs, EWCM, plus I had an OPK that was no doubt positive), so I believe it. I'm sorry you've been stressed...I can definitely relate! I bet your egg is just getting ready to pop out...grab DH and try to catch it!!

IceKid - hey lady! Sorry you're back into ICU hours...booooo. I'm on elective right now, and will have a vacay the last week of this month, but then I'm on call months for the rest of the year, one of which is our extremely busy Level 2 nursery, another is our (also extremely busy with extremely sick patients) PICU. But I know I will learn a TON in the PICU...just gotta prepare for a busy, emotionally taxing month.......You're right, I was definitely sad about waiting to try again. I have felt so much better ever since we decided not to wait. Anyway, sore boobs are always a good sign with me!! I assume it's the LH spike that does it, but they always get noticeably tender in the couple of days prior to/during ovulation. Hope that's what's going on with you!!

Noelwr - thanks for the awesome list! Sorry for the BFN this morning. Maybe April is our month.

OH, and I *heart* my heating pad. It even vibrates if you want it to, which is nice when you have something like a muscle spasm in your neck or back. Oooh, I hope you get the Lexus! We pretty much always buy used cars, because cars depreciate so much as soon as they are even driven off the lot brand new. Our favorites are cars that are around 2 years old, with 20,000 or less miles on them...we bought a Toyota Highlander like that about a year ago. It was a 2007 model with 18,000 miles, and spotless. Has all the features we wanted. And we paid half the sticker price. Love it!! It's been an awesome car for us.

Brightlight - welcome!! Best of luck to you this month!! We haven't used any of the gender selection methods, mostly because we can't decide which gender we want to have first! I do agree that I would like one of each. I don't know if the methods are legit or not, but I know the Shettles method is quite popular. At this point, we just want to get pregnant again with whatever gender it happens to be.

Bella - sorry AF is being so ornery. I hope today is better!!

Bliss - hello dear!! I've missed you too.

I love your Eva!! Too cute. I am totally picturing you in the bathroom at 6am with Eva from Wall-E.....hehe. Yeah, I am having more and more good and even great days too as time passes...I truly think starting to try again was the last piece of the puzzle for me. I just wasn't happy with the idea of waiting, even if it made more sense at the time. And I totally agree that we will be stronger, more and peace, and even more ready this time around! I have been going to the gym fairly faithfully for about a month and a half now, and I feel so much healthier. I think I may start tapering down my caffeine and alcohol consumption a little earlier on this time too...last time I kinda quit both cold turkey, and I think a slow taper (especially of the caffeine....ugh) will be nicer.

CDNinNYC - Hello!

thanks for the best wishes!!

Split_shank - Hmmmm...Intriguing! I'd be antsy too! I will be looking forward to hearing about your test results before your vacay...can't help but wonder a little.

Where are you guys going? I'm totally jealous that you'll be on the beach soon!!

Geri - good to "see" you again!! I'm SO glad your DH is OK and that the accident wasn't worse!! Sounds like we are within a few days of each other this cycle...still keeping my fingers crossed for you for this one, but would welcome the idea of having a "cycle buddy" next month!

Po10472 - so you're around the same time in your cycle as Geri and me too! I, too, wonder if you did indeed have a peak that the machine just missed. But you're right, I think trying to keep a positive, upbeat attitude about the whole thing can do nothing but help!! It really is amazing and beautiful, what we're all trying to do here....I mean, WOW, we're trying to make new people!! New people that are half us, half our SO's....Sometimes I just have to step back and look at the bigger picture and realize how awesome this whole thing is.

 

[noelwr]

HMG - I have high hopes for April. I know we''re hardly half-way through March and I do hope to see many BFPs before the end of this month, but we''ve got many positive vibes in April because we''ve got the following birthdays:

7 - noelwr (DH also an Aries)
10 - Po10472 (DH also an Aries)
11 - geri (DH also an Aries)
16 - icekid

anyone else got positive April birthday vibes to share?

and who''s going on vacation in April? I know geri and I are.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

I am feeling so much better today. Yesterday I pretty much just hugged my heating pad and whimpered on the couch. Dh was not amused. In fact his exact words were, "I''m going to try extra hard to get you knocked up this month so you don''t have to go through this anymore for quite some time"

followed by..."but I bet you''re going to be even worse when you are pregnant

ha-ha-ha-ha

Since the alien trying to jack hammer his way out of my skull seems to be gone, I can type more

Noelwr-so exciting about the new car!!!!!!! we just bought one today too, but not nearly so sexy...ours is a 1995 Honda Civic. When you park on the street in Manhattan it''s good to keep it simple, old, and not flashy. My last car got stolen (a 1992 Honda wagon

) so we''re sticking with a super low priced option this time to see if it makes DH''s commute better. If it does, we''ll upgrade in a year or two

We''re going on vacation later this month, and if the timing is the same as last month, we should be in San Diego when I am ovulating

Bliss-Eva is too cute!!!! hope she gives you lots of answers this month!

Houie-Glad that you are TTC again and that is seems to be the final piece of the healing process! good luck!!!!!!!!

Ice-welcome back, hope that your schedule isn''t too bad..I know temping was tough with the hours you work, did you try OPKs? I found them really helpful last cycle (since I am way to lazy to temp and am trying them again this cycle.

Fingers crossed for everyone in the 2ww!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Is anyone else watching "sizing up sperm" on National Geographic channel tonight? DH is psyched about it

 

[Lynnie]

Hi, ladies! Sorry I''ve been MIA... last cycle was our first of TTC. Unfortunately, AF reared her ugly head today. So count me in for March Madness!
I''m debating whether to temp/use OPK''s... I will probably hold off for now, given it''s only the 2nd month of TTC.
I''m a little leary about temping, anyway, because I work 12 hour night shifts, and have really weird sleep cycles. Somedays I crash for a few hours, somedays all day, depending on if I have work that night. So temping will be all hours of the day, and I''m not sure how accurate it''ll be...
Good news is my cycle seems back to normal... it''s been a little whacked out since October. We moved and got the swine, and Oct''s peroid was like 9 days late. Dec''s was early, Feb''s a little late... today marks the end of a perfect 28 day cycle. We BD''d on days 13 and 14, EWCF and all... hmm.

So, I''m enjoying my huge cup of coffee right now. I had given it up (well, for the most part).

BELLA!! I was gonna give everyone a head''s up about the sperm show tonight, but you beat me to it!! haha... my DH is psyched about it, too! So we''ll definitely be watching.

Bliss - I love your Eva! Super cute!

Good luck to those in the TWW. Sticky dust!!

Hey - check out the Natl Geo sperm game... too cute! http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/sizing-up-sperm-4921/Overview12#tab-game