Preconception planning - anyone want to join?

@Lollipop87 bloody amen to that! Today I literally thought how hideous it would be good be pregnant in this heat whilst mowing the lawn lol! Also my god daughter was born
In the summer a couple of years ago and all the outfits people had bought for her just never got worn she just lived in a nappy love her as she was so warm! I’m sure whenever we all have our due dates we will be so happy but crickey let’s hope none of us give birth during temperatures like today! X

@mackjm20 yes although I’m rethinking a summer baby after this heatwave, can you imagine giving birth in this heat?! My friend says hospitals are boiling enough in winter let alone summer!

@butterfly5291 glad the MRI is done even if it was a bit of a horrible experience. Fingers crossed your results are either good or show something that is minor and can be easily sorted.

@JamesZebra it is good to chat on here isn’t it. Crossing my fingers for you and hoping you’re managing to do something to take your mind off it

@JamesZebra it wasn’t at all! I am exactly the same and this is the perfect place to get it all out with people who are in similar scenarios :) when do you think you will test? It’s so good that your DP is great :) I think a lot of other halves are supportive but just don’t want to chat about it in the same depth as we do! Xx

@mackjm20 thank you- sorry that post was a long waffle but sometimes just writing stuff down and getting it out of your head really helps you to be a bit more rational. Whilst my DP is great he doesn't want to talk about that kind of thing so having you guys who totally get it has been a life saver!

@butterfly5291 glad to hear you had your mri. Sorry to hear it was such an unpleasant experience.

I’ve definitely noticed myself advance thinking whether I might be pregnant when booking things that’s for sure :) it’s hard though as sometimes I feel silly as might take ages.

@JamesZebra ah I’m keeping everything crossed for you. They all sound good signs but I know what you mean about not wanting to get excited. Well done for staying strong and not testing I’m dreading the tww when we start as I know I’ll be wanting to test constantly. I am so sorry to hear about your previous ectopic xxx

@butterfly5291 I like blaming covid for stuff too. MRI's are so scary and loud. Well done for getting through it.

My brain is playing really mean tricks on me this month. The past 2 days I have had really weird cramping/twinges. Not painful but noticeable. It has gone this morning and I had a small amount of spotting - I would love to get carried away and think this was implantation but I quite often get spotting in the run up to my period and I have Inflammatory bowel disease so cramps and twinges are all quite normal for me in my lower abdomen - my brain on the other hand is like "THIS IS ITTTTTT" i would have been roughly 8/9 dpo so I guess it could be something.....but I am trying really hard not to get my hopes up and be realistic.
Also had horrible gas and bloating but it does seem to have subsided a little today - again this is more likely down to my long term problems. I have stopped myself from doing a test - I have 2 tracking apps and one is saying AF is due Friday, the other says Sunday which is frustrating. lastly my dreams have gone CRAZY. the stuff I am dreaming about it utterly bizarre.
I have had months like this before where I have convinced myself that I have all the symptoms and then I get BFN so I just need to get a grip really because it is so disappointing when your period arrives and DP doesn't get it at all.
I also need to be super careful if by some miracle I am as I had an ectopic before and that genuinely scares the life out of me, it was one of the worst experiences I have ever been through. Time seems to be going so slowly at the moment

We're meant to be going on 6th Sept and AF is due that day....so I'll hopefully know if I am pregnant Bor not. But...they need to book in advance so I won't know until a day or two before. Basically it's all Covids fault!

@butterfly5291 - do you mean during your TWW or once you might have found out you're pregnant? If the latter, I'm definitely thinking of situations like that as a win-win (got a couple coming up myself!) :if im pregnant, then yay! And if I'm not, then I get to enjoy this fun thing!

If it's during your TWW, then yeah, that's a bit more difficult - personally, unless the activity was really quite high risk, I'd just try to go for it. As you say, can't put life on hold indefinitely!

Fingers crossed that the scan result is what you want it to be.

Good morning everyone...I had my MRI yesterday. It was horrible had to put ear plugs in then padding around my head. Lie on a bed with support around the head and then they put a lid on it so my head was totally enclosed. Then put me in the tube for 30 min. I should get the results in a couple of days.

I asked my midwife friend about rubella immunisation... she said they don't even check if your immune when they do your bloods now when you are pregnant because the risk is so small.

I've found that even TTC is causing me to make changes and think differently. We watched to book to go to Alton towers in a few weeks, but it's after my next tww so there is a chance I'll be pregnant. They advise no pregnant women to go on rides, even though I'd only be a couple of weeks pregnant I now feel uncomfortable about booking it but on the other hand there's such a small chance of me actually being pregnant and I'm just going to miss out on the fun! I can't put my life on hold but at the same time I can't unknow what I know.

@Lollipop87 I might give mine a call back then as she literally just checked my notes and said you’ve had the vaccine. So could find myself in the same predicament.

Oh no What a nightmare! Atleast you are all planned and ready for November worst case :) if you got a Positive I’m november would still be a summer arrival :)

Just dug our my potnatal notes from DD, "rubella status: not recorded"??? guess I'll ask for that to be added to the blood test I'm supposed to be having it I feel like I'd have been told if I wasn't immune?

@mackjm20 yeah my doctor said it was a good idea even though I’d had the immunisations when I was at school. Phoned up this morning and managed to get dose 1 of the immunisation after work today, but I do have to have a second dose in 4 weeks time. So September TTC is definitely off the cards. The other annoying thing is that my Menorca holiday may still be happening (my mum’s insurer gave different advice and as she’d paid the deposit she did what they said) - so if I do end up going to Menorca then I can’t have the second dose until I get back around 21st and then you have to wait 4 weeks to TTC as it’s a live vaccine. Meaning I could even have to miss my October fertile window and not start until November! All slightly annoying considering I was thinking of suggesting NTNP from this month! Serves me right for being such a planner, something was bound to trip me up 😂

Oh yes @butterfly5291 let us know how your MRI went and @JamesZebra keeping my fingers crossed for you!!

@sunflowersaremyfav93 glad someone else has an iPhone note too for names :)

@butterfly5291 hope today’s scan went well?

@Pebbleinthesand I always write my replies in notes first as so difficult to catch up with everyone otherwise lol

@Lollipop87 sorry to hear you weren’t immune and this has now moved timings for ttc- did your gp suggest the blood test? I only ask as when I called to check they just checked my records and said I had the vaccine in the past now I’m wondering if I’m actually immune? Hope you managed to get it all booked in today?

@queenatom your weekend sounds amazing :)! Hope you had the best time :)

@JamesZebra I’m keeping everything crossed for you I would be exactly the same wanting to test really hope you get a positive result.

All the advice on opks is really good. Ideally going to try and do without initially but so interesting for if/ when we start using them. Good luck to everyone that is using that method :)

Thank god monday is over! I had a sudden panic today that technically we could be starting NPNT in 3 weeks and I totally freaked out! Now considering pushing back to end of September... I’m always either super impatient or terrified! X

@sunflowersaremyfav93 - I think @wrensandrobins has given a pretty good summary, only thing I’d add is that for the first cycle or two I might start testing a little earlier than CD10 if you have no idea when you ovulate. I have been testing since CD6 (just once a day for now!)

@wrens - I also bought a second hand copy, started reading and then put it away as it was just too much information, even for me! Very interesting but a lot to digest. I may come back to it in a month or two.

@sunflowersaremyfav93

I really recommend the Premom app, you can use it to scan your ovulation tests and it gives them a score!

As you can see mine are all over the place but low at the moment- but I have no idea where I am in my cycle due to coming off the pill two weeks ago and it being about 6 weeks since my last 'period'

I got a copy of 'taking charge of your fertility' second hand

Should keep me going for a while! It's huge!

Has anyone read it? I'm interested in natural contraception after this TTC, as I'm convinced that hormonal contraceptives are messing with me! My sex drive has shot up massively since coming off the pill only two weeks ago!

Also 'the bible' says that once you have ovulated the chances of getting pregnant are lower so for the best chance you want to be having sex in the 5 days prior to ovulating, which is where it is useful to have a few cycles under your belt to understand your cycle a bit more. Start having sex as soon as you get the EWM

If you are temping you should see the temp go up with your LH levels which will mean you definitely are ovulating.

@sunflowersaremyfav93 i think they say to start from day 10-13

My understanding is that you do them daily, in the afternoon, when the test line is darker than the control line that is peak- which means you should ovulate in the next 24-48 hrs... so as you start to see it get darker do more tests eg in the morning too, the window can be about 5 hrs so you could miss your peak if you only use once a day.

Just to say that a peak doesn't show ovulation, it shows that the LH hormone has risen, which triggers ovulation so it is possible to have a peak lh test and not ovulate.

@Nate1 I used to be pretty active (dance classes and cycling) buuuut I DD happened  need to ride my bike more and I have more reason to now as I hate wearing a mask and using public transport atm. I tried to eat avocado, hated it, I always get people telling me to eat it and nuts too (allergic). Need to fine something good and fatty that I like, why isn't cake better for you?

@Lollipop87 when the person doing the blood test sees me start panicking they go run and find the most experienced person  still awful for me though. I guess I should ask them about testing for rubella immunity/check my maternity notes... good that you found out. I refused to have the whooping cough and flu vaccines offered while pregnant because I'm that bad with needles, trying to be better but it's like sticking you hand in a box with a spider for an arachnophobic

@wrensandrobins I'm very impressed about you sewing nappies! I meant to try but didn't get round to it and DD was out of nappies annoyingly early

Baby names wise we had a bit and a girl name so I'm kinda hoping we have a boy so we don't need to figure out another girl name! I love Cosima but DP vetoed it. Don't forget initials, DD and DP have the same initials (he's v happy about that) and DNiece has v similar too. DD has a double barrelled surname so we want shorter first names which is somewhat limiting.

@queenatom that sounds like bliss!!! I need something like that!

@wrensandrobins i am so impatient. I keep getting cramps and hoping its a good sign but I have Inflammatory bowel disease so its most likely that my brain is such a d**k for making me believe that I might be. Just keeping everything crossed, we have been without contraception for such a long time now that I just want it to happen. Would be lovely if it did happen this month, we had such a brilliant time together over my fertile period and would be nice to know it happened then when we were all loved up like giddy teenagers.

Hold tight, @JamesZebra - almost certainly too early to get a result just yet!

I had a lovely weekend, we were away overnight on Saturday so spent the day lounging by a pool, drinking nice wine and eating delicious food on a sunny terrace. It was like a little mini-holiday, just what the doctor ordered!

@JamesZebra I think it's a little too soon, you are likely to either get a squinter which will leave you paranoid or potentially a false negative. Must be hard though! I know I would be tempted too!

How has everyones weekend been?

I am due on on Friday so I am wondering if it is too soon to do a test. I am desperate to know one way or another and trying to not get my hopes up!