Hi Awen ? thanks for your thoughts every day I get a bit stronger, sounds mad but I really miss my baby I loved just knowing she was there, growing. However whilst another will never replace her (just my gut feeling, we called her Ava) a new baby would certainly help DH and I recover from losing her Glad to hear DS is feeling a bit better, I hope he is good for your Mum today. Don?t be hard on yourself hon, you want a baby and there is a space for one that you desperately want to fill, it doesn?t matter that you have your DS already, when the urge is there, it?s strong! I really hope you fall soon. 20 sessions!!! That?s good going! That poor egg doesn?t stand a chance of not being hit.
Hello Waiting4bambino ? wow! You could teach us newly weds a thing or two I bet! I suffer from Transfurryence too I have 3 furry babies, all pussy cats who I adore!! The wicked trick of nature is that AF symptoms can be so like pg symptoms and vice versa, it?s that Ole devil progesterone!! Some say they just have a feeling they are pg, I never got that, I really didn?t expect a BFP when I got one but it was fabulous! I can?t wait to get another I hope you are wrong and that this is your month!
Happy to help I?ve been obsessed with TTC since June now, I?ve read so many books and tried so many odd things but it has not all been uphill, I?ve met some incredible ladies on here, and so many of them, the sisterhood really is strong! We?ve had some great laughs along the way and somehow, the laughs are even better when you?ve also shared the tears. TTC does definitely have its upsides! Now, grapefruit juice! It has properties (I could quote you the science but I?d need to look it up) which make your body fluids more watery and therefore, if you do not have very much fertile quality cervical fluid (the stuff which looks like egg white) then it can help your body turn the fluids you do have into the good stuff. The good stuff is needed as a conduit for the sperm to live and swim in until it reaches the egg (or whilst it is waiting to ambush the egg!). Don?t have more than a glass a day and it?s only worth taking for these purposes until you ovulate each cycle. Of course, it does count towards your 5 a day so you could continue after ovulation but an alkaline environment is better for conception than an acidic one. You can mix it with other things like orange juice if you don?t like the taste of it (I personally love it, especially with vodka ).
When you ask about a check up, do you mean a specific pre conception check up? Most GPs wouldn?t entertain it but you might be able to convince them to check certain things e.g. you might want to check that you are immune to rubella, that your smears are up to date, that your blood pressure is ok etc. There is a good section on this in ?What to expect when you are expecting? but don?t let it stress you out, most of it, an NHS doctor would not test you for, maybe they would privately if you wanted them to. The book is worth having actually as it covers a lot of things for now and for when you are pregnant.
I have used a saliva monitor but I never got it to work for me, the most I saw was a few intermittent ferns, not as many as I would have liked to seen. I would say that these, ovulation predictor tests etc are good as back up for your own findings if you are taking your basal body temp (first thing in the morning before you do anything else and at the same time each day) and charting that along with the changes that you see in your cervical fluids but all these things can really stress you out and be counter productive. It depends on the kind of person you are. I personally love temping (and we have whole threads on here dedicated to it, feel free to join, we?ll teach you all you need to know! ) and feel that it has given me control over my body that I never had before. I was on the pill for 18 years and did not have a clue about my cycle, charting taught me so much like, that I do and when I am likely to ovulate each cycle, when I am fertile, when I am not, how many days there normally are between ovulation and my period (the luteal phase) and therefore when my period is late so that I can test. I?ve hardly used any tests using this method and all it costs you is the initial price of the thermometer (which you can buy in Boots specially for purpose from about £13 ? one of them has a leaflet about temping in it) and if you chose to buy it, the software which is about £30 but is not essential. You can do it very easily on paper and there are also sites that offer free charting facilities. We post our charts on here and compare them daily
There is a great book on all of this called "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler.
Phew! That was long, hope it made sense! It?s a whole new education but we?re here to help you if you think you?d like to give it a go!
Good luck everyone!