Preconception planners - still planning

The difference between one step and easy@home. I was suprised the blue one even picked anything up. When logging on the app, the blue came up at 7% and the green 0% so I can imagine when its at its peak, being much easier to read!

Morning all!! lots to catch up on usual! Got my trusty notepad out! haha

@Baker0104 how exciting about starting to try this week!! I thought I would have a harder time with the caffiene withdrawal, but it hasnt been so bad thank god!

@mybobowler I always find it hard these days when someone has announced a pregnancy or given birth. My mum told me my cousin is pregnant and due this october and although happy for her, also felt a bit jealous! This group defo helps me to keep my mind on track too!! Thanks ladies!! with my caffiene, I just switched to decaff one day and been on the decaf since.

@mackjm20 eek hope the headaches go away soon! I am worried about the ntnp next month and almost exactly the same as you, really hoping it doesnt take the romance away from our relationship especially with my legs in the air after! And especially knowing as much as I do not, I know its going to be hard not to overthink every single thing! I also agree with @butterfly5291 the fertility friend app is the best app I have downloaded and even bought the VIP version (£20 for the whole year and I can freeze it whenever I want)

@thenewmrsw that sounds so interesting! Might have to give that book a go. Hope AF shows up for you soon! Don't know much about anovulatory bleeding im afraid, but if it helps, when my period is due my temp drops slowly over 2 or 3 days so hopefully your drop means its on its way.

@randygiles06 I have thought about xmas so much recently and what I will do if im pregnant because we are hosting this years annual xmas party!! haha (although with the current situation with covid, who knows this might get cancelled!)

@sunflowersaremyfav93 your OPKS are looking good! As I said before I wouldnt worry about the LH showing as low, as I think its just the onestep ones. I did mine yesterday, with onestep and easy@home and the onestep didnt pick anything up at all and the easy@home showed a line (even though it is faint - im not due to ovulate for another 5/6 days) I will take a pic later and show you the difference. So I think the onestep ones are just not as strong.

@bells3031 im glad you are feeling a bit better today and more reassured after speaking to your friend and speaking with the infertility clinic.

@cupcakecafe me and OH are using the withdrawal method, I came off the pill a year ago because it gave me insane headaches. I would recommend coming off the pill a few months ahead of TTC so your cycles can regulate properly.

@mackjm20. Yeah it’s a bit disappointing as I’m excited but DH doesn’t seem to be. He’s on board but letting the worry take over which is dampening the experience for me so far! On a positive note....I’ve just ordered some pregnancy vitamins and opks for when my periods settle back down!

@bubblybrit I get that completely re the long hours as that has been one of our biggest concerns. I guess you just adapt and compromise at the time?

Re the dtd becoming a chore I think that will put dh off so think I just need to calm it down a little until he suggests it like with everything else haha.

Anyone else feel like men have a lot of the power in this?

@butterfly5291 I was going to start the opks this month but decided not to not sure if whilst dh is like just warming up to it by ‘ntnp’ that it would be worse to know an exact than a window. I’ve written this cycle off but think I need to sit down and speak to him and say we need to either ttc properly or wait as I think the in between will be worse as such a low chance but the same hope there if you know what I mean? So frustrating as I was set on Nov he said no let’s stick with sept but not sure he appreciates the silence and that you actually have to dtd regularly during your window to conceive lol!

@ThreeTree good that you have had the smear done rubbish that it’s always uncomfortable though

@TheNewMrsW ah rubbish that you are still waiting for af fingers crossed she comes soon.

You are amazing making all your own cleaning products etc so organised!

@MsQueenInTheNorth welcome back :)

@sunflowersaremyfav93 I’ve tried to completely cut the caffeine this week but it has been brutal! I know I forget how much caffeine is in everything!

@Bells3032 so glad to hear you are doing a little better and that you were able to get an appointment with the fertility clinic for next week :) also that your friend was successful :) please keep us updated :) we are all here for the highs and lows :)

@Mommabear20
Welcome :) that’s so exciting for ttc
For baby number 2! A lot of us are taking folic acid and vitamin d :)

@RandyGiles06 nice to have a focus isn’t it bet you can’t wait for dec :) x

@Cupcakecafe definitely come off the pill ASAP, with my first it took me about 2.5 months to get a period (thankfully I wasn’t TTC until around the time that period came so was using condoms) and I conceived the next cycle. We are using just condoms at the moment. If I accidentally became pregnant it wouldn’t be a huge problem, just an inconvenience haha. Can’t wait to get started in December though, anything time anything annoying or stressful happens at work I think ffs who cares lol.

That’s so interesting about plastic! I suppose it is good for the environment too. We are eating less processed food at the moment because of my toddler but there’s always more I can do there, I store anything I’ve batch cooked in those little plastic tubs you get from a Chinese takeaway too

@Mommabear20. Sorry I meant to add that I started taking them around 3 months before TTC. Kinda tied in to when I stopped taking my pill.

@Mommabear20. With my DD I took seven seas pre conception vitamins. They included folic acid, vitamin D and iron. They are a little pricey compared with others but I’ll be taking them again when TTC#2 later this year/early next year.

@sunflowersaremyfav93 thanks! 😊

I had DD1 in June this year, we're hoping to start TTC baby#2 around Christmas time as we want them close in age.

In hindsight I was extremely unprepared going into my first pregnancy, no vitamins and drank far too much caffeine (never smoked or drank) but want to be more prepared for this one as feel my body will need a little extra TLC second time round and so close together. Does anyone have any recommendations of vitamins to take? And when to start them?

@cupcakecafe I came off the pill 4 months ago and I've been using condoms since, it took about 8 weeks for my first period (didn't get a withdrawal bleed) so I'm glad I came off them when I did. This is gonna be our first cycle ttc. Condoms were a bit of a pain but I'm glad I did it now

@Cupcakecafe I used this one here > uk.lush.com/products/shampoo/new
Not sure if that link has worked but it's called 'New'.. my hair used to get greasy every other day so quite oily, this was great though and lasted absolutely ages. I was just looking at their shower stuff too to avoid plastic, might start using their stuff more and avoid the plastic where I can. We're using condoms, I cake off the pill a few years ago and we've just been using condoms since, I didn't like the idea of putting something unnatural in my body But I'd been on it for a few years before that...something just changed overnight.

@Mommabear20 welcome! Everyone is welcome, tell us a bit about yourself.

Hey! Can I join in?

Oh good lord! I haven’t been on the original thread for a week or so, I had no idea it was so full!
Will read the first 8 pages () in a bit, but I just wanted to place mark!

@Cupcakecafe I def wouldn't leave it till you are ready to ttc to stop the pill. They tell you you can go back to normal straightaway and for some women that's no doubt true but I have heard loads of stories of people taking months and months to have normal cycles again. There are loads of threads on here about it. I had my implant out two years ago and haven't looked back, yes condoms are a bit off a faff but I feel much better knowing my body is doing its natural thing 😊

@Bells3032 its good you have people irl to talk to. I hope it works out for you without too much waiting.

@TheNewMrsW that's really interesting. Especially the bit about an egg being prepped 2-3 months before ovulating.
I presume that means if you're on the pill it can take 2-3 months after stopping before being fertile.

Are you all just using condoms while waiting to ttc? I'm currently on the pill, was only planning on stopping it in May when I'm ready to ttc but maybe that isn't the best option.

@sunflowersaremyfav93 do you remember which shampoo bar you used? Do you have oily or dry hair? I'm quite tempted to change to bars actually

@HeyDW96 thank you, I'll pop to home bargains and get some of those!

@TheNewMrsW wow that's so helpful! I'll give the cleaning products thing a try, I like to use lemon and bicarbonate on my sink as well if you haven't done that yet?
I used to use a shampoo bar from lush actually and it was really good, lasted ages and came in a nice little tin... you've inspired me! We each have a metal bottle but he likes to have those big plastic ones in the fridge which irritates me.. I'll look into a glass water filter. Thank you!!

@sunflowersaremyfav93 we've done things like

• making our own cleaning products using lemon & vinegar (saves on the plastic bottles and the nasties in the product itself) smells much nicer and cleans great! If you don't want to go that far brands like Method & Ecover are made from more natural products and you can get refills do not constantly buying plastic bottles.

• switched from bottled shower gel and hand wash to bars of soap (not been brave enough to try shampoo bars yet lol)

• we mostly cook from scratch anyway but that's a biggie if you buy a lot of processed food

• swapping out kitchen stuff like utensils for metal upgrades

It really depends what appetite you have for using less plastic and what your budget is. Unfortunately it can be more expensive to go plastic free 😢 unless you go down the road of making everything yourself. It shouldn't be that way but it is. It can be time consuming too. I know we could do a lot better but only so much any of us can do without more widespread change.

You could get your OH a glass water filter for tap water and a metal water bottle if you want to get rid of his bottled water habit!

@sunflowersaremyfav93 they're from home bargains and I got a pack of 5. I had ewcm on Saturday and just got my peak lastnight.

I used the home bargains and sainsburys little ones but they never showed a peak. These are them both, same sample of urine. The line is dark but not what I'd perceive as a peak. Now today, both have much much fainter lines.

@Bells3032 That's so good that you're talking about it and you have friends that have been in a similar position to you. You're on the right track and doing all you can, just think how sweeter it's going to be when you do get your baby. I'm a big believer in the power of positive thinking.

@HeyDW96 ooh could you tell me what opks they are please? Maybe I'm just not going to get a dark line with the ones I'm using? I have ovulation cramps and I have EWCM so I must be ovulating but the strips are saying no. So frustrating?!

@sunflowersaremyfav93 I used OPK's this cycle (my first cycle)

The first one is Sunday, second is lastnight and third is today. Seems I peaked and it dropped significantly today! Those little strip tests I didn't get a peak on so a dark line I would assume as peak for me.

How are you @bells3032? And how is your partner? I’m with Butterfly, knowledge is power!

@mybobowler I know the feeling, a girl I went to school with posted her pregnancy announcement yesterday and I’m
So happy for her but I’m now just like OMG I can’t wait any longer!!! Are you ladies cutting out caffeine completely or having one a day? @mackjm20, I have one coffee in the morning then decaf coffee or tea rest of the day. I forget it’s in choc too so I should curb the choc!! I find that I’m just so so much more tired in the evening and am sleeping so much better (which is key for fertility apparently).

@thenewmrsw wow that is so interesting, thank you for sharing! I think I’ll be downloading the e-book! Do you have tips on how you’ve been cutting out plastic etc? My bf keeps drinking bottled water and I’m like noooo it’s so bad!!!

• -

I think I'm getting the hang of these OPKs but I haven't had a peak, today is day 14 and I do have some EWCM but the number is still quite low?! I'm just so confused? I'll do another OPK in an hour or so but it's worries me a little bit.

@butterfly5291 I've just downloaded fertility friend from your advice above so I'm going to give it a go! Looks really good so far! Only first month ttc so don't want to go too overboard with opk's etc just yet lol. Thank you!

Morning all, still awaiting AF here and it's CD 39..... my cycles are usually a little long but not this long. It's sods law because I'm desperate to start charting a full cycle 😂

I did take a pg test just in case (we're still using condoms atm but you never know) but BFN (thankfully, as I drank a lot this cycle given last period was right before wedding/honeymoon lol)

Starting to think the period I got at the wedding might have been anovulatory bleeding as it was way lighter than normal and I was stressed and dieting hard in the run up so that might have prohibited ovulation. Does anyone know if a cycle after an anovulatory cycle can be wonky? I've had weird cm this month, patchy ewcm on and off. Wish I had been charting this cycle as then I'd know! I have been temping for the last week and there was a bit of a drop today compared to last few so hoping that means AF is coming, even if she's taking her sweet time about it! So frustrating! 🤬

Hi all
It’s been a couple of weeks since I last dropped in. Went for a smear last week, it was not in any way embarrassing but it was incredible uncomfortable and she had me contorting in all sorts of shapes - hope this isn’t a sign of what is to come!

@mackjm20. I’m sorry to say that when we were TTC our first that DTD was definitely a chore! At times it was romantic but it always had a purpose if you know what I mean....think most people are exactly the same to be honest!