Charters Anonymous : Volume 2

[chocciechip]

Volume 2 starts here ladies!

Hello again Terrys,

Couldnt resist putting my two pennies worth in re: the 30 min thing.

I have been using OPK's from Amazon, and they do not say anything about letting pee "rest" I have however heard that saving up your wee i.e. not going to the loo for a while, could make the hormone levels more concentrated and therefore easier to read. Could this be what the instructions are referring too?

£19.99 is the expensive end of the range. My kit costs around 5 pounds for 25 tests including postage

I totally agree with LadyG that your chart looks like preovulation. I think FF sometimes doesnt help you see this because pre ov it shows a very short chart, the highest temp on the left hand side is only 36.2. When you start getting higher temps FF will stretch out the chart and you will see a higher range of numbers on the left hand side. I dont know why it does this because I find it easier to read a chart where the number range is complete right from the beginning.

Also, bear in mind that stress can delay ovulation!! So getting a massage round about now could help !

LadyG willing those little swimmers on for you!

Cheers MA. When do you finish your course of progesterone? Not too long to wait now I hope? I agree with you re: scale, not v helpful as exaggerates every small movement.

Terrys you have to push fingers in and have a feel infertility.about.com/od/tryingtoconceive101/ht/cervixovulation.htm. Mine feels today like I could almost push my finger through it, but I've had one vaginal birth and had a miscarriage 4 weeks ago so suspect is a bit stretched, hence it always feeling a little open like a slit! If you've never had a baby vaginally it feels like a dimple when closed and like a little round hole when open. And the texture changes through the month too - hard when not fertile like your nose, soft when fertile, like your lips.

Thanks Digi - I hope so too . Found out yesterday my SIL is pg due about a month after my due date would have been. Feel a bit sad, but obv very happy for her as she's been trying for a long time for her second. Would be lovely to be pg together.

Thanks MummyAbroad - its helpful to know other people are familiar with this. Can you send me the link for your OPK's, I think I need to buy some more. Also, can I aks, do you pee on them like you would a pregnancy test, or do you still dip it in?

If it is pre-OV then my cycle will be much longer this time than last one. On CD18 today and last one was 27 days.

Oh no - I hope I don't OV this weekend - just remembered MIL is coming to stay and combo of squeaky bed and small house will not be a turn on for DH!!! [boo emoticon]

Well it turns out my dating questions were all a bit academic. We went to the scan and found that the baby had no heartbeat and looks to have stopped growing 2-3 weeks ago.

I've been given a pill to "ripen" the cervix and have to go back in on Friday afternoon/Saturday morning to be induced and deliver.

To be honest I'm completely shocked and struggling to react. Very scared as well about what the weekend will hold.

Please keep me in your thoughts/prayers.

Love and luck to all, and maybe in a while I will be joining you again xxxx

Oh spilt, I am so very, very sorry to hear your sad news. It must be a massive shock. This business is so cruel. I hope you've got lots of support at home. As you know this is very raw for me too and I know nothing I can say can offer you much comfort but for what it's worth I am thinking of you. Please post and let us know how you are, good or bad when you feel able.

Gentle hugs xxx

Hi splitthetea I've not heard your story on here as just joined you ladies today but I am so so sorry to hear about your MMC. I am sending you lots of virtual love and hugs. I hope that what you have to face this weekend is as smooth as can be expected and that you and your family are with you for support.

You will be in my thoughts and when you are ready we will look forward to seeing you again.

Wow, what a busy day it's been on here today, but also very sad!
Spilt - I am so sorry to hear what has happened, I hope you have plenty of support over the coming days/weeks. Will be thinking of you! :(

Welcome Terry!

And, did I read it right - did Ell say her farewells to us last night? That seem to have got missed.

Ell sorry I totally missed your post last night. Sorry to see you go but sounds like is for the right reasons. Please check back from time to time if you like and let us know how you are getting on, whatever you decide to do next.

Spilt I just read back and saw that this was your 20 weeks scan. I am so shocked and sad for you, I was thinking it was your 12 week. Not that that makes it any easier but you expect things to be ok by this point. I hope the hospital treat you gently and are as supportive as you need them to be.

oh god spilt there are no words... Am so so sorry, will be thinking of you these next few days.

Oh spilt, I am so sorry to hear your terrible news. I don't know what to say, but love and hugs to you & your DH. Will be thinking of you. x

ell sorry to see you go, but understand why. Do keep in touch

Hi split

I'm so sorry for your loss, thats just awful news.

I think shock is a normal reaction, its there to protect you and get you through the next few days. I have been on lots of miscarriage threads long enough to know that lots of people recommend SANDS and the Miscarriage Association as sources of help if you feel that is appropriate. Here are the links:
www.uk-sands.org/
www.miscarriagesupport.org.uk/
I do hope you are getting lots of support in RL.

If talking helps, please keep posting. Wish I could give you a hug, will be thinking of you xxxx

spilt I am so very sorry to hear your news. I know nothing I say can help but I will be thinking of you tomorrow and over the weekend. Take care of yourself. x

Spilt I am so, so sorry to hear your news. I can't even really comprehend how you must be feeling. All I can offer is much love and the fact that we'll keep thinking of you. If you feel up to it, please do let us know how you are.

I'm so sorry. xxx

split I'm so sorry to hear your shocking news. Wishing you lots of love, strength and support xxx

ell all the best for the future xxx

Thank you everyone for all your kind words, I know so many of you have lost babies as well and gone through the shock and bewilderment.

It probably sounds naive, but this just isn't something I ever thought would happen to me. To MC in the 2nd trimester feels like one of those awful things that happen to other people and is terrible to hear about, but you never expect to go through.

I think it's starting to sink in now and I've started to cry.

Trying to think practically about what to pack for hospital, food to take etc. And also we have to read the leaflets and decide about things like postmortems, cremation etc. I feel completely daunted and unprepared.

It's like a very weird limbo and I feel a bit detatched from reality.

Thank you again for all being so lovely. I'll let you know how it goes xxx

spilt I am so sorry that in my initial post I didn't realise it was your 20 week scan (I just assumed it was 12wk). I'm sure losing a baby at any stage is horrible but I can't even imagine how you must be feeling. Please know that our thoughts are still with you and your family and wishing you lots of love and support for the coming days/weeks and months.

Terrys I meant to say welcome to this group, they are a lovely bunch.

My story so far is a fairly brief one. I'm 25 and this is my first pregnancy. I was TTC and charting for 3 months and conceived this one in June. MMC picked up today the 20 week scan, probably lost the baby around 16-17 weeks.

Hope you Ov at a time you can SWI without MIL hindrance!

Evening, I'm not sure about posting my stuff as it is so trivial in comparison to what spilt is going through but I would be interested in your opinions.

I bought a boots ovulation thermometer today and this eve tested my temp (as a test) which was 36.91 and then straight after I tested on the digital normal one I have been using to monitor and it was 36.3. So that is a big difference. I am wondering if my temps have been completely wrong??

What do you think?

Spilt I am amazed at your kindness and ability to welcome me! You are a very strong woman.

terrys - welcome! - different thermometers will give you different readings in different orifices! - you need to stick to the same one for your chart (or keep track of several different charts!)

Split,

I felt exactly the same after my mmc discovered at 14 weeks - I just thought it would never happen to me. Sadly it is all so very common.

This is a really good website which might help answer some of your immediate questions
www.pregnancyloss.info

If it helps in some small way with getting the practicalities organised here are some ideas on what to take to hospital:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/miscarriage/1014869-Medical-Miscarriage-tomorrow-What-should-I-take-to-hospital

and lastly (sorry to bombard you with links)

over on this thread you will find lots and lots of support from women who have mcs, lots of whom are trying again but some of us are just hanging out for support. You are welcome to come join us xxxxxx

Sorry, just realised I missed a whole page of posts!

LadyG I have got three more days to go (which means AF in time for the weekend ) I have a pregnant SIL too. Its hard but I force myself to be happy for her

Terry's here is a link (I get mine from US site though, pretty sure they are the same)

www.amazon.co.uk/Highly-Sensitive-Ovulation-Fertility-Strips/dp/B001G7P62S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1286488413&sr=8-1 they are the pee in cup and dip kind.

I managed to find my cervix, good tip is to do small circular sweeps. Mine felt much smaller than I expected, a tiny bump! By the way, I learned pretty much everything I know from the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility its excellent.

MA but it will be good to draw a line under this horrible cycle. Bet you can't wait to get it over with. My cervix feels fairly big - about a couple of cm I reckon - just shows all womens bodies are different!

Terrys you could take temps with both but record the new thermometer stuff on a paper chart for now. Just continue using the old one in FF for this cycle only. That way you might be able to spot the temp shift on both and will have a better idea of your correct range of temps for next month. The difference in the two temps is because fever thermometers aren't as accurate, you get a lower temp in your ear than you would in your mouth, even warmer temp in vagina or anally (wince),also fever temperatures are calibrated to be more accurate at higher temps (i.e. when you have a fever) whereas BBT thermometers are calibrated for "normal" range of temperatures.

Thanks LadyG although when I compared this morning, I got a higher temp in the ear than in the mouth!!

I just did an OPK and a big fat nothing again. I am getting quite disheartened by it now as that's 10 negatives now. My last cycle was 27 days so I figure either this one is going to be much longer or I won't have OV-ed at all.

How common is it not to OV??