TTC for 10 months, and all the rest. 10 plussers welcome.

[MuddyWellyNelly]

New thread full of the most amazing women.

donna The samples can vary from month to month, great that you have your appointment so quickly

sam agree with nelly about it being stressful but it is a step closer to the final goal :) if you feel emotional after then go have a coffee where some first before going back to work, if still too emotional just go home

fluffy what is happening with the footy team :)

nelly can I just say, your first trimester is dragging, I cannot believe you are only 8.5 weeks but yay to all things being well, can you just tell them all at once and be done with it, I take it I'm on AB's won't wash

Thanks Nelly and Buzzy. I'm just a natural worrier, and am already thinking 'what if they say there's nothing they can do to help us'. Stupid I know, I'm getting far too ahead of myself!

Dh is coming with me of course, so hopefully we can get a coffee before he drops me back at work Xx

hi buzzy, I have a little tiny spec on board! feeling very surreal. keep going to do things then remember not to lift anything. There were 5 ready and they are watching a few more so I'll know tomorrow about frosties. thanks for asking. Hope everyone has had a nice festive weekend x

fluffy yay you are PUPO, when are you planning to test :)

can you believe official test day is new year's day! thanks for calling me pupo, I've read it so many times with other people it's quite cool to hear x

You won't believe this, but I'm sitting here with 40 minutes until I leave for my appointment and some colleagues have arrived with 3 toddlers and a baby! Seriously?! X

sam hope all goes well with your appointment

joy hope all is good with your scan

So just had the appointment - the consultant has requested an ultrasound (assume dildocam?) which will be between 4-12 weeks for appointment. Based on our test results he doesn't want to do anything else other than me gain a bit of weight as bmi is the low end of normal. He said he will see us again in 4 months if we are not pg.

Dh is pleased, he is happy to have a plan, but I feel slightly disappointed as it's still 'wait and see'

Consultant said to ditch opks and thermometer and just have lots of sex! Easy for him to say though, he's never had to go through a wtf cycle! Xx

So just had the appointment - the consultant has requested an ultrasound (assume dildocam?) which will be between 4-12 weeks for appointment. Based on our test results he doesn't want to do anything else other than me gain a bit of weight as bmi is the low end of normal. He said he will see us again in 4 months if we are not pg.

Dh is pleased, he is happy to have a plan, but I feel slightly disappointed as it's still 'wait and see'

Consultant said to ditch opks and thermometer and just have lots of sex! Easy for him to say though, he's never had to go through a wtf cycle! Xx

Donna great your appointment is so soon. It helps to have a plan!

Sammy that's great that he wants to see you again in 4 months if no BFP. Glad it's four not six but I know it's frustrating to wait. Scan will prob be internal. Weight affects things for me hormonally (like you am on lower end of normal) so that also might help. Embark on what I like to call 'Project Fatso' - easy to do over Christmas!

Nelly I agree your first tri is dragging! Weirdly mine seems faster this time than last. Not fast enough though! Great news about the scan, roll on 12 weeks. Your next scan is early to mid Jan, right?

Fluffy yay for being PUPO! Sounds like you'll have some lovely frosties too which will make the process a lot easier if you come back for a frozen round at a later date. I had five frozen blasts after the round that produced J, and I was really grateful for them - something lovely about them being all from the same batch as him. Now have two left in the freezer, not including the one on board.

Welcome traveling lemon, this is a lovely place to be while you're waiting.

AFM all ok. Still cramping but no more bleeding, just so grateful I am pregnant again for Christmas, it is such a tricky time of year if you let yourself think about the what ifs, which I try not to. Am on holiday with MrC, just the two of us, and we have been reflecting a lot on this past year, and on the future, and it's been nice to have some peaceful quiet time together.

Fluffy yay for being PUPO. Weirdly that's still how I feel most comfortable thinking of myself! What news on frosties? Do you know if you will test before OTD? Presumably you are on progesterone now?

Sammy 4 months isn't so long, did they give you any more information as to why you might not be pregnant yet? I got my dildocam the same day as I saw the consultant but of course everywhere is different. Re the ditching OPKs etc. Relaxing is not the magic panacea to getting pregnant. So you aren't making it more difficult medically. But it's getting the balance right between useful information and quality of life. If the testing stresses you out, stop for your own benefit, not for the sake of a BFP. If you find it calming, then keep doing it. One thing I've learned is that you have to find ways to enjoy life despite the overwhelming obsession that is TTC. Lots of us do crafty things, or sporty things, or travel, whatever it is that gives you other things to focus on.

Critter and Buzzy glad you think so as I feel the same. I will only be 9 weeks tomorrow, I feel like I should be at least half way by now . Maybe it's because I DR'd so long ago now. Yes next scan is 15th Jan, all being well (the superstitious refrain that MrN and I quote after every comment about Minelly).

Critter I am so glad you are MrC are having quality time together. You deserve so much happiness and I am delighted that the bleeding has stopped. I think you are 12 days ahead of me? So err 10+4 today?

Hope everyone else is doing ok and that those recovering from surgery are starting to feel better.

Buzzy, we visited the family a week after my confirmed BFP and I used the antibiotic line then. It was ok as I had a horrendous cough so seemed reasonable. However there is no way they will buy it again less than a month later. In any case, I was on anti-bs at that point, so it wasn't a lie as such!

The only other option is to try fake drinking, or maybe think up some story about the horrendous bruise I got from fecking up my Clexane injection the other day. But actually I think MrN might want to tell them soon anyway. Maybe other people getting excited will have some impact on us, as we've not felt brave enough for that.

Pikz hope you're recovering well. Glad they managed to removed everything.

Buzzy hope you and the family are feeling better.

Ray sounds like your appointment was productive. I love a plan. Hope you enjoyed your Christmas party.

Donna that's amazing tht you got an appointment so quickly after referral. I am still waiting for my appointment 5 months after referral. I might give them a call now actually and see what the hell is going on!

Nelly so glad your scan went well. Try and enjoy telling your family if you can. I tried the fake drinking thing when I was pregnant but I don't think people bought it. It might be easier if you're at home drinking though.

Fluffy, you're pupo! Woohoo. Hope you're feeling ok and taking it easy.

Sam I think it's quite common for them to ask you to try for a bit longer at the initial appointment althought I appreciate how frustrating it must be. There are plenty of people who get pregnant before starting treatment though and there's no reason to think you cn't be one of them. I hope so.

Critter I hope you and MrC have a lovely holiday. It sounds like just what you need. Can you teach me how to not look back? I feel that I am doing a lot of that at the moment. Maybe it is the time of year. In the New Year I will start to look forward!

I rang the fertility clinic and wish I hadn't bothered. They said at the moment the waiting list for an initial appointment is 11 months!

Berry that's not on. 11 months!! Can you talk to your GP and ask if there is any way s/he can speed things up? Do they know about your mc? It just seems like a colossal waste of your time and time is not something we have a lot of when we are TTC over 30 (I think you said you were in your 30s). It is hard not to look back, honestly the only thing that helps is having a forward plan. I'm so sorry.

Nelly ginger ale mixed with fizzy water looks exactly like champagne. Or you could just have a glass and 'sip' it. Or tell them. You're out of the most dangerous period thank goodness although I know you won't relax until your little one is here. Yes, 10 + 4. I've actually applied for a new job so if I get an interview I'll probably keep it quiet from all colleagues for a bit longer because some of them know people at the other organization and they're all massive gossips (in a nice way, my office are all up in each other's business, and especially with my history it will be big news).

Critter it's more that particularly with the fizz, it gets poured in a celebratory fashion with everyone gathered round . But I'm sure I could sip, and I'm happy to have a small amount of alcohol on Christmas day. But really as far as I can tell, my MC rate now is about as low as it gets, there is very little "improvement" from here. So I guess nothing actually stopping us sharing the news; other than I'm sorting of enjoying the peace which I know will disappear once family start finding out.

Berry 11 months is ridiculous. Have you asked them what the IVF wait list is as well, and if that's on top of the 11 months? I know in Scotland the NHS was under huge pressure to get the wait time down as it was 3 years when I went to see them.

I was so shocked when she said 11 months, I pretty much just said thanks and hung up! I should have asked about waiting times for treatment and also I wanted to ask about how eligibility of we pursue private fertility treatment. I think at the moment our plan is try naturally for a few more months and then do private IVF in the summer if we don't have any luck but we don't have the funds for more than one round so I'd like to know when we might get an NHS go.

nelly I would say you are never out of the danger period but that could just be my experience, if you don't want to tell them then don't, enjoy the peace a bit longer. A few sips won't hurt the baby so have your glassed filled have a couple of sips then leave the room and tip some away

berry I know the waiting list in some areas are long but that is ridiculous for just a consultation, agree go peak to your GP

critter good luck with the job interview, I'm trying to get things sorted for my return to work, its fucking stressful, they didn't pay me this month, and I'm having a shitter of a time getting it sorted, I just don't need the stress right now, cried down the phone to one of my colleagues who got my manager to call me, she said 'looking forward to you returning in January' I thought I'm bloody well not!!

berry speak not peak obviously :)

Buzzy I know the risk is always there, but the % risk of miscarriage now is the same as at 12 weeks apparently. Still terrifying though .

I'm ok with telling them really, so long as they follow the rules. No Talking about it. No Telling anyone. No Buying stuff. No Knitting. I'm a bundle of fun, me.

Berry, compose a list of questions when you have had a chance to cool off, then call them back. Re the private vs NHS, ask specific questions about eligibility. Reason I say that is because with us, you get 2 NHS rounds but each private round you pay for yourself comes off your NHS eligibility. Pretty appalling in my eyes, but that's the rules. Fingers crossed it's just a weird Scottish thing.

Cos - I've only just seen your news. Fantastic!

Nelly - yay for consultant led care, even if it was achieved in a round about way. Your midwife sounds lovely too, so nice of her to make sure you get a little more time with the sonographer. Incidentally my next dildocam is on 15th Jan as well so I might see you in the waiting room. I'll have a paper under my left arm and a carnation in my lapel

Donna - don't worry about ICSI, it does work. I am about to embark on an ICSI cycle in January so will keep you updated on how it works, but to reassure you, we had a long chat with the embryologist and she said that low sperm count is not a huge worry, you only need one sperm to fertilise an egg. She said she's sat at the microscope for several hours before, looking for a wriggly sperm until she's found it, and that has fertilised an egg very nicely and led to some lovely babies.

Sam - Glad you have some sort of plan, even if it is putting on a bit of weight, that's something to aim for. Plus it shouldn't be too hard around Christmas time!! And like Critter said, 4 months is not 6, and you'll have a scan in the middle of that so it will break up the wait a bit.

Critter - so nice that you have some time to yourselves at the moment, it must be lovely to just have some time for the three ( ) of you.

Fluffy - PUPO! Hooray!!!

Buzzy (and Nelly) - the rules in Scotland have changed recently, we couldn't wait much longer so are self funding our first round (next month) but are still on the NHS waiting list (August/September) and we will not be loosing either of out 2 cycles by self funding. ERI are particularly nice and if you have any frosties left over from your self funded round by the time your waiting list slot comes round, they will do the FET on the NHS before starting the free fresh cycle. They aren't supposed to do this apparently, but no one has told them off so they do it on the quiet. I know some regions have different rules though.

AFM, I'm just waiting till 2nd January to start injections. It looks like all being well EC will be the last Friday of January. Mr Toes has just been told at work that he's been rewarded an all expenses paid long weekend for two to Brussels on the 29th January.... Irony right there for you.

Who wants to hear my pseudosymptom this cycle? Every month is some imagined sign or other. At least I recognise it.

I put my car key in my mouth whilst trying to wrestle my toddler into the car seat and I wretched. Early signs of morning sickness for sure. When I was pregnant with DS brushing my teeth was a nightmare.

I am an idiot.

Thanks Critter, well we're out for a 3 course dinner tonight so that should help!
Glad you and Mr C are having some quality time, and also happy to hear no more bleeding :)

Nelly - yeah I know, hopefully it will fly by - we have a skiing holiday (fingers crossed I'll be stuck in the apartment unable to ski because I'm pg by then!) over April so that should help.
He didn't really offer any reasons, only that 'it takes some people longer than others'. He was slightly concerned by my weight though, so as Critter said I have now started project fatso to put on a few pounds!
One of my hormone tests was missing from what the GP sent over though so he does still need to look in to that.
TBH i think i might find it more stressful not using OPKs - I find something reassuring about seeing those smiley faces - will probably continue with them.

Berry - I hope I am one of those, I really do!
11 months seems a very long time, agree with the others about speaking to your GP again.

Toes - Yes, I am kind of grateful that the scan will happen in the middle. It will give me opportunity to chase up the other appointment if necessary!
Good luck for the injections, hope you can enjoy Christmas while you're waiting.

Travelling - could be a Christmas miracle?!

Xx

Just a quick message to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Hope everyone manages to enjoy some festivities.