The Official TTC Thread!

[nycbkgirl]

LL- what a great holiday gift!! I wish you all the sticky dust out there!

 

[lovelylulu]

Little L wishing you nothing but the stickiest of wishes this holiday. So many happy congratulations!

Inluv, blushing, testy and anyone else testing soon good luck

Fisher I think it''s ovulatory!

Amber great to see you around. Sorry to hear about the sickness/depression-take care of yourself!!

 

[InLuv101]

OMG LL!!!! What a wonderful Christmas present for you and your DH! I''m soooo hoping for a sticky bean for you! Tons and tons of sticky dust coming your way. I hope you have a very healthy and happy 40 weeks!!

Fisher -- your chart looks biphasic to me! how long is your usual LP?

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

I adopted a furbaby!!!

She was my DH gift to me. He has known that I''ve wanted us to get a furbaby. She is a dachsund and she is 7 weeks. I love her sooo much!!

Will post pics after I find my card reader.

Wishing all of you ladies and wonderful Christmas eve and Christmas Day!!

 

[Blenheim]

LL - fingers crossed for a sticky bean for you.

Fishie, that looks biphasic to me! Any upcoming testing plans?!

 

[robbie3982]

Lysser, tons of sticky dust coming your way!!! I''m so excited for you!!!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Merriest of Christmases to all of you!!

Paul and I are off to see his family, then we fly home for a week. Yay! I still didn''t have a drop in temps today (98.49) and today would be 15DPO. I''m not going to test today; don''t want to have that bring me down on Christmas. Seeing that we''ll be in Cali for a week, I doubt I''ll test and just see what happens with my temps and/or period. Crazy thing. I did test on 12DPO and got a negative, so I''m not holding out tons of hope, but I can''t lie, every single cycle my heart soars up on hopes. I don''t see that as a bad thing, though.

So, I didn''t get any package that was 2 feet by 3 feet or whatever Paul said it would be. What I did get was a bike!! And a helmet, too. Long story short, I got my first bike when I was six, my dad let me fall off, I freaked out, threw it down (temper much, anyone??

) and never tried again. So, Paul''s going to by my trainer. I''ve already been out with him, doing circles in the driveway. An old man walked by and congratulated me on learning something new. It was funny, but I was so embarrassed!

Anyway, I hope Christmas is filled with lots of love, memories, and thankfulness and blessings! I may not be back around until the new year, so I hope 2008 ends well and that 2009 brings many, many BABIES around here!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

[littlelysser]

Happy Holidays Everyone! Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, Festivus, etc!

Lindsey, NYC, Amber, Robbie, LuLu, InLuv, and Blen, Thanks for the sticky vibes and kind thoughts.

Honestly, I'm still shocked. And of course, freaking out. I really and truly didn't think it was even a possibility this month. Clearly I was wrong. Made all sorts of plans for things to do that I wouldn't be able to do when prego (sushi, going out for NYE and getting a bit toasty, etc), but now those plans are hopefully on hold for about 9 more months! I'm feeling pretty apprehensive and not too excited - because it is soooo early and well, last time things didn't end so well.

Fisher - Your chart for SURE looks biphasic to me. And GOOD FOR YOU for getting back on the bike! That's great.

Amber - I'm sorry you are feeling down in the dumps my friend! I hope you have a nice holiday and enjoy the good parts and get through the bad with as little trouble as possible!

InLuv - YAY FOR A NEW PUPPY! We must see pics ASAP. I love puppies. Puppy bellies, puppy breath. The whole shpeel. What'd you name her?

Everyone else testing soon - best of luck!

 

[InLuv101]

Puppy pics for LL and anyone else interested. I''m going to start a thread in Hangout also with more pics. Her name is Miley!

 

[InLuv101]

One more...

 

[Festy]

So here I am thinking, oh why bother logging on on Christmas Day, no one''s going to be around...and lookie here! Lysser, I am so so happy for you!!! I cannot believe your BD history this month. That really gives me hope, thanks for sharing! Wishing you so much stickiness!

InLuv, that puppy belly shot just about killed me. Really, I don''t think I can move for a little while.

Fisher, enjoy your bike! That will be so much fun. I hope hope hope you ovulated...I want you to POAS. Of course I want you to, but I won''t.

******

11 DPO. This is the hardest part of the cycle for me. I get nervous about temping and start dreading AF.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday.

 

[Sabine]

CONGRATS LYSSER!!!! I''m also sending tons of sticky vibes your way!! I have such good feelings about this for you!

Fisher, yay for the bike, that should be fun! Sorry your cycle is still being confusing, I don''t know HOW you are holding out and not testing! But I also totally get not wanting to be let down on Christmas!

Inluv, that pup is just adorable! And what a cute name for her!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

 

[Blenheim]

Oh my gosh - puppy!! And little puppy toe pads!

Fishie, that sounds so promising. I have my fingers crossed for you. And I find it amazing that you''re not testing.

Festy, hang in there. Are you planning to test before your expected AF date, or just see how things happen? And how long is your LP normally?

 

[Dreamer_D]

Lysser that is wonderful! With one romp in the hay on CD 12 I think it is safe to assume that you ovulated a little earlier than usual, maybe on CD 15 or 16? But who knows, those boys can live for 5 days and that puts it at CD 17... what CD are you now? I know that this time must be hard and it must be difficult to let yourself be too hopeful too early, but remember that once you get past about 20 DPO the risk of m/c drops *a lot*. So I hope in a couple days you can really celebrate and enjoy this wonderful holiday present!!

InLuv What a cutie! You know I have two miniature Dachsie''s right? If you have any questions just ask. The biggest things with them is that they take a long time to housetrain and need to tinckle a lot. I highly recommend crate training if you aren''t doing it already. It is really helpful. I liked Ian Dunbar''s book about brinign home puppies, lots of good information. What a sweetie!!

Fisher well you have a 14 day LP so this is longer than usual for you... I really hope this is IT and I can''t wait until you come home to hear the (hopefully) good news!

Festy : Good luck testing!!

 

[AmberWaves]

Hi guys, just a quick pop in to InLuv to say your baby looks just like Woofie did when he was a puppy! (avatar) Oooooh, I have one mini, and I must say they are the best. I''m also here for you if there are any questions.

 

[littlelysser]

Afternoon all!

In-Luv - Holy Cute Puppy Batman!!!! SHe is adorable. That belly picture just makes me melt! And I second DD''s suggestion of crate training! It makes a HUGE difference in keeping yourself sane and the puppinksi safe!

Thanks for the good vibes Sabine!

Fisher - I hope your temps stay up!

Festy - Many many BFP vibes going your way.

DD - I''m CD 28. I know that I definitely O''d earlier than I normally do. I''m guessing that I actually O''d on either CD 13, 14, or 15. I''ve O''d as early as day 14 before, but it isn''t my usual O date. I''d really surprised if I O''d much later than that, because although I''ve read that sperm can live up to 5 days, that is pretty darn unusual. Also, POAS''d on CD 26, and if I O''d on CD 17, that''d be 9 DPO when I took the test and the second line was way way too dark for 9 DPO. Last time I didn''t get a BFP until 12 DPO. So yeah. That''s where things are!

When are other folks testing?

 

[InLuv101]

Thanks Festy, Sabine, Blenheim, DD, Amber & LL!

I am having so much fun with Miley and DH just adores her!
We are crate training, but she just cries so much. It tugs at my heart strings. I''m being strong though, I know responding to her cries will do no good. How long does it usually take them to get used to being in the crate? I got a puppy book but will check out the one you recommended DD. Thanks to you and Amber for allowing me to pick your brains on the breed. I appreciate it!

8DPO...Testing on New Years Eve!

 

[AmberWaves]

Inluv, I must say we started Woofie in his crate when we first got him, and he was great, until bedtime. Then I had to get up every few ours to take him to his puppy pad, and he''d go crazy because he''d have to go back in afterwards! It helped us by putting a small heating pad under his crate as well as a ticking clock in there to simulate the heartbeat. Within weeks it was his favorite place! Now it''s his sanctuary. It is trying for the first few weeks, that''s for sure, especially when I had to sit on the end of the bed shushing him and tappng the top of his crate. Do you cover it with a blanket at night?

 

[Kaleigh]

LL,
Sending tons of sticky vibes your way!!

Fisher,
I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you. I don''t know all this charting stuff, but reading this thread you are looking good? I really need to read up on all this stuff. Back in the day, I had an OPT kit, but that was it, and there was no internet. Hoping you and Paul had a wonderful Christmas. Love the bike, so cute. You have to post a pic!!!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 12/26/2008 7:24:47 PM
Author: AmberWaves
Inluv, I must say we started Woofie in his crate when we first got him, and he was great, until bedtime. Then I had to get up every few ours to take him to his puppy pad, and he''d go crazy because he''d have to go back in afterwards! It helped us by putting a small heating pad under his crate as well as a ticking clock in there to simulate the heartbeat. Within weeks it was his favorite place! Now it''s his sanctuary. It is trying for the first few weeks, that''s for sure, especially when I had to sit on the end of the bed shushing him and tappng the top of his crate. Do you cover it with a blanket at night?

Your little baby girl is still really young, we didn''t bring Seamus home until he was 10 weeks and he was already used to sleeping in his crate and could hold his urine all night, so our experience was a little different that yours will be... but Amber''s advice is right on! He definitely fussed at night. We put the crate in our room which helped, but other than taking her out to pee you really need to be as firm as possible about not letting her out when she fusses. For us, it was hard when he made noise in the morning. We would wait and wait for him to quiet for at least 30 seconds and then we would snatch him out immediately so that he would be reinfornced for being quiet! LOL! The first 2-3 weeks are the hardest, but I promise it will get better!

Now our puppies don''t make a peep in their crate and we can walk around and be near the crate and they just patiently wait. So all the hard work in the first 6 months to a year (sorry, it takes about that long to get a nicely behaved dog!

Actually, I''d say it takes a good 2 years to get a really really well behaved dog) really pays off when you have a dog that is quiet, well-behaved (mostly

) and who is a pleasure to have around.

 

[Festy]

InLuv, I have to say, all this puppy talk is such a welcome diversion! I hope it is for you too. I''ve never trained a dog myself, but being a softy I know it must be hard. I have certainly been around my share of poorly trained dogs, though.

Hi Blen, thanks. I''m planning on waiting for AF, which is due tomorrow, before I test. Seeing AF is much easier than seeing a BFN for me. My LP has been anywhere from 13 to 15 days, but I always have a 28 day cycle and today is CD 28.

Oh where is that Fisher? Are we supposed to wait here patiently??

Lysser, I hope you and DH are doing well and hanging in there!

 

[Sha]

Congratulations, littlelyser!!

What a wonderful Christmas surprise!

InLuv....that Miley is just...

... soooo cute. I love her!!

Hope everyone had a good Holiday!

 

[InLuv101]

Thanks Amber & DD!

I think that Miley may have seperation anxiety. She howls, whines, cries, screams any time she is in her crate even when she can plainly see us. It''s been 1 week now and no real progress. Maybe she is too young? She is never in more than 2 hrs except at night and at night we are taking her out to potty every 3.5 hrs so I know she doesn''t have to use the potty. She even cries if she isn''t crated and one of us just walks out of the room for a minute. When she is released from the crate she is frantic and takes about 10 min to calm down. When in the crate, she is thrashing, biting the metal of the cage and just looks terrified. Any advice?

 

[mia1181]

Inluv- Have you started her out for only short periods of time in the crate? When we first got my pup we put him in only for a second at first and gave him a treat. Then we gradually increased the time, giving him treats as long as he stayed quiet. This helps him have a positive association with the crate. And like DD said (I think it was her) definitely don''t let her out if she is crying. It''s like letting a baby cry it out, so it is really hard for some. But if you let her cry for a minute and then let her out she learns "I need to cry for a minute and then she will come". Then the next time you make it five minutes but then still let her out, she learns "okay maybe I need to cry longer for her to let me out." So the crying will continue. She will keep trying to cry longer and longer, and louder and louder to try and figure out just how long until you come.

 

[Pandora II]

LL, I am so happy for you - fingers crossed for a sticky bean!

Good luck for tomorrow Festy and for all the rest of you who are testing soon!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 12/27/2008 4:53:32 PM
Author: mia1181
Inluv- Have you started her out for only short periods of time in the crate? When we first got my pup we put him in only for a second at first and gave him a treat. Then we gradually increased the time, giving him treats as long as he stayed quiet. This helps him have a positive association with the crate. And like DD said (I think it was her) definitely don't let her out if she is crying. It's like letting a baby cry it out, so it is really hard for some. But if you let her cry for a minute and then let her out she learns 'I need to cry for a minute and then she will come'. Then the next time you make it five minutes but then still let her out, she learns 'okay maybe I need to cry longer for her to let me out.' So the crying will continue. She will keep trying to cry longer and longer, and louder and louder to try and figure out just how long until you come.

This is very true. Our Seamus was a BEAST in the crate for about a month!! It ws so painful to NOT let him out when he was crying. You need to tell yourself that it isn't hurting her to be in there, and if you can see her and she can see you, she needs to get used to it. She is very young, I think perhaps a little too young to have been taken from her mom (8 weeks is a minimum and with smaller breeds 10 weeks is better), but that is water under the bridge. The key is to know that her behaviour is within your control if you use classic learning theory principals. What is a reward for her? Being with you and being out of the crate. So you ONLY want to let her have those things when she is behaving the way you want: when she is playing quietly, when she is settled in the crate. You simply do not want to reward any anxious or obnoxious behaviour. Like I said, it is not actually hurting her to be in her crate, she is just using whatever means she has to get what she wants! There were times with Seamus we had to wait about 30 minutes OR MORE for him to quiet down. And we had a rule that he needed to be quiet for at least 30 seconds before we let him out. Sometimes he would be quiet for about 20 seconds and we would be about to let him out and then he would spazz again and we would almost cry thinking about how we had to start all over! But we were really firm with it and his worst crate behaviour was over in about 2-3 weeks (it took longer to get him to be quiet in the morning, btu we used the same rules). I think you also want to be careful not to give her attention and pets when she is whining or behaving in an anxious way. If she is being anxious or clingy or whining, ignore her and go about your business. When she quiets down or sits nicely, scoop her up and play with her! You have to be really firm with the rules and be CONSISTENT and it will pay off. She will figure it out pretty fast. Remember, she is a dog and their brains are rather ismpkle. Try to avoid projecting human emotions like separation anxiety onto her right now

and remember that she learns like any creature learns. If whining and bad behaviour "works" to get her what she wants, then that is what she will do. You need to teach her that other behaviours work better to get what she wants! It isn't mean to have rules, you are doing her a favour.

Oh, one more thing: feed her in her crate, it will help her like it more!

 

[peonygirl]

LittleLysser, I''m SO happy for you sweetie!! What good news!! I am sending this one super-glue sticky vibes along with everyone else! Have you been able to enjoy the pregnancy thus far, or do you feel more anxious than last time? I wonder how I''ll feel when I''m in your position.

I will write to everyone else when I get back to Chicago (I''ve been at my in-laws for the last few days and I don''t have much Internet access--writing from my FIL''s computer right now). Hope your holidays were very joyous!

 

[sunkist]

Hi All, I''m home! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We got a white Christmas in Oregon, so it was lots of fun. (We''re from SoCal, so it''s rare

)

Lysser, a BFP is great news! I''m crossing my fingers for you

Fisher, I think it''s great that you celebrate Christmas Eve Eve Enjoy your family! I''m keeping hope for you this cycle. Your chart looks great and the temp going up is excellent news.

Amber, it''s great to see you around, girl! Enjoy the holiday cheer and have fun.


FF took my crosshairs away, but I did get AF this last week. It came sooner than expected and the temp drop made my crosshairs go away. So perhaps I was anovulatory this month. I''m going to start drinking tons of water now though so I can tell if O is coming this month!

 

[blushingbride]

CONGRATULATIONS LL on getting KTFU!!! Heaps and mounds of sticky dust coming your way!

 

[Sha]

InLuv, I remember you said you''d be testing soon. How are your temps? Any symptoms? It would be great to have another BFP around here!

Any more pics of that gorgeous Miley? I was looking out for the thread in Hangout but didn''t see it... She''s such a cutie

!

 

[InLuv101]

Good Monday Morning ladies!

Sunkist -- Yay for a white Christmas! Sorry your crosshairs got taken away.

At least you get to start over and have a better chance at O'ing this month!

Mia1181 -- Thanks so much for your advice on Miley!

Peony -- Hope you are having a relaxing time at the In laws!

DD- Thanks as always for your help!

Festy, Blushing, Lulu, Sha, LL -- Thinking of you ladies!!

********************************************************
I promise not to keep clogging up this thread with all my puppy talk but I just had to report to DD, Mia1181 & Amber who so graciously gave me puppy crating advice that I started totally over yesterday in case I missed something along the way. I started with small intervals (like 2 min) and only let her out and gave her praise/a treat when she calmed down. By bedtime we were up to 20 min of quiet in the crate and last night she stayed quiet the whole night until 5:30a!!!! It felt like a miracle. Every previous night she cried/whined/howled for 30 min of every hour during the night. I'm so happy and rested!! I can't thank you guys enough! I will keep it going and reinforcing the good behavior and I know she will do even better. Thanks again, I am so greatful!!

Sha -- I never did start that thread. My computer at home was acting up this weekend. I will start it today. Thanks for asking!
**********************************************************

That was the good news...the bad news is AFF showed up. I'm a bit confused this cycle. My LP has always been 13 days. It was 11 this cycle. I'm sure I didn't O any earlier, I actually thought I might have O'd later. I had EWCM for 2 days after FF says I O'd but my temps were messed up the a few days surrounding my O date so it's hard to say what is really what. I wasn't sleeping well and had open circles for 2 days following my FF O date so I don't really know if I did in fact have a temp shift that confirmed O or if they were high because of my poor sleep. I'm also not having any cramping (which I always do) and didn't have any pre-AFF spotting (which I always do). Can my LP change 2 days and will it be that way with each cycle from now on? Wonky cycle I guess. I hate that the more time that passes the less predictable my cycle is becoming.

This gives me a 26 day cycle vs my normal 30 day cycle

Dumb old CD1...