Preconception planning - anyone want to join?

@sunflowersaremyfav93 we are starting work on getting the house sorted out for marketing, I need to finish repainting the bedroom and DH has the mucky job of resealing the shower and regrouting the bathroom floor. Not the most exciting plans but I feel like it’s all part of the pre-TTC plan so that provides motivation! I might also do some crochet, working on a throw for myself which I need to finish off so I can start work on a baby blanket for my friend.

@mackjm20 I would just go for it! It doesn’t sound as if you have major reasons for holding off and as the bible says if you’re holding off for a minor reason,don’t! If DH is keen that’s half the battle so I’d jump on it (literally 😂)

@sunflowersaremyfav93 it's my DSS birthday party today, we got him a bouncy castle and my 4 nephews are coming round to play and having a BBQ. I'm 6 dpo so trying to decide whether to have any prosecco or not.
As for books, I think I might have made some recommendations before but Dawn O porter's books are great, easy read and very funny. More serious I'd recommend hearts invisible furies by John boyne.

@Amy929292 welcome :) certainly worth checking I think a lot of people have had the same experience on here waiting for cycle to settle after just coming off the pill :)

@CookieMonster3001 to be honest I enjoy a good catch up it’s like a little family on here :) defo use the trust worthy notepad haha! Exactly I feel the closer it gets it’s like excited nerves. Like so excited to ttc but so nervous about all the unknowns! Defo sounds like you are all ready for November :)

@Bells3032 that’s so exciting that the coil will be out soon! It feels so real then. I came off the coil in Jan my cycle has returned quickly and has now got into more of a pattern. I used to have really awful periods but now they last 5 days 1 which is heavy 4 are so light (only 1 day of cramps) so fingers crossed it’s made yours more manageable too! I still find it weird having a period though not used to it still!

@Pebbleinthesand
Good that your cycles are now at 28 days :) so much easier to track when regular. Also good news that you can get the surgery sorted :) yesss! Defo know what you mean about the 9 months planning! I know you can’t but I try and calculate it all to the finest detail. Exactly the same here I think about Christmas then 30th etc :) it just takes over doesn’t it.

@sunflowersaremyfav93 spending bank holiday with family :) how about you?

we have just booked a staycation from 30 sept - 11 oct now if we stick with my November plan that’s great HOWEVER my earlier eagerness to get dh to start sept has paid off as he keeps saying’baby making month’ haha! I don’t want him to lose enthusiasm so now I’m like oh do I just go with sept or wait until work settles in November. I had changed to November in my head as I didn’t think he would be overly bothered but now he is ready I don’t want him to lose that!

Any advise welcomed- maybe I should change my name to impatient but anxious haha! X

AF finally arrived this morning and having worked it out from my last bleed it seems like I'm pretty much bang on a 28 day cycle which is good to know.

I'm so relieved because it means that I can actually have my laser eye surgery at the end of next month and have a better idea when we start TTC of what's actually going on. I think if I were actually pregnant now I'd be worried that I'd got my dates wrong.

I have 2 weddings for a friend and a family member next April and May so not being about to give birth is any day/having a new born will definitely make them easier to plan for.

Anyone else plan the next 9 months of their life out each month based on if you got pregnant that cycle? 😂 I keep thinking about how pregnant I'll be by Christmas, by my birthday, by the weddings we have coming up, by my little girl's birthday 😂

@Amy929292 pregnancy tests have two lines a control line to show something happened and then The Line to show its positive, the lines can either be parallel or crossed or sometimes in a separate window

@Pebbleinthesand thanks sweet, I'm okay about it... I've only just got my head wrapped around the fact we're actively ttc now! As much as a quick result would be great.... 😂

@gems05 sorry to hear that. Do you feel okay about it, given that you weren't expecting it to happen so quickly? I don't suppose that makes it any easier though.

@Amy929292 I've never had a horizontal line but it sounds like it could be a faulty test. I once spend £10 on a clear blue digital test only for it to say it was faulty. I was so annoyed.

After my binge eating the other day and thinking AF was due to arrive any day, I've had no other PMS symptoms or anything. I'm starting to wonder if I should take a test sooner than I'd planned.

@TheNewMrsW that's good to hear. My cramps and pain and flow were awful and lasted 10 days as a teen but always very very regular. Even on the pill I had awful cramps but those were manageable with painkillers and didn't last as long.

Fingers crossed at 32 it won't be as bad

I was worried about it as my periods were awful as a teenager - both very heavy & irregular and horrible cramps which is not a good combination especially as an embarrassed teenager - and I had been on some form of HBC, pill then implant almost continuously from 18-33. I was pleasantly surprised though, as my periods returned quickly with much more regular cycles than I had when I was younger, the flow was not light but not horrendously heavy and the cramps not nearly as bad (most of the time!!!) as I remembered. I immediately felt so much better off it knowing the my body was doing its natural thing. Obvs not the same for everyone but that was my experience. Made me wish I’d done it earlier as before I met DH I was single for quite a long time so really had no need of long term birth control and the main reason I stayed on it was periods, DH and I have used condoms for 2 years now and whilst I don’t love them, once they are on it’s fine and I def don’t think I will ever go back to the pill or anything in years to come.

@TheNewMrsW i know the feeling. sometimes i find myself ordering things online and then sneaking them into my bathroom. no idea why as the only person i live with is my husband and it's not like he doesn't know!!

It's just 5 days to coil removal day!! thought i'd feel really anxious but feeling surprisingly zen. Maybe that will change as time goes on. dreading periods more than anything after 5 years of nothing and ten years before that on the pill to reduce them. how did everyone else feel on the run up to stopping contraceptives?

@CookieMonster3001 the bible does say one cup a day but it probably depends how strong it is? Start cutting the real stuff with a bit of decaf 😂

I feel the same - furtively buying OPKs and folic acid like I’m a naughty teenager, I’m 35 for crying out loud! I had the “my whole life is going to change” melt down ahead of time when my best friend got preggers a couple of years ago LOL now I’m keen to catch up as I’m the last in our group to have kids, one of them is pg with her first right now and I’m just a bit jel though thrilled for her of course

If the threads on here are anything to go by stacks of cheap hgc sticks are the way to go and save the good stuff for when you really think it might be a BFP, though I keep saying to myself I will try not to fall into the trap of testing super early! Bet I will though 😳

@queenatom oh no that must be so frustrating. The weeks are the wrong way around!

@thenewmrsw I am getting through quite a bit of it too but I have to hide that I am reading it from OH otherwise he will think I am insane lol. You're plan sounds great. Do all the everything basically, haha. Surely the orgasm thing is not true. Although cant hurt to tell OH that and make him work a bit harder LOL. I did also read that about the caffiene, but my OH has 2 a day... wonder if thats OK or if he should cut that down to 1. Hes more inclined to have one decaf then cutting it out totally, although I am convinced that if I made his coffee for him, he wouldnt be able to tell.

@wrensandrobins you still have a bit of time before December, hopefully your cycles will have settled down a bit and start to make more sense. I know the feeling of impatience all too well!

@mackjm20 you are a hero catching up with all that! Used your trusty notepad? I cant respond on this chat without it now!! Glad AF has arrived and stopped your mini freak out! Its wierd I seem to do this every month now even though I know nothing has changed apart from knowing we are going to be TTCing soon lol.

I had a total melt down yesterday because I just feel like time is running out and ive not done half the stuff I wanted to this year ahead of TTC. I am due on next week so hoping the melt down is somewhat related to that and I am not completely and utterly freaking out lol

@gems05 oh no I am so sorry to hear about your false positive! fingers crossed for you for the next cycle, although they do say you are not out until AF shows up!

@amy929292 that sounds odd, ive not heard anything like that but then again I have never taken a preg test before. Might be worth checking the rest of the forums to see if anyone else has encountered it.

So I think I am fully prepared for November now. I have my stacks of OPKS (2 brands one step and easy@home), 2 packs of CB Digital ovulation tests and 3 CB pregnancy tests. First time in my life I have brought a preg test and its so surreal, cant stop looking at it! Very much starting to hit home that I could very well be pregnant in a few months and hopefully by the end of the year. OH is still so not phased about it but part of me just feels like my entire life is going to change and as excited as I am, I am so scared and kinda sad! Being in this group definately helps keep me sane though, and helps to know I am not the only crazy pre-planning TTCer out there.

Hi everyone 😊 I love this thread so much as I can definitely relate to being impatient to start TTC and it's such a relief that I'm not the only one symptom spotting and thinking about it constantly!!
I took a pregnancy test this morning just to rule out it really as I've been off the pill about 5 weeks and haven't had AF yet, just my withdrawal bleed (which I know can be very normal as it can take a while for our bodies to adjust back). I've got a family birthday coming up and wouldn't want to drink alcohol if I was pregnant so thought I'd just check. (Even though we're using condoms so it's very unlikely!!)
It's a clear blue early response one so you're supposed to get a vertical line if pregnant and nothing if you're not. I got a horizontal line so I'm assuming it's a faulty test but wondering if anyone else has had this or know anything about it?

@gems05 100 percent nice to enjoy the fun part :) hopefully your cycle will settle into a pattern soon as I’m sure that will make everything a lot easier to track. Not sure about bbt sorry :)

@TheNewMrsW haha so he should be lol! Omgosh I’m not sure I will be able to get DH to quit the coffee I feel like he would have no energy for DTD lol! Maybe I’ll have to sneaky replace with decaf as a placebo haha

@mackjm20 haha luckily for him he’s already familiar with my expectations on that front! 🤣 Lol at your DH, I am trying not to relay everything to mine so as not to freak him out but it’s really hard... I told him yesterday that he’ll have to cut down on coffee as the bible says 5 cups a day can half male fertility, poor bloke, though to be fair to him he did say well I guess I’ll have to find a good decaf!

@mackjm20 thank you, I'm not super sad about it as we've only just started ttc and kinda intend to have a bit of fun initially. As I say I've just had implant removed, no cycle yet so I've no idea what this body is doing to me?!
I have opk strips ready to start tracking... I see a lot of bbt posts too... does anybody know if a regular basal thermometer would suffice?

Fingers and toes crossed for everyone else right now xxx

@gems05 sorry to hear that! Fingers crossed for next cycle :) so hard with all the tests etc so know if you are reading them accurately as I defo would have thought the same as you :)

@TheNewMrsW lmfao! That’s so funny! Let us know what DH responds with! I’ve had to stop showing my DH the bible he says and I quote it’s makes his member shrivel up’ haha!

I am definitely telling DH that The Bible says this 😂

Thanks all! I will check out thread and try to be patient :) they will settle!

This group really does help!

@gems05 sorry to hear that, I looked at your test from yesterday and on closer inspection it almost looked like the second line was a bit of dye stuck further down the test rather than where the second line would normally be? Only going off where the lines are on the LH tests I’ve been using which look very similar. Fingers crossed for a good next cycle and a BFP at the end of it for you!

@wrensandrobins and anyone else who isn’t long off the pill, have you checked out the thread on advice for women who have just come off the pill? I had a nosy at it just out of curiosity (been off HBC for a couple of years) and there’s loads of advice and support on there, it looks like it’s pretty normal to take a good few cycles to get back to something like a “normal” cycle 😊

Morning peeps
Sorry to report a false positive yesterday as today came up with a bfn
Oh well... let's hope I get a cycle at some point so I know what I'm tracking then 👍

@Lollipop87 I know literally I’ve only been off since Thursday and there were 3 new pages haha :) yea I figured it can’t harm to try for a month still hoping to not actually use them when ttc but would love to see if they match the ovulation to the app to get a rough gage :)

Weirdly after I have said November DH suddenly seems keen to start ASAP I feel like one DTD without (albeit 4 days before AF) has made him want to start ttc now haha! Because we had said September and I was nagging for this for months I think he had mentally prepared for September Xx

@wrensandrobins I know how you feel but please try not to put pressure on yourself, it’s only been a month and the first month for most people is a bit all over the place. Mine settled by my 3rd cycle so try to give it time, I know easier said than done as I was super impatient too! Crossing my fingers for you that your cycles will settle quickly 😊

@gems05 I totally get what you mean about not getting your hopes up, I think a false positive is pretty rare though. Let us know!

@mackjm20 wow you had a lot to catch up on! I’ve decided to order some OPKs to try out for my next cycle, went with the ones you can use with the premom app as they had good reviews and the app reads them which will be good as I find them quite confusing just looking at ones people have posted on here!