The Berries: Projecting the sausage signal and chasing rainbows whilst chanting FUFC in the hunt for that elusive BFP (thread 19)

[happylass]

The smallprint –
Berries have a strict entrance criteria (TTC #1, over 30, TTC for 12+months, NO instadiffers, must have a special pot and def no mention of baby dust or baby dancing UGH !!! Ooooh aren’t we strict!

Sausage signal to otters

I think it's something that bees feed baby bees to turn them into queens. but I'm not sure funky.

yeah PAOS barking!

Welcome, Lumen, I've just done long protocol, currently in the 2WW.
Any questions, feel free to ask, there's a few of us now who've been through it.
Good luck Bushy with today's phone call.
Yes, POAS Barking!
Hope you're OK, Otters

barkingtreefrog 34 (for one more month), ttc since Jan 2012. 8 day LP. Clomid bfp, mc sept 13, cycles messed up since. Starting IUI possibly this weekend?!
Nolly, 32, ttc 19 months, unexplained infertility, PCO though who knows, clomid cycle 2 as of today.
Funkymonk 32, ttc 19 months. Factor v Leiden thrombophilia. Mc July 2013 and dec 2013 (5 weeks and 8 weeks). I suspect low progesterone due to shorter LP, light af and pre af spotting, but FC say not. dh lowish count and lowish morphology.
Ladybunnikins 35, ttc since Jan 2012. Unexplained. IVF#1 Oct 2013 - chemical. IVF#2 OTD 9th May

Poas! Poas! Poas!

Welcome home nolly! Hope you had a great trip. Re royal jelly - oh had 'good but a little sluggish' swimmers a couple of years ago when he had tests for non-ttc related stuff (turned out to be a bladder infection) so he went to a hippy doctor who told him to take RJ. So, when all the ttc came up, his SA came up as 'excellent' - he only takes RJ and a supplement called Living Nutriment. He's never been a massive drinker and is generally quite healthy, so we can only put his stellar SA down to his supps. Ps. I spat my tea out over your Victorian urchin gag earlier!

No sign of otters, then?

funky I don't understand it either. I Keep spotting pregnant women smoking and I find it infuriating that they get to have what I don't/can't, while they're as unhealthy as can be. Grr

Calm down ladies, I poas this morning to try and stop myself going mental!

bfn, obviously. I didn't really want a bfp though, I'd rather wait just one more cycle and get a bfp that I'd be more confident would stick! I'll be happier knowing they've controlled my dodgy cycle and given me progesterone to make my womb more comfy.

(And also, if after 28 months of trying I got a natural bfp but then had a mc, I don't know what that would do to getting any help).

Royal Jelly, hey! I might ask DH to give it a try. His SA results were mostly good, just morphology was at the low end of the scale.

Lol at nolly and turning into a bee because of taking RJ. I'm imagining DH's beard becoming yellow and black stripes like a bumblebee. Cute.

Really, really nice to hear IVF berries say that they feel the pressure is off them once they are getting medical help. I've always thought IVF wasn't for me, but now I'm having to get my head round it and seriously consider whether it should be the next step. The thought of all the hormones you have to take puts me off a bit. How has everyone else found that bit?

I saw the sausage projector!!

Sorry for the silence - I'm in pregnancy test hell right now. I got a positive digi test on Wednesday which said 'pregnant 1-2'. Much excitement ensued in the Pocket household. So today I cracked open the second test for the laughs and it's now telling me 'not pregnant' . I grabbed a test (some unbranded thing was all they had) from the chemist on the way to work this morning and there is no hint of a line.

I think this might be a chemical pregnancy.

Hey hey! Nice embryos so we're on for et Sunday- day 5 yay!!

Can I ask anyone that's had it done what happens? The lady said it's like a smear so I take it you don't have to change into a gown so is a long skirt a good idea? Did you still follow the no makeup thing? I read on the chasing rainbows signs that it's a good thing just to keep things simple afterward so no perfume or overtly fragranced things.

Wildflower apart from one big argument the night before ec ( which I think was the tension getting to us/me) I found all the hormone stuff ok. I found with the sniffing I was a bit irritable at work but tbh that might have just been the kids annoying me, def found myself less annoyed when it was Easter hols!! At end of injections found myself getting a bit bloated and really bloated after ec.

I've been taking royal jelly, heard it was good for egg quality. Well if it's good enough for the queen bee!

funky oh yeah the pg unhealthy thing is so annoying but it just shows there's no rhyme or reason to it, just seems so bloody unfair. I absolutely hate pg smoking women. There was one who would openly walk down the road with a big old bump smoking,used to make my blood boil. I've seen her since and her little one looks really healthy.

Oh Gosh otters, not sure what to say or what you do in a situ like this. How late is your period? Maybe hold off and see if it comes or not. Let it be a bit late then test again? I think it's hard to get a true result if you keep testing early. Anyhow fingers crossed for you.

Really sorry, Otters.

Wildflower the injections are fine, you get used to them. I found the downregulation drugs (which make your ovaries menopausal) made me feel quite drained, a bit moody and I had hot flushes but nothing too bad, and once I started the stimulation drugs I felt much better, just bloated for the last few days before egg collection. The progesterone I'm taking now is giving me tender, swollen boobs and making me tired. I agree that in general IVF isn't too bad because at least you feel like you are doing something that might actually work, but a failed IVF cycle is tough to deal with.

That's shit otters - but - maybe it's worth getting your hands on some other tests to be sure? I'm so, so sorry if it is a cp.

Bushy go embryos! For embryo transfer, I wore a dress, left coat/bag/shoes in a locker outside. Told not to wear perfume/spray on deodorant but make-up not mentioned. Partner can come in with you, mine was at work this time. Embryologist showed me a picture of the blastocyst going back and told me about the frosties. Then it was like a smear really in terms of discomfort. They had an ultrasound screen that I could see to watch when the catheter went in to the uterus and when the fluid containing the embryo is expelled into the uterus. Then they checked under the microscope that the catheter was definitely empty since the embryo is so tiny.
After transfer, on the walk back to the carpark, I held my breath when walking past smokers to protect my little embryo!

Otters, really hoping that this isn't happening to you. Xxx

Loving the "holding of the breath" Lady!

Sorry to hear it's not all happening the way it should otters, when is/was AF due? .

I've had more details about the job..... the pay is better than I'd expected and is enough to remove it from the 'con' list... The holidays are the standard 28 days (8 of which are bank holidays) so only 4 flexible weeks to take when all my working life I've had 13 weeks (inflexible) holiday... DH is a teacher so he'd still have the 13 weeks and be going away without me all the time. BUT it's a 37.5 hour week and I've never, ever experienced not starting work until 9 and finishing at 5.30. All my weekends totally to myself and no planning lessons and marking all day Sunday...

Argh! 13 week holidays and 50-60 hour weeks vs 5.6 weeks holiday and 37.5 hour weeks. Difference in pay is still very significant but plenty for me to live on and money doesn't drive me. What would you do?!

It's sounding really good Barking, I didn't realise your DH is also a teacher so at least he'll be able to do the childcare (not going away by himself!) during school holidays after your successful IUI. You've always sounded really miserable/stressed when talking about work so maybe the pay cut is worth it for the overall lifestyle improvement.

Otters that is v tough. Do try waiting 24 hours and another test, in the early days the hormone levels can be right on the edge of the sensitivity of the tests. Sending strength if it is a chemical. I had 2 CPs in the 3 cycles before I got my bfp so perhaps it is true that fertility is raised after a cp or mc x

Thanks everyone, Af was due on Wednesday. I caved and tried a frer - there is a line but it's no darker than it was a few days ago. Tender boobs are also not tender anymore. Sigh. Why does this have to be so bloody hard. Thanks for all of the support, it really helps

Otters the lines don't get darker for ages. Mine got lighter for the first week. The darkness of the line means nothing as the amount of dye in the tests varies, even in 2 from the same box. And in my experience digital tests are not as sensitive as others x

And don't worry about the boobs, again it is totally normal for symptoms to come and go (and disappear for ages causing panic) as all of the berries in the chopper will tell you. Hang in there, the early days with worry and uncertainty are tough x

Thanks for the reality check merk, I feel like I'm being a right drama queen and sorry for me me me posts!

otters keep em coming if it helps to relieve the tension. fx for you.

barking - is the job itself more interesting? boredom can be hard to bear. having said that I am very lazy myself and would rather do almost anything that work evenings and weekends.

feathers trip was good thanks - except for revolting daily headlines about "his royal cuteness" (vomit) or his "style icon" mother.

Everybody has had the time they need to post a lot Otters me more than most so don't worry its what the berries are for. Everything crossed for you

Hi again berries, I have spent today working from home reading this thread and I am feeling very lucky to have found such like-minded people who are going through the same thing as me. Having spent the last 2.5 yrs temp'ing, CBFM'ing and watching for all pg signs with zero success I am very happy to finally be going down the IVF route. We only get one shot in my area before I am 35 (in 5 mths), anymore after that will have to be funded ourselves.

Lady and Bushey I have been following your progress and fx for ivf bfps! HB hope your IVF goes smoothly too.

Feathers - I loved reading your wedding dress saga - I too struggled with how much to spend, in the end spent much more than planned and now have it in a box in the wardrobe, but don't regret it 1 bit as love looking at the photos.

RainDrops - I now feel the need to go out and buy some Oreo ice cream!

Good luck to Happy and Barking and anyone else I have missed going down the IUI route, that wasn't offered to us because of my ages and the funded IVF age cut-off.

Otters - fx you feel better soon and you get your bfp.

RP - loved the turkey baster story, made my Friday very entertaining (esp when clicked through to the one on amazon)

Hi to anyone else I have missed out. Hope you all have relaxing bank hol weekend planned? I have babysitting my 4 yr old niece and 21mth old nephew tomorrow (he was concieved at our wedding when we started ttc), and then at my niece's birthday party on Sunday (lots of babies in tow) and then meeting up with my BF from school who I have not seen since my wedding (she has 2 DSs - got diffed 1st month trying both times)

Anyway, sorry for such a long post. x