Fab Forty-Plus! Where are the BFPs...

I use lemon juice in the bottles you can by it in. Squeezable. I would never use tis lemon juice for food, too many E-s to preserve it. But for cleaning in house is good enough. I like the smell better than vinegar, otherwise would use that:-)

Yes, I am on this anti-inflammatory diet most of the time, I do not do dairy and go easy on wine, but I do allow my weekends to be a bit relaxed about it. I do not htink staying 100% on any diet is mentally good. I end up overeating exactly on the bad stuff. So, my body sometimes still gets "bad stuff", sorry:-)

On vit D, I do nto dare tot ake it as my doc said you can overdo it. I had it tested,was in normal range,so I steer clear. I will do no supplements this cycle at all and see how my cycle then behaves - is it accident that vit D and agnus castus seemed to lengthen it or not? CD1 here, so for a change am not rattling with all supplenets for next 3 and half weeks. I have a short cycle, comfy when ttc, in principle:-)

No, Gum, I have only been taking Pregnacare (found it, but lost one of my boots- maybe the messy house is blocking my fertility). I will start taking vitamin D, though. It was also recommended on that site mentioned yesterday.

CD4 - ate lots of seeds with breakfast, and am going to the chemist today to get Vit D. I also looked up the SMEP plan and will try that this month.

Maybe $197 isn't all that bad. I paid about that much for a clearblue fertility monitor. Which I was able to resell on ebay (I bought and sold three over the last 5 years!).

They really should have a crazy woman emoticon. I'd be using it for myself, all the time!

I still colour my hair. I guess I am vain and can't handle looking my age I have lots of grey now and so I have foils to cover them up. The jury is out on hair colour, mostly what I read says it is safe when ttc. I would stay away from any cleaning products. It's mainly bi-carb soda and vinegar in my house. When the shower needs a good scrub with bleach I get DH to do it, but it's so seldom that I'm not too concerned.

I've been using coconut il for a while now - I cook with it, sweet potato chips done in the oven with coconut oil is amazing! Yum.

I've read that wheatgrass is very good for fertility - in smoothies, but I think anything dark green and leafy is good. I can't really stomach green juices and smoothies though, so I am sticking to leafy vegetables to eat with a meal.

Christmasbaby, are you taking a Vit d supplement? I believe it is very underrated when it comes to fertility. My acupuncturist was telling me that the levels that western medicine uses (here normal range is 70-90) is really low and we should be aiming for about 120-180. I live in a sunny place as you know, but even then, when I had my vit d level done it was about 60. I also read that in some ivf clinics, in preparation for ivf older patients are put on high doses of vit d and folic acid (5000mg rather than 500).

Right now I can't stomach sups, but as soon as I am well I'll get back into taking them,and the dhea regularly. When I said to my acupuncturist that I wasn't surprised that I lost another baby as I'm 47, she said she really doesn't feel it is too old and that with a regular cycle, I am still in the game. Traditional Chinese medicine says that 49 is about the cut off, and there are exceptions to that rule.

Wow, Jass, what you said about the flu vaccine is very interesting, and I can see why you would wonder about it. It is true that vaccines can cause the immune system to over react. I know you are very knowledgeable about auto-immune stuff, so I am guessing you are trying an anti-inflammatory style diet? I did it a while back - cut out all grain, dairy,sugar,alcohol and processed food. Tried to eat plenty of omega 3, healthy oils (olive,macadamia,coconut,grass fed butter), vegetables, limited fruit etc. It was great and I felt very healthy on it, but honestly, it was very hard to sustain. Do you eat dairy? TCM also advocates a dairy free diet, saying it causes "dampness" which is not good for ttc.

I've really let my diet slip since the last tww. I had an inkling I might be pregnant, so was carb loading like an athlete, when really I shouldn't be.I was eating a lot of gluten free toast, and still am.I've gotten into the habit, and already feel after two weeks of it, that I've put on weight and now, being sick, the only thing I want to eat is toast and vegemite (childhood comfort food). As soon as I am well I'll get back into a healthy regime.

I have been tempted to buy this but it seems very expensive ($197). I mean I wouldn't pay that much for a book, and I doubt it has more than a book would have in it. But, I do like Chris kresser - he's all about paleo, which I believe is a great way to live (I just find it really hard to sustain with a family). Anyway, I've been selling a few things on Ebay and I thought if I make enough money I could pay for it with the paypal money. I dunno, would it just tell me stuff I already know? Then again, $197 seems quite cheap if I do get a healthy baby . What do you think??

I have the day off work today as I am still not well, but I will probably spend a good portion of the day catching up on marking. Blah..at least it will make life a bit easier int he long run.

Have a good day everyone

mattsmama, I am sorry the bitch (AF) turned up. Hang in there. To me, 44 is still young!

Found an interesting website, with sections about coconut oil and fertility and evening primrose oil.

natural-fertility-info.com/preparing-for-conception-over-40.html

(Why isn't that blue?)

Jass how do you dispense the lemon juice while cleaning- in a spray bottle? Do you use bottles of lemon juice or squeeze the fruit?

Robitussine might help with EWCM, if you feel you do not have enough.
Bleach i do not use, lemon juice and soda clean my house. All these smelly cleaning products have always felt like chemictry lab, so never use them anyway. And I stopped coloring my hair when 35 assuming i need to restart when grey comes in, so decided to take a rest if this. Still waiting though. I am lately suspicious about the influenza vaccine I had when there was this swine flu or sth scare in 2010. i went for vaccination because i got scared by the psyhotic media, I guess. And now I feel like this is what messed my immune system up and made me infertile. nothing doing about it though..... After all, was a true instadiffer (4 kids, teo concieved. on birth control, teo in first cycle after off pill or mirena). And then the mcs started in 2011, when started ttc no 5. First one was actually completed on jan 1, 2012. i was still rather innocent and wrote it off, no worries. But it continued and continued....Something rather sudden must have happened to make me infertile, and i so regret this flu vaccine now.....

What do you all think about household cleaners that use bleach? My sister advised me avoid it when I was TTC1. Also, what about highlighting ones hair while TTC? Also also, Just remembered she also recommended taking a cough medicine (she is in America) called Robitussin

Oh, Mattsmama I just found coconut oil in the cupboard and remembered reading so many health benefits that I thought it could be worth adding to the mix! The taste is lovely, but the texture is less so

Thanks, Grizzer. Oh, no, Gum! Hope you are OK. I am going to try accupuncture, too, but I have to wait till payday. Also, yesterday I accidently ate a lot of M&Ms, and lost the box of Pregnacare in my messy house!

Almost my 44th birthday!

CD3- tried visualising. Spent time lying still, imagining DTD (mind porn) productively, getting a BFP, telling DH, posting here, worrying about MC, worrying about baby's health, attending clinic,growing bigger, telling everyone, having another c section, seeing baby, having DC visit hospital, bringing baby home, and setting up Moses basket beside my bed, getting up tired at night to feed baby...

Visualising is really the opposite of mindfulness, isn't it? Since mindfulness is all about the present, and visualisation is all about the future.

Spoke too soon about the strong constitution! I have been flattened by a stinking virus - probably what DS had last week. I feel dreadful. It started yesterday with awful tiredness and strong metallic taste in my mouth and nausea. So I thought my pregnancy symptoms had come back But it got much worse. Feeling a little better now, but not great...

My Dh has gone away for the weekend. Great timing. Man, I feel like we are having a streak of very bad luck.

Sorry for the whinge. Will be back later to read properly...

Re the sauna and sports - i conceived twice (and carried to term) while running marathons, training for it and doing quite a lot of sauna thing as well. When i started to experience mcs I tried stopping all that but i still miscarried etc. Now i run (far less as getting back into 60k a week habit is difficult when older) and do the sauna and generally all the other things i like (apart from eating wheat and sugar and cheese, but that mostly to maintain healthy weight rather than "pregnancy diet" even if it is suggested sometimes). I race down the ski pistes at 60km per hour in 2ww now, I would have never done so 3 years ago. I think the longer you are at it the more you give up on restrictions you might set yourself ttc.
Though, Grizzer, noisy bed/mother in house thing would be very offputting for me, too!

Put asterisks either side of the name to get bold Christmas if you scroll down to the bottom of the page you get all the symbols. I've heard that hot tubs aren't good if pg but I didn't know about TTC. I thought that the heat thing only applied to men's bits! I had acupuncture today though & she was asking me if I got hot in the night & said the whole heat thing was important to control. I'm splashing out this month & seeing her 3 times - today, ovulation & implantation. We're only trying until the summer so I figure it's worth trying everything I can.
Sorry AF arrived Mattsmama enjoy that glass (bottle?) of wine.
I'm cd 7 today so starting my stint of dtd with a bit more regularity. My ov always seems to be timed with my mum coming on a Sunday night (she looks after dd Monday & Tuesday) so the slightest bed creak sets me into a panic! 41 years old & I don't want my mum to know I dtd! Maybe that's why I'm having no luck......

Jass - I am 44 too. Feels like I am talking about someone else as I really don't feel 44 except when it comes to ttc : ( I am out for this month. AF arrived half hour ago and I am thoroughly pissed off. Was really hoping this would be my month.

Christmas - can I ask why you take coconut oil? Been reading lot about it just lately x

short post ladies off to have another weep and a big glass of red x

Lol Christmas I find dtd so often I have to think of other things coz it's really getting quite boring :)

Thanks, inshock. Hope the stress is manageable. I am going to try using more techniques like mindfulness- just living in the moment, concentrating 100% on what is going on at the present, avoiding distraction by memories or worries. If nothing else, this should improve my sex life! As it is, I am always thinking while DTD, "Did DS1 brush his teeth at all today? What's that noise outside? Did I put the cat out? Are the DCs bikes in the garden? Will the laptop be hacked? What can I do to get the kids to spend less time on Minecraft? Where is that missing plane?"

Christmas I asked my nurse at EPU about exercise and hot baths and she said moderate exercise is advised throughout ttc and hot baths are okay so long as you don't stay in so long you're light headed and pink when you get out :) so I guess that would probably rule out saunas as you're body has to work quite hard.

So I looked this up on the Internet and read that they both should be avoided during OV. Felt a bit guilty thinking I have wasted so much time and baby chances wallowing in hot water. But it really is my only time out, what with working, having DC already, three pets, a messy house and volunteer commitments. What do you all think about saunas and suchlike?

Exercise is great, though, so what was the connection? Then I had what Oprah would call a "lightbulb moment" and thought of the sauna and jaccuzzi, where I spend more time than I do exercising!

Posting smaller messages to avoid loss. CD2- doing all I did yesterday, plus taking a big solid spoonful of coconut oil every day.

Reflecting back on my last pg (summer 12=MC) and trying to think of what was different. Realised that I was taking a break from the gym, due to tight finances.

Just typed in an epic message and lost it all. This laptop came from Aldi- pre- recession, when they used to sell such things. Now it is old, like me. How do you get one anothers' names to appear in bold font? Actually, boldfont would be a cool user name. After I have the ChristmasBaby, I am going to change to boldfont.

Hello again ladies, haven't been on here for a few weeks thanks to being made redundant so been frantically job hunting, so much for reducing my stress levels!

Welome all the new ladies and huge 'Congrats' to Stow and Tigger, I love hearing a good story :)

And heartfelt sympathy for some of you other ladies x

I'm in the throws of the 2ww again, bizarrely this month I'm lacking the pms symptoms I normally get.....trying not to get too carried away.

Hey tigger that is an awesome story. Just wanted to add if anyone is considering what they are eating, that I too lost weight just before conceiving at 43 - I had just got my BMI into the healthy zone and was eating very healthily as well as doing lots of exercise. I was on myfitnesspal and I had seen a few times people getting pregnant as a non-scale result (can't remember the jargon they use there). I don't want to preach to anyone or add to pressure on people who are already doing their best but maybe it is useful info.

11dpo and bfn. looks like Agnus Castus sorted my lp, but changed my fertility. I have had less frequent chemicals on it. SHould I continue or stop? That is the question......i just feel like i do not want to bother.

WElcome to newcomers! I feel even on our thread with my 44 years I am getting among the oldest now. Not a problem really, I googled and found people unexpectedly pg in early fifties. What will be will be, anyhow!

Congratulations tigger, yours is such an uplifting story. Did the weight loss help by regulating ovulation?

squidgy, acupuncture works on sorting out "blockages" in the energy meridians in the body. I don't know if that makes a lot of sense, but I can tell you about my experience.

When I had my first appointment about 6 years ago, my acupuncurist (or TCMP - traditional Chinese Medicine practioner) told me that acupuncture doesn't work for everyone - some people feel nothing at all. For me, the first visit was amazing. As soon as she started putting the needles in, starting on my feet, I felt a rush of warmth travel up my body and an overwhelming sense of relaxation, to the point where I could barely speak. I was hooked!

The needles do not hurt, although sometimes she puts them into a spot that has a blockage and I'll feel a very quick sharp electric shock - so fast that it isn't really painful. Sometimes she says the point is too "strong" and will move the needle.

I keep going regularly because so much in my body has improved since I've been going. However I can't credit it all to acupuncture as I have changed a lot of other things too, like my diet.

Anyway, since doing acupuncture my periods are no longer painful. I had horrible cramping on the first day of my period, always had to take pain killers, but rarely do now. That may be down to growing older, but honestly, I noticed the change from when I started acupuncture. I think I also have a very strong constitution (she keeps telling me I have,anyway) because,despite a really full-on lifestyle - working full-time, large family, always very busy,and sometimes quite stressed, I tend not to get sick too often. I think the acupuncture helps by keeping everything in balance.

For ttc, acupuncture is credited with sorting out a lot of problems, whether they be hormonal, ovulatory etc. I read a really great book: The Infertility Cure by Randine Lewis, which suggests acupuncture will make all the difference, so I decided to take the plunge. I don't know if it made any difference. But I do know my mum was fully into menopause by the time she was 45, and I don't feel like I am yet at 47.

I also find that acupuncture is a form of mental therapy too. My TCMP is so kind and acts as a kind of counsellor too. I also get to lie still for at least 30 minutes and she even throws in some massage sometimes (she started out in the US as a massage practioner). So I come away feeling very relaxed, nutured and renewed. It is definitely worth the $35 I pay ($30 is covered by my health insurance).

Hi Ladies,
am going to join in the fitness kick, definitely have weight to lose.

FWIW, A friend in the US had twins with her first pregnancy aged 45. She was on clomid, but also said that acupuncture, chinese herbs and something called DHEA (usually only prescribed in the US helped.)

um I am interested in the theory behind acupuncture (helping ttc) as I have heard good things about that and reflexology. Would you mind sharing?