35+ TTC#1 Thread 3

[Blondcat]

We seem to have filled up our last thread so here is a new one.

A wonderful bunch of ladies supporting each other through the ttc journey when trying for a first baby after 35.

Goodluck to all ladies we can do it

@thenewbiestep sorry af got you. At least it was not late to get your hopes up.

@astrokate welcome.

@melamine fx for a static soon.

Just about to come into fw here just in time for a relaxing back holiday so fx we get a few dtd sessions over the weekend /early next week.

sorry for the AF's, and welcome to @astrokate, hopefully your stay here is short!
AF due for me tomorrow too, and no shagging this moth as I was away with work for most of it. Think I'll miss the coming FW too. Thinking of booking a few days holiday surrounding the following one to give it a good shot. Might even check the dog into kennels for a couple of days so she's not sat there oggling the action (i've tried to lock her out in the past but she has none of it, and the scratching and whining at the door is very distracting!).

@79andnotout I had a no shagging cycle a couple of months ago and it was really nice to have a break from transforming into a symptom spotting psycho for that last week before AF 😏 No such luck this cycle, which is why I think POAS tomorrow is essential for regaining my sanity 🙄 I'm not usually the 🦇💩🤪 type, but the final week of a TTC cycle transforms me! 👹

I can imagine having the dog as an audience might be a touch off putting?! 😄

@79andnotout - ha - I can relate to the dog woes. We have a very large dog and he is keen to be on the bed at all times if we are up there...it is not helpful!

@melamine - is it possible you started testing too late? I had 8 days of flashing faces this month too before AF showed so I seem to have ov'd really early for me (I'm usually quite late at day 20). It is really frustrating though to know you have missed it.

@The NewbieStep - reckon a gin is in order to commiserate the arrival of AF. Although I have been trying to cut out booze for a bit recently - not specifically because of TTC but because I've had a pretty boozy summer with weddings and BBQs etc. And I have just discovered seedlip - has anyone tried it? It wouldn't fool anyone that it is gin but it does feel like you're having a grown up drink and it is working for me when I fancy a drink in the evening/at the weekend. I've currently got the spiced one which is quite nice but have read reviews that the other one tastes like pea water which is not making me rush out and buy it !

Welcome @astrokate

Fingers crossed for early BFP @bambionice80

@blondcat - enjoy the holiday. Hopefully chilling out and DTD because you want to and not because you must will make a difference :-)

Thanks @Oxted2018 🙂 I'm not kidding myself though 😏 From many cycles worth of experience I've found that if you feel like AF is coming, then I've yet to not see her turn up... but at least there will be gin instead! 🎉🍸😄 I'm fortunate to be surrounded by many, many lovely gins everywhere I turn where I live, which makes complete avoidance somewhat tricky 😬 I've been eyeing the seedslip with suspicion 😒 You reckon it's worth a go if your trying to cut back?

Hi everyone!

Age: 35

I had previously posted, we had started trying and then I had second thoughts about it. I go back and forth between wanting a baby and feeling too old and past it. It’s not that I think this is too old to have a baby, but it’s something I’ve wanted for the past decade so it feels like it might be too late for me, if that makes sense.

Anyway I’m here and we are going to try again.

I was worried about my thyroid levels but it turned out I was actually taking too much medication. They are adjusting the dose so I’m hoping that will help.

Does anyone find the timing difficult socially? We have been visiting people and having guests stay with us and we can’t easily get on with things.

Happy Thursday, ladies!

CD14 for me. I cannot remember the last time we had sex three days on the bounce and the thought of it again tonight is almost enough to see me reaching for the remote to watch an episode of OITNB Still, I shall soldier on and give myself the weekend off

Reassuring to know I'm not the only one who gets the part disappointment/part relief feeling each time. The relief is fading for me now, steadily being replaced by disappointment.

Sorry to hear about AF @TheNewbieStep

Welcome to the thread @AstroKate and welcome back @kescilly - I was wondering how you were getting on. I feel a bit like you - that we’ve left it too late - as i’ve been thinking about it for a while and really wanted a baby in my late twenties. I guess we’ve all got to focus more on the positives and try not to put too much pressure on ourselves. It’s not like we’re all old and past it (though I feel it sometimes lol) as lots of women have babies in their late 30s. I feel much more settled in my career now & actually have money to provide for a child, which I would have found more difficult in my twenties. I’m also stronger emotionally - I did a lot of growing up in my early 30s. Life experience can only be a good thing right? We have a lot to offer.
Fingers crossed for a BFP for one of us soon.

Good luck lovely ladies x

@Kescilly I definitely feel like ive keft it too late, & yeah, im finding it hard socially too. Due to ov on monday/tuesday & my sister & her two small kids are coming to stay this weekend. There might need to be some seriously silent shagging going this weekend!! Ha ha

Welcome back @kescilly! We’ve got guests this weekend and we can’t shut the bedroom door because of the cat (who does seem to take the hint and keep a respectful distance when shagging is happening 😂) so I think last go of ‘F’W tonight. Got my 9th flashing smiley today so I think I or it is broken. I know you’re not meant to read the sticks but the LH line is the darkest it’s been but still not close to the other line. Going to do a cheapy this afternoon to see.

I really like Seedlip! The spiced one is much nicer than the pea one so I wouldn’t bother. Was going to get a bottle when I was pregnant before. Back on the gin for now, haha.

Oh and not sure if I started testing too late but highly doubt it started on CD9, got the blank face (though I did read that it’ll always give a blank to start) then flashing next day on CD 10. My cycles are 28 days like clockwork so I don’t think I can have?

I'm not sure about the CB OPK's @Melamine - I'm a IC OPK fan 😉 I'm a 28 day cycle girl myself and my LH surge seems to happen on CD 14 or 15 so far.

So, 12dpo here and this cycle we have been taking the conception support vitamins, checked ovulation with OPK's, religiously used fertility lube and DTD two days before, the day before and on the day of ovulation. Bum propped up on pillows for at least 10 minutes afterwards everytime. BFN this morning, despite our best efforts 😒

I've still got 1 cycle to go before I can go and see the nice doctor lady and I'm thinking I need to add something more to the TTC arsenal 🤔 According to the WHO guidelines (the world health organisation and not the 60's rock icons 😉), a therapeutic effect on female infertility has been shown (but further proof is needed before they'd flat out recommend) acupuncture as a treatment for it... That's good enough for me at this stage! 😂 I've booked myself in for my first appointment this time next week 💉👍 I figure that best case scenario, it does something useful and I get pregnant. Worst case scenario, I don't get pregnant but I find it relaxing and it's cost me less than a massage/facial! 💆‍♀️

@BambiOnIce80

I have accupuncture - luckily I found a really local lady that specialises in fertility and women's health. I love it!!

Ooooh @TheNewbieStep!! I've never had it before and I'm eager to know where he's likely to be sticking pins?! How often do you go?

I've had my acupuncture with the western lady and every 2 weeks and up till 12 weeks of pregnancy. I now have my 14months old daughter. Recently I started acupuncture again but with the Chinese practitioner. And I have today it's a massive difference between them! Black and white! In Chinese acupuncture (fertility related) needles inserted deeper and you can actually "feel" things are working inside. Blood flowing etc and some weird sensations. And it's more painful to insert them. And I asked her if it was normal. She said in Chinese we say : no pain no gain.
And so I go for the pain every week haha and she's local to me. All good! Needles are inserted in the head , just above your nose, around large toes, shin bones, behind my ears and she also uses a heat lamp placed above my tummy, to keep my womb warm, she said. And the other day it was above my head.

Thanks for all the info @Russkispy! 💐 I'm really looking forward to seeing it for myself next week now 😀

@BambiOnIce80 @Russkispy

I have it every other week, but do try to time it just before ovulation, for a bit of a boost!

It gives me a sort of zingy, sort electrical buzz... and if they hit a channel a bit hard it can be quite intense, but overall a very nice thing.

I have had a heat lamp on my feet, my circulation is shocking. I have also had Moxibustion, where they warm the needles and I also have ear seeds (teeny tiny little seeds) and you leave them on after your treatment until they fall off.

Please let me know how you find it. Xx

Thanks for the welcome everyone. :) Glad I'm not the only one that feels a bit past it! Hopefully we can all be old mums together.

I looked into acupuncture for other things a while ago and I remember that fertility was the one area where there was evidence that it could help. I'm not into alternative medicine but I would consider acupuncture for fertility.

@Melamine I learned a long time ago that the key with cats is to leave the door open. If it's open, he has no interest in coming in. If it's shut, he kicks up a fuss on the other end and makes everything awkward.

Anyone doing anything fun this weekend?

Plans for the weekend - having a cheese fondue with friends! I can't wait, halfway through everyone will want to kill themselves from ALL THE CHEESE whilst compulsively eating MORE OF THE CHEESE then we'll all slip into a coma for a bit and wake up peckish and with cheese vapour wafting out our pores (hopefully not anywhere else) Best thing is that we're cooking it, but at the friends house so they'll be the ones airing the house out at 8am due to The Ghost Of Cheeses Past.
Seriously though I can't wait for the delicious dinner and great chat with another expat couple. And cuddles with their dog. And before anyone starts making jokes about keys in a bowl and partner-swapping I have never understood the correlation - anyone who has ever eaten about half a kilo of cheese will know that DTD is impossible / makes me want to vomit at the very thought of it!!

Oh and @Melamine our cat gets on the bed between us and braces his legs against DP as if to push him away whilst glaring at both of us. We joke he doesn't want a baby brother/sister !
@79andnotout we used to have a St Bernard who also liked to be included in whatever was going on!! Awkward!!

@chelonia 😂🤣 at the cat bracing his legs against your DP!!

Welp, in my continuing boring saga, I got my solid smiley today!!! CD 18, which is much later than thought (or hoped). This is good on one hand as perhaps we’ve just been missing ovulation and that’s why I’m not pregnant.

On the other hand I’m now worries about short luteal phase, not sure if it’s always been that or the miscarriage has thrown it out of whack. Anyway, best get down to it this weekend (handy timing!) and we shall see!

Happy bank holiday ladies x

@Kescilly, I'm not an alternative medicine kind of girl either - science all the way for me! The WHO recommends it though, so very much intrigued to get on with it now @Russkispy and @TheNewbieStep have been kind enough to clue me in on what I might be in for 🙂 I'll report back on Thursday about how my experience lines up with you guys'.

@Chelonia, sounds like you've got a very cheesey weekend planned indeed! 🧀😄 Certainly beats mine of emptying and packing away the contents of the kitchen 😕 It's getting ripped out next week ready for the shiny new one to be put in the week after... Not exactly a rock and roll weekend!

CD21 and I started spotting. I don’t understand, I used to have fairly regular 27-29 day cycles before we started TTC. I thought it might be stress when the first one was really short, but I’ve felt really chilled lately and don’t feel that stressed. I don’t know what’s happening to me.

Here for a handhold @Kescilly. Maybe just random spotting and not AF? Sometimes stuff happens occasionally and I can't remember if it might have also occasionally happened before TTC but I never paid it much mind because I hadn't turned into an obsessive freak yet 😏 Hopefully this is the case for your spotting x

Hopefully implantation bleeding @kescilly! 🤞