New year, new thread, fresh start and a brand spanking new injection of a hot new batch of posifrickenity! This is the year where our wombs will be comfy and our babies plentiful! TTC after MC.

[Sal1977]

2014. The year of the rainbow baby. We pledge to be positive (most of the time). We pledge to cry less, shag more and swear lots. This is the one wannamummabees!

The Rules...

(1) A lady may only POAS on a Friday.
(2) Friday means the day that everyone calls Friday in the time zone where you spent the night.
(3) Rule (1) does not apply to POA-OPK-S, UNLESS they are being illegitimately used as surrogate HCG detectors, in which case Rule (1) most definitely does apply
(4) Rule (1) does not apply following a BFP because if you want to waste £25 a day POADigiS that's your prerogative
(5) Rule (1) does not apply if a lady is POAS in an attempt to get a BFN to prove she can start DTD with intent
(6) Rule (1) does not apply if a lady wants for unknown reason to pee on an actual stick, like a twig or some such, if that lady is unexpectedly caught short whilst tramping in the forest looking for bears.
(7) These rules (including Rule (1)) are subject to the change at any time if the ladies of the Posifrickentivity thread decide on a whim come up with empirical evidence to prove that it is luckier to POAS on any other day of the week
(8) Violators of Rule (1) shall be subject to fish throwing.

And as a grand finale, why not pledge to NEVER POAS before 14DPO?

FuckIt - I'm off to make chocolate sauce!

Can I have some please miss? Sounds delicious! Would go very well with my wine... And yes I cracked. And it's very nice too. Fab in fact.

MissP we're the same, should've started yesterday but might DTD tonight...more likely to be tomorrow! Haha
I normally OV around day 16 as well, so we'll be right in line with each other this cycle!! Xx

fedup - sorry, all gone! I ate enough for about three! Pah! Time for bed!

I am on my way home from London after a couple of post work drinks with friends not having had any dinner so all this talk of ice cream and hot chocolate sauce is pure torture!

On to the 3 on a trot nights of SMEP from tonight so will be on 2ww from Monday. I will keep you company Sundance!! Nice to have you back, but not really IYSWIM

Now, to avoid the call of the late night post vino junk food....

Hi sundance. Post xmas food coma or not 4 lbs is not to be sniffed at. Well done and yay for positive opk.

Keeping everything crossed for you Tanny and fedup.

Good luck SMEPers!

My billion and one internet cheapie OPKs and HPTs arrived today. I've never tracked ov before other than by CM. In two minds as it sounds like a right old faff and easy to miss your surge not to mention that I am fast becoming a bit obsessive/neurotic about TTC in general. Any OPK advocates or haters care to give an opinion?

I was a lover now a hater penguin

Although they told me aroundabout when ov'ing when cycles were varying in length, but much more than ewcm and I found getting an empty circle (I used digitals) almost as depressing as a hpt bfn!!

penguin. Tbh I have had a lot more success conceiving without. 2 going with the flow and 1 chemical using opk. A bit obsessed with them but the doc told me really if your cycle is regular And there is no reason to think you are not ovulating then waste of money & time. Have just received some Internet cheapies. Don't think I will buy clearblue again.

Ditto MissP. Despite test after test telling me my cycle was normal I OPKed like a nutter. I even spunked about £80 on a clearblue monitor which basically just confirmed again that I was normal. I ended up getting my BFP on a non OPK month.

That said, I may dust it off next cycle if I don't miraculously instadiff this one, just to check things are back to normal post MC, so there is something to be said for the comfort factor!

Ps are your cheapies the ones in sachets that have to be dunked in your pee? I tried them and gave up. Testing at 2pm at work was a mission and a half, trying to sneak my special pee mug and OPK strip holder (an old stylus case for a record player randomly!) into the only ladies loo on the floor without arousing suspicion was no mean feat I tell you!

Just realised my post doesn't make sense... Sorry penguin! I think if you are fairly reg or get ewcm then don't bother with opks as stress you out more for no reason. Ie empty circle for me was depressing! I've been preg 3 times and non of these were when using opks.

parsley am intrigued by the piss pot - what did you do with it after testing?!

I suppose that was the advantage of digis. No pots required, just about 3 mins to wait whilst it thought about your wee and left me hoping that no one thought I was suffering from severe constipation!!!

I use them, penguin, just the cheap internet ones, and find them helpful, but that's maybe coz I'm crap at spotting/don't get heaps of ewcm. I I do shag from when af is done to when I'm certain ov is over just in case, when we manage it. Never tried clearblue, but my friend got pg using it, and some of her friends swore by it.

I have a pee pot too...an old yoghurt pot. I just wash it thoroughly after! Dh has even got over it.

Found my silver lining-got given bags of beautiful, absurdly expensive clothes yday from an ill friend-both very sad for her, and also a bizarre dream. But they only just fit, so there's no way they'll go on when even a bit pg. Need to enjoy wearing them while I can!

Hi Sal, thanks for the welcome; hi Tanny and JBrd, good to see you here. to everyone else and good luck with your BD escapades!
I use the internet dip sticks from time to time, just to confirm what I think the other bodily signs are saying. I did seem to have a false +ive earlier this month but DH and I have just DTD more times (he is not complaining!). I had a little medical looking pot that came with another pg test ages ago and I just wash it out and keep it for next time. I have used clear blue in the past and think they are very good, but I am not rich enough to buy them all the time. I would probably use a digi to confirm a +ive pg test on a dipstick, though.

While rinsing my pee mug in the sink I would wonder to myself how many other ladies were also rinsing theirs at the same time. Ttc turns you into a total freak show doesn't it?

fedup it was a blue plastic camping mug. Since relegating those sticks to the in, the mug has since disappeared. I am worried el Husbando has put it back with the other camping mugs without realising. I shall never be able to drink tea while camping again (not much risk thankfully as we haven't been for years!)

Just hello! When you say you got a false +ive, how did you establish that? Do you test more than once per day? Excuse my newb ignorance!

Happy Saturdays all - off to the torture chamber gym this morning. Hopefully I'll still be able to move later as we have much shagging to get done this weekend!

Parsley I was feeling a bit nympho so I did a dip stick and got a second line on CD6. No EWCM tho. Then got EWCM on CD13 so tested again and got a second line again. Had several -ive (only control line) in between these two dates. I have been having acupuncture so I think hormones are going bonkers atm - my hair was REALLY greasy all last week for no good reason. Last MC was in June but I have been under treatment from St Mary's and had surgery and HRT for a

Thanks for all the helpful replies everyone I think I may wait to see what my cycle does first. I used to have ewcm and what I think was ov pain round day 14 on a nice textbook 28 day cycle but am worried after reading how mc can mess things up. If my cycle is unchanged I tend to think going with the flow but maybe testing to confirm signs might be a good compromise as they are indeed the dippy types.

In other news, first driving lesson in several months this morning and bricking it. I'm switching back to manual after a brief dalliance with automatic which, whilst massively easier, meant I couldn't practice between lessons. If I don't post for a while I'm probably traumatised from running someone over!

Ha ha parsley! Yep, couldn't afford clearblue either, but might get my friend's from her as she's just given birth. Are the sticks expensive?

X-post: good luck today penguin! I well remember that fear-it gets easier. Was such a slow and scared learner, and don't mind driving now.

These are the ones I use. They also do pg tests in the same brand. Happy obsessing, ladies!
Ovulation tests

I use those ones justone - haven't failed me yet. I have a pack of cb ones left from last time too so double checked with those yesterday...mainly just because I liked the idea of seeing a smiley face on a piss stick!

So, af arrived yesterday. Still not much atm, brown and clotty, hope it gets heavier today.

I'm relieved tbh, as I really wanted a rest month, and we get to put project SMEP into practice.

Thanks for all the good vibes!

parsley yes the ones in the white packets. I was just going to wait till I got gone. 6pm USB. Is that too late to poas.

justone. I often get 2 poss opks - 1st one just after acunpuncture and then ovulate later.

tanny sorry to hear AF arrived.

Right it's CD 11 and time to start SmEP. Always start about last as ovulate cd 17/18. sal. Have you begun??

justone those are the beggars! Super cheap, but I am so lazy plus aforementioned logistical issues!
MissP you should be ok at 6pm. As I commute to london from the 'burbs I don't get home before about 7pm so it was at work or nothing. The CB fertility monitor is first pee of the day, and gives a nice flexible 4 hour window so you can still have a lie in on Sundays, but it is an expensive one! Seasides if you can borrow one I'd recommend it just for ease of use? Sticks aren't cheap (about £20 for 20 sticks, which is usually 2 cycles worth) but you can get a discount on Amazon by using their subscribe and save feature (if you want to test for longer than 2 months that is).

tanny sorry to hear the witch turned up, but loving the attitude and SMEP planning.

penguin please check in when you can else we'll have to send out a search and rescue party!

Gym was actually fun, got good and sweaty and even made a new friend (some lovely ancient old fella called Bob. Old people are drawn to me, I don't know why. Wherever I go, I make OAP friends. Maybe I smell like Werthers?)

Glad to see that I'm not alone with my cheapie OPK sticks, CBFM and BBT charting... I use it all, even though I have the most regular cycles and always ovulate around CD13-14. But for me it works - ever since I have been doing this, I've always managed to fall pg within 1-2 months of trying. Obsessing Scrutinising my charts, I think that I can even say that it works best for me if we dtd the before I ovulate... I am a control freak, but hey, whatever works.

Parsley I always use the OPKs in the evening, when I get home from work, around 6.30-7pm. No way I could face having to test at work!

CD7 today, and I'm trying to decide if we should try SMEP this month. Just realised that DH is going to be away on a business trip next month when I'm ovulating, so it would be great to get it 'done' this month. Not that a month makes a big difference in the grand scheme of things, but I want to get moving, not getting any younger
But I find SMEP so exhausting - only ever tried it once so far, it failed miserably. Plus, I have a stinking cold at the moment, and my libido is therefore gone completely AWOL. Might wait a couple of days to see how I feel then... Ttc is such a chore
Hat off to all you ladies going for it, or about to - good luck!

Sorry to hear AF is here Tanny but woo for positivity and SMEP planning.

I made it through the driving lesson without killing anyone or crying which in my book counts as a resounding success!