Um hello, newbie, ttc, needing a place to talk to people :)

[Fruityb]

I've been reading the site for ages but decided to sign up as need an outlet and place to talk as ttc is quite secret and it's not something I have loads of people I could talk about it with. Plus I'm quite shy and my ovaries aren't something to bring up at social gatherings!
I'm 31, came off pill in October and me and boyfriend have been ttc since. I didn't know how long it would take to get back to normal as had been on pill for eleven years. Turns out it took four weeks, and am now on third AF since coming off, so annoyingly normal in one way! I'm getting my head round all this tracking stuff but don't want it all to get clinical with the fella as it takes the fun away!
So just wanted to say hi and hopefully share in people's stories. It's not all as straightforward as I always thought, and I'm always the one that would start panicking something was wrong with me. I'm pleased I found somewhere I can just write it down if nothing else.
So, hi, and hopefully can take some good advice away.

I can offer you a cyber slap but I unfortunately can't offer you any words of advice, sorry hun

Tentatively saying hi after lurking a bit on the thread... This is my first pill-free month in around 20 years, so it's ALL very new to me

It's been on my mind a while to stop taking the pill and see what happens but completely new concept to DH when we chatted it out at the weekend, he was surprisingly open to the idea. So we're kind of NTNP, I don't want to get too strung out and pressurise myself and get obsessive as I am prone to do.

I've just ordered folic acid on Amazon, ovulation calendar app installed and my private Small Things pinterest board is starting to populate - so I guess this is actually happening... eeep!

Morning all
GP was lovely about everything - he was pleased to see I was still being rational about the fact that nothing is set in stone just yet. So, as he said to us, there's no reason to think anything would go wrong as we're both young and healthy, but as long as we remain aware of potential risks and manage our expectations we should be fine.

I liked that response - sensible and friendly. He was also pleased to see I was already taken folic acid.

I'm booked in with the midwife for 6th February, so hopefully everything goes well between now and then; and if it doesn't then there was something wrong and it was nobody's fault. I thought the 2ww was bad for me - this is a whole new level of 'don't get hopes up too much'!

I filled in a form for free prescriptions, handed relevant booklets, was given a tentative due date of 23rd September (eek) and have been referred for a scan at 11 weeks. All very straightforward. Hopefully it stays that way!

Hi Kiki, really pleased that it went so well at the Doctors. Sounds like you've got a really good one there! I think the fact he was realistic but positive as well. It would be awful to see one who was negative and making you worry unreasonably. Yeah my sister said if you think TTC is stressful, wait until you're actually pregnant! But it's definitely all worth it I'm sure :)

The due date is excellent. I'm an August birthday and being the youngest in your year is absolutely rubbish, so you've done well for your child!! What date will your scan be? Bet that will be so exciting!

Does it feel more real now you've been to the Doctors?

Wow kiki its all so exciting! Sounds like you have a great doctor too. X

Wow Kiki so exciting...huge congrats!

In my life the cooker repair man is 15 mins late and I have to be at work by 1pm...Grrrrr!

Thanks Helen and mrsb! Hopefully I'll have you two (and everybody else!) going through all of this yourselves very soon and we can compare notes/continue overreacting when necessary.

It definitely feels more real now; I just want to get to next Wednesday/Thursday as that would be well out of the af window. The scan should be around 5th March (which is brilliantly a week before I go skiing again - the first year in an age where I get to go out twice in the season and I'm far more interested in things happening just before the holidays instead!)

Apparently my doctor referred me for the scan today and I'll receive confirmation of a date and time in the post over the next few weeks. He did say it was best to book in with the midwife before leaving the surgery today though as they can get booked up very quickly and you can't have your scan until you've had that booking appointment. So, I guess what I'm saying is that even though I saw the gp early it's perhaps best to so that these later appointments can be arranged as easily as possible.

Helen - I know what you mean about August birthdays. I'm February, but one of my best friends is an August birthday and she used to always be so disgruntled about a) being the youngest, and b) everybody being abroad on summer holidays when she wanted to have a birthday party!

(Looking back over my posts I do appear to have lost some spelling and grammar skills. Great...I might start blaming that on hormones.)

Thanks, Rhi! I'm jointing in on your damning of the cooker repairman - I hate when people are late and you need to be somewhere else!

joining, not* jointing. If this continues it's going to be a very long 9 months...

Oooooh yeeeahhhhhh! :-) super pleased for u!!

Sitting in a meeting reading this-addicted to finding out about your lives!!

Thanks kiki I hope it wont be too long for helen and I either!

I have just been asked to go into work tomorrow...... bang goes my lazy 2 days off

I probs need a slap as I'm having real trouble not going to get a test. Must...resist...urge!!!!

Thanks, misskgb . It'll be you soon! I know what you mean about being addicted to it though - I'm following all developments with great interest'

mrsb - that's not fair about going into work tomorrow! I can't be the one I give you the slap, I'm afraid, as it would make me an enormous hypocrite after my test purchasing spree!

(Can you all please just ignore my inability to type today? Otherwise I'm going to have to correct every post I type)

Only if you ignore my lake of typing ability! I'm awful whether im pg or not!

Oh my goodness... I knew I would start symptom spotting...!
I'm about 4-5DPO and for the first time in my life I'm suffering constantly from heartburn (morning, noon and night) to the point it's putting me off my food (which is unusual for me)! I've got mild cramping and had the most ridiculous but vivid dream last night!
This is only my first cycle of TTC so I have a feeling I'm going to drive myself crazy!

What is the earliest that people recommend testing? I promised myself I wouldn't do this but... never mind!

RhiBee29- hope the cooker man has turned up, late people are the work of the devil aren't they!

Kiki- I really hope so, I'm having one of those 'I so wish I was pregnant' days today. Which is probably making me symptom spot excessively!! Would you still be able to ski in March?! I'm not much of a skiier myself so I might be totally wrong but I always think of it as a bit of a dangerous past time?! Exactly, August birthdays are rubbish when you're growing up. Now it's good because I'm younger than pretty much everyone I know, but it's not worth it for the years of annoyance when you're younger!!

Mrsb87- that's so unfair about having to go into work. Do they not realise you have obsessive MNing and symptom spotting to do?!

cheshirem2b- I don't think there is any chance of a test showing positive at this stage so it's probably better to resist. Probably the earliest you should test is a couple of days before AF is due really. It's so unfair and hard isn't it!! Are the vivid dreams pregnancy symptoms?! My ears just pricked up because I've been dreaming loads the last couple of nights where as I can never usually remember!!

misskgb- laughed at you reading in a meeting, I'm on this far too much at work. It's weird how easily you get involved with other people's lives isn't it!!

Anyone who is used to none pill periods, how long before AF arrives do you start to get back ache? I've not had such a sore back in ages!

Found this on another thread ages ago which is pretty good!!

www.countdowntopregnancy.com/tools/pregnancy_test_calculator.php

Cheshirem2b - well you're certainly in the right place for symptom spotting! I caved at 10dpo, which was Saturday, and thus four days before expected af. I got nothing on a digital in the morning, and a sort of line, and an actual line in the evening on a clearblue standard and a First response. I don't think I would have had anything earlier than that though as the FR line was significantly darker by next morning.

Mrsb - let's just ignore all errors and remain blameless!

Helen - skiing shouldn't be a problem - the doctor said some people wouldn't recommend it, but unless you're doing lots of off-piste or speeding around the mountain it shouldn't be a problem. I'm going to stick with mummy in law and do our usual 'oh let's stop and look at the lovely view. Oh, let's have a hot chocolate. Let's have another hot chocolate. Lunch?' So hopefully all will be fine. If anything looks tenuous in March then I won't ski and still have a wonderful time being in the mountains.

As for pre-af cramps I normally get awful ones for 4-5 days before, and horrid backache for the same duration (which then lasts well into the first 3 days of af's visitation)...lovely.

Kiki- sounds like a good plan with the extra breaks etc. Sure a break will be really nice either way. Sounds lovely, things like that remind me of why I went on the pill in the first place! We'll see what happens though, hopefully if AF does return then it'll be less horrific then I remember....!

According to the link I posted, should you have tested when you did or not?! 10dpo seems a reasonable length of time though. Did you have any implantation bleeding? (sorry if asking for tmi!)

Helen - the link you posted said to hold off, but I felt so 'odd' on Saturday I had a gut feeling to test. 10dpo is still early as I've read of people not getting bfps until 16/18 dpo, and in some cases not getting a result from a stick until weeks and weeks into the pregnancy - it seems to be that there's a wide variety in how much of the pregnancy hormone you produce, and a what speed.

I had no implantation bleeding (and trust me I was on the lookout for it), and the only pain I had aside from what felt like af cramps was a stitch that started on Thursday night and lasted into Saturday morning. Whether it was related I have no idea, and I'll still have to get through the week after expected af to even be sure that implantation actually occurred. (I've been using 'stick, baby, stick!' as a mantra since Saturday. Ha!) I've been paranoid all day about af arriving, which is silly really, because I can't do anything about it either way at this stage!

Kiki- I like your mantra but it's very unlikely AF will show now isn't it?! This might be my lack of paying attention in biology now and also the fact I haven't got to the stage of googling what happens when you're actually pregnant... but I presume once you get a positive that's that unless you mc?! (touch a massive amount of wood this doesn't happen)

Yeah, that's the problem isn't it, it does seem to be very different for different women. Hope I'm able to get an early bfp because it must be so stressful to be very late and still getting bfns!

Helen - I think it comes down to how miscarriage is defined. Many people would consider an early bfp followed by a (usually) heavier af to be a miscarriage, but lots of doctors wouldn't. I've been advised that you have to clear the af+a week window to be anything more than - to borrow DH's phrase - 'cautiously excited' as it could be that the egg was fertilised but never inplanted. I swear it's only going to get more complicated at each stage!

And again with pressing 'reply' too early...

I meant to add - I hope you get an early bfp too!
The weird sense of relief that follows is hugely welcome (even if it doesn't last...haha). When do you think you'll test? I know you've said, but I'm having a world of trouble with my phone and this site today!

Im finding it uber difficult to know when to poas as af has never been regular for me. Nightmare!

Ah right that makes sense then. Hopefully the time will pass really quickly until the end of next week and then you'll feel more confident about it all. You're right though, who knew it was all so much hassle and stress!

Hm I think probably the end of this week, Saturday would be 11 days past suspected ovulation! I know I find it really hard sometimes to reply on my phone or iPad because I can't see the messages whilst I'm writing so I have to try and remember what people have said, which isn't always that easy!

Mrsb87- did you get any ovulation symptoms? Rough rule of thumb is about 14 days after that AF would be due so test from close up to that point!