9DPO Symptom Spotting

Do you have any particular plan for DTD? My first cycle was a nightmare, we started DTD everyday from CD6 - it got so exhausting. This time, I think a little thought and structure would be better for me. I didn't end up using the pre-seed. I'm thinking it's still way too early in my cycle to get pregnant so didn't want to waste it.

How are your temps looking so far? Have you started using your new thermometer? Mine are still gradually dropping, like last cycle, but I think at CD7, my temps should be much lower but they're still kind of high.

I have two younger sisters. It would have been interesting to have a brother, I wonder how that would have changed the dynamics of the house and the family as my dad is the only man in the house 😂 poor guy. Maybe I'll have boys and that'll balance things out. Were your brothers ever really protective of you as their only sister?

Giving birth looks so scary! Things stretching and ripping. Two holes becoming one 🤢 haha but don't you think a Caesarean would be more painful?? I don't prefer either so let's see what the baby decides for me.

Oh yeah, there definitely will be a backlog of weddings! It's going to be a crazy few years for the industry. You might have to start thinking about dates now and accept that you could be pregnant on your wedding day 😆

Oooo holistic healing definitely sounds like something worth striving for. If you do try it out, let me know how you find it - I'd be up for giving it a go too.

I will be a bit silly to get checked so soon after starting to try. I'll see where I am after 6 months.

I'm a year older and feel like a grandma!

Hehe, I can't wait for those dodgy looking cakes. Not that the cake I baked last night looked any better... Decided to just stick with a golden vanilla sponge then covered it in store-bought salted caramel butter cream.

Your cycles sound pretty perfect now! All that's left is for a little fertilised egg to snuggle into that super rich lining. Fingers crossed this is your month! How long did it take you to get to this point? I think it's easier for you to rectify your LP because the pill was the cause, but for me, I've always had short cycles so not sure things will get better than a 10 day LP.

My AF ended two days ago (CD4) and today we begin DTD so I'll be trying out that Pre-Seed - I'll let you know how I find it.

Wow so many brothers! How did it feel growing up surrounded by boys? Glad you have Christmas plans sorted now. No one has yet to mention anything about Christmas so I'll probably have to broach the subject very soon with my family.

Haha nope, haven't thought about a birth plan but I do think about maternity leave. But now that you've mentioned it, I've only ever imagined me giving birth the bog standard way - legs apart on a hospital bed.

This whole COVID thing is a mess for the wedding industry. There's literally been no consideration for those getting married and wedding vendors are doing all they can to stay afloat, and since everything is so up in the air, I guess it makes sense why they're not refunding. I feel so sad for all those couples whose lives have been left in limbo! Hopefully by the time you get married, things will be back to normal.

DH and I want two kids and I would love an accidental third (but getting accidentally pregnant just doesn't sound as easy as it did when we were teenagers), or an adopted third.

How are you finding the mental toll? I'm trying to stay positive and trying to believe that it will happen for me very soon but seeing two lines on a HPT just seems like the impossible. I know I sound silly because this is only my third cycle, but I really do imagine getting to my 12th cycle and still seeing BFNs. I really want to give my body a chance to do its thing but at the same time, I want to see a specialist for that confirmation that everything is fine with DH and I.

TTC sucks!

This (first chart) would have been the PERFECT chart for a 14 day LP, with temps gradually dropping down before AF arrives. It's like a longer version of my cycle before (second chart). Only difference is AF started (at CD26) on a high temp and has now only reached the cover line on CD5 of my new cycle (I removed AF from the first chart to show a continuation with last cycle). I wonder if this cycle will be longer then... I also wonder what it means for my progesterone??

Oh God. I can imagine how chocolatey that cake would have been and it looks soo good! I can see me having so much fun making something like this with my kids! You'll have to recreate this when your child is old enough to get involved. They'll love it! They probably won't be able to keep their little hands off the chocolate fingers or malteasers 😂

Is the Femometer app free? I had a look and I think I needed a membership or something to be able to log OPKs. Maybe I'm thinking of another app so I'll have another look. I bought 75 OPKs so it'll take me a while before I need to restock again but if no luck with a BFP, I'll check out the easy@home ones.

With the bracelet, you only wear it to bed. Imagine wearing it out and about, haha! I'd have no idea how to answer questions about it and other ladies may recognise it and know what it's for... awkward.

I've heard slow temp rises are normal after ov, but slow temp drops?? I can't seem to find any information about it on the internet. All I can assume is, if a slow rise is normal, then a slow drop must be too. I've also read some people's body temperature can be slow to react to progesterone, so you can ovulate and not get a temp rise for a few days, so I guess the opposite could be true. We can have a drop in progesterone, which starts AF but not have our temps reflect it straight away. But why so sloooooow....

Thanks for the chart. I think a 0.3 temp drop is quite a drop! I'm going down 0.05 per day. Yours is probably what I'd expect with AF.

How far away do you live from your mum? I'm an hour and a half drive away so I won't be expecting her to show up at my door everyday. Phew! I'd love his help while pregnant. I just wouldn't want him telling me I can't build the decking in our garden (which is exactly what I'll be doing regardless of how pregnant I am). But useful men is definitely something to look forward to. Imagine having the strangest of cravings and having your DP go out into the middle of the night to hunt it down, ha!

If I've called it correctly and those are the symptoms we get this month, I'm playing the lottery. It would be awesome to get our BFPs at the same time. We'll be at the same stage of pregnancy at the same time together. Hopefully this is our month and a Christmas miracle is right around the corner.

Aw, when was the last time you saw your brothers? Are they much younger?

Nope don't speak either language. I travelled to China for work, which was amazing. Spent some time in Hong Kong too. Japan would be life changing. I love anime and still attend comic con, and the Japanese are amazing at that.

Oh nooo! I hate hearing about couples who couldn't get married this year. It's so sad. When were you meant to tie the knot? Maybe we can try for baby no.2 on our honeymoons as DTD is what they're all about 😁 although I'm not sure how many years age gap I want between my kids yet. If it takes ages to conceive, then I won't take any chances - I'll start straight away. Have you got a new date for the wedding? And also, congratulations!

Thanks! Seems like all the DTD that SMEP requires is going to be so exhausting, but we'll be strong, we'll get through it. There just better be a baby at the end of it! Do you have anything new that you're going to try this cycle?

A golden vanilla sponge cake, but maybe I should be more adventurous and try a chocolate cake?? You must send me the recipe for your chocolate extravaganza, sounds extravagant! Who won your bake off??

I just bought the cheap One Step OPKs on amazon. Don't know if they make much difference from the branded ones, but they seem to align to CM and temp rises. What are the easy@home ones like? I've just started using the premom app for OPKs and never even considered buying their own brand OPK strips!

I use an Ava fertility bracelet. It comes with an app which apparently can predict your fertile window as it's happening, but I don't really care for it and just put all my temps into FF. I think it's such bliss waking up any time you want and knowing your temps are already taken care of. Plus you can also see what your RHR is doing and I think combined with temps, it tells you a lot.

Also, what is your chart like now during AF? Last cycle my temps dropped gradually from CD1 to CD9 before rising again and I think that's happening again this cycle. I'm on CD4 and temps are still above last cycles cover line. Everything is always so gradual and I thought it was all meant to be sudden drops and rises??

Six months seems fine to be honest, and it's still perfectly safe to fly then. And you'll have a good excuse to lay around on the beach doing nothing all day! Ugh, I know for a fact that everyone will be in my business - in a good and loving way - and my DH, ugh, he's going to be treating me like such a precious ornament and naturally I'm going to rebel against that - I sense an impending battle of wills. How do you reckon your DP will be while you're pregnant??

So, in terms of the random symptom generator, I think this cycle I will get a metallic taste in my mouth and you will get a super sensitive nose that can smell things a mile away. I think they're pretty random symptoms and are enough to throw us 😂

Do both your mum and dad want you round theirs for Christmas? Who will be the least alone? Maybe since your mum has time with your other siblings you can be with your dad. But then again, like you said, family politics...

I really wanted us to go to Japan for our honeymoon. I've been to China before and that was a lovely experience but Japan would have been my first choice place to visit in Asia! We may have to have a honeymoon with a kid in tow now... Just had a quick look at Andorra on Google and it looks gorgeous! All those mountains! I'm a sucker for mountains, so beautiful. It looks perfect for skiing! I really hope you get to go.

Why are men like this?? My DH knows for fact that it'll happen but just like you, I'm also very convinced that we will struggle. I think IVF is an extreme outcome and we need to remember the fact that we're ovulating basically every cycle means everything is mostly as it should be and our LPs are pretty alright now with potential to get longer too.

This month I'm going to do the SMEP method. I've even ordered some preseed, which I don't think I need as I'm very juicy, but I don't think it'll hurt either. I'm not sure my timing was very good last cycle. I DTD two days before Ov and none the day before, the day of or the day after. But many people get pregnant with 5 day old sperm!

😅

Yes please to cake and ice cream! Gonna bake a cake for my birthday but I'm liking the sound of ice cream on the side 🍰yum!

10 days is less than ideal but definitely enough. I think a short LP is mostly caused by progesterone deficiency so hopefully the vitamins are helping with the progesterone side of things, although, looking at our temps, they stayed high for quite a while so I think that's a really good sign for us, but what do I know 🤷‍♀️

The first cycle I started OPKs at CD6, then second I started at CD6 again but checked every two days until I started getting darker lines but I agree that starting a bit later would be better and waste less OPKs. I've just ordered some more as well as some ICs and I feel sad that I've had to. I just can't imagine what it must be like for those who have been trying for years. The thought of it breaks my heart. Also the amount of money they must be spending 💔Will you be replenishing stock this month? (Gosh it sounds so methodical 😪)

Perhaps a wearable thermometer would be better? They're quite expensive but I got mine from eBay second hand for half the price. They're priced so high for what they are because they know women will buy them and them capitalising on people's misfortune is so distasteful and I would never pay full price for such. But the convenience of it helps a lot.

Oh that's really close to Christmas! It's exciting but scary at the same time. Because you definitely want a little Christmas miracle, but at the same time, any disappointment could ruin a day that's suppose to be wonderful. But regardless of BFP or not, I definitely won't be telling anyone until the 12 week scan. My family are very involved and I think I'd appreciate a little privacy before the drama starts. How about you? You'd have to tell your dad anyway because of the holiday but will you tell the rest?

I think when we tell ourselves we're ready to conceive our bodies activate the symptom randomiser and each cycle we get something new to obsess about.

Ah, sounds complicated. Have you ever had to spend Xmas apart? Maybe spend Xmas with one set of family and New Year's with the other?

Yup, we got married in March, the weekend before lockdown, so our whole married life has been in lockdown! Haha. Good thing we hadn't booked anything yet though. Skiing would have been great, where were you going to go?

Have you found that your other half isn't as emotionally affected by TTC as you are? My DH is absolutely keen for a baby but just doesn't seem fazed when CD1 comes right back around and he just doesn't get how the disappointment feels.

How do I always find a way to write essays!

Oh poo, that sucks! Sorry AF showed up! I think this warrants another commiseration drink. But amazing jump in LP. I'm really impressed with that increase. 11 days is enough of an LP for conception so let's hope this cycle is the one!

My hope is that I can maintain a 25/26 day cycle but ovulate earlier like CD12/CD13. Actually I was quite surprised to find out I Ov'd around CD14, that's the most normal thing about my cycle 😂

I've always wondered if you implant early, like 6DPO, whether a short LP would matter. Obviously low/a fall in progesterone isn't ideal and can cause chemical pregnancies but wouldn't pregnancy kickstart more progesterone into production?

What sort of thermometer do you use? Are they the special pregnancy ones that come with an app and everything? Not that special pregnancy thermometers are any different to regular thermometers 😂 Femometer is one I know people use, you could consider that?

Hehe yeah, Christmas is the next BFP goal. My next AF is due around 18 Dec so I'll have a good week before Christmas to digest the news. Also no more symptom spotting for me this cycle (yeah right) as nothing is consistent anymore!

I haven't really discussed Xmas with this new 3 household bubble rules. Regardless, DH and I were going to go to my parents. We usually have a huge get together with the whole extended family, but nothing has been said about it this year so not sure what's happening yet. I'll leave it to the real adults to make that decision. What do you think you're going to do about Xmas? Or what do you usually do?

I just want the world back to normal so we can finally have a honeymoon! Did you manage to get any holidays in this year?

10 day LP is still something, 25 days is my usual cycle length so minus my two weird cycles, not sure if anything changed. I'd have to see if I ov earlier this cycle. Definitely slept a little better although I did wake up briefly a few times. How was your sleep? Did you manage to get a temp reading? Hope everything is still high!

Yeah I take Vit C & D and magnesium, zinc and a B-Complex too so between the five of them, they've pretty much worked to eliminate my cramps which means AF will always be a surprise now 😱 Not sure I want any unwelcome surprises 😂

Already had a commiseration drink last night and if you get your BFP I'll probably have a celebratory drink for you 😁

Just got woken up from my nap to discover AF is here! I guess she is right on time. And I suppose my LP did get a little longer. I'm surprised I have no cramps but then again, I don't think I'd appreciate the pain of AF adding to my disappointment.

Yeah I started tracking last month which is when we started TTC, so I'm still getting to know my cycle but I'm quite pleased that the OPKs have worked for me because not everyone sees a peak.

Sorry, I didn't mean I temped myself, my bracelet does all the work for me, but if I had to do it manually with a thermometer, I'd really struggle. I could not wake up early if I tried (well I have been recently, but not on purpose!)

Obviously I won't be testing on Friday but I'm still looking forward to seeing what happens with you! Let's hope one of us gets lucky this month 😁

But that's the thing! Nothing is coming out onto my underwear or when I wipe so how will I know what's going on inside me 😭 I don't think I'll be able to stop but I'll try.

Oooo look at us fixing our bodies with vitamins and entering the realms of normality! Definitely the best £30 I've ever spent. I'm so glad I started tracking temps and LH so early into my TTC journey because I would have been none the wiser as to the state of my cycle. Did you make a decision to start OPKs and temping as soon as you started TTC as well?

I'm too undisciplined to wake up at the same time everyday to take my temps and I've read about how some women get temping anxiety and end up waking up at inconsistent times. And since I worry about everything, I'd definitely be one of those women! I'm already struggling to sleep thinking about what my temps would be the next day and whether I'd get enough sleep for accurate results!

Glad you mentioned you've been looking at the pregnancy charts on FF because I've been doing the same and checking for exactly the same thing! Also been checking for spotting, type of CM and when they got their BFP.

If it'll make you feel better, on average implantation completes around 9 or 10DPO. We're only 11DPO (and still have a chance at implanting today or tomorrow) so at the moment, you just might not have enough hCG to be detectable. If no AF, would you like to test with me at 14DPO?

The spice thing is weird. I grew up with spicy food so not a big deal, I don't react much to spice unless I've had something ridiculously spicy. But these last two incidents, what I've eaten have been so mild I barely even noticed it was spicy food 😪 My DH has barely been bothered by it and Greeks don't eat spice!

Getting quite fed up with this back and forth I'm having with my body - makes me really hate the TWW. The cramping was another stomach ache which disappeared after I went to the toilet 🥴 Seems like any little spice I eat is making me ill.
CM is dry and very minimal but still brown. No cramping now. I'm also getting obsessed and really need to keep my fingers away from my cervix!!

I'm sorry about your BFN. You're always still in for a chance if AF hasn't arrived but congratulations on your LP either way. That's still a huge improvement and will make getting pregnant a lot easier going forward. Maybe give yourself until 14DPO before testing again. I think that's what I'm going to do as I'm not sure if the vitamins have increased my LP to the point that I'll actually have normal length cycles.

Feels like we're living parallel lives, I slept terribly as well. Woke up at 2am with an extremely dry throat. Then I was up again at 4am. Then again at 6am. I wear a fertility bracelet which captures all my parameters and somehow, I was able to get a reading today???

Are you still getting cramps similar to ov pain?

I'm still getting the CM but it's darker now and feels like there's more. Not sure if it's because it's turning brown or because AF is coming. I'm not cramping at the moment but not feeling hopeful. I think the vitamins are just doing a really good job!

My temps are dropping in a similar way to last cycle's so I think I'll expect AF tomorrow. (That being said, I think I've just started cramping so here she comes! Or maybe it was just trapped wind 😅 Nope, feels like mild cramps. I'll see how it progresses)

Yeah the lightheadedness comes and goes. Again, not sure if it's all progesterone related 🤷‍♀️ or it could just be because of the terrible sleep I'm having.

Oh sorry, misread! Regardless cramps are always a good sign as is the headache! What are your usual PMS symptoms? Mine's just sore boobs and I still have them now. How are you feeling about tomorrow? I'm actually really looking forward to your HPT results.

This is our first home and we also really struggled to find something that's good value for money because everything is just so expensive. I really hope the market corrects so things become affordable for the majority. Are you in the south east? So overpriced here!

Let me know how you get on tomorrow!