Self insemination - Any success stories?!

@Lori23TTC My DH didn't want cats either, but I found an ad, arranged a meeting, made him come along and we left with 2 instead of 1! They are wonderful companions, despite the reputation they have as being aloof. They helped with my anxiety massively. And, I'm a bit embarrassed to admit this, but I can be maternal with them, which fills a gap.

Wow I’ve just caught up I’ve not been on in a few days!

@eloiseislost your cats are beautiful! I’m desperate to get a cat but DH doesn’t want one sorry to hear AF got you 😞

I’m waiting to ovulate... I normally do on CD 17 or 18 but my temp went right up this morning so now I think my body might have ovulated as I’m getting all the other symptoms... wasn’t prepared for that as for the last 15 cycles I’ve only even ovulated early once! So we inseminated 3 days ago and tonight (not sure if that’s enough) I’ll have to see what my temp does over the next few days.

Hope everyone is well. And sorry everyone is still on this tough journey 😞 feel like I’m going slightly mad... I also check my nipples lol gave up trying to figure out what my cervix is doing as it always seems to be high! Xx

I've been in my job 5 years and started to hate it in the last year... only staying for the benefits and maternity so know how you feel @AdriannaP
Fingers crossed for you

@AdriannaP It's a tough situation when you don't like your job but don't have that many options -I've been there. You are correct, one step at a time! 6 months mat leave is not terrible and you may also qualify for SMP thereafter -though it's not much I suppose.
I hope you get your BFP this cycle, I'm keeping everything crossed for you! Keep us in the loop!

@MrsKin90 I had my first DC in a role with very little maternity pay and it's very hard. We are lucky that my DH is a higher earner and I had saved for over a year for maternity leave.

In this role I get a lot more maternity pay (6 months on full salary) so I need to stay for that. Unfortunately, the expectation is that I return to work asap - most of my colleagues are super career driver and return after 4-5months full time. I definitely would want to take the full year and then return part-time. I don't know yet if they would let me do that but I will cross that bridge when it comes to it.
Sore breasts have returned and so has my hope for a bfp.

Glad you love your new job @eloiseislost! 😊 Maternity pay is a bonus so that's positive.

@AdriannaP it must be hard not loving your job ☹️ but I think I'd also stay for maternity leave benefits if I wasn't happy because how do people survive without it?? I'm sorry your symptoms have gone but I'm sure that doesn't mean you won't get a bfp this cycle! It's still early.

I didn’t test today but I also don’t have any symptoms anymore 😔

@eloiseislost glad you like your new job.

I am really unhappy in mine but only staying now for paid maternity leave. I am due a promotion in January so if I am really pregnant I would not tell them until then. (One of my bosses - a woman - would not be keen on promoting me if she knows I am pregnant). Shouldn’t be too hard to hide as we are all working from home right now.

@MrsKin90 Honestly, I knew I wasn't pregnant so I am happy another cycle has begun! I'm trying to see the positives to stay sane. For example, if I had gotten pregnant this cycle, I would not get full maternity pay from my new job!
I love the new job by the way, so that's really nice. I am caught up with the open caseload and I will start seeing patients from Thursday, looking forward to that.
Good night everyone!

@AdriannaP sending you lots of willpower as I have loads when it comes to testing usually! I have zero when it comes to chocolate 🙄 if you're good with chocolate if be happy to swap!!

@eloiseislost so sorry AF got you. Fingers crossed for cycle 3! Time for lots of self care for the next few days 😊

@MrsKin90 Thanks, AF showed up while I was driving home this evening, half an hour away from home!! It literally came out of nowhere, didn't have any of the normal symptoms I get. Probably the supplements have improved my PMS -silver linings!
Ready for cycle #3 now.

I really have no willpower 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️
Will not pee on another test tomorrow I promise!!

@AdriannaP oh bless you. We all love a bit of torture! I hope it's the start of your bfp!!

Because I like torture myself and also spend £££ on sticks, I bought two FRERs this afternoon. Peed on one this afternoon, think I can see a tiny faint line - not 100% sure though. So none the wiser of course.

Will test again in two days if I have the willpower to wait until then.

@bigsweetpotato aww it's nice to have crazy company!! 😂

@eloiseislost I would probably agree with FF however there's a chance it could have happened on 4dpo based on your temps but your OPKs and CM suggest FF is correct. Do you have your weekly RHR chart for the first week of your tww? 😊 Easier to see on the weekly view than the monthly or anything.

OK, lunchtime and still no AF! I'm occasionally feeling as though she's here, ran to the loo but false alarm. Boobs don't feel as sore as they normally do before AF and I have slight twinges in my right ovary which I do before AF but they are usually much stronger. Can anyone have a look at my chart and tell me if there's a chance I ovulated later than FF thinks? I don't want to do ANOTHER test today, I've spent so much this month on BFNs…

Lol @MrsKin90 that is hilarious, I do the nipple checking thing too!!
Good luck @AdriannaP and @eloiseislost !!

@eloiseislost that's a good sign that there's no AF for you yet. You were up incredibly early! I hope your first day in the new job goes well! glad someone else is obsessed with their nipples 😂😂 Although I'm sure I read they don't even change until further into a pregnancy! Let us know if you test! 🤞🤞

@AdriannaP Just because you have a lovely child already doesn't make your frustration and sadness any less strong or any less valid! And people who might imply otherwise can just screw off. Everyone has their own journeys and you really can't compare them. ❤️ Those pregnancy symptoms must be a good sign, I wouldn't worry about the BFN as you're still a little way off! 😊🤞

I will say that the longer this takes the more I wish for twins 😂 get both out of the way at once! I very specifically request from the universe non-identical boy/girl twins (just in case some sort of higher power is listening and happy to hear my demands 😆). 7dpo for me! Slight dip in BBT, increase in RHR and a very aching sore back.. probably unrelated!

@MrsKin90 @eloiseislost
thank you both so much for your kind words. I know I am very lucky to have a beautiful child already and she truly brings us so much joy. but the longing for a second child is there. We have space in our hearts and house!
The nipple checking made me laugh.

I have pregnancy symptoms since yesterday - metallic taste in mouth and sore breasts. Tested this morning but came back negative. I have to say that I went to the bathroom twice during the night so maybe morning urine wasn't that strong. AF is also not due until Saturday. So let's see - the waiting game has began! Will try and stay strong and not test until Thursday or Friday.

@MrsKin90 I do the same, nipple checks every hour! Bring the craziness on, that's why we're here!
13DPO today and no sign of AF yet. My last luteal phase was 12 days so I'm still within my norm and the day is young.
I am starting a new job today, which involves a 1-hour commute, which is a big change from my previous 8-minute commute! But, hey, at least I'm a 'specialist' apparently!
I kind of want AF to come so I can start again, as I got so many BFNs this cycle, last one on an IC at 11DPO. I have a plan for my next cycle: vaginal temps, SMEP, yoga in the morning, less carbs. The last two will probably be replaced by Netflix and pizza though.

@Oilyoilyoilgob your ‘I wish I’d started earlier’ is me all over. All I keep thinking now is why did I wait so long after my miscarriage. I knew my head wasn’t in the right place but also I think because I had fallen pregnant without trying I just assumed I could fall again easily. How wrong I was and what an idiot for thinking it. I often think now maybe that time two years ago was my one chance and I’ll never see the positive test again.

Got AF today as well so feeling the disappointment as usual.

@eloiseislost your cats are gorgeous we sadly lost our cat this year and were so devastated. We have a dog as well who I actually rescued after my miscarriage and she is def my child

Sending you all positive vibes. My OH have just started some supplements so hoping it helps him get super sperm soon

@Oilyoilyoilgob how did you get on at the vets? Hope your cat is okay! Ours kept waking us up in the night 😴 shattered today.
@AdriannaP you are a much stronger person than I can ever imagine being! I think it's really lovely you've kept all those baby things. They must hold lots of precious memories to you and hopefully a reminder that a healthy pregnancy and baby is absolutely possible and you will get there ❤️ It must be so hard with everyone you work with getting pregnant as well. I can't imagine everything you've been through but understand that part. I'm one of the only of my friendship group without any children, and my brothers and their partners all conceived easily, my parents conceived easily as did my husband's parents and I just feel like none of them can even remotely comprehend why we haven't had one yet.

I am 6dpo today and giving fair warning I'm going to be a nightmare for the next 8-9 days. I've already entered my 'nipple checking phase' 😂 where, I kid you not, I whip out my nipples periodically and look at them to see if they look or feel any different. I only do this at home of course, but it's no less crazy. And I usually don't do this odd thing until closer to the end of the tww!! 🤦 Goodluck to you all putting up with me (and for your BFPs of course!).

I'm so sorry for what you are going though @AdriannaP I struggle to find anything to say or any advice to give you. In terms of the baby stuff, I think that if you had truly given up hope, you would have given them away. I think the fact that you have kept them means that while it's heartbreaking to look at them, they also represent the hope that you will need them again soon. I'm so sorry about your MCs, I can't even imagine the emotional and physical pain. But you made a healthy DC before and you can do it again. You are not a failure, look at what you've done so far, look at what you have endured and you are still strong enough to be a good, caring mother and wife.

I have my fingers crossed for you for tomorrow! Baby dust and virtual hugs 🧚🏼‍♀️

Omg these cats are the cutest.

I really feel you all with rooms and looking at houses. It's all so hard.
I have one DC (5) and I kept all her baby stuff - so my garage and loft are full with pram, car seats, cots, travel cot, baby clothes, maternity clothes, changing table. Every time I look at all those things my heart breaks. The earliest I would use them now is next summer - I have kept everything for so long. I don't know if it's worth doing or if I should just give it all away. (or would that be even worse?)
My husband doesn't feel this way, but for me looking at all this stuff that is filling up our storage is just so heart breaking. (I had two MC - one last summer, one this summer)

Our DC also constantly asks for a sibling, complains that she has no children to play with. Every holiday or day out she asks for someone else to play with. It makes me feel like such a failure. we now book holidays with kids clubs (of course not possible with COVID now) so she had time with other children.

In the last two years, three of my work colleagues were also pregnant and on mat leave (we are a very small team too). and of course all my friends have had their second and sometimes third already.

I had a very difficult and traumatic childhood and I thought my adult life was good and happy. Now for the last years, I feel like I have entered a new ongoing struggle which has led to depression, sadness and feeling like a failure. I am so scared I won't be able to have a second child and ahve this feeling for the rest of my life.

Testing tomorrow morning when I am 12DPO - have your fingers crossed for me.

@Oilyoilyoilgob I'm sorry to hear about your cat! It's always heartbreaking when they're unwell, isn't it? My cat has heaps of health issues. Last year, part his pancreas literally exploded and messed up his intestines. He is doing much better now but needs constant attention and supplements… A bit like me!
I hope it goes well at the vet. Cats are proper fighters, 9 lives and all!