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Pregnancy

Trying for our first baby

19 replies

Raf121 · 11/11/2017 16:13

Hi everyone! My partner and i have been TTC for a little while, although up until now its been quite... relaxed. We had the mentality that 'it will happen when it happens'.... but so far nothing. I have been off my contraception since March, and since then we have both stopped drinking and stopped smoking... completely! Which i am really proud of both of us for. We have made the decision to start taking it a bit more seriously... aim for the most fertile days, and to change parts of our diet. There is a vast amount of information online about what should and shouldnt be eaten, does anyone know what is a definite no? And any suggestions on main things we should be aiming for? Thanks!

OP posts:
Oysterbabe · 11/11/2017 19:41

There's nothing you can't eat when TTC, it's only once you get a positive test that the restrictions start. Good luck!

BikeRunSki · 11/11/2017 19:45

I can’t help, but there is a dedicated Conception Board full of very knowledable ladies.

TheCatsMother99 · 11/11/2017 19:59

I'll be honest, I'm not a big believer in cutting out certain food and drink completely when ttc just because you'll have at least 9 months of not being able to eat and drink stuff. Yes, cut down on drink but I don't think it's necessary to completely stop. It's great you've stopped smoking though.

As others have said, you'll prob get better or more advice on the dedicated conception boards here.

Good luck.

Lilbeth1986 · 12/11/2017 07:57

Hi OP!We tried for 18 months with no success.I went to the drs and she told me to give it to Christmas and try to forget about it and relax.She told me same happened to her,they had a night out with a cheeky drink and she got pregnant with twins.I stopped tracking everything,stopped OPK’s and temp monitoring and lo and behold the very next month I was pregnant-now 11 weeks.Good luck!

CrmbleBee · 12/11/2017 10:12

Recent story in the papers said that a couple who had spent loads on fertility treatment were advised to stop using perfume (her) and stop vigorous exercise (him), which apparently worked for them. I'd say:

  • Take pre-conception vitamins incl. folic acid and vitamin D (you should do this for 3 months prior to conception ideally)
  • Stop him wearing tight trousers/underwear/having hot baths
  • Have sex every 3 days or so
  • Steer clear of the cat litter tray (yes, even when TTC- contracting infection from this pre-conception can cause miscarriage post-conception)
  • Cut caffeine down or out


Obviously people can and do become pregnant without the above, but for maximising chances of a healthy pregnancy, that's my advice, for whatever it's worth.
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Alexandra07 · 12/11/2017 17:51

I bought some very cheap strips that can tell you if you are ovulating (ebay), just in case ovulation doesn't happen really on the day I thought it would. I was testing for ovulation twice per day. I suggest having sex every couple of days and when you get a positive for ovulation, every day for 3 days. It worked really well for us! Good luck!

Changerofname987654321 · 12/11/2017 17:53

Read nhs website for info on what pregnant women can/can’t eat.

Itsjustaphase84 · 12/11/2017 17:58

I honestly think that me eating more eggs and more oily fish each week could contributed to my positive. I took vitamins for months, nothing. Oh and raspberry leaf tea. I conceived first month on it. Made a small jug each evening for the day ahead and popped it in the fridge so I drank the equivalent of two cups cold and one hot cup in morning daily. Funnily enough that was the only month I didn't use opks too.



Good luck and relax.

mindutopia · 12/11/2017 18:21

I would aim to have sex around your ovulation dates, take folic acid or a pregnancy vitamin and not smoke. That's about it. There is no special diet and unless you are alcoholics, abstaining from alcohol shouldn't make any difference (though obviously might just make you feel better, so not a reason not to do it if you don't like drinking anyway). But I would really just relax and enjoy the process. I've been pregnant 3 times. I was relatively healthy to start (I eat a good diet anyway, lots of fruit and veg, but nothing special and I am relatively active a few times a week, but nothing crazy). But every month I've actually gotten pregnant, I drank like a fish around the time of ovulation. The two successful pregnancies I had (one, between them, ended in mc), we were on holiday - first time for a week and second time for two weeks. I probably drank at least a bottle of wine a day each time. Got pregnant easily and we had a fun, relaxed time doing it. So that's not to say not to drink if you don't like it, but I wouldn't stress about it and force it if you are wishing you could have a drink. The main thing is just knowing when you ovulate and timing sex well. Good luck!

Acrosstheuniverse123 · 12/11/2017 18:29

Reflexology is great for fertility!

CL1982 · 12/11/2017 22:07

If you have the money I would advise getting an Ava bracelet :) Wear it every night and it'll work it out for you. It's pricey but I think I have a code somewhere to save you some money on it and it's super easy to use:

www.avawomen.com/

Or use a BBT every morning and record it on Fertility Friend :) It will take a few months to find a pattern though....

didsomeonesaywine · 12/11/2017 22:16

I cut out nearly all caffeine whilst TTC (we were lucky it didn’t take too long tbh). Limited myself to one cup of caffeinated coffee per day then decaf tea....also cut out alcohol like you. Well done for stopping smoking Grin

CL1982 · 12/11/2017 23:29

P.s forgot to say I did cut stuff out but it didn't really help. In the end we just had lots of sex at the right time and it worked :)

Mrstobe90 · 12/11/2017 23:37

Cutting out caffeine is meant to help. Taking pre-conception vitamins is a good idea. It’ll start building up your folic acid and vitamin D which hugely benefits a fetus.
Hope this helps Smile xx

Mrstobe90 · 12/11/2017 23:38

Also, I found that the best way to find out when you’re ovulating is to track your CM. It was also how I discovered I was pregnant.

giraffesareok · 13/11/2017 15:36

We were TTC for a fair old while- there is actually some advice not to track your ovulation etc - standard procedure is to aim for 2-3 times a week most weeks and not think too hard about it if you possibly can, it gets really stressful aiming for particular days and stress is in itself a problem. Save your money, was the advice we got. We did (obvs) try it anyway - didn’t help!

Stopping smoking is brilliant, and no harm laying off the booze a bit (nice that you’re doing it together, good idea that). +1 to the nice loose pants for him!

I asked my GP early on if there was anything else she’d recommend, other than folic acid, and she said it’s worth getting your general strength & cardiovascular fitness up - pregnancy and childbirth being hard physical work. Wish I’d taken her advice on that now I’m 30 weeks and huge! Losing a bit of weight / getting into healthy eating habits would’ve been good too - may not be an issue for you.

However... ultimately, it took us 7 years and several circuits of the IVF merry-go-round to get to this point. So my main tip would be to go and have a chat with your GP if you’ve had no luck after a year or so. A year or more would still be a normal length of time for it to happen naturally so it’s nothing to worry about, but once you’re in the system you can get started on various tests and either rule out any potential problems or know about them in good time to do something about them. There is masses of stuff that can be done if things aren’t happening, so don’t worry about that for the future - it’s not the end of the world if you do end up needing a bit of help later on, though you probably won’t.

So, carry on as you are is my advice! Best of luck, hope you get a result soon.

EmmaT2501 · 12/12/2017 10:20

Hey ive just come across this post and found Cl1982 comment about the Ava bracelet. Would you recommend it ? I'm really thinking about getting one but I'm put off a bit by the cost. Ttc number 2 for 15 months now x

noodlesandtomatoes · 12/12/2017 16:11

Try this. Very informative

Trying for our first baby
thumbelina03 · 12/12/2017 16:20

We were ttc for about a year. I then purchased Clearblue digital ovulation kit and the first month of using it we fell pregnant. I

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