Home The Official TTC Thread!

[phoenixgirl]

I just got my period for the first time since going off the pill. I didn''t notice any signs of ovulation two weeks ago (I definitely remember crazy CM pre-pill) unless it was when my nipples were sore, which I read was pretty normal a couple of weeks after stopping the pill. My last pill "period" began August 11, so that''s 31 days by my count. Low 30''s was the earliest I would get my period before I went on the pill, so I am pleased to get my period so soon.

I guess I thought I would know when I was ovulating (side-specific back pain + CM, which I remember distinctly even though it''s been six or seven years), have sex, and get pregnant right away, but it''s a relief because I''d rather know that I''m even going to get my period back. My sister is giving me her ovulation predictor next weekend (not sure what kind but I know it cost her $300) so then I''ll have more of an idea, I suppose. Or perhaps the CM and back pain will come back in their previous glory.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 9/11/2008 10:15:48 PM
Author: phoenixgirl
Or perhaps the CM and back pain will come back in their previous glory.

I had no CM to speak of the first 3 cycles off the pill, then it came back full on! Yours may return sooner.

 

[NYCsparkle]

hi all!!

well i''m just waiting around in the tww. my boobs were sore for the past 2 days but today it subsided...could have been an estrogen surge after o. anyways not much to report, just hoping for someone else to get their bfp.

my friend who is trying got a bfn last month..she was sad, but her dh said --those swimmers weren''t meant to be our kid, maybe next months batch will have ours..she said her kid isn''t "made" yet..lol....that made me think...if dh and i didn''t get pregnant on our hm we''d have a different kid...weird to think that.

 

[peonygirl]

Thanks gals for being so nice and reassuring! I guess what I''d love to know is *why* we only have a 20% chance of getting pregnant each cycle? I''ve definitely read that stat (I was under the impression that it was for the typical couple, not one that was charting), but I can''t find the reasons behind it anywhere.

DD, I TOTALLY agree with you about making your life/work fit your desires to have a family. Family will always be more important to me, no matter what. I guess that I''m more worried about the logistics of flying at 7-9 months pregnant or with a newborn. With med school everything is rolling admissions, so if I postpone my interviews more than one week, I could lose out on a spot. I''m still not totally set on postponing TTC either during that time, but I''m just not sure how things would work. If I was too late in my pregnancy to fly, I suppose that my DH could take several days off work to drive me, but my interviews will be all over the country (we''re in the Chicago area) and I would be at the risk of giving birth at a random hospital. Or I think he could take off work to fly with me and the baby to an interview location, but I think it would be hard to be coherent in the first 1-2 months of the child''s life when I was getting no sleep. Any ideas you have to circumvent these issues would be great.

My plan was to be a SAHM during the year I apply to med school and then start school in Aug 2010, when the child was a little over a year old. That child is getting younger and younger every time I don''t get KTFU.

Everyone else, do you know where I can find Fertell in stores? I just read online that the female version needs to be taken 3 DPO, so I think I need to find it in stores vs. getting it shipped. However, although the Fertell website says that it can be found at CVS I called two stores and neither have it. . . I guess that the male part is more inportant for us since my chart looks pretty good?

 

[ChargerGrrl]

just stopping by to give Peony a BIG HUG

 

[sunkist]

Peony, I'm sorry AF showed! Keep at it. I think you did guys were right on this month. It just takes time. Did you watch any of these videos that someone posted a few pages ago? http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/miracle/program.html I think part 3 about the Sperm's Journey gives a lot of reasons as to why it may be only a 20% chance of getting pregnant even when you're "doing everything right." I thought it was very interesting when he talks about how the egg waits for the sperm that can match protiens to the egg in a correct pattern, and that is the sperm that gets to be let in. Who knows if how many of the sperm presented to any one egg would have been able to match the protiens? Is it a lot, a few, maybe none in the bunch? I'd just never heard that before. You know in wonderful sex-ed in 6th grade we're taught that the first sperm to reach the egg wins! I guess that's not true. So it makes a little easier to understand how chances can begin to be on the lower side.

 

[Pandora II]

Peony, I''m so sorry - big hug to you.

I would try the Pre-seed, and may be the pineapple too! You can buy Fertell on e-bay I think - or at least you can in the UK. Some on-line chemists may have it as well.

The positive thing to look at is that you know that you ovulate and that your LP is a good length, so you are already ahead in the game.

Sending you lots and lots of luck for this cycle!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Blast and wretch!! (Do you remember that from Little Women?

)

My temp went up again today (I took it twice, 98.23 and 98.10) and FF changed my ovulation date to cycle day 26. We did BD on the 26th day in the cycle, but only that one time. No BD line of any length that time (and I wouldn''t have even done that if not for thinking what may not be EW being EW). Frustration!

And, I was getting excited about peeing on a stick soon, too. Hmph!

So really, I''m just now starting the 2ww. What the hello???

Haha, at least I should be able to get two baby blankets knocked down now instead of just one, while I "knit." Really though, I''m pretty sad that there is just that one day to go off of for BDing.

It''s pretty funny to me that just one temp would change things. I was really excited about what I thought was dip for implantation, too. I take too much stock in this chart, let me tell you.

What if I was just hot this am when I woke up? It''s going to change my cycle for the month. Odd.

I also read that when you do it on the day of O only, you have a way bigger chance of having a little boy. Something about Y swimmers being faster, but weaker while the X swimmers are slower and stronger. I hope I O''d near the end of the day because we ended up BDing really late that night.

I kind of feel like I should go ahead and count myself out for this cycle. Grr!!

From 10 DPO to 3 DPO. That''s me, ladies!!

So odd.... Although, just a few days ago I knew this was a possibility, but then it seemed to go away. Nuts. I''m hoping there is not this same confusion next cycle.

It looks like if CD 26 is my ovulation day, I should have a period of about 40 days or so. That''s way better than 61, no?

Now I also wonder if I temped it wrong, but I do it the same way everyday. I''ll just wait and see what it does tomorrow and if I need to, maybe I will disgard today''s temp. I really didn''t want to "tamper" with the temps though, so I''d have a true, clear idea of what is going on in there.

I feel like I post this every flippin day, but input helps me understand (at least a little bit). Here''s today''s change in chart form:

 

[cdt1101]

Hey ladies! I’d like to officially join the thread! I’ve been lurking a lot. My DH and I have been trying for 3 months now. I got the dreaded aunt flow yesterday and needless to say, it was a VERY rough day for me. Actually this month was the worst for me as far as let downs go. I’m just so sad. I cried most of the afternoon yesterday and still getting teary driving to work today. It doesn’t help that all of my friends have babies now and I just feel so left out. I know, not a reason to want a child, but it’s hard. I was at a friend’s baby shower last week (her second) and her husband told me I better get knocked up before I’m 30 or then I’m too old

WTF? Well I’ll be 30 in 6 months, so yeah, thanks a-hole!

Ok rant over

I'm not charting, so I went out and bought my basal thermometer yesterday and this morning took my first temp. I know I shouldn’t be thinking that something is wrong, but I’m starting to think I may have a progesterone issue. I’ve always spotting a few days before aunt flow, but this month and last I’ve spotting for close to 5 days (off and on) before my period actually starts. That means I have some sort of spotting/menses for about 10 days!!! That’s just not right. So I’m hoping by charting this month it’ll give me a little bit of insight as to what is really going on. We’ll see. Good luck to everyone this month!!

 

[robbie3982]

Awe, Fisher, I do think that if your temps stay up it suggests O on cd26. It sucks that you "lost" a whole week in the 2ww, just when you thought it was getting close to test time! ::hugs::.

Does anyone use the ivillage fertility planner in addition to FF? I just transferred this cycle over to it, but I''m using the temp adjuster on the temps on the ivillage one so that I can see the difference it would make. It''s not really a huge difference, but it does make CD19 look more probable than CD17.

I definitely have watery CM today, and while I know it''s been a pregnancy sign for some, it''s an AF sign for me

. I know it doesn''t necessarily mean anything, but I''m feeling a bit pessimistic at the moment.

Here''s what the 2 different charts look like:

 

[robbie3982]

Welcome cdt! I hope your stay is short.

 

[mela lu]

just a quick stop in to say "sorry" to Peony on the arrival of AFF.

Fisher - I''m sorry for all your confusion this month. Hopefully when you do get your BFP, all this chart nonsense will be forgotten

Robbie - glad to hear your post O levels are good. Fx for you!!!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Hey Fisher tha tis very annoying, but this is after all a marathon and not a sprint, so you are really gaining good knowledge this cycle! That one session may have been enough, but if not, then next month you may want to try the every two days method from CD 14 until ovulation is confirmed, that should get you all the way to CD 26 no issues!

One thing I am curious about, what happens if you enter another temperature tomorrow that is as high as today? What happens if you enter one that is lower, say closer to the temps from 2 days ao? FF is just a programme and any new data can change things. If it helps any, Indy had a similarly screwy chart with two possible ovulation days, about 5 days apart too! And she was KTFU... charting is ambiguous for some people.

I think a real key here is going to be figuring out your CF. Have you still been assessing it each day even if you aren''t puttign it in FF? Your pattern of CF may become clearer over the rest of this cycle and next, and it could really help with the BD planning.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 9/11/2008 11:00:54 PM
Author: peonygirl
Thanks gals for being so nice and reassuring! I guess what I''d love to know is *why* we only have a 20% chance of getting pregnant each cycle? I''ve definitely read that stat (I was under the impression that it was for the typical couple, not one that was charting), but I can''t find the reasons behind it anywhere.

There''s lots of reasons why it is only 20%. The biggest reason is that the cell division process is really tricky! At any point along the way, things can go haywire and the little bundle of cells simply won''t make it. About 50% of fertilized eggs go haywire and aren''t genetically on the right path and thus never implant. Another certain proportion go haywire a little later, maybe right after implantation, and you still never know you are preggo. And as we have all talked about a few pages back, many more go haywire later and women suffer known losses

. There also may have been issues with a particular egg that makes it unable to become fertilized, or the good sperm may go the wrong way and end up in the wrogn fallopian tube! LOL! Women who chart tend to take less months to get pg because they time BD well. This means a greater chance of conception each month. But once conception occurrs, there is still a high probability that the little bundle of cells won''t make it. The average time to get preggo without charting is 6 months, but with charting the average is maybe 4 months. That still means that half of all health woman charters will take longer than 4 months, and up to a year!

Date: 9/11/2008 11:00:54 PM
Author: peonygirl

DD, I TOTALLY agree with you about making your life/work fit your desires to have a family. Family will always be more important to me, no matter what. I guess that I''m more worried about the logistics of flying at 7-9 months pregnant or with a newborn. With med school everything is rolling admissions, so if I postpone my interviews more than one week, I could lose out on a spot. I''m still not totally set on postponing TTC either during that time, but I''m just not sure how things would work. If I was too late in my pregnancy to fly, I suppose that my DH could take several days off work to drive me, but my interviews will be all over the country (we''re in the Chicago area) and I would be at the risk of giving birth at a random hospital. Or I think he could take off work to fly with me and the baby to an interview location, but I think it would be hard to be coherent in the first 1-2 months of the child''s life when I was getting no sleep. Any ideas you have to circumvent these issues would be great.

My plan was to be a SAHM during the year I apply to med school and then start school in Aug 2010, when the child was a little over a year old. That child is getting younger and younger every time I don''t get KTFU.

I hear you on that, since I am in the same boat... jobs all over the place. Only you can make the choice about when to have kids, obviously, but I will say this: there will always be things in the way. You think being in medical school with an infant wil be easy? You think being a resident with a 3 year old will be easy? Or being pregnant in medical school? In some careers, yours and mine included probably, there is no good time for a woman to have kids, this is one of the things that needs to change. I personally have decided to go ahead and get pregnant, and that gives me a no-fly zone from roughly Feb 1 until April 1. There may be interviews in that time I cannot attend. If there are interviews earlier when I am very far along and pre-term labour is a possibility (though remote remember) hubby is going to come with me just in case, so at least he is present if it happens! And after baby is born, hubby is coming along too, and maybe my MIL, so that I can be a focussed as possible at the all-day interview with a 2-3 week old. Not ideal, but these are solutions that are okay for me. I have also accepted the fact that this timing may mean that I take another year to find a job! I am okay with that, life is long and it will give me more time with my child. Again, it is a personal decision, but all these options I have decided upon could work for you... in the end, you can always start med school a year later, in the long run of your life, who cares? School will be easier anyways with an older child who can comfortably be in daycare. Just my 2c, you need to make these decisions taking into account many factors in your life that I don''t know about.

 

[happy in love]

Peony- I''m so sorry that AF showed. I completely understand how you''re feeling right now, and I hope it gets easier for you. It is just so frustrating when you are making so many efforts to do things "right" and it doesn''t work out.
Fisher- Cute blanket. Sorry your 2ww is just begining, but at least you got that session in on your O day after all.
Welcome CD, good luck to you.
I know there are others that I''ve missed, but good luck and fingers crossed for you all.
****
My temp dropped waaayy down today, even more than usual so I''m counting myself out once again. I had put my thermometer and chart away, but I couldn''t help myself yesterday and today

. It is better for me to know before my day starts that AF is knocking rather than be thrown off in the middle of a work day.

 

[lovelylulu]

peony - sorry for the disappointing arrival of AFF

- the only advice that i have for you is to keep doing what your doing because it sounds like you are doing everything (and then some) that you can. don''t let yourself immediately jump to the conclusion that there is something wrong with either of you and just try to enjoy the process!!

cdt1101 - welcome to the thread! i can very much relate to the cycle that you described as i''m also having some issues with spotting pre-AF. Have you made an appointment to see a Dr? I did some research that causes me to think that this kind of spotting is due to hormonal levels, but until i get that confirmed by a professional it''s really just speculation . . . hopefully for both of us it''s not a serious issue!

fisher - man. hang in there.

 

[cdt1101]

Lovely - I haven''t been to the Dr. yet. I want to chart this month and see if anything pops out as looking strange. I''ve been following your story, so I know you were having the same issue I am. I''ve done my own research, and well I don''t like it

I''ll keep my fingers crossed for the both of us that it''s all just in our heads that something is wrong!

 

[peonygirl]

Thanks to everyone! You guys are really sweet! DH just got home and he said he cried a bit at work when he got my email that I got my period. He brought me home pancakes from the hospital cafeteria, my favorite! It''s weird that I like hospital pancakes.

DD, you are very wise.

I am extremely anxious to start my career ever since I left my PhD program with not much to go at all (it was REALLY not a good match for me though, so I''m still happy about that decision), but you''re right that if I have to postpone a year it''s not the end of the world. I calculated it again, and if my cycle remains 35 days I think we have 3 cycles left to go. I will wait until then to make any more decisions, but I would like to keep trying.

Thanks for the info about the 20%! With my new science background (my 3/4 of a PhD was in clinical psychology), I have learned some about cell division and all of its checkpoints (cyclin-dependent kinases, anaphase-promoting complex, etc). Gosh, it seems like in the media it''s always portrayed that you can just do ''eet once and you''re pregnant. No wonder everyone here is so disappointed when it doesn''t happen!

Good luck to everyone else! I have to run to work, but I''ll catch up with you later.

 

[robbie3982]

Anyone want to analyze what this could be? Back on CD17 (O day according to FAM, 2 days before O day according to Advanced) I had a dull/achey throbbing pain right where I imagine my right ovary to be and I thought it might be mittleschmertz, but I wasn''t sure since I''d never noticed any type of pain around ovulation before. It lasted maybe a few minutes and came and went for maybe a few hours and then was gone.

Yesterday the same pain started and has been coming and going ever since. I did the test to see which ovary I ovulated from and it indicates the right side, so I''m thinking that this has something to do with my ovary. Anyone ever have this or get it every month? I definitely don''t think it''s something to worry about, but I''m curious about what it could be (oh and I''m bored

)

 

[oobiecoo]

Mother Nature hates me.


Its time for AF and she''s nowhere to be found but I sure do have the symptoms! How long must a gal have bloating and incredibly sore boobs? I feel like a blimp.



Welcome Cdt1101!

 

[am04]

Peony- Big hugs to you! I''m sorry that this cycle didn''t work out and I understand your frustration. I''m trying to time the birth of our baby with research funding cycles. Basically, my current grant (and employer insurance) runs out in October of 09. Like you, I''m planning on taking a year off (if possible) and then getting back into the game on a grant starting in October of 2010. Due to the nature of my work jumping into grants mid-cycle doesn''t usually work, heck a maternity leave wouldn''t really work! We started trying last month and I was disappointed with the BFN but I also felt a lot of pressure that a month was knocked off my ttc cushion. This month I''m just trying to trust that whatever will be will be. I have personally found this process to be very humbling. Like DD said, there might never be a good time to have a baby so I''m just trying to let go and see what happens. You are doing everything right, unfortunately, these things just take time.

On a side note, I used PreSeed this month and really liked it. Anyway, hang in there. I''m keeping my fingers crossed for you!

 

[robbie3982]

Oobie, I forget, are you charting? Bloating and sore boobs can be pregnancy symptoms too you know

 

[am04]

Date: 9/12/2008 12:10:45 PM
Author: oobiecoo
Mother Nature hates me.



Its time for AF and she''s nowhere to be found but I sure do have the symptoms! How long must a gal have bloating and incredibly sore boobs? I feel like a blimp.




Welcome Cdt1101!

Have you taken a pregnancy test? If AFF is late (and your luteal phase is ~14 days), it would probably be positive if you are pregnant!

 

[am04]

Date: 9/12/2008 11:30:16 AM
Author: robbie3982
Anyone want to analyze what this could be? Back on CD17 (O day according to FAM, 2 days before O day according to Advanced) I had a dull/achey throbbing pain right where I imagine my right ovary to be and I thought it might be mittleschmertz, but I wasn''t sure since I''d never noticed any type of pain around ovulation before. It lasted maybe a few minutes and came and went for maybe a few hours and then was gone.


Yesterday the same pain started and has been coming and going ever since. I did the test to see which ovary I ovulated from and it indicates the right side, so I''m thinking that this has something to do with my ovary. Anyone ever have this or get it every month? I definitely don''t think it''s something to worry about, but I''m curious about what it could be (oh and I''m bored

)

Hey Robbie- I can''t analyze the pain (never had that before) but are you starting to think that you may have o''d on cd 17 after all? Wasn''t that when you cervical position changed?

 

[robbie3982]

Am, I keep going back and forth on which day I think it was. The Ivillage chart with the adjusted temps really makes it look like CD19, but I had a HSO cervix on cd17. CD18-CD24 my cervix was low, so that suggests CD17. Who knows, maybe my cervix just wants to confuse me

 

[am04]

I wouldn''t be surprised if your body was playing tricks on you, it seems like all our bodies/minds are!

 

[oobiecoo]

This is my first cycle charting (really more like 2/3 of my cycle) so just based on when FF says I was going to O, I''m pretty sure I didn''t. I took a test yesterday though

and it was negative

 

[robbie3982]

Date: 9/12/2008 12:39:39 PM
Author: oobiecoo
This is my first cycle charting (really more like 2/3 of my cycle) so just based on when FF says I was going to O, I'm pretty sure I didn't. I took a test yesterday though

and it was negative

Says you were going to or says you did? That makes a big difference.

ETA: Am, I think it's my mind that's playing tricks on me

. I'm pretty sure I could get myself believing I was a flying purple elephant if I wanted it bad enough.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Peony I think taking things one step at a time is the best thing. If you try to plan your whle life then it just creates anxiety because there are so many unknowns. FYI, I also started by graduate training in clinical and did 2 years before switching to social instead. Clinical was not my bag, I like to tell people what to do, not hold their hand while they take a year to figure out on their own.

I''m very happy with my choice though it added one year to my graduate program.

Robbie it could be an ovarian cyst. They are usually nothing to worry about. At my 12 week u/s it turns out I had a cyst on one of my ovaries! Didn''t seem to matter since I got pg relatively quickly. Anyways, the pain could be it starting to pop or something. Or it could just be an overactive imagination!

 

[robbie3982]

Hmmm, interesting DD. A doc thought I might have PCOS once when I was in college so he did an ultrasound. He said I had some cysts, but it definitely wasn''t PCOS and they were nothing to be concerned about. Perhaps I''m prone to them and just never noticed this feeling before.