@Alioth glad to hear the paint isn't lead-based after all! Sorry about the pressure washer. That is disappointing!
@SheilAnneSmith glad you get a helper for the cow procedure! That stuff sounds scary! During basic googling it does seem like TTC kinda messes with cycles--guess we're paying too much attention to what's going on so it wants to evade our efforts, haha. My cycle length range has been 10 days so I feel you on the frustration there.

Most interesting thing I learned last night was that after 20 weeks pregnant, the foods a woman eats can influence the baby's tastes because the baby ingests amniotic fluid at that point, which is flavored by the woman's diet! So, get your veggies!

I'm not feeling stressed this month overall regarding TTC but am trying to figure out if/when I ovulate. I'm confused about opk and CM at the moment. It looks like my LH must have surged overnight but my CM hasn't really gotten to where it should be to support fertilization. I guess temps will tell starting tomorrow if I O'ed? Anyway, trying not to stress and just BD at least every other day for a couple weeks.

@SheilAnneSmith so glad you're feeling better! And your timing sounds great this month! Fingers crossed it worked!

I got my FF crosshairs this morning! I was so worried I didn't ovulate for whatever reason. If it's accurate, we got attempts in at O-3 and -1. Wish we had tried one more time, but we'll see. Also it means my cycle this month should only be 29 or 30 days so it won't be so tortuous this time like my 38-day cycle last month. Yay! Happy Friday indeed!

Yeah! We'll wait it out together this month!

@daneejela I haven't quiet figured it out yet myself. We're on our 3rd month actually trying and I have stalled out on weight loss since we started trying. There is certainly a balance I haven't yet figured out. I feel like I'm starting to get there, a couple of unsuccessful TTC attempts helped me start thinking long term again. I am just trying to work towards some long term goals and figure I'll get as far as I can before we get pregnant. It seems a little easier for me to create goals based on nutrition versus just calories. If I'm eating in a deficit I want it to be highly nutritious at least. I have been adding high quality fats such as avacados, whole milk yogurt, ect and trying to do a better job about limiting junk food and sweets.

For me it hasn't been easy, that's for sure. But, I keep trying and chipping away at it. I would be inclined to think that as long as you aren't in a extreme deficit during your 2WW it is probably okay, but I really don't know. No doubt moderate goals would be better than extreme goals.

@daneejela I agree that it's so hard to stay motivated to lose weight while TTC. I was doing great leading up to this time and even got within my goal range in recent months. But then tracking AND thinking about TTC became too much to think about. It really shouldn't be, I guess, since I shouldn't be thinking about TTC for all of those hours, but tracking just seems like such a chore these days. I'm sorry you aren't pregnant this cycle. No matter how hard you're trying/not trying, it's hard to avoid being sad! Welcome to the group

Edited to add, I should mention that my weight is creeping back up but I'm having a hard time doing anything about it. Being in this group is helpful to at least not go completely off the wheels, but it's SO hard!

@tyedyechick0930 we are trying for our first, and the only advice I really feel qualified to give is that only you and your husband can know when the time is right. He might come around to the idea if you bring it up again to him. My husband will sometimes push back on ideas and then soften by the time I remind him of his previous position. Obviously it takes two to tango, though, and 4 years apart wouldn't be the worst thing. Would you technically be able to afford childcare for the two or would it make life exceedingly difficult? Have you already considered taking time off from your career, or your husband's taking time off from his, and ruled that out as a childcare option? In a lot of cases it seems like this ultimately saves money, as in the cost of daycare is greater than the income of one spouse or the other. There are definitely multiple ways to approach childcare and no two families are the same.

Just a note about the pill, I don't intend to ever go back on it after this. I feel like after this process of trying to get pregnant I'll be well-equipped to know how to avoid getting pregnant without chemical interference. So I'd say even if you aren't going to try right away, stopping hormonal birth control doesn't mean you'll get pregnant if your timing is right for prevention. And prenatal vitamins are good for us all

Oh, so sorry to hear that @krizaten33. I hope you are doing okay. Thanks for coming back to join us.

@krizaten33 Sorry for your loss. Hope this round gets a lot easier for you!

@pezhed I'm with you there on never going back on the pill. Now that I know how my cycle really works, the pill seems to offer me little benefit with a lot of nasty side effects.

@tyedyechick0930 That's a tough decision. I hope you guys work it out. I'm gonna try to have mine close together. But so far, still working on #1.

@daneejela Hi! I like your avatar. Also, I don't think it's weird to be disappointed or arrogant to hope for good things so soon. But, I do think it takes longer than most web sites say for birth control to work its way out of one's system. I've been off it 4 months and only now am starting to look normal. I also keep telling myself not to stress...and stressing anyway, haha. But everyone here has been super patient and supportive and encouraging.

Ok, so this has been a stressful month for me with work--had to fire a disgruntled employee. Two more employees left (kids returning to school.) Now training some newbies. I fell off the exercise wagon, but going back to the gym tomorrow. Had a house party tonight, and some friends brought their newborn over. Every time my husband holds a baby, he tears up. It's hard to watch. I'd so love to get pregnant this cycle so I don't have to see him cry! I should be in the fertile window according to the calendar, but OPKs are negative, and I'm almost out of them.

Krizaten33 I am so so sorry to hear you lost your baby. Take care of yourself, we are here for you.

@Pezhed I'm at 10 dpo and about to go batty. I tested this morning with a Wondofo and it was a BFN. I feel like I go from thinking we've got a shot and feeling good about chances to thinking there is no way in heck numerous times a day.

As I was getting ready for work this morning I felt like one of my bbs was itchy...turns out it was a piece of hay in my bra..symptom spotting is a b*tch. LOL

My BBT dropped to the coverline this morning, but don't feel like AF is about to start early so hopefully temps rebound tomorrow. Of course you can find chatter about "implantation dips" but I'm trying not to read into that kind of thing too much, 10 dpo seems on the late side for that. *shrug* AF is due Monday, so not many more days left to wonder.

so sorry for your loss @krizaten33 please take care of yourself.

Amanda, I'm in the tfab subreddit too. I've been silent this week, but I'm usually active there. I have a different username though. It's such a good community, I've learned a ton three-phase where I learned everything about temping.

@VeryKatie You may be on to something there!

@pezhed Welll...you know I'd prolly just sneak some tests into my gear...haha...Have a great time in the woods. Might be good to take a break from the TTC insanity.

@1fit_mamma Hope you're feeling better soon!

@SheilAnneSmith Pffft. Hay. Fingers crossed for you anyway!

@daneejela If you're feeling a lot of confusion and stress, talking it out with a counselor might be a good idea. (I've done it.) But I think everyone has rough days where they question their life's direction.

Welp, today I did something silly. I took vitamins with breakfast and :sick: all over the backyard. Should have known better. Haha. Good news is, I finally got a positive OPK, even later than last time. Got a couple steaks and gonna have a little date night. Maybe go to the art museum's new show or board game night at the coffee shop. What I've learned from tracking the past few months is suggesting that I have both a short cycle and short luteal phase. A lot of ladies online with short cycles have an earlier ovulation, but this has not been the case for me. Still, it's too soon to worry until I've tracked a lot more cycles.

Sorry youre out this month, Sheila.
I am not stopping ttc for any reason at this point (unless it would damage the baby like xrays.) this has already taken so much longer than I thought it would, and this month Im taking out all the stops. Going to bd every other day starting as soon as my period stops (any time now, ugh--day 6!) and I bought preseed for this time around! I have no idea how much longer this is going to take, and I want to make sure I give it my best go every cycle.

Ive stopped looking up my new estimated due date at the start of each cycle, stopped being so optimistic. I have an appointment with a midwife to discuss next steps and fertility testing (that my feelings flop about.....I feel silly for scheduling it, then desperate to talk to her) My niece starts kindergarten in a few weeks and Im going in late so I can see her off on her first busride...because Im afraid we'll never have a baby of our own to put on the bus for the first time.

Ugh. Rainy Tuesday, sorry to bring everyone down...this is our month, yah!!!! Baby dust to everyone!!!

I wish I had good news to share, Amanda! I saw your picture post, looks awesome and like you had an awesome time Sorry to hear you also got your period. What kind of diet adjustments will you be doing?