TTC FIRST BABY - THREAD 10!

@Scotslass55 so pleased for you and lol'd at the thought of DTD to the sound of music!
@cupcakesandglitter what a mindfunk! What's your plan now? Wait a bit longer? I bet the not knowing either way is just the worst, so I'm really sorry you are in this limbo xx

@MrsEG @EltzBee congratulations! FX for sticky beans ❤️

@cupcakesandglitter I’m keeping my FX for a BFP. You emotions must be all over the place you poor thing.

Christmas was okay, ate lots of food and saw family. Got some lovely gifts from my DP. Boxing Day I was really wiped so we stayed home. Came down some sort of bug Boxing Day evening, vomited once and very gassy. Horrid. Yesterday I stayed in bed. Today I’m better and nausea is much less. Haven’t eaten yet so DP is currently cooking me some rice. It’s all very weird. Haven’t seen anyone how is/was unwell and DP is fine so far! AF finished yesterday (only 4 days in total so short for me). So countdown to fertile window time xx

Thanks all. That’s helpful. We’ve made up now and DTD this afternoon - joys of the Christmas holidays - with the Sound Of Music blaring through the house as an accompaniment!! 😂😂 reckon I’m due to ovulate any day now so need to make the most of it!

@Scottslass55 I get EWCM and sharp cramps on one side.

@cupcakesandglitter sorry for BFN, maybe you just need to give it another couple of days for the hormone levels to increase? Sounds like you have promising symptoms.

I’m CD10 now so into fertile week and we’re dtd every 2 days. OPK today was clearly negative as expected. I worry though that because I drink so much water it will be harder for me to get a proper positive. The CB one is with FMU isn’t it? Maybe I should try that, sounds like it could be better for me, I can’t drink constantly while I’m sleeping!

Thanks @KatBeCool - it seems it is possible.

Just hoping they can do something more permanent with my left

Well cycle 2 can now official start! AF has left the building!
How is everyone? Good Xmas? X

Hey @sunshine1987 thanks, I had EWCM on CD17 which means the latest I am is 15DPO. Annoying that this month was the one month I didn't log anything at all, I know I had cramping too but just can't remember when 😩 xx

@cupcakesandglitter just came on to see how you were getting on. Sorry you’re stuck in limbo, how many DPO do you think you are? xx

Well AF is due in 1 week, and I've developed what's become normal in the last couple of cycles which is sore boobs for a week before AF, so it's bang on time again this month. So am thinking I'll be out next week 😥

@MrsLBear @Scotslass55 I've had watery Cm for about a week and I'm pretty sure I've already ovulated, I also had EWCM last week too - it's so irritating but apparently super normal! X

Hey @MrsLBear thanks for thinking of me ❤️ I've been off here too, I've been quite upset over not knowing what's going on.. CD32 now, the longest cycle I had was CD38 when my cycles were irregular but I thought they were starting to settle again 🤷🏻‍♀️ did a FRER this morning and I swore I saw a line as the pee went across, but it faded out as soon as the control line came up which was weird. Gonna wait for daylight and have a look at it to see, wouldn't be surprised if it's a BFN though. My nipples are definitely bigger and they've been sore every day now for almost a week which isn't like me at all. Stuck in limbo 😩 did you have a good Boxing Day? Xx

@Scotslass55 I never really noticed my o symptoms apart from ewcm and I also get the watery type. But this month I really had cramping almost af like but not so heavy and drawn down if that makes any sense. I also has ewcm for a few days leading up to it. Maybe like 5 and then the watery kind right before. I also think I got a sharp pain in the night when I think o actually happened. I do remember having this months back and I remember the day weirdly and when I look back it was probably o then too.
But like some of the other girls have said you can get ewcm before during and after o. I've had the watery type again after o and I know I 100% did o before as I did OPKs and my temp went up. Our bodies are so helpful....... not.

@MrsEG so happy for you! Must be so amazing to get that word coming up!!

I agree with you @DuchessofPemberley I find temping really useful. Even though I use OPKs it's nice to see the temp rise to prove that o has happened as I find OPKs a bit frustrating.

@KatBeCool I had the opposite to you. My IC never gave me a strong positive but I got my static smiley on my cb which I found so much easier to use and then I just used ICs until I could see there clearly wasn't much of a second line anymore. And that tied in with my temps. I'm not a stickler for the rules so I would assume an OPK is positive when it has a near strong second line when really it needs to be stronger (I convince myself of these things). I do think it's so different for everyone. Also took me months to get into temping I used to find it such a chore though now I'm borderline obsessed with what my temperature is doing.

How you getting on @cupcakesandglitter been thinking of you. I've been off since Boxing Day as I was travelling for 24hours (so long!!).

I'm now 11dpo and yday I had no af like cramps for the first time since maybe 4dpo but this morning I really felt like she was coming. Nothing yet. I haven't got any symptoms whatsoever so I'm pretty certain I'm out. My back is killing me but I always get the after flying as I try and turn myself into a pretzel whilst finding a "comfortable" way to sleep as a sardine.

@DuchessofPemberley I missed the surge with opks this month too! Used a cheapie with fmu, wasn't anywhere near positive, used another one in the afternoon, it was almost positive, couldn't test again until the next morning, and it was a negative by then. Had I relied only on CB and used fmu like it suggests, I would've missed it entirely. Temping and twinges confirmed it.

@Scotslass55 it varies for everyone. Ewcm is usually a good indicator of a range of days surrounding the ovulation. Most women don't feel the actual ovulation as it's happening. I feel slight twinges, but if you don't know what you're looking for, you're likely to miss it. Some women get pains, some even spotting or bleeding. Most symptoms, other than ewcm, tend to occur after the ovulation due to rising progesterone - being windy 🍃, sore boobs, extreme hunger, feeling warmer, migraines or headaches, stuffy nose, etc. If you do get ewcm, that would be helpful to you, some women don't. That's why opks and temping exist :)

Could some kind person remind me what the signs of ovulation are if I’m not temping/ charting/ using OPKs? Just doing the BD!

I have to say I am finding temping great. Sometimes I catch ovulation on OPKs, sometimes I don’t (I won’t go on another Clearblue rant, I promise! ). This month I didn’t catch it in the OPK but because I was temping and recording it on the Fertility Friend app it confirmed I ovulated.

I like recording because it makes me feel more in control - it’s not for everyone though, and can add to the stress.

@KatBeCool there's no reason you can't use them of course, but what I mean is a GP isn't going to recommend you use them, since the majority of couples (if the woman is under 40) will conceive within a year if regular cycles - it's around 80% I think. And that's by having sex every 2-3 days.
I just prefer to know what my cycles are doing and get to know my body by charting!

So I just read an interesting piece... Some scientists believe that if one fallopian tube is blocked, the other one can "travel" or stretch to the other side to grab the egg. I don't know how much truth is behind that but maybe it does happen. @ValidUser you might find that encouraging.

Hi all just lurking and second time posting.
Dtd during ovulation and waiting for af to arrive 1.1.19 - been having various symptoms, cm, left pelvic cramps, nausea, horrendous migraines and headaches and dizziness. Really hoping for a bfp as this is our 7th cycle.

@thosethreewordsmy my gp said that as long as opks work for me, I can use them. They don't work for everyone which is why they don't encourage using them. I wouldn't rely ONLY on opks though. This is mainly because if you get a positive you stop testing, but you may not ovulate and would get another positive later in your cycle but you wouldn't know since you weren't testing and miss it. Temping in conjunction with opks is more reliable, especially if you don't feel when you ovulate.

@Babytrain89 yep you are right. The NHS/ GPs actually don't encourage using fertility monitoring/ OPKs and temping because it isn't meant to increase chances of conception and adds stress... doesn't stop me though 😂

As I say...that's just the NHS advice on their web page. Sure there are lots of different plans. I'm not using any OPKs or anything yet, no doubt I have lots to learn just sharing what I knew. :)

@Babytrain89 following the smep plan, you DTD everyday for 3 days after positive opk. I think some studies show reduced sperm number and motility if you DTD everyday for too long. But the difference is marginal unless there's already an underlying issue.

@Random2468 @thosethreewords The NHS recommends every other day throughout your cycle....Maybe more than that reduces the sperm quality?

I imagine the more times you DTD in the FW the more likely you are to conceive but only upto a point as we know that sperm quality deteriorates with frequent ejaculation. I don't know what the figures would be though!