the rat smacking, no argument brooking, pom pom waving, goody baking, baby visualising, just fertilising, being pregnant and staying pregnant thread of exceptionally good luck

[NinjaChipmunk]

So here is our new home, hope you all like it!

Oh no maybe, I'm very sorry to hear that. Pffffft! to your vile boss.

And to you too.

(the ruck: from what I could hear, the bloke was taking photos of random women in bikinis and his wife caught him. T'was Eastenders-tastic. Shame she didn't thump the pervert, really)

snow I think 10 days or less is considered a problem because the lining starts to break down before the little blighter has had a chance to implant properly. Some say less than 12 is a problem, BUT there are also lots of people on here who conceived with a luteal phase of 8 or 9 days so who knows??

My cycles are fairly regular and I know when I ovulate as I use OPKs. I know I should probably go in today but if ther esult is bad I am just going to freak myself out and I would rather wait and get it done on the the right day (please I am already soooo preggers)

scream great to see you on here, we were a bit worried!

biscuits I am so pleased my unattractive symptoms are at least signs of the blimming obvious

musical yes we want a list of What You Did Differently This Month

wants sounds like you are soooo up diffed already!

maybe I am really sorry to hear that, your boss sounds like an arse. Of course now that you are not trying and 'just relaxing' you realise you are going to get preggers really quickly in some sort of unfeasible contraceptive failure incident don't you?

generic might be worth a progesterone test?

Maybe really sorry to hear your boss is making your life so difficult.
What a tough decision you've had to make. Wishing you all the best for the rest of your PHD and future career. I'm sure you'll realise your dream of becoming a mummy when the timing is better for you.

Scrambled I'm terribly nosey when I hear people having a row I know how awful that sounds. Our neighbours had one a few years ago and all his stuff was thrown out of the bedroom window soap opera style.

Oh maybe, that's awful. Are you sure it would be career suicide if you got pg? Any possibility of transferring to another department or something like that? Don't look at 6 months as a waste - it's a learning experience

OPK to the negatory today - that really was blink-or-you'll-miss-it.

Oh maybe, I'm sorry ttc hasn't worked for you this time. I hope when you are ready to try again it happens quickly for you. x

Oh Maybe - we'll miss you :(

Good luck with your PhD though and on the job front. Hope your boss decides that being an arse is bad for him and moves to the Galapagos Islands or something so you can have nice people to work with.

Scrambled how exciting. Live soap opera in your very own street. That made me laugh out loud, the wife catching him taking pics. I'd have been out in the street whooping and cheering Jerry Springer styleeeee!!!

scarlet I'm not normally this bad, honest! I'm just having a bit of a crappy month day and it was a distraction. Although I would have loved it if some clothes were flung out of a window too. They were standing in the middle of the road, screaming in each others faces, so nearly as good!

farfalla of course you are pregnant!

God knows what my luteal phase is, I didn't even know what it was before I joined this thread. How do you work it out?

Thank you so much for your kind words ladies.

Sn0w I don't even want to stay in this line of work I am just worried that because I am technically a student, I am not entitled to any maternity pay (even though I do get paid, but in the form of a stipend) so I would not have a leg to stand on.

My boss is an arse. He doesn't like women (which is why there are hardly any in my lab, and none of us have children. Though one is pregnant, and he makes nasty comments all the time).

It is just so tough, as DH and I are so ready for this. I suppose there is always the possibility of a win on the old lottery though....

Sorry to dampen the mood of the room preggos. Stiff upper lip and all that

It is so unfair that your boss could have such an impact on this - what an arse! You sound as if you're a bit stuck in terms of studying and working - is there no way you can look to make a change sooner (apologies - I find the whole world of academia a bit of confusing jobwise - I can never work out my friends who have academic jobs are doing or how the whole job thing works)

Take care anyway xx

Omg while we're sharing Jeremy Vines-esque stories... I was in the post office last week when a youngish mum came in with 2 kids - a 6ish yr old Tyrese was getting yelled at by the postmaster for climbing up shelving, shortly before repeatedly yanking his younger pram-bound brother's legs to the sound of the mother wailing "no Tyrese, baby Zion doesn't like it!" (to which a grinning Tyrese replied, "yes he does!" and kept on going). She left pretty quickly at that point...... it was chavtastic.

I shouldn't laugh really, but it's hard not to! Sometimes I feel like such a capable mother

(clarification - a lot of the time I feel thoroughly incapable, but it is nice to feel capable every once in a while!)

Maybe sorry to hear you are leaving us and that your boss is such an arse. I hope you sort out your career and ttc soon enough.

Sn0w that sounds hilarious!!

Farfalla you're scaring me! I have enough problems without low progesterone - no, I think I'll stay in blissful ignorance. I have my gynae appointment next month, so if I'm not preggo (as if!) I will ask about more tests etc then. Actually, this afternoon I tried to convince myself that I was 'doing a Musical' and that my af was actually implantation and I am in fact preggo. Just daydreaming though!

Fell asleep on the sofa and when I came back in here another whole page of chat had appeared! Can't do that again or I could miss something important!

maybe - I'm so sorry to hear your boss is being a pain. I'm not looking forward to having to potentially discuss maternity leave etc with employers. However, even if they don't offer me maternity pay we'll be ok (DH's pay + SMP is just enough for us to get by on for a couple of months).. I know what you mean about jobs in academia etc - been trying to get one for a while but to no avail. One reason I haven't started my PhD yet - very few musical academic jobs opening up.

Scream - headaches and backaches don't sound fun! Hope you're finding a method of coping with them? And that they settle down soon, of course. I have a bulging disc in my lower spine, so looking forward to seeing how that plays out!

Biscuits and Sn0w - I'm lucky in that I've always been musical. Wanting to make a career out of it possibly wasn't the best choice (as DH points out regularly!), though after a bit of rockiness it seems to be working out. The piano is my escape from the world - can sit down for hours, play, and forget my troubles!

What did I do differently this month? A few things:

• Joined this thread! Although we'd been trying for a few months, and I'd loitered here for a bit, as soon as I started talking to you lovely rat-smackers it appears I've BFP-ed! So, it's clearly a magical place to be!
• Lots of SWI. Every other day (except once, I think). And past when I thought I'd ov-ed - which is good, as I'd got it wrong!
• Very little caffeine (limited myself to one drink a day), lots of healthy eating for both myself and DH, and both on vitamins. He had a couple of drinks over the course of SWI-ing, but not many at all really.

I think that's it, but I think the main contributing factors to today's BFP were lots of SWI, and lots of contact with fellow rat-smackers on here! :) Maybe the AF false alarm made me chill out a bit, too, which stopped me worrying and stressing about it?

Sn0w that made me chuckle

Thanks Biscuits and Generic In my uni, the academic jobs are paid for my money that we 'win' through grant applications and funding. Only my boss has an actual actual job. Everyone else is employed until their particular bit of funding has run out. Because of the way the economy is now, there is hardly an money being put into the research side of things in universities, so there are far fewer jobs. Which makes it tricky.

Maybe things will work themselves out soon, who knows. But thank you all again

Oh and Generic you will definitely not be needing that appointment

Oh no, how sad to come on here to hear the news you're leaving us Maybe :( You will be missed. That must have been a very very difficult decision to make. Really hope everything works out for you and hope to see you on here sooner rather than later :)

Sorry only a fleeting visit so not had a chance to read everyones posts properly....

Oooh noooo Maybe Maybe are you sure?? God, of course you're sure you wouldn't make a decision like that lightly. Don't let an arse of a boss get in the way of your plans. So sorry that you're being so sensible! Sure we can't persuade you to not try but just see what happens? Oh boo I'm really gutted for you.

My tits are sooo sore
I feel a bit bloated and have stabbing pains
also a bit dizzy

Just wanted to update you all, as you were.

I love how positive you all are! And the peach bellinis sound yummy! Good luck to you all - glitzy buckets for everyone!

Imps I am not sure at all, in fact I am positively unsure

It is amazing how much of an arse one man can be. He had me in floods of tears yesterday and the day before.

Farfalla I have a feeling this month is your month

Thanks Solars I hope I am back soon. In fact, I am half hoping I don't have to leave

Very excited to hear about your CB positive Musical

Hi knitty

Thanks maybe and please please don't let one man stop you from TTC
I can sense a chink in your armour so I goign to say, there is never a perfect time but we will all muddle through somehow???

That is very true Farfalla If i wait till I am rich, I will be waiting a long time

You are so upduffed, farfalla!

Hi Knitty!

Am spending too much time trawling FertilityFriend and MN thinking positivie pg thoughts :o