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Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

Original poster

TTC baby no.1- totally have this sussed right?.. wrong!

62 replies

Lellis92 · 09/01/2020 22:53

Hi everyone, totally new to this but feeling a bit confused and hoping to find some people in the same boat!
Aged 28, current mama to only fur babies 🐶🐶TTC baby no.1

So we are due to get married in May and have been holding out for a year til an acceptable time to start trying for a baby as we are both desperate, held off til now as we thought on off chance it happened first time I wouldn’t be too far gone by the wedding... have been using OPK for the last 6 months and an app to try and get an idea of my cycle, average 30 days with positive ovulation tests so far always on days 14 or 15 .. totally Sussed my cycle right?? WRONG!
First month of trying currently on day 16 and no positive ovulation tests .... whats going on?!
Worried I’m not ovulating or something’s gone wrong somewhere - anyone had similar experiences or in the same boat starting the journey?
Get involved please 😘

OP posts:
Nmew · 20/01/2020 21:42

@Lellis92 it’s my second cycle ttc, I was hoping to wait until af was due to test but I’m not sure I can stand to wait lol I have some cheapie tests I could use in the mean time, Save the good ones for later! I’m totally the same reading all the threads and googling things! It’s an addiction lol

I just used the cheap opks the first month and the Premom app since it lets you take a photo and tells you if the opk is low high or peak. But I still found it kind of confusing so I started to track bbt this month and feel more aware of what’s going on! Though if I don’t conceive after a few more months I float try the cb ones

Balbaby · 20/01/2020 19:46

IThat's exactly how I felt, that I was guessing and your mind does end up playing tricks on you with the colour of the lines! I'm glad that I did get the digital one too, as my peak has shown a lot earlier than I would have thought going by the apps etc so probably would have missed it. DTD cd 8 & 10, which was every other day from when flashing smiley appeared. static smiley started this morning so will cover ourselves by doing next two days too so fingers crossed. Will then mean testing around 6th of feb... although I'll probably cave and do an early one.

When are you due to test? Are you being home sensible and waiting till your af is due or are you planning on doing it slightly earlier? :)

Original poster
Lellis92 · 20/01/2020 18:27

@Nmew I’ve really tried to not symptom spot but they’ve been so obvious I think if their not pregnancy symptoms I’m going to be really concerned of what on earth is going on!
what month of TTC are you on?
But totally agree it’s so so hard to relax during this awful 2 weeks I’m constantly reading all these threads looking for similarities - are you going to wait to see if af arrives or test before?

@Balbaby of course- welcome!
I’m so happy to get as many different perspectives as I can and it’s nice to chat and get it all out as I think my OH just switches off when I talk about all this haha!
Wow that’s crazy- I can’t speak from experience about the pill as I’ve not been on it for over a year but hopefully now that period has shown up it might help you track your cycle so you feel abit more in control of the whole TTC if there is such a thing as having any control!
Ahh I’ve never used the cheap opk simply because I don’t like the whole guessing thing of whether the lines are dark enough to show ovulation etc I’ve always used the CB ovulation sticks which pick up the two most fertile days and you get a solid smiley face - I instantly get so happy when I see that smiley 😊
Did you DTD on the day you had the smiley and the day after?
I definitely favour the clear blue tests tbh just because I feel like TTC is enough of a minefield without having to play a guessing game with opk aswell but that’s just my personal preference really.
X

OP posts:
Balbaby · 20/01/2020 17:09

Hi ladies, I'll join you if ok? :) TTC first baby and on first proper cycle.

Came off the pill in October and had withdrawal bleed, then nothing until my first proper period which started on 8th Jan - nearly 3 months later! I also use a few of the fertility apps, but its hard for them to accurately predict because i hadn't had a proper cycle since coming off the pill to know how long they are. We knew it was a long shot falling before having a period but you hear all these miracle stories, you cant help but get your hopes up a bit!

Although I was using the cheapy OPKs during that time but I found them inconsistent..some days they would be dark and then get light again and then literally the day after be darker... I just assumed it was my hormones getting back to normal after 10 years plus on the pill. They obviously wasn't doing the trick as now I know I wouldn't have ovulated until late December, by which case I lost a bit of hope and stopped testing.

I have now bought the clearblue digital ovulation test so would be interested to know @Lellis92 and anyone else's experience with them. Started testing this month on CD 7 as soon as my AF stopped, it was a negative circle, then had the flashing smiley on CD8-11. Today is CD 12 and this morning I had my static smiley face.. so heres hoping I am about to ovulate.

Would be interested to know other people's thoughts on strip opks v clearblue digital?

Nmew · 20/01/2020 16:33

@Lellis92 Symptom wise I feel like I’ve had some weird cramping pains and have the sorest nipples lol Those are really only the past 2 days. Other than that nothing much else I can think of. Last cycle trying I thought I had every symptom under the sun so I’m trying not to overthink it this time, easier said than done though.

I’ve been temping this month too and I’m still above my cover line which is supposedly a good sign.. but who knows!

Original poster
Lellis92 · 20/01/2020 13:05

@Nmew totally agree! That’s what I feel too, although I did eventually get a positive opk 2 days later than expected so that was reassuring - I’m on 9dpo also desperately trying to put myself off testing til atleast Thursday but I’ve had so many symptoms!! Have you had any?

@Sammyclaire22 oh really well at least you kinda have more of an idea of what’s happening now and what your cycle is like so that’s helpful - I tend to do opk just for that reassurance that my body is actually doing what it’s meant to (which always shocks me) because I’m always the one in the statistics that does things differently haha!
I feel better now I think I just had a panic moment when things weren’t as on track as I’d thought
Thanks for replying both!
X

OP posts:
Sammyclaire22 · 20/01/2020 12:20

I always thought I had really regular cycles- didn't vary much in length bar a day or two and got ov pains right on app target. However since using opks and bbt I've found the last 2 month's I've actually ovulated nearer cd10 rather than cd14. This month I got highs, almost peaks then lows then my actual peak and previous months had highs for a week before and after my peak! But the bbt has made it easier to pinpoint exactly when I've ov so I can start to see more of a pattern. I've also found cm to be more reliable than opks. Varying by a couple of days is normal though x

Nmew · 20/01/2020 11:43

My and DH are ttc our first, I have always had super regular AF and I swear as soon as we decided to actively try my cycles started getting weird! I feel my maybe I’m subconsciously just stressing about it and making my cycles mess up which is just so frustrating.
I’m currently in the tww, only 9dpo so too early to test yet despite how much I want to lol

Original poster
Lellis92 · 10/01/2020 08:59

Is anyone else TTC their first- please jump on to this conversation- be nice to hear more experiences!

OP posts:
Original poster
Lellis92 · 10/01/2020 08:42

@Ele38 thanks for replying! Oh really? Yeah I think maybe I should get some cheap ones so I can test more often but I think because I’ve used the digital ones and got a smiley face exactly when my app predicted for the last 5 months I just assumed I had it sussed and every month would be the same ... Iv had some symptoms of ovulation I always get cramps but they’ve lasted longer than usual - who knows! We have been dtd every other day so I’m hoping we’ve not missed it if I have already ovulated - congratulations!!!!
Thankyou, I guess I just need to realise my body does what it wants and I’m not in control this time haha!
@JadH08 I have the natural cycles app which kinda does the same but Iv always had a positive ovulation test to confirm which kinda made me feel like everything was normal and I was in control a bit, but no surprise the first month of trying that’s gone out the window! I guess by just dtd every other day I could still conceive without the ovulation tests but hoping next month i go back to normal a little bit- congratulations!!!
Thanks so much - stress is the enemy isn’t it lol so I’m trying to stay level headed and relaxed - really appreciate your reply! X

OP posts:
JadH08 · 09/01/2020 23:09

Don't worry too much about the ovulation test, I never did one! I just used the Ovia app which basically tracks your period and tells you when to do the deed! It gives you a 5 day window and what percentage of chance you have of conceiving on that day. I was 29 and got pregnant on the 4th month of trying - we now have a 3 month old :)

Good luck it's an exciting time! Try not to stress too much. Easier said than done, I know.

Ele38 · 09/01/2020 23:06

Hi it's normal not to ovulate the same time every month, I used to just go by when the apps predicted I was ovulating for 3 months, then I started using opks and the first month I ovulated nearly a week later later than normal, the following month a lot earlier, so I started testing day after period ended with internet cheapies once a day then when they were getting a bit darker I tested twice a day once around 11am then around 6pm I tested twice a day as I wasn't like a lot of ladies who gets positive opks for a few days if I had a positive in morning by the time I tested in the evening it wasn't positive anymore and I didn't want to miss it, when I got my positive dtd that day and next 3 days as once you get a positive you normally ovulate 12-36 hours later, I am now 23 weeks pregnant. Wishing you all the best. X