Preconception planning - anyone want to join?

@stepmumSW5 that's interesting! I used to have serious issues with sleep and a colleague gave me one sachet of that to try, I am still yet to try it!

@JamesZebra are you waking up in the middle of the night? Maybe you could try lavender? That's supposed to help with relaxation.
One thing I found that really used to help me (my issue was falling asleep in the first place, sometimes this wasn't until 2/3am and then I'm up 7am so felt shattered), when I feel I cant sleep, I would put vicks on my nose and head (the burning sensation makes me feel sleepy) and I used to have an app on my phone to listen to calming music (my fave was the sound of rain) and I found that it helped me to fall sleep quicker than normal.

The worst thing is when my OH falls asleep before me and then he snores. Then I'm doomed.

@JamesZebra I drink the Pukka Nighttime every night about 1h before bed. It gives me time to drink it and pee it before actually falling asleep. It helps put myself in a state of relaxation. Some people take melatonin but I don't know if that's good for when trying to conceive.

@CookieMonster3001 awww lots to look forward to this weekend then!

My kids are about to go out for a bit so I think I will do my yoga once they have gone. I haven't done any in ages so would rather not have an audience

Slightly unrelated but does anyone have any tips for sleeping? My sleep has been terrible lately, i wake up feeling rubbish every morning. Not sure why and I am constantly tired. I am taking my supplements which I thought would help with energy levels but I feel like a zombie until after lunch. Just wondering if anyone else had experienced this and had any tips?

@wrensandrobins oh that sounds interesting!! Is it a certain amount of calcium? I drink quite a bit of milk... wonder if that helps?!How exciting that you are off the pill! Luckily for me, when I came off the pill, my cycles pretty much went back to normal, except they were a hell of a lot shorter. Sometimes my period can be 1 or 2 days. Most of the time they are 3. I decided to come off it to not only give my body a huge break before TTC, but I found they gave me migraines too and my mood was ridiculous, not to mention all the weight I put on! I have to say, I have been more myself after coming off the pill, but that took a couple of months. Hope the withdrawal goes well for you!!

@JamesZebra oh no it sounded like you really needed to get that emotion out, sometimes a good cry really does help, but totally understand the feeling when other people are constantly pregnant or talking about it. Everyday I scroll through FB and someone else I know is preg and its starting to get irritating! lol Hope the vitamins go down well for your OH and that your eating is better today!! Go get your Yoga on!

I'm trying to gear myself up for my run later, but feeling so lazy today!! I defo need to make better food choices as well today. Tomorrow its mine and OH wedding anniversary and then my birthday the day after so I have a feeling this weekend is a bit of a right off!

@wrensandrobins gosh that sounds horrible......when I had the implant it turned me into a dragon. I was a complete b*h. It's funny what these things can do to us!

Hopefully today will be better with eating. I don't want to undo all the hard work I have put in so far. Going to do some yoga in a mo

How exciting, @wrensandrobins - fingers crossed for a smooth transition off of the pill!

Today is an exciting day for me! No longer on the pill, I start tracking temps tomorrow using natural cycles, I am not going to start TTC until December but after the pill causing me so much misery with migraines, and being on hormonal contraception since I was 16 I'm so curious about what me not on it is like! Hopefully the next 4 months should allow me to settle into a cycle and get to know myself before TTC! Currently suffer from clusters of migraine, horrible rage filled PMT and then light barely there periods that drag on up to a week.

I am aware that coming off the pill can also upset the balance and cause PMT symptoms so I have warned my partner 🤣

I am determined not to let it ruin my diet though!

@JamesZebra I hope you are feeling better today!

ah man i totally fell off the wagon today and have eaten utter crap! I can't even blame it on being due on. I think I am just a bit emotional, DP and I both had a cry on one another this evening and feel much better for it. I had a meeting at work today and a couple of people on it are pregnant and were all discussing babies and morning sickness......I found that so hard to listen to. I had to excuse myself because I couldn't listen to it.....slightly dramatic but I just couldn't mask it. I feel like I am a bit crazy sometimes.

On a positive note, DP's vitamins arrived and the reviews on Amazon were really good so I am hoping they will have a positive effect on things. Went for the Wellman conception ones. Fingers crossed.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better with my eating

@CookieMonster3001 I read in the 'impatient women's guide to getting pregnant' book that calcium helps with PMT, and I had a little research and there are some studies that it reduces the impact...

Maybe it takes longer than a month to build up- because I definitely have full blown PMT today 🤣

@Nate1 that sounds like a really good chat!!

@wrensandrobins that doesnt sound too good. What is calcium supposed to do for PMT if u dont mind me asking?

@queenatom hopefully aiming to start trying before Christmas. I would like to pre plan for about four months if I can! When are you planning to TTC?

I stopped taking the combined pill about two years ago, as I had been on it for the past five years and it had stopped my periods completely!

I've recently started using the Natural Cycles app (paid for) to track ovulation - has anyone used this?

@smileyplant welcome! 😊

@Nate1 sounds like you had a good chat with your mum 😊

Somehow my Facebook hasn’t cottoned onto any of this as the only ads I get are for uncomfortable looking clothes and underwear (although maybe the underwear is a hint to get BD’ing 😂) DH has ordered a book called The Life of Dad, so I’ll let you know what he thinks of it. I’m feeling super impatient today, I think partly because I know August could be my last cycle before TTC but at the same time I might have one more month after that! It’s the only time I’ve ever looked forward to my period coming because I just find getting to know my cycle so interesting! (I’m weird right 😂)

@queenatom thank you!! I have got much better at charting then when I first started. I set an alarm at 5am and when it goes off I take my temp, go for a wee and then go back to bed, and it seems to be working for me so far!
I have days when I don't sleep so well but because the majority of my temps are done at the same time, a couple here and there doesn't really throw it off wack as much.

@queenatom My YouTube is also all baby vlog and Pram reviews. It’s linked to our TV and everytime my husband opens the page I get a “WTF” eye roll from him!!!

@CookieMonster3001 your chart is beautiful! Mine is a total state, I’m such a restless sleeper and I don’t think that helps. I am also symptom spotting like a loon even though we aren’t trying, so you’re not alone!

I’m not concerned about the ads for baby clothes or tracking apps - I’m more concerned that all of my ads are for IVF clinics! 😂

Welcome @smileyplant!

Can I join so much good advice on here!

Looking to start trying early next year but I am a planner and already got a spreadsheet going haha

So many big work things for me happening later this year that I need to be on top form so don’t think I can start til Jan. my best friend is 11 weeks and has really bad morning sickness from 6-10 weeks so I want to be over cautionous and get any big meetings out the way just in case!

Definitely need to loose some weight (Bloody lockdown!) and get my steps up. Looking forward to hearing more about all your journeys!

The first month of taking calcium for PMT is not having the results I hoped for! I'm in such an irritable mood, and craving so much sweet stuff! I have managed to keep it to a square of dark chocolate but I have snapped at my partner several times and ended up apologising. I just feel irrationally angry over everything!

Coming off the pill tomorrow (but using condoms for a few months)

Oh also I wanted to tell you - since I asked for your advice here - I didn’t exactly tell my mum about starting to ttc on a certain date and therefore not being able to go on a holiday with her but I just had a great talk to her about ttc in general and other future related stuff so I think even though I didn’t say explicitly she knows :D I wonder if I get this superpower of knowing what’s going on in other people’s life’s as soon as I‘m a mum haha :D

@Nate1 thanks! I think the closer I get to it, the more I am freaking out over silly things for no reason.

@queenatom I know the feeling. All the adverts on FB for me are getting free baby packages, or booking in early scans or apps for tracking your pregnancy!

Hi :)

@queenatom :D well they sure know you want a baby and googled fertility related stuff for quite a while :D The first page whenever I‘m on YouTube looks like a mix out of fertility/baby/pregnancy/labor/veganism/yoga/hiit mix :D which to be honest is an accurate mirror of my psyche :D

@CookieMonster3001 I think a short dip in temperature is totally normal and doesn’t count. It could be because of a number of reasons - quality of sleep being one of them. :) otherwise your temping looks great! I wish mine would be as clear. I always have low Temperatur even in my luteal phase I hardly ever am above 36,4 * Celcius

Pic of chart if you are interested in my psychoticness!!

@JamesZebra that's an amazing loss! and 3lbs a week that's so good! I still cant stop myself from snacking! Ever since I had a week off work, I have been thrown off!

@queenatom yeah I think I am just going to call them and re-arrange rather than flap around closer to the time. Especially cus I keep feeling period symptoms already, so I feel like this might be a super short cycle and my period is going to come way earlier than normal!

Also noticed something really strange yesterday on my BBT chart and had a huge dip in temperature yesterday. Given that I have been feeling like I am going to start early I just thought that was it, but then this morning it shot straight back up again.

I think I am going crazy. I haven't even started TTC yet and I feel like I'm going through a TWW and symptom spotting for no reason!

How are we all doing today?

All of my ads on Facebook etc are now for infertility clinics - do they know something I don’t?!

wow well done on all the weight losses! I have lost 21lbs so far but really I'd like to lose another 50 lbs!!! Feels like such a far target but I will keep chipping away at it. I am losing about 3lbs a week at the mo so hopefully if I can keep that up it won't take too long.

DP is now coming around to the idea of taking some vitamins......i just wish he would agree to go get his sperm checked. I have ordered some pre-seed today so that is kinda exciting......again Dp will think I have totally lost the plot if show him.

I know what you mean about the week before your period......I found myself looking at prams and clothes and getting a little bit carried away. It's so hard waiting. I think with everything going on at the mo it makes time drag and it all feels like forever and a day away.