Trying to Concieve
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@Alioth your date night sounds great. Could you talk to your doc about the short cycle?
@Kirstie155 try not to get down. But at the same time try not to concentrate on ttc as much. The stress could be affecting your chances maybe?
@SheilAnneSmith wow that project sounds like hard work. I hope you get pregnant and can hire the boys to come in!
@pezhed wow your period spacing does swing a lot! Diet changes might help. More fat Maybe?
@daneejela welcome!! It is tough to feel confident about being parents even when you already are. You will be able to tell what is best. Trust yourself.
I think I'm going to have to respond in short bursts lol. Kid doesnt like me typing on my phone while he is eating. Need to get better at this being more active in the group thing.0 -
thanks Katie! My period was seven days this time guys. SEVEN! FW starting tomorrow, O day calculated as Tuesday, and I have company coming again this weekend (ugh, I just wanna relax and bone my husband, lol!)0
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I mostly just lurk in this thread or occasionally say baby dust to all because I'm not yet TTC but @Kirstie155 I'm so glad I didn't have water in my mouth when I just read your last comment. Hilarious! I hope you get to do plenty of both this weekend!
Baby dust to everyone!0 -
*Wink*1
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Kirstie155 wrote: »thanks Katie! My period was seven days this time guys. SEVEN! FW starting tomorrow, O day calculated as Tuesday, and I have company coming again this weekend (ugh, I just wanna relax and bone my husband, lol!)
Haha mine have always been 7-8 days long. It's nice to get a break from them. Bahaha boning. Awesome.0 -
Welp, it's 8 days now. OMG kill me now. If today turns in to 9....0
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Oh and Katie you poor thing always been 7-8 days?! Mine are usually about 4-5 with light days sometimes at the beginning or end and super heavy in the middle. This one was 8 days, all light. Too heavy for a liner, not heavy enough for anything else. Gahhhh so irritating lol!0
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Wow those long periods sound like torture! I'm lucky if my periods are 3 days long, and usually the 3rd day is pretty much spotting and I don't wear anything. Which unfortunately, I think, is another indicator of some kind of hormonal imbalance. But alas, what isn't? I swear TTC makes menstrual cycles weirder and weirder.
@Kirstie155 "boning" made me LOL. You really do have the best names for sex, and all are better than "BD", haha.
My diet changes are going to follow the recommendations in the WomanCode. I'm going to kick off a cleanse sort of thing on Tuesday where I'm mostly eating fruit/flaxseed meal/green drink for breakfast, salad and fish or beans for lunch, and soup for supper for 4 days, then transition to eating pretty much that stuff but with some additional sweets allowed but not to the amount that I enjoy them now. She also has specific fruit/veggie, exercise, and lifestyle recommendations for each phase of your cycle, so I'll try to integrate those. Hopefully Kris will be supportive. I think he will be since I'm doing this for both of us. It's hard to keep him fed when I'm trying to be especially healthy. He's twice my size and can eat a LOT. I also gained some weight over the past few weeks so hopefully the dietary change will help with that. There's really no reason it shouldn't!
I'm waiting until Tuesday because I have a friend visiting this weekend. My attempts to stop drinking entirely failed as soon as I got my period last week and all through vacation. I intend to partake this weekend but obviously stop with the new diet for at least the rest of this cycle. Hopefully for the rest of the next year!
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Gahhh, sorry this is so long!
@SheilAnneSmith Geesh, I used to hate tossing the 50 lb haybales when I had horses. They are bad enough, but 100 lbs is ugh! Don't throw your back out!
@Kirstie155 I read an interesting post on the Whattoexpect forums from a gal talking about the emotional stages of TTC. Can't find it now. But to summarize:
PreTTC--If I glance at a penis wrong I might get preggers.
1st cycle--Nervous and excited.
2nd cycle--Ok, I missed 1st cycle, but now this should be a breeze!
3rd cycle--Doubts creep in. Starts to do research.
4th-6th cycles--Hardest point mentally for a lot of women as they feel like a failure, wonder what they're doing wrong, if their body is messed up, etc. Start questioning everything. Start freaking out over all the scary stories. Stress builds up.
8+--Hard core searching for answers, doctors visits, medications, challenging but more mentally prepared. Still risk of burnout.
Anyway, whatever stage you might feel like you're in, we're still on your side and rooting for you!
@VeryKatie Loool. We are syncing over long distance? Mine are usually 7 days and stupid heavy too, but last month was 8. ;__;
Date nite was awesome. Ended up not going anywhere.
I might call the midwife and ask her opinion of the short cycles. But for now, I bought some B12 to see if it extends the cycle. I could also try raspberry leaf or evening primrose oil to lengthen the cycles. (Vitex seemed to make it shorter. Never again!) I should probably track a few more cycles first though to know what's going on.
@pezhed That reeks about AF raining all over your camping trip.
Is a short period really a sign? I've heard of heavy periods and irregular periods being a sign of something being off. The new diet sounds kinda similar to Mediterranean diet. Very tasty. 0 -
Oh yeah, I'm switching back to plain Jane women's multivitamins since they don't make me sick. Now I'm taking multi, calcium, fish oil, B12, raspberry ketones, baby aspirin, and d-mannose/cranberry. Most pills I've ever taken in my life! Kinda feel like I might get another UTI so hitting the cranberry hard. Part of me hopes all this peeing is an early sign of something, even though it's too early. Also, this time of month I usually get cystic acne and PMS, but so far skin is dry and clear.
Naturally, I found an excuse to go to Dollar Tree after my work out today. Somehow early pregnancy tests snuck themselves into my shopping cart with all the vitamins. So now I have 6 tests of two different types sitting on my toilet ready to go. I have 2-3 days before expected AF. But nothing should show up on a test for another 4-5 days. So why bother with tests when I'll know something's up days before?? Yet I still bought them.
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@Alioth that is absolutely the hardest time of our cycles! Good luck to you! I hope AF doesn't show. No one will judge you for testing early, as long as you can keep in mind that it's really too early to completely trust a negative. That is a lot of supplements! I got out of my prenatal habit on vacation and have to get back into it. I'm fine with it as long as I eat with it. Ah that reminds me my friend told me to get some supplements I meant to take this cycle including Maca and Royal Jelly or something like that. I better get on it.1
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@Alioth The 100 pounds bales are a killer. We picked up a load of 50 pound ones this summer and they were like throwing pillows in comparison.
I like the post about the emotions during each cycle of TTC. Moving towards cycle 4 is certainly daunting and thoughts of what if we can't get pregnant have been creeping in for sure. No doubt that's why I'm inclined to stop trying so hard for a bit, not wanting to face potential reality if we do have issues that would require medical help or anything else. Every cycle so far has been a bit weird, the first one we struggled with BD on a schedule, the 2nd on my period came early so our timing wasn't as good around O as we thought, the last one I ended up sick as a dog on O day. So, it's not like it's been perfect, but it's frustrating. If I was one of my cows I would have earned my ticket to the sale barn for failing to breed in three cycles!
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Glad to make you guys smile! My friends are gone, the weekend was fun but exhausting. Time to get down and dirty with hubby, scheduled to O in 2 days!
Lizz, that list seems accurate. On cycle 6, and I think if this one doesn't work, I'll have a substantial emotiinal breakdown. I have an appointment tomorrow with a midwife to discuss next steps and any fertility testing that can be done at this point. Ttc at this point isn't fun, romantic or exciting anymore. It is frustrating, draining, and hard work. I feel often that it is just never going to happen for us. I used to think it was a given that we would have children, that I would be a mom. Cycle 6 pessimism is so real
Sheila, you crack me up! Would have been sold for failing to breed in 3 months. Don't let your husband sell you!0 -
Haven't been posting much, mostly because I'm still trying to figure out WHEN we want to start TTC. It would be great if you guys can help me think through the options.
I'm 35 and 40 lbs away from a BMI of 25. Do I wait to lose the weight? Short term target is to get BMI under 30, which should be around November/December this year. Which is the tentative date my husband and I have set to try for our first. But I've also waiting to hear if I have been accepted to do a funded 1-year Masters program next year, which is something I've always wanted to do. I'm pretty sure I can't handle working part-time, studying full-time and have a newborn all at the same time.
So the most logical plan is to wait until October to hear if I have been accepted for the program. If I haven't been accepted (which would be disappointing) we can start to TTC (yay!!).
If I have been accepted, I continue to work on losing weight and we wait until next year June/July to TTC.
But I'm scared to wait. And excited to get pregnant. What if it takes months/years to conceive? It doesn't get easier as we get older. It took my brother and sister-in-law 10 years to get their first. My best friend has been trying for a year and has now gone onto fertility treatment.
Thoughts?
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Mary, I wouldn't wait. I'm on cycle 6 and feeling like it's never going to happen. I talked with a midwife yesterday about testing and what we can do in the next few cycles as far as infertility, bc I don't want to wait until cycle 12 to start thinking about it. Some tests are easy (sperm analysis) but some take careful timing during your cycle, or you have to have certain drugs first. We probably won't start testing yet, but I wanted to know what we might be in for.
Are you okay with ttc taking 6 months? 12 months? I hope it doesn't take that long for you, but for a lot of couples it does.0 -
I agree with Kirstie on not waiting since it can take some time, as you know. It also depends on how many kids you want, though, and at what age you don't want to be pregnant or have a baby anymore. I did backwards math on my timing, as in I know I want 2 kids, want them to be 3 years apart, and want to be done by the time I turn 38. So halfway through 32 I'm trying. Maybe you start casually trying for the next two months while you continue to lose weight and then buckle down for a couple of months. In that time you'll also know if you've been accepted to the program.
Then you have to consider childcare options if you get your masters. Do you have to work part-time or can your partner support you both while you're in school? If it's funded, that means you get a bit of a stipend, correct? Or if you get in and you end up being pregnant, can you defer admission until the following year?
Obviously the entire decision depends on you and your priorities in life. Personally I don't love my job but I know I've built enough seniority here to have some negotiating power for a flexible schedule when I need it, and they have maternity leave and benefits so I'm probably in this for at least the baby-making haul. Everyone's situation is SO different so it's hard to advise you based on my life combined with little knowledge of yours, but hopefully you can think through all of your options and make the best decision for you and your family!
@Kirstie155 what did the midwife say about testing or infertility yesterday?
I'm having a terrible time getting back into temping. Yesterday I woke up to do it and closed my mouth for a few minutes since I was pretty sure I was mouth-breathing, then fell back asleep and woke up late and forgot to do it at all. Today I finally temped again. Based on last cycle I should be coming up on O day, but based on the cycle before that it could be another week. Ahhhh!0 -
Amanda, the midwife said I can have a blood draw done on day 3 & 21 of my next cycle to check hormone levels (progesterone, LH..some other acronyms too that I cant remember) to make sure that I am ovulating and that there are no hormone issues. I can also have husband get a sperm analysis which he has reluctantly agreed to if this cycle is a bust too. The blood draw can be done at my midwifes office, but reading the results of the blood draw and getting the SA and all other tests have to be done at an RE (Reproductive Endocrinologist) office, like Shady Grove Fertility.
I called my insurance yesterday and was told that 100% of my fertility testing and treatment would be covered after a $25 copay, and they advised me to call Shady Grove for an appointment. My jaw hit the floor. I asked for a written copy of that policy to be emailed to me, and until I see it with my own eyes I am still skeptical. Obviously there are lots of steps between where I am now and IVF-which is your last resort for trying to get pregnant and they wont go the IVF route without usually a 1-2 years of infertility diagnosis.... but I feel so much better knowing (skeptically) that insurance will cover the tests for me!
I am not ready to call the RE yet, this was more to mentally prepare myself for the possibility of intervention. Im so glad I did see the midwife and call insurance, I feel so much better and prepared for the future if we are in it for the long haul!
That being said, I am still banging it out and hoping I haven't Oed yet, OPKs are negative, CM is questionable because we are using preseed so I cant tell what is what. I think my temps are elevated because Im waking up 30 minutes before my alarm, and rolling around then temping. Thoughts on my charts please? https://fertilityfriend.com/home/AngrahKittah1 -
@gingermary82 I personally would wait to see if you get accepted and lose weight till October. Realistically it's only two months. Then since your master's is 12 months, you could start trying shortly after starting the masters. You can study and be pregnant at the same time! Just need to prepare for being tired. Also I somehow doubt they could punish you for getting pregnant even of you had to defer your defence. It sounds like it would be illegal if they tried something like that. You could look into it now of you want.0
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Wow @Kirstie155! If fertility testing is covered on your policy that is pretty awesome, even if you're not ready to do it quite yet, it's sure nice to know that's an option.
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