Getting ready for baby challenge

[TheresAlwaysTimeForTea]

Hi all, we are planning on TTC in the new year. Before that I want to get a bit healthier lose three stone and generally be in the best shape possible to get pregnant and run around after a baby. Is anyone else in the same boat? Would you be up for a little thread to keep us all on track? Planning on doing a dry January as a kick start and then will be dragging my arse to the gym after Christmas as well. Very open to suggestion and ideas to shift the bulge. Would be good to have a few buddies though. Anyone fancy joining in?

Hey confused I think I'm going to take pregnacare conception vitamins as they have everything you need when TTC inc folic acid. I was just going to stick with clear blue OPK as seems simple enough with the digital ready but I'm sure they all do the trick. Not looked at apps yet. Saw that Ovia one recommended so probably try that. Anything to make it simpler!

Confused I had the mirena coil for 4 years with no periods and I had it removed at the beginning of September. Got a withdrawal bleed about 3 weeks later and have had fairly regular 26 day cycles since. I think I'm going to try the seven seas 'trying for a baby' vitamins, but I'm a bit worried about starting OPK's incase I get a bit obsessed! Is there a reason why you are waiting until June? It's so lovely that we have waiting buddies to pass the time!

Confused not too sure yet (really need to get on and book it!). I was hoping for Caribbean or somewhere like that but I have (potentially stupidly!) told my other half that it's his job to organise the honeymoon cause I've done all the wedding planning!

I think I'll stay on the pill until the wedding and then come off then and just hope it doesn't take too long for my cycle etc to settle down.

I'm so looking forward to hearing how you all get on over the next few weeks and months! Exciting times!!

How are in advance are you meant to start with the vitamins etc?

Going back to the body prep... Has anyone used My Fitness Pal? I always find it really good for kicking off a spell of good eating behaviour!!

You put in goal weight and a few other stats and It tells you how many kcals so you can have a day ( you log excercise too so if you burn kcals they get added on to the daily tally!) You can scan barcodes so easy to log foods. I know calorie counting isn't the be all and end all but sometimes we don't realise how bad something might be (cheese/carbs/prosecco, for me) So just getting in the habit of being conscious and maybe weighing things and logging really helps getting the brain in gear (& it's all in the head!)

I sound like a rep from My Fitness Pal but I'm totally not!!!! Just sharing tips!

Teaping I'm not sure how far in advance you are meant to take the pre-conception vitamins but there's research to show your twice as likely to conceive and have a healthy pregnancy if you take them. hBho I've used my fitness pal before and it is definitely helpful to track what you're eating and just generally makes you more aware of things. It can make you a little calorie obsessed I find but I guess that's the point of a diet! I have a fit bit too which counts steps and links in to the app to adjust your activity levels. I was thinking of following a slimming world type plan but with reduced carbs and trying to get the activity level up. Hopefully that will have an impact.

Wiggley Thats so good that your cycles have settled since having the coil taken out, I have seen some ladies on MN that say the Seven Seas vitamins make them feel a bit nauscious! Although I am not sure what the difference is between them and other tablets you can take. I get what you want about the OPKs too but I am just going to use them to try and find my fertile window myself as Ovia is being a bit of a pain moving it every month at the moment. Well interesting question... June was picked by DH as the month he would be rady to start trying lol I think its because it gives us 6 months from new year to shape up and do things we wouldnt be able to do if pregnant

teaping You are in exactly the same boat as I was! I said the same to DH... well I ended up booking our Honeymoon after the wedding as we had a tight budget and a last minute deal got us to disney and orlando fot £500 each!! So don't worry if you do not know where to go yet! Coming off the Pill you should do whenever you want, you can be really fertile after coming off so you might get your honeymoon baby! Also most people I have seen on here have suggested taking the vitamins 6 months befpre trying.

theres I'm going to just have 5m of Folic Acid I think, I know I need that and I would normally take a multi-vit but I read that Vitamin A is bad? not entirely sure why... When it comes to the OPK's I don't have the budget for the clear blue ones so only if these IC ones fail will I consider them to be honest... Also my IC's should be arriving today!

So I am meant to be CD2 today but my AF is being all weird... I normally get a very obv AF but this is more like heavy spotting (sorry if TMI) I might be tempted to POAS later but I am really nervous as we have been using pull out!

Also sorry for the essay post!!

xxx

Ahhh confused that's exciting! Let us know if you decide to POAS! Hbh0 I have downloaded and deleted MFP so many times in the past few years but this time I have a reason to stick with it! You're completely right about the unexpected calories, my big shocker is was drinks too! I remember last year adding up how many calories I drank in wine on a night out and it nearly totalled a daily calorie limit! Why does everything great have to be bad for you?!

HbH04 back in 2012 i tried calorie counting and nothing happened. In 2013 i lost 4st easily with SW.
Earlier this year i tried MyFitnessPal, it recommended 1200 calories a day, but when i added my normal food, plus my running in, i still had like 400 calories left to eat at the end of the day which i couldn't eat obviously, but i never lost a lb! I seem to put weight on without massively exceeding calories!!

Sorry if this is TMI.... I haven't had a withdrawal bleed yet, it's 17 days since i took my last pill, but i had white mucus in my knickers last night, what does that mean!?

Sorry just popping in to say red it could be ewcm if its clear but if its cloudy a bit like snot then it could be a mucus plug caused by hormonal contraception! I remember losing mine xxx

It's a good sign pony! I usually get white cm a few days before af. It turns pink and then full on flow! Fingers crossed for you! I'm expecting af either Christmas Day or Boxing Day.

Ohhh that's good then! It was obviously white and fairly thick

Hi everyone! I am in the same boat - new to mumsnet and planning to start TTC in Feb. Scary! Exciting! Want to lose a bit of weight after Christmas too. I have just picked up some pre-conception vitamins, but not sure if it's a bit early to start taking them.

teaping I was planning to go to SE Asia this month until I realised they had zika. If you're looking for other honeymoon locations Africa is mostly free of it, or India?

Hey there orange! ** -waves excitedly!- I think your timing with vitamins is great as they recommend about 3 months before ttc. Which ones are you taking? I'm going to start some in the New Year and looking to order some soon.

Wiggley I have decided to test later this afternoon when I try my 1st ever OPK! Although I am sure both will be negative it will put my mind at rest that I must be having a light AF

Hello Orange Nice to meet you! I agree with the scary exciting times ahead for all of us! It really is so nice to be able to join a thread on MN without lurking though!

Red If you are quite good with TMI stuff you can google EWCM and Cervical Mucus Plug and you will be able to see which one it is, if its the plug I remember I got mine about a week before my first proper period off contraception.

xxx

Hello newbies! So good to have a few more in the group. Passes round tea and biscuits. What are all your Christmas plans? I'm flying back to U.K. this eve

I'm not adverse to TMI Confused so i Googled both & looked at images, it was definitely EWCM... Then i got squeamish!!

Thinking ahead.... Have any of you thought about how much people are going to have to touch you for all sorts when you conceive? I've been thinking about this and actually getting a little anxious! I moved Drs so that i could always be seen by a female, i will only see female dentists & physio's etc. I have no idea why, there is absolutely no reason for it at all.
Now, i know that come birth, i'd have no choice who ever was there, but what about leading up to it?! What if they give me a male midwife?? I'd have to refuse :( I can only just handle women touching me. I know i am strange! A day out at a spa would be my idea of hell, people touching me.. shudder. & i have a massive needle phobia!

I'm a walking disaster

Oh & welcome orange !!

timefortea Christmas plans are manic, i still have to do the horses twice a day and fit a run in. Safe journey for you!

Hiii can I join

We already have a DD who is 15 months now. OH originally said that he only wanted one, but we've just had talked about it after thinking we might be pregnant (I had to stop taking the pill due to side effects) and he suggested we start trying next year!

Am so so happy, but like some of you girls I have some preparation to do before starting TTC, mainly losing my pregnancy weight from DD! I'm just so excited to start, DD was actually unplanned so although we were soo happy, we didn't really get to plan and anticipate it, so am really looking forward to that this time round :)

Also forgot to mention we have decided to start trying in June too :)

What are you girls doing in the interim as contraception? I don't want to go back on hormonal contraception but we're not great with condoms!

red Oh god! I hope your squeaminess was not entirely my fault! Its funny you mention the male thing... I watch quite a lot of One Born Every Minute and I must admit I am not sure I would want a Male midwife. It just makes me cringe when I see them doing the examinations etc...

Time my christmas is split between several different places this year but we are thinking it might be the last year we are so mobile! so we are going to make the most of it. Where do you live if you are not in the UK?

Hi Evie lovely to meet you!!! You can join me in June It still seems quite far away at the moment. Good question about the contraception, I originaklly came off the pill due to side effects also in September and we have been using condoms until start of December when we both gave up with them. We talked about using them again but I doubt we will!

xxx

Ooh confused you're exactly the same as me then :) I came off in September too! And yes we were supposed to be using condoms but haven't really succeeded, in fact I thought we might have another Christmas surprise like DD was but even though AF is 3 days late I got a BFN today :/

Am looking forward to getting super healthy; next on my to do list is to start charting my cycles (which is why it sucks that I'm late as I'm usually regular as rain) and getting to grips with OPks and temp charting!

Oh pony I'm sure if you really don't want a male midwife they would try and accommodate you. I guess if there's an emergency you might need to be flexible. Also I think not consultants are male (seems to be a male dominated profession).

Confused we live in Dubai and flying in to Manchester. Bracing myself for the cold! We're going to the inlaws for a week. My family live in Ireland and came over to visit us in sept so just seeing DHs family this year. Already stressed at the thought!!

Hey Evie! Welcome! That's rubbish that you are late, fingers crossed it sorts itself out quickly for you.
Tea are you looking forward to being back in the U.K.? (Except for the cold!) We are sharing our Christmas and Boxing Day between our families, luckily they only live about an hour apart.

Yes wiggley I'm looking forward to hitting the high street and getting some primary bargains hahah! Need to get some new bits for work too! Shopping is so much better at home. And proper bacon sandwiches!

I'm so surprised by that tea! I thought Dubai was known for its fabulous shopping malls! Although on the short visit I had there it was all very fancy designers. I had a baby dream last night! Is anyone else struggling to think of anything but ttc? Last night I had a huge bump full of boy/girl twins A girl can dream!