Home The Official TTC Thread!

[Blenheim]

Congrats Tiffany!!!!

That''s wonderful!

I also think it''s funny how many women get the boob symptoms early. Mine grew early, but they didn''t hurt or look veiny until about two weeks ago.

 

[tiffanytwisted]

Thanks everyone! We are super excited.

Dreamer- Having had a previous ectopic pregnancy does put me at risk for another. I don''t really know the odds though, and I didn''t have any of the risk factors the first time, other than having had previous abdominal surgery (I had a fibroid removed 3 years ago, but it was nowhere near the tubes). So, I had an HCG level drawn today and will have another drawn on Wednesday, at approx 48 hours after the first. They want to make sure that it increases as much as it should. One sign of ectopic pregnancy is that the hcg level doesn''t increase as much. I will have an ultrasound on 10/10, which puts me at 5 wks 5 days. I think at that point they can''t see much more than the sac but hopefully will be able to tell where it is.

For those of you who are interested here is my chart:

 

[tiffanytwisted]

And the obligatory test photo:

 

[sunkist]

Tiffany, how exciting! Congratulations

Steph, sounds promising! Hoping you see the + you want!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Yay, Tiffany!

How exciting!

We''re thinking of you and that little baby and hoping the appt. goes wonderfully!!

 

[tiffanytwisted]

Sunkist, Fisher, Robbie, Littlelysser, Lovelulu, Blushing, Dreamer, Mela, Independent Gal, Sabine, nycbk, Blenheim, (I hope I didn''t forget anyone) Thanks for all of the well wishes. I am staying super positive that this one will stick!!
I am so glad I had someone to tell. We have decided for the time being not to tell anyone IRL, so I''m so happy to tell you girls. I think otherwise I would have burst.
Good luck to everyone!

 

[nycbkgirl]

Tiffany - I wish u all the best ..its a good idea that u don''t tell anyone...I would''ve preferred not tellin anyone until 12 wks...so good for u...crossin fingers n toes for the u/s and doubling levels...my u/s is 10/8 also..so we in this crazy wait period together so u have company ...good thoughts B+ (be positive)

 

[robbie3982]

Can someone please refresh my memory about the pineapple core thing? What is it supposed to do and when are you supposed to eat it?

 

[ljmorgan]

Hey Robbie,

Pineapple cores contain bromelain which some people believe aids in implantation. The recommendation is to eat it before/during when implantation would occur. So it couldn''t hurt to start at O-day or a day or two after, for a week (about when implantation occurs) or even for two weeks.

 

[steph72276]

So I just tested and it was a no

. I''m trying not to feel bummed b/c it is the first month of trying, but it is hard to not feel disappointed when it doesn''t happen. Anyway, there is always next month

 

[Sabine]

Awe, I''m sorry Steph! How many days past ovulation are you? Is there any chance that it''s still too early and you could be pregnant?

If there''s no chance, then try not to take it too hard! It definitely seems like the first month''s negative is always the hardest!

 

[robbie3982]

Thanks, Lindsey! I did a search for it and found something that said omegas help too. I just emailed DH that we''ll be eating salmon and pineapple only the week after O. He''s psyched now. Salmon is his favorite food. Sorry about the BFN, Steph. I agree with Sabine though. It could just be too early. Remember, it''s not over til AFF shows!

 

[blushingbride]

Hi Gals - so I''ve been a little MIA lately. For one thing, my work has been crazy busy and I''m leaving for a business trip tomorrow. But also because AFF showed up for me yesterday

. I had feeling it would because I didn''t "feel pregnant", but I had a big dip last Friday and then I high rise in temp so I was hopefully. I took a pregnancy test on Sat. morning because I was having a big birthday bash that night and knew I''d be drinking (at least a little)...obviously it was negative. I was going to hold off from testing again until this week because I wanted to see if AFF showed up and sure enough, she did....right on time!

Anyway, I''m just bummed because this month my DH will be away for the two days leading up to ovulation so, I almost feel like, "what''s the point?" We''re still going to try, but I''m definitley not hopefully since those are the two most important days. *sigh* Really, I''m just getting a little frustrated...this will be month #3 (#4 if you count the hodge podge month I was traveling in Europe and not charting/temping). I still have thoughts that something is wrong in the back my head (either with DH or me) and that doesn''t help matters.

I guess my plan of action now is to wait until after X-mas to see if we''re pregnant and if not, I''m going to call my doctor.

Sorry for the depressing vent, but I needed to just get it all off my chest. I swear, all my friends have to do is blink to get pregnant and here I am with a monitor, temping and charting and nothing.

It''s just really frustrating sometimes.

OK...promise my next post will not be such a downer!

 

[Pandora II]

Hi Robbie,

I ate 200g of fresh pineapple every day. I didn''t just eat the core - I ate the main part of the fruit, but with a lot of the core left on.

Luckily I love pineapple (or rather I did until 2 weeks ago

).

 

[lisa1.01fvs1]

Tiffany - Congratulations on the BFP!

Looking forward to seeing you on the pregnoid thread.

 

[ljmorgan]

blushingbride that stinks!

I know that we all KNOW it can take up to a year to ttc with a normal healthy couple, but I know that doesn''t really ease the fear when it doesn''t happen as fast as you think it will. Knowing and feeling are two different things! But you''re doing the right things, and you still have a shot this month. At least if you go into this month knowing that chances might be a bit lower due to the BDing timing, maybe you''ll be pleasantly surprised. Either way next month you can start with vigor! Wishing you lots and lots of good luck!

 

[littlelysser]

Hello ladies!

Tiffany - Congrats again! I''m so darn excited for you and DH. Exciting stuffs! Oh, and they should DEFINITELY be able to tell where the sac is by 5w5d.

BB - I''m sorry you are feeling down. I know for me, this whole TTC journey has been tough. BUT, don''t lose hope - shoot, don''t even come close. It''ll happen. Might take some time, but it will happen.

Steph - Do you have any idea how many DPO you are? It is still probably very early!

Robbie - Hmmm. Have you found any other ways to encourage implantation! I''m allergic to fresh pineapple and I HATE salmon!

Yikes!

As for me.... Eh, not much going on. DH and I dtd around the time, in retrospect, near the time I may have O''d. I''m not sure, because I wasn''t temping. Actually, now that I''ve looked at FF, I am pretty sure we have about a .0111% chance of getting KTFU. Which is good - docs recommended to wait a cycle and I''m okay with that. But at the same time, I am ready for AF to come so we can get back to business. Emotionally, I''m doing well. It will always be sad, and always be with me...but I''m okay.

On a non TTC note...DH and I are really trying to buckle down and save some cash, particularly since we are a one income family as I take jewelry classes and try to work on eventually making some money at this whole thing. And this is a pathetic to admit...we are trying to actually budget for the first time in our lives. I know...pathetic. BUT in my defense, I was either a poor student/waitress or making six figures at a big old law firm...so I''ve either had NO money or enough that I didn''t have to budget. Also, I''m pathetic and totally addicted to purses. I have an entire bookshelf full of them. I love them to death...but I''ve spent so much freaking money on them over the past 10 years!

ANYWAY, Do any of you ladies have any websites or books that are good for the budget challenged? I want to start keeping track of what is going out and coming in. And making SURE we are living well within our means and still saving some money. Anyone??

 

[blushingbride]

Date: 9/30/2008 4:11:50 PM
Author: *Lindsey*
blushingbride that stinks!

I know that we all KNOW it can take up to a year to ttc with a normal healthy couple, but I know that doesn''t really ease the fear when it doesn''t happen as fast as you think it will. Knowing and feeling are two different things! But you''re doing the right things, and you still have a shot this month. At least if you go into this month knowing that chances might be a bit lower due to the BDing timing, maybe you''ll be pleasantly surprised. Either way next month you can start with vigor! Wishing you lots and lots of good luck!

Thanks Lindsey...you''re right...maybe we''ll be pleasantly surprised this month and I at least I won''t be stressing as much as I was this past month. It''s just really starting to get to me. Honestly, I never realized how stressful this whole thing would be....I wish it wasn''t so darn unpredictable!

 

[ljmorgan]

Hey littlelysser the hubby and I have always been big into budgeting. We do a couple of things:

We have a spreadsheet for each month that at the top lists what our income will be for that month. Then we list each of the bills we will be paying that month, plus estimated expenses for food, gas, and then a "pot" that is used for clothing, gifts, just those misc things that always pop up. Just subtract those items and hopefully they will be less than your income for the month -- if so, bank the rest! That just gives a good overall picture.

We use http://www.mint.com that is hooked up to our online bank accounts, and we''ve found it to be the best online budgeting tool. It categorizes each of our transactions, and we can look at real time pie charts of where the money is going. It will also keep track of your income for the month, and show you if you''re below or under. You can also set custom limits and alerts -- for instance you can set a "food & dining" budget, or a "groceries" budget, and it will show you how you''re doing in each category which can be nice.

I don''t know whether you use online banking, but if you do, that''s the way to go. If you don''t, and you''re brand new to budgeting, spreadsheets are still your friend. Start a new one for the month, and simply make an entry each time you spend money. If your grocery budget is $500, under that column enter every time you go to the grocery store, and how much. Hopefully that makes sense.

For really tracking spending and budgeting, we like Dave Ramsey. Any of his books are great, they preach only buying what you can afford. You can also buy a workbook that goes with his "Total Money Makeover" book that might really help you out.

I also like http://www.getrichslowly.org -- it''s just a blog about personal finance, budgeting, etc. They also have a forum section where people share ideas on saving money and budgeting. Hopefully some of those things can point you in the right direction. Good luck!

 

[robbie3982]

Lysser, I didn''t see anything else that''s supposed to help with implantation, but the salmon actually just happened to come up when I searched the pineapple thing so I didn''t really do a thorough search.

I second the suggestion of mint.com. I LOVE that site! DH used to totally zone out when I talked about budgeting and where our money was going, but he thinks the site is pretty cool too. Right now it''s a little depressing seeing how our net worth is in the serious negatives (house and student loans

), but I love that it categorizes what we spend our money on.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Hi LL,

I''m a hard core budgeter and Paul is not, but something that has really helped him "get on board," so to speak is the "monthly cash flow" budgeting form that Dave Ramsey has posted on his website. DaveRamsey.com is where you go to see it, then in the search box you type in monthly cash flow and it''ll pop up. It looks like a monster because it''s 3 pages, but it''s not really all that hard at all. I look forward to the end of the month when we can balance everything and start a fresh month. I won''t lie, Paul has much less gusto for it, but it''s manageable and understandable and we don''t bicker over things when we have it all written down.

I''ve found that it helps us to spend much, much less on impulse buys (even the little things that add up quickly, like smoothies, Paul''s love of stopping at the convenience store for a "goody," etc.) and helps us to really log what we''ve been able to save instead of buying those silly things.

One group of girls I know all have a club store card they share (not sure how "legal" it is, but...) so they can get the bulk items without the big yearly fee, since they split it between them. I think three or so share it. I don''t know how they got a card without a picture on it, but they''ve sure got it. I think it''s a great idea, but again, not sure about how I feel about it ethically, so I''m not doing that (but once we are feeding more than the two of us, we''ll probably get a card). If you can withstand impulse buying in bulk, or buying just because something is a "good deal," you can really stock up and save going with the club stores.

Good luck finding a way of budgeting that works for you. There are so many ways, focus in on what works for you. Some like it totally detailed and some like it more relaxed. The cash flow budget is a mix of both. It''s detailed and then it has a "blow money" slot, which is my dear Paul''s favorite section. It''s basically a set amount that we agree to spend for the month on whatever (usually that''s what feeds his addiction to the goodies at the gas station).

 

[Blenheim]

Lysser, another thing that helped us was tracking (via Quicken) where every single penny was going for about three months, to get a grasp on what reasonable categories were for us for food, gas, etc. We then looked at that when setting up a budget. Looking at sample budgets is well and good, but those people aren''t us.

Lyndsey/Robbie, thanks for the mint.com suggestion. My laptop died, with Quicken on it, and I''ve felt lost not having it to know exactly where our money''s going. I have a feeling that we''re spending hundreds of dollars more on food than we used to with my incredible appetite...


Good luck everyone!

 

[mela lu]

BlushingBride. Our originator and TTC Royal. hang in there. It cannot be easy seeing all the jerkstores around you, especially when you''re doing everything right and more. I''m so sorry that you''re feeling down, and I really really really hope that your BFP comes sooner than later. I think waiting until after Christmas is a good line in the sand. Hopefullly your magic moment will come before that, but if it doesn''t, you''ll have a "new plan" for the new year.
Sending you hugs and tons of baby dust.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

BB,

I think waiting to see what happens in 2008 is a great idea. It''s so hard, having no control over something that you want so desperately.

I hope this month that will be a little more ''low key'' is a fruitful one.

One of my good friends at work just found out she''s preggo, after over a year of trying, she and her hubby kind of just gave up and stopped stressing over it, and who woulda known... here she is vomiting and feeling queasy... growing a baby!!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Reason number 798,924 that I love my husband: I had a dream last night that our dog, FlipFlop was pregnant and I was so upset that she wasn''t even trying and we are, and she got pregnant before me. Random, I know. Anyway, I woke up upset and in that hazy moment where you think it''s real and I didn''t know how to care for Flip during birth or any of that and I was confused. Paul told me it was a dream and she wasn''t pregnant and that we would be in plenty of time (whatever that means) and I went back to sleep.

He leaves for work before me each morning. This morning, I found a note beside my keys: Dear Jen, Don''t worry. Flip''s not pregnant. I checked in her carrier; no babies. I asked, she''s not planning on having any any time soon. I''m pretty sure we''ll be pregnant before she is. I also talked to Ta Dah!! (our other dog) and told him not to get any ideas. I think we''re safe. Love, Paul

Aww.

Dreams are nuts.

In other news, CD 8. No news.

 

[robbie3982]

Fisher, looks like we're cycle buddies again! I'm on CD9. This must be the point in the cycle for crazy preggo dreams since I had one last night too. Mine was weirder than yours though. In my dream, I woke up and saw DH sleeping and he was cuddling with a box. I looked and it was a digital pregnancy test, but it was all high tech and it was a kind I'd never seen before (you could see through the box). I thought it was weird, but went back to sleep. I woke up again (in the dream) and saw that the test was flashing inside the box. I took it from him, opened it and tried to figure out what it meant. There were 2 lines and numbers were flashing on the little screen. It had this weird light up thing that you had to hold the test on to be able to see the lines, but there were definitely 2 of them there. I eventually figured out that the numbers were the hCG level and the thing it was alternating with (making it look like it was flashing) said "pregnant." I woke DH up (in the dream) and asked him whose this was since it couldn't be ours because I hadn't ovulated yet. He said it was ours. I asked him what he'd used to test with and he told me he'd saved the cup of pee from when I last went to the doctors (which in my dream was when I was still pregnant). I was really annoyed and had to explain to him that we knew I was pregnant when I peed in that cup so this test meant nothing. In the dream I was really hoping that he'd somehow tested me without my knowledge and that it was a valid bfp. How the heck do you give someone a pee test without their knowing it?! I have weird dreams...

I woke up so confused when my alarm went off. I rolled over to tell DH about the dream and then realized I hadn't temped yet so I rolled back over the other way and temped. My temp's a bit higher today, but I'm guessing it's because I didn't temp immediately and I didn't sleep all that well either. At least DH got a kick out of my crazy dream. Even in his sleepiness he thought it was hysterical that I had a dream about him saving a cup of my pee.

ETA: I forgot to add that in the beginning of the dream we bought a house, moved in and realized that we forgot to have it inspected. Apparently my anxiety no longer manifests in dreams as forgetting to turn in school assignments or missing tests.

 

[tiffanytwisted]

Blushing-I''m so sorry you''re frustrated. This whole TTC process can really get you down after a few months. Especially when you''re so aware of when you''re ovulating, etc and that you''re doing everything right, and still AFF shows up! Hang in there! I''m sure it will happen soon!

 

[tiffanytwisted]

Fisher- I love the dream and the note, your husband is the sweetest!
Robbie-It''s cool that you have so much detail in your dream. I hear you on the anxiety- I have really strange dreams about things I''m nervous/anxious about too.

 

[peonygirl]

Hi gals! I''m so sorry for being MIA again! I just finished my first round of midterms and work is pretty crazy too. Also, after the disappointment of last month, I''m trying not to think about getting pregnant as much this month because it just makes me feel anxious and helpless.

Just wanted to update with my chart. No O yet, which is surprising because I Oed on day 21 for the last two months, but I''ve been fairly stressed so maybe it''s delayed a few days. My temp is high on days 8, 9, and 10, but that''s when I was sick (bad cold), so I''m not too worried about that.

I''m off to o-chem, but I''ll come back later and read some old posts later so I''m all caught up. You guys support me so much that I''d like to do the same for you.

 

[cdt1101]

hey ladies! Just checking in! Congratulations Tiffany!!! Great news!!

As for me, I finally got crosshairs today

So I''m 3DPO according to FF. I''m so excited to at least be able to confirm that i likely O''d!!!

I''m not too hopefully this month though since we still have to see what''s going on w/ DH''s low testosterone. He has an appt next week for that to see how that''s going to effect our TTC.

Here''s my chart!!! (if I can post it...)