Month 1, TTC #1

[CrazyCatLady75340]

Anyone want to join? I'm 34 and TTC #1. 2DPO and managed to only DTD twice as we were travelling for our honeymoon. Only using OPK's at the moment but may start temping in the next few months if no luck.

[AmyD54321]

Hi, I’m exactly the same as you, month 1, 1st time ttc. All feels very daunting, and I have pcos so I’m nervously expecting this to be a long process. Only dtd once on what I think is ovulation day (this was the only day all month for various reasons!) not using anything more than my phone calendar so I could be way off…feel like I’m starting ‘properly’ next month…

[CrazyCatLady75340]

Ahh, well good luck! And yes, very daunting and a lot to het your head around. Are you testing early, or waiting to see if AF shows?

[BeatAroundTheBush]

I'm in the same position, hope you don't mind me joining! Our TTC journey officially started today, although my periods haven't returned yet after having the implant taken out so it could be a longer process than I first hoped!

Hope you had a great honeymoon @CrazyCatLady75340?

[CrazyCatLady75340]

Thank you! We've been married for nearly two years now but postponed the holiday due to covid. Been lovely though and definitely helped us to relax with the whole TTC.

I had my implant removed in November and my periods came back quite quickly. The only difference I noticed was that they didn't really last all that long, maybe 2-3 days as opposed to 6, but that's not such a bad thing I guess!

Have you been tracking ovulation, or just shooting in the dark? literally.

I only recently got the hang of these opk's and they definitely took a lot of the guess work out of it!

[BeatAroundTheBush]

So pleased to hear it, it definitely helps to be relaxed!

That's great news. I had my implant removed in June so I'm surprised my periods haven't come back yet, but I've had both Covid jabs in between which I've heard may mess with cycles.

Honestly I'm a complete beginner with ovulation so any tips you can share, please do! I'm not even sure what opk means so think I need to do some research

[CrazyCatLady75340]

I had my first period a month or so after, but I guess everyone is different. I've also heard that about the vaccine too. Fingers crossed it comes back soon so you can get on with it. I did it early because I heard that it can take up to a year to return to normal and I'm a control freak, so I wanted it to be on my terms rather than waiting for my body to catch up!

OPK's are small ovulation test strips, a bit like pregnancy tests. They detect the hormone in your urine (LH) and you monitor the strength of the line leading up to ovulation. They're really cheap on Amazon and once you get a positive test means you're due to ovulate around 24-36 hours later (I think. Don't quote me!) It's not an exact science and the only way you can be sure when you ovulate is to take your temperature every morning and plot it in a graph, but we're trying to be a bit laid back about it for now.

Essentially you have a 5 day window to DTD as sperm can live inside of you for 5 days, so the idea is that you DTD a lot prior to ovulation so they're there ready to meet the egg. I have also read that every other day is better than every day due to sperm quality, so every other day around your fertile window means you get a good coverage.

It's been a lot to learn!

[BeatAroundTheBush]

Thank you so much for all that detail, really appreciate your help! There's a lot to get your head around but must order some opk's...

How long have you been planning to TTC, if you don't mind me asking? You definitely had the right idea getting the implant out last year!

It's nice to speak to others in similar positions, I hope we'll be able to support each other through this journey

[Meeko93]

Love to join if you don’t mind it’s my first time ttc. Came off the pill in august so waiting for my first period to arrive but dtd 3 times when the calendar said I was ovulating probably wasn’t at all as not had first real period but thought worth a try. Just going to go with the flow for first few month as it all confuses me!

[MrsYan]

Can I join too please?

1st month ttc no. 2 for me but no. 1 for DP. I am not holding out to much hope for this month as I only had my coil out last week, the doctor said fertility can come back straight away or it could take months 🤷🏻‍♀️ I'm not sure where I am in my cycle as I had no periods with the coil. So have been temping and testing but need a few more days to see where we are.

Even though this is my second, I am new to actually TTC as my first was not planned!

[BeatAroundTheBush]

Welcome @Meeko93 and @MrsYan, great to have some others join us!

Has anyone been using a fertility app to help track progress, any recommendations please?

[MrsYan]

@BeatAroundTheBush

Welcome *@Meeko93 and @MrsYan*, great to have some others join us!

Has anyone been using a fertility app to help track progress, any recommendations please?

Hi!

I am using Flo, Femometer and Premom. I'm not sure which is the best yet and I'm only using those three as I bought tests and a thermometer and each said to use different apps! I will narrow it down though when I find one a prefer.

I am not to sure what's going on with my cycle atm, with having my coil out recently I don't know whether to trust what's going on is my true cycle. I have just come on my period today, I am going to take this as CD 1 and then just check and track all month and see if everything else matches up to this! Where are you in your cycle now?

[CatLady93]

Hi guys would you mind if I joined? 😊 I'm also on cycle 1 of ttc #1! I'm 8dpo today.

Re fertility apps - I use fertility friend to track my cycle, I find it really good! I find tracking my temperature really useful to confirm I've ovulated (have been tracking my cycle for around a year before starting ttc this cycle). Started out using Natural Cycles which was good but moved onto Fertility Friend as it's a bit more detailed/seems to be more accurate with my ovulation day. Do you guys use any apps or ovulation tests etc?

[BeatAroundTheBush]

Brilliant thanks, I'll check those apps out! I'm going to order the tests tonight and hope they come later this week.

Sounds like a good plan to count this as CD1, at least you've got a starting point. Honestly I have no idea where I'm at in my cycle after getting the implant removed and still with no periods. I think I'll use this month as a test to start tracking everything!

[BeatAroundTheBush]

@CatLady93

Hi guys would you mind if I joined? 😊 I'm also on cycle 1 of ttc #1! I'm 8dpo today.

Re fertility apps - I use fertility friend to track my cycle, I find it really good! I find tracking my temperature really useful to confirm I've ovulated (have been tracking my cycle for around a year before starting ttc this cycle). Started out using Natural Cycles which was good but moved onto Fertility Friend as it's a bit more detailed/seems to be more accurate with my ovulation day. Do you guys use any apps or ovulation tests etc?

You're really welcome to join @CatLady93! I'm very impressed with how long you've been tracking your cycles for, maybe I should have thought this through a bit more

Thanks for the recommendation of Fertility Friend, I'll have a look! Probably a silly question but did you just buy a standard thermometer? Or is it a special one for ovulation?!

[CatLady93]

Hey @BeatAroundTheBush thanks so much! Well I basically wanted to come off the pill about a year ago as it just wasn't sitting too well with me anymore. So I used the natural cycles app as a fertility awareness method of contraception instead! Ended up getting to know my cycle fairly well which was a lucky bi-product of using it! Natural cycles provide a thermometer but all you need is a 'bbt thermometer' as it measures with 2 decimal places, and you have to take your temp as soon as you wake up (roughly around the same time each day!) If you've ovulated you see a steady rise in temperature afterwards due to a rise in progesterone (I think!)

Some people have said they don't like to do it as it's like a constant reminder of fertility etc so potentially isn't that relaxing, but I'm someone that quite enjoys knowing what's going on/feeling a bit more in control so it floats my boat 🤣 If you're starting out with it Natural Cycles is probably quite a good shout as they have some great info on there too and a 'plan pregnancy' mode 😊 Fertility Friend is a bit data heavy in comparison!

[BeatAroundTheBush]

@CatLady93

Hey *@BeatAroundTheBush* thanks so much! Well I basically wanted to come off the pill about a year ago as it just wasn't sitting too well with me anymore. So I used the natural cycles app as a fertility awareness method of contraception instead! Ended up getting to know my cycle fairly well which was a lucky bi-product of using it! Natural cycles provide a thermometer but all you need is a 'bbt thermometer' as it measures with 2 decimal places, and you have to take your temp as soon as you wake up (roughly around the same time each day!) If you've ovulated you see a steady rise in temperature afterwards due to a rise in progesterone (I think!)

Some people have said they don't like to do it as it's like a constant reminder of fertility etc so potentially isn't that relaxing, but I'm someone that quite enjoys knowing what's going on/feeling a bit more in control so it floats my boat 🤣 If you're starting out with it Natural Cycles is probably quite a good shout as they have some great info on there too and a 'plan pregnancy' mode 😊 Fertility Friend is a bit data heavy in comparison!

Sorry to hear the pill wasn't working for you. I was so relieved to get the implant out, it was really affecting my mood.

Oh that's really helpful thanks, will take a look into it. I had no idea about the temperature being such a big indicator!

It's such a personal journey isn't it so you have to do what's right for you! If it helps you having the data and facts then that's brilliant 👍🏻

[CatLady93]

@BeatAroundTheBush Yeah it was a mood thing for me too! And just 0 sex drive which was no fun 🤦🏼‍♀️🤣

No worries at all! And yeah exactly. I've had cycles where I haven't bothered so much with it if it starts feeling like a bit of a chore, but it's so easy just to pick it back up again with a next cycle if I want to 😊

How have you found the TWW so far?!

[CrazyCatLady75340]

Ahhhh, sorry for patchy responses! I've been lying in the sun for the last few days and my phone screen is a nightmare to read. I'm hoping the relaxation goes in my favour without the stress of work, but I think I'd be very lucky for anything to happen in the first month!

@BeatAroundTheBush we've been planning TTC for a while but put it off due to COVID and wanting to save a bit of money and have some time to ourselves first.

It's definitely nice to speak to people in my same position with this all being so new!

[BeatAroundTheBush]

@CatLady93 yes same here with the sex drive (and the dryness, sorry if that's TMI!)

That's very true, I think I'll just use this month to monitor my cycle and see what happens! I'm trying not to obsess about everything but it's hard. How are you finding the TWW?

@CrazyCatLady75340 no need to apologise for enjoying the sun, I'm very jealous! Sure it's been a much needed break 😊

[MrsYan]

Hi everyone!

How are we all?

Where is everyone on their cycle? How's everyone feeling?

I am CD3.... but.... first "period" since having my coil out finished yesterday, after two days and I know I haven't had a period in 5 years but I do NOT remember them being like that 😂 two days of not much 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ so maybe it's just my body adapting and getting back to normal after coil removal, time will tell! X

[CatLady93]

Hey @BeatAroundTheBush! I'm finding the TWW alright.. I've definitely had some strange symptoms but they could always be down to other things. Got a couple more days to wait and then AF is due on Saturday. Telling myself that if it doesn't arrive - wonderful! But if it does, I can have a couple of glasses of wine that evening 😁 (Have been avoiding alcohol mostly during the TWW). So that'll cheer me up if I'm not pregnant 🤣 How are you finding the TWW? 😊

[JonSnowsCloak]

Hope everyone doesn't mind me joining :)

35 and first month of trying although I did come off the pill about 3 months ago. 1DPO today (but yet to properly track this is just estimated from fitbit tracker!) and it was our honeymoon last week ;) so have everything crossed! Any tips appreciated...

[CrazyCatLady75340]

CD6 for me and not yet got any symptoms. AF due on a Friday (next week) though so I'll be having a drink if it does show up.

[CatLady93]

Hi team, AF arrived this morning 💔 Disappointed but also looking forward to trying again this cycle. We only really had one proper shot this month as we were pretty busy so hoping to get more in this time 🥰 I might buy the clear blue fertility monitor.. looks pretty good! 'All the gear etc' springs to mind though 😂

How's everyone else getting on?

[CrazyCatLady75340]

Hey @CatLady93 (nice name by the way!).

Sorry to hear AF showed up. Mark it down as a practice run for next time and at least you can have a drink this weekend.

I'm 8 DPO and the only notable symptom is a few shooting pains in my lady areas. I've had a few vivid dreams too although I've put them down to sunburn and jet lag