The Official TTC for 6 Months or More Thread

[charbie]

Im bummed this holiday season. One tradition we have is getting our picture taken with santa for my mom each year. She said once we have kids we wont have to do it, we will just have to give her a pic of her grandbaby with santa. Standing in line was rough...so many cute little kids, I just wanted my own. We aren't decorating since we are in our temporary home, so im just depressed and not getting into the holidays this year. Plus ill be 2ww over Christmas, so I can't even drown my sorrows in Christmas ale and eggnog. I found out a coworker of mine is trying. She had trouble conceiving her daughter 2 yrs ago, but I hope we can get pregnant at the same time.
I love the show "how I met your mother" but according to previews, even Lily (a main character) finally gets knocked up...babies are everywhere I freaking turn! It'll just piss me off to watch it!

Delurking to say that I feel similarly though not for entirely the same reasons as we aren't TTC right now. However, I have found myself in a bit of a rut thinking about how things would have been about this time now if I was still pregnant. I wonder still if there would be more magic in the air if I was a mere 8 weeks away from welcoming our first child into the world. Literally everything makes me cry these days and I found it especially difficult to shop for all the children in my life. Oh, and How I Met Your Mother used to be my favorite show - seems like every few episodes I find myself fighting back tears and I tend to avoid watching it with DH as a result.

tell me about it. id be holding my little elf right now if i hadn't had my m/c. there would be more magic in the air...it's ok to admit it! you'd be basking in the pregnancy glow...althought i must say i'm rather inclined to think it wouldn't be too terrible to be pregnant over the summer (i'm sorry, i feel fat enough in layers of clothing...no need to add another 30 lbs to my body and sweaters and winter jackets on top!) so i find ways to make myself not so pitiful. i'm an emotional wreck too...i cried watching Ellen the other day. and im testy with DH as well- we had a rough day today, and sometimes i wish he could just "get it"-
as for HIMYM- am i a terrible person to admit i was relieved she wasn't pregnant???? let me just tell you, i feel like my life imitates TV shows at times- when Jim from the Office had the ring to give to Pam, once we found out that he hadn't asked her to marry him before the end of the season, i looked at DH and said, "oh, I BETTER be engaged before Pam." (ie- before the next season started..and i was engaged over that summer ) but when Pam got preggo- I was pissed. and when we were watching HIMYM, i said to DH, "are you going to be as excited as Marshall???" and hes like, "yeah, sure." and sort of blew me off- yeah, my emotions are a weeeee bit on overload.

 

[Po10472]

I've been gone for a while and hope to catch up with you all in the next few days but in the meantime I want to wish you all a Guid New Year when it comes and to thank you for your continued support over the months.

I hope we can continue to be there for one another in our 'short' but productive journeys and that 2011 is our year.

To all you mama's to be, please let us know how you're doing as we miss you on here.

luv n slobbers

Po
x

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Happy New Year, ladies!

I hope we all had lovely Christmases and rung in the new year with joy and happiness of what 2011 will bring.

We flew home for part of Christmas and on the flight home, there was a dear family we met. They had a toddler and a baby, maybe about 5 or 6 months old. The husband was so attentive and caring toward his older daughter (they were behind us; mom and baby were across the aisle). He had such *adult* talk with her (no baby talk, etc.) and she was so intelligent and pretty advanced in her speech and vocabulary (I believe baby talk is nonsense after about 3 months, myself). Anyway, I caught Paul several times leaning back and smiling, almost with this wistful look to his face. Both broke my heart and made my heart swell with love for the father he's destined to be one day soon.

The man got to talking with us about his family, and he said that he and his wife were on the over-protective side, particularly due to the length of time it took them to conceive. They married in their late 20s (as did we) and decided to pursue careers prior to growing a family. When they turned 32, they decided to start trying, thinking any time under 35 would be just perfect. It took them 4 years to have their daughter, Leonah. He said at times, they never thought it would happen, and that he wouldn't ever want to go back to the hurt he saw in his wife's eyes over those years of unsuccessful attempts at conception. He said that they day they found out about their pregnancy was wonderful and that both he and his wife agree it surpassed their wedding day. Sweet.... Then when Leonah was a year and a half, they had a surprise pregnancy. They weren't trying and weren't preventing, figuring that since it took so long to have their first, she'd likely be their only. The girls are 2 years and nine days apart.

Their story gives us hope. And I can't explain how wonderful it was to see a father so very connected to his daughter. Paul seems to pick up on children and parent interactions more than he did before; he'll often comment on the fathers he sees and mention which ones he hopes to be like. Again, that both warms my heart and breaks me a little bit at the same time. I still find myself, at times, feeling as if the hang up is *me* and that I'm in some way accountable for the lack of the role of father my husband has at this time. However, we have this incredible hope, and that is enough to see me through the rough days.

I will be praying that each of us have a wonderful pregnancy followed by a delightful baby soon. Greater things are yet to come!

Happy new year! It's going to be blessing-filled.

******
Lili,

You're in my prayers, sweetie!!

******
DC,

Yay for baby!!! Glad to hear you're doing well. Hang in there and enjoy every moment!

 

[VRBeauty]

I have absolutely nothing to contribute to this thread but I do lurk from time to time to see how things are going with some of the people that I've gotten to know from afar through PriceScope.

I just wanna say that I'm so impressed with the courage and strength I've seen here. I hope that each of your dreams and prayer for your families are somehow answered in 2011. May God delight you all!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Just wanted to bump this because I haven't been around in a while, and wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year. I miss you ladies, and hope everyone is doing well!

W and I are still trying, got my first ever positive OPK yesterday, so I'm hopeful we've timed everything correctly for this month. Fingers crossed I can actually use my 31 days of vacation plus 6 weeks of paid maternity leave before I loose all of that vacation end of 2011.

What's going on with everyone else?

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Fisher, what a great story! It's so great to see daddies in love with their little ones!

LTP thanks for bumping the thread!

On our end, we have been through the ringer with this adoption process already, but I guess it's a blessing b/c today we finally decided to switch agencies to be matched with a specific little boy who was waiting for a family. We probably won't have him home until the summer (hopefully May or June) and there are about a 100 hurdles from transferring our paperwork to the new agency, to getting official approval from the US government, to the Ethiopian government finalizing the adoption, to the US embassy granting him a visa, to figuring out how to pay for all the expenses, before we get him home, but we are so excited and hope that this is the start of the journey to our son!

He just turned two and is absolutely adorable We can't post pics or his name until after the adoption is finalized in Ethiopia, so for the next few months we'll just call him "Brown Sugar" online--B for short

 

[lliang_chi]

Hooray! Bella, I've been following your story on the Adoption Thread, so I'm really happy for the good news!!! I've been thinking about you since the last issue with your old agency. I hope everything goes quickly and smoothly. Sounds like you and your DH will give B a wonderful happy family all of you deserve.

 

[onedrop]

LTP: Good to see you checking in again, and thanks for bumping the thread up. Hope this cycle is the charm for you!! And yaaay for the positive OPK. I totally empathize with the excitement you are feeling in getting the first one!

Bella: I am elated to read your news! Here's hoping all the snags and paperwork get ironed out during the transfer to the new agency. You and your DH's attitude through all of the challenges has been awesome. B is SO lucky to have parents like you. Can't wait to hear that news that he's here!!!

Nothing much going on around these parts. DH and I are leaving Monday to go see me in-laws overseas. Luckily, we are travelling to a warm-weather climate, so I am looking forward escaping the frigid temps we are having here to experience some sun and fun. After our return I guess we will start to get really serious again about TTC.

When I get back, I hope to be reading good news from those still participating in this thread, as well as those lurking.

 

[Clairitek]

Can't recall if I've told you this before Bella (probably not since I almost entirely just lurk) but my cousin and his wife adopted a son from Ehtiopia as well. They officially adopted him in September 2009 and he is such a gem. I look forward to watching him grow up with their other children. Best of luck to you and your husband and I'll be keeping everything crossed that it works out well with this new agency.

He just turned two and is absolutely adorable We can't post pics or his name until after the adoption is finalized in Ethiopia, so for the next few months we'll just call him "Brown Sugar" online--B for short

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Thanks Onedrop, hope you have a great trip!!!!

Claritek, that is great to hear! We're really excited, but nervous bc there are so many steps between now and when we can bring him home. I guess it's a lot like being pregnant in the first trimester, you just have to have faith and live your life b/c it's totally out of your control...

 

[Po10472]

Bella - What wonderful news for you and your hubbie. I'm keeping everything crossed that B is with you for the summer. How exciting and terrifying all at the same time. I know you have heaps of red tape and a long time to wait but it will fly by and you'll have your wee family together to go walking in the park in the sunshine. I'm so happy for you.

I hope we can get the thread up and running again for all our sakes but also to respect dear Steals wishes so thanks Lauren for bumping and good to hear from you.

Lilli - hope you're still lurking and thinking bout you hon and that you are ok.

FOMG - your story was so touching and from the way you wrote it you could almost feel the love of that wee family. Hope springs eternal as they say.

VRBeauty - thank you for your kind words.

Onedrop - has the sunshine worked wonders for you and dh? Were you in some tropical island somewhere? *stares off into space* *sigh*

Hey to anyone that I've missed.

*******
I've had 16 amazing days off work doing absolutely nothing which has been badly needed so I feel like I've had a system reboot so I'm now getting my head together to be positive about this year. I'm back at work tomorrow and have started my weightloss/exercise plan today and will be writing my wish-list for the year of what I want to achieve and do in the coming 12 months. I always like something to look forward to and aim for so we have several housy projects to do and we'd like to go to Rome for a few days. I need to start filling my head with other things that aren't ttc related as it's all a bit too much at times as I'm sure you can appreciate. I've made the decision to stop using my cbfm until April and if our situation hasn't changed by then we're off to the Docs for some tests. But that will be 15 weeks away and a lot can happen in that time.

Here's to lots of PMA and good fortune for us all in the coming months.

Po
x

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Bella - I was so happy to read your update on the adoption process! I'm so looking forward to hearing about your journey with B!

Onedrop - I hope your trip overseas is amazing, relaxing, and a good way to recharge! Enjoy the time to spend with DH!

FOMG - The story about the family on the plane has me all teary-eyed! How sweet and open is he? Stories like that give me so much hope for the future; thank you so much for sharing it!

VRBeauty - Thank you for your touching words.

KTF, Lili - Just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you ladies!

Po - So nice to see you around here, dear! It sounds like your time away from work was fantastic, and trust me when I say, I was right there with you over the Christmas/NY holiday. I'm back at work and wishing for another major holiday to magically arrive soon. I like your idea of building goal lists, and on my list is W and my return to Le Sirenuse in Positano for our 5th anniversary in March, but we may not head there until April. I loved Rome, so enjoy it!

Hi to everyone else! How is everyone? Quiet around here lately. . . which is a good thing, I hope!

AFM; I'm sitting at 9DPO right now. Feeling great about this cycle, but don't want to test too early so I'm going to try and wait to test until/if I am late. So, I'm going to try my very best to hold off on testing until 5 days from now, so this is going to be a long week. Though, I feel absolutely nothing in terms of symptoms either way, so who knows.

Lots of hugs and dust all around, ladies!

 

[lili]

Bella--
So happy to see that things are moving splendidly for you guys w/ the adoption.
I think it was a silver lining that you had issues w/ your old adoption agency.
Toddler age is great. You get to go straight to the interactive stage and skipped all those midnight wakings w/ the newborn
Can't wait to see pictures of your little guy.
I hope things move smoothly for you and still dusting w/ pregnancy vibes ^.^

LTP--
Good luck w/ the testing.
Fingers crossed for a BFP.

Fisher--
Aw...that is such a sweet story.
I can just see the love between the father and daughter.
Wishing 2011 is a good year for all of you ladies here.

Po--
A much needed break from TTC is always good.

---------------
Thank you LTP, FIsher and Po for your thoughts.
I don't lurk as much as before but still lurk nevertheless.
Hoping to see some good news from here for 2011.

 

[parrot tulips]

Lili - I'm so glad you popped by. You're such a lovely presence on this thread/board.

Bella - Reading your news about B (albeit a little while ago) brought a smile to my face. I hope things go smoothly for you from here on out.

LTP - Keeping my fingers (and toes) crossed for you this cycle.

I've been lurking, but have had nothing interesting to report. I start my first round of injectibles tomorrow (after 21 days on BC), which will be followed by an IUI. Hopefully this works better for me than Clomid. I'm getting awfully tired of all the doctor's appointments.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Thanks ladies!!!

Parrot, I hope the injectibles do the trick!

thanks lili--we are so happy and excited , but there are so many hurdles until he is officially our son, we're just taking it one step at a time! We bought a bunch of toddler stuff on ebay and craigslist, so we are pretty much ready for him to come home today Sigh, hopefully he'll be home by June!

LTP- how are things going with you?

Po-I love your Scottish ways, with "our wee family"

On the TTC front, I don't know what happened this month, maybe an early miscarriage or just a wonky cycle? I really have no idea...

the month we found out for sure that we couldn't adopt the first little boy I had a faint positive on a wondfo (the same day we found out about not being able to adopt him) but AF showed up the next day talk about a crazy wave of emotions in 24 hours!

Then, this cycle, AF (who usually lasts 3-4 days--2-3 days of very heavy red flow and 1 day of lighter flow, with some tissue and horrible cramps) was 2 days of light old, brown flow, and then 6 days of red flow, and then 1 day of spotting, with no cramps. So strange! I only took one test and it was negative, so I figure I'll see what this month brings and then call my Dr if necessary...

 

[lili]

Parrot--

Good luck.
We've got several success stories w/ injectibles here on PS, so I'm really hopeful that this would be the magic cycle for you.

LTP--
Thinking of you.
Hope you got some good news ^.^

Bella--
*hugs*
Those cycles do sound pretty wonky.
AF can be such a pain....hope it stays away for a good 10 months.

Fisher, CDN, Po, MissJ, Steal, and anyone who I've missed--
Thinking about all of you and hoping and wishing that 2011 is a better year for you wonderful ladies.

 

[parrot tulips]

Thanks for the positive thoughts Lili, but I went in for my IUI today, and I'm not terribly optimistic. Sperm count and motility were below the ideal minimums (we collected at home...together, but he missed the cup in the beginning). It was disappointing to hear, since his initial SA showed such great numbers. Oh well. We're planning on having a little romantic time tonight and tomorrow morning, but are preparing ourselves for one more round of injectibles with IUI, then discussing other options if that shouldn't work.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Parrott, Sorry to hear that the IUI wasn't ideal, but it only takes 1 so I'm still hoping this is it for you!!! Enjoy your couple time and I hope it's relaxing and fun!

On my end, AF is an unprecedented 4 days late but I am BFN...For a girl with close to clockwork cycles this is perplexing!

 

[parrot tulips]

Oh Bella, I'm hoping AF stays away and you get your BFP very soon! I've been following your posts about your adoption status, and it looks like you'll have something to look forward to either way.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Bella!!!

How so very exciting will it be for your little sugar boy to quite possibly have a younger sibling!!! Yay! I will definitely be thinking of you in the days to come!

***********
So, I wanted to share some things that I've been doing that, so far, seem to be really positive: I started taking chaste berry daily (an extract that is liquid and has to be mixed with water because it's BITTER and has a foul taste), red raspberry tea (only on week days), and vitamin D (sublingual) and B complex including B12. I've been taking these for the past several weeks and last cycle was much shorter than previous cycles (I ovulated closer to when I was on clomid, but not quite as close to the *ideal goal of between days 12 and 24.* This cycle, day 23. So excited that supplements have helped correct my only known "issue." Oh, the chaste berry and/or red raspberry tea have also helped with my cycle's end (less cramps, and certainly what appears to be a healthier flow, which I believe would be a more welcoming place for a baby to tuck into). So, very excited about these changes and planning to see how things go for the next couple cycles, now that some stability seems to be setting it. Yay!!!!

How's everyone else doing? Wouldn't a Valentine's Day baby surprise be a great way to celebrate the love holiday? Yeah, buddy!

Hang in there, ladies. Better days are coming!!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

HI Fisher!!! I always love to see you 'round these parts I hope that your new regime brings a great cycle for you!!!!

I am definitely not PG, judging by a rogue second round of EWCF, I think I ovulated really late, like 3 days before AF was due.... sigh...probably all the stress from this adoption paperwork!!!

I have an interview this Thursday for that work from home executive job...hopefully the CEO and I hit it off and it's a good match!

Our homestudy agency is horrible! like the slowest, most unprofessional agency I have ever seen! We are still waiting for the final final copy but hopefully it will be done this week!!! Please pray that we get the final notarized copy by THursday and we can file this I-600A form (the one last form we need--but you can't submit for it until you have a notarized final copy of your homestudy) and that it gets processed super fast (like that we get a fingerprinting appointment within a week-step 1-and then we can get a walk-in fingerprinting appt-step 2-and that we get our I-171H-step 3 and the final step for this "magic ticket" form that gives us approval from immigration to bring an orphan into the US as our child....)

 

[dcgator]

Hey ladies,

Just popping in to say hi...

Lili - Glad to see you sweetie. I hope all is well with you and your little miss

Parrot - I am sorry that the sample was not what you wanted, but like Bella said, it does only take one. I am sending you truck loads of dust that this will work for you!

Fisher - I am glad to hear that you are doing well and even more happy to hear that your cycles are starting to regulate better. I hope that this is the start of something productive for you Btw, to your comment about the Valentine's baby, I heard something on the radio last week about how if you conceived on V-day, you baby would be born around 11-11-11. I don't know how true that is, but it sounds pretty cool.

Bella - Sorry you didn't get your BFP, but I imagine the adoption stress is definitely wigging your body out. I really hope that your homestudy agency gets their but in gear so you can get moving on the rest of it! Good luck!

 

[lili]

Tulip--
Like Bella said, all you need is one sperm.
Fingers and toes crossed for you.

Fisher--
sounds like those herbal concoctions are helping w/ regulating your body.
I hope this is the beginning of a productive year for you ^.^

Bella--
Sorry about the wonky cycle. I can only imagine the stress that the adoption process is putting on you.
Hope your homestudy goes smoothly and expedite the adoption of your little brown sugar.

DC--
Glad to see you pop in here.
I'm doing good. Just popping in here myself to check these beautiful ladies.
I'm glad to see that you are trucking along nicely and moving on to the big girl preggo thread.
Can't wait to see your little bump.

 

[somethingshiny]

Bella~ I haven't been in this thread for quite some time so I just saw your adoption updates! Congratulations!! I hope everything goes smoothly and quickly to bring your Baby B home soon!

Lots of TTC dust to all of you ladies!

 

[Bliss]

Bella, congratulations!!!! You must be so thrilled! Sweet B is so lucky to have found such an amazing mommy and daddy! You have so much love to give and I bet he will be the light of your life. What a beautiful thing it is to be a mommy! Everything is falling into place so wonderfully for you both. So excited for you!!!!!!! I don't know how you can sleep at night knowing your angel is getting ready to come home to his mommy and daddy! Tell the stork to hurry up!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Tulip, Hope thing are going well...


After literally calling every hour for two days the final version of our homestudy was emailed and approved. We are now waiting for the paper version that is notarized to arrive in the mail...hurry up

We officially got B's referral yesterday 2.10.11 will always be a special day for our family! Now we have the last push of paperwork and then a lot of waiting and praying!

Thanks so much for the congrats Bliss and SS!!! yes, the waiting is not going to be fun! We learned that he was moved to our agency's awesome care center (as opposed to the understaffed government orphanage) which is great, but this mama wants to be with her baby B ASAP!

Still no AF and still BFN but I think my whole cycle might just be off by 2 weeks or a month...argh...so strange! I'm just going to wait and see if it comes and is just really late, but if it doesn't come in the next 4 weeks I guess I should call the Dr and see what's up. My cycles are always so regular this is really strange. I can only remember ever missing a period once before and that was 4 years ago b/c of a weird passing out incident that messed up my entire body and when AF came back she lasted for months...literally several months if that happens again there is going to be a very upset Bella in NYC!!!

 

[sunkist]

Hi Fisher! I've been thinking of you How cool that the herbal remedies are bringing on some more regularity in your cycle!!! That's awesome!

 

[parrot tulips]

Looks like we're out this cycle. While AF isn't here quite yet (delayed due to the progesterone, most likely), I'm 16DPO with a negative blood test. We'll try the injectibles/IUI one more time, before discussing other options. After a full year and a half of TTC, what's another month...?

 

[Felicity]

PT: Treatment sucks! How did you feel taking the injectable hormones – did you feel like you had a better response? What is your RE saying, is this IUI No. 2 or 3? It must be frustrating. Are you unexplained?

Po: Hi honey. How are things? I read that you were giving yourselves a mini-line (not quite a full dead-line) of April to think about testing. How do you feel about that these days? How are you fairing exercising in the cold weather? Brrrrr!

Fisher: I love your TTC cocktail; never mind sex on the beach you mix it up freaky style with some raspberry leaf tea and some vit D & B! Love it! Seriously, anything that improves your cycle is a positive.

Lili: You have a little bit of my heart. I hope you are doing ok. May I ask, did you get any answers following your early loss? It was so sad.

LTP: How are you finding using the OPK’s

Onedrop: Hi there. Sorry you joined the thread just as it faltered. How are you these days?

Bella: You little minx. I’m sorry you didn’t get knocked up – that would have been the perfect urban legend! Either way, I’ll bet you are the cat that got the cream looking at that little man and counting down the paperwork till he comes home.

AFM: Felicity is a phoenix for me, a new start. Carry on.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Felicity - Thank you so much for bumping this thread today. I REALLY want to know what the means (and who you are) . . . care to fill us in or are you going to make us draw it out of you? As for the OPKs, last month was great - we had great well-timed BDing on and all over a very clear and obvious + day, and nothing. I mean, I have one tube, so I can only do so much if it's righty's turn to O.

PT - I'm sorry you're out for this month. I'm also curious about your experience on injectable hormones, and sending you loads of dust for the next IUI go-round.

Po - I've missed coming here and seeing your lovely "face". I hope things are going well for you and would love to catch up soon!

Fisher - I'm so happy to hear that the TTC cocktail is working for you. Thinking of going that route myself soon.

Lili - I've been thinking of you tons since your early loss and just wanted to send my good thoughts your way. How have you been?

Onedrop - Let's try this again. Hi and welcome to the thread . . . that will now hopefully be more active. . .

Bella - I am so overwhelmingly happy for you that B is on his way. Praying that the paperwork and everything is smoothly going through the process at this point. Sorry to read that your cycle is messed up this month, but you have a lot on your plate, so I hope it's just stress. I have faith you'll be one of those women that gets KU as soon as you have baby B here.

AFM - still sitting at CD35 with no AF in sight and a BFN on CD33 - never had a positive OPK this month, and my temps are super erratic. Suppose this was a good thing, though, because I went to visit my bestie for a weekend of fun and ended up on a party bus with 15 other people for a party and some St. Arnolds Brewery tasting. Really fun weekend, but now I just want AF to hurry up and get here so I can get moving on another opportunity.

Wishing you all much luck for another fruitful month!