35+ TTC#1 Thread 5

[BambiOnIce80]

New Year, new thread! 🍾🥂

Basically: a wonderful bunch of ladies supporting each other through the TTC journey when trying for a first baby after 35.

Here's hoping 2019 brings some BFP luck to us all!! 🍀🤞🏻🍀🤞🏻

@Kescilly I'm 8&5 today. It does seem that way 🤞🏻 Obviously I find new things to worry about every day 🙄 I always thought things like missed miscarriage were rare but they seem quite common if you read the boards, but then I suppose there would naturally be more people using the boards for support after experiencing something like that.

I got my scan date yesterday, 22nd of Feb. Which seems like a long way off.

Really pleased things are going so well for you and I bet you are looking forward to that babymoon, have you started buying stuff yet?

@79andnotout sorry for BFN. I definitely get what you mean about disappointment and relief on the upside at least you know you'll be able to have a worry free drink on your weekend away. I hope you are having a good time.

@MrsRRC I know what you mean about worrying. I did an early scan at eight weeks because I didn't have many symptoms and couldn't wait. I think the worrying prepares you for being a parent!

I'm so excited about going to Bath. I used to read a lot of Jane Austen growing up and sometimes it's still a little strange to me that I'm living in England.

My mom was really generous (and focused) and sorted all our nursery furniture plus travel system when she was here. She also brought hand-me-downs from my niece and bought us some more newborn clothes. We've only bought one tiny outfit so far! There are still plenty of things to get, but I'm feeling a lot more relaxed with the big purchases out of the way. Our money is all going on updating our house!

I'm honesty still in disbelief at times. It's a good thing they give you nine months to come around to reality.

@PixieN I've known loads of friends be giving it "I want a football team" and then they have one and say "hell to the NO" on any more, and then the ones who say they only want one are popping them out left right and centre! I don't think we can have any idea how we'll feel until the reality of the small person arrives... I'm pretty sure I'd only want one though (and at least 2 dogs 🐶) 😁

How are you doing @Weathergirl1? Are you still planning on testing tomorrow?

So glad you had a resoundingly normal scan @Kescilly ❤️ Now you can relax and focus on your babymoon 🤩 My weekends been a bit of a funny one (funny-weird rather than funny-haha) - expected to be seeing signs of ovulation being imminent this weekend, but nothing at all 😕

For the consideration of my temping sorority: look at the car crash that is my temping chart this month! 😖 The last 2 months I got a BFP OPK on CD15 and the other couple of times I bothered with them it was CD14 that I got the BFP. First month of temping last month and temp dipped CD16&17 and jumped up by 0.6°C the next day (nice and clear ovulation pattern). This month, however, is looking like a total 💩 show 😨 Not even hints of lines on OPK's yesterday and today, but a bit of a line the day before (CD14). Never had a complete lack of a test line before because I'm usually pretty good at timing them. Then again, looking at my rubbish temp chart (I am mega hot stuff this month compared to the previous! Think if I do ov I might spontaneously combust! 🔥), the BFN OPK's look entirely genuine. I wonder if I'm going to be having an annovulatory cycle after the stressful couple of weeks I've had 🤔 Not had one since pre 2013, so I'm guess I'm overdue one 🙄 On the glass half-full side, it's all great fodder for my appointment on Tuesday 😬

On the other glass half-full side, I was feeling so down with everything that I went and did something I haven't done for ages to cheer myself up... I splurged! 😂 Had no intention on buying anything of any sort yesterday, but was in town and had time to kill whilst waiting to meet DP for lunch. There's a fabulous coat/jacket shop that I've been longing to get something from since I moved here in 2013. It's crazy expensive, so I've been holding off and holding off... Yeah, you know how this ends. I got 2 🤩🧥😍 They're being tailored and then I pick them up on Friday. Bollocks to everything - sometimes you just need to cheer yourself up by spending obscene amounts of money on things that can't really be justified!

@kescilly I love Jane Austen and would be excited to go to Bath for that reason too. I’ve never been, but would love to go to the JA festival one year and maybe even get dressed up! Your mum sounds lovely getting so much organised before baby arrives 💕

@BambiOnIce I think one is a good number (fingers crossed it happens.) Plus, DH would probably freak out if I suggested more than that lol.

No idea about temping as I don’t do it and wouldn’t have a clue what is/isn’t normal. I’ve just had my 3rd peak reading on the CB monitor though so should ov soon. I’ve been pretty stressed too though lately so wouldn’t be surprised if it’s an odd one for me this month! Sounds like you needed a splurge. Sounds good to me

@BambiOnIce80 I'm going to see what my temperature does in the morning - it was still well above the coverline this morning. I had a bit of spotting an hour or so ago so have deployed the mooncup! I usually get one or two days of spotting then a gap before AF and AF is due tomorrow according to NC so I'm not sure. I definitely have felt different this month and never get brown discharge so I'm wondering if it's a CP (that my internet cheapies aren't good enough to detect - that's another reason I don't want to bother with a FRER at the moment as it won't change the outcome!)

Fingers crossed on the ovulation front. I have definitely seen later than usual ovulation when I've been stressed and the OPKs were all over the place before I got the actual surge so it could be stress. I was also taken down by the nasty cold virus around the time of ovulation in both November and December, so that screwed up my temperature chart too!

Hi everyone, how is it Sunday evening already?! I've dyed my hair, finally. Greys be gone! :)

I've had more very light spotting but think it's just my period just making a slow appearance this month. I'm expecting it tomorrow or Tuesday, as usual. I'm trying to focus on the positive that my cycles are regular. Mainly living in the bedroom as everywhere downstairs is dusty and not habitable, it's annoying me already! Keep reminding myself it will be worth it.

Fingers crossed for you tomorrow @Weathergirl1

I'm waiting for payday @BambiOnIce80, January has been so long!! Glad you have treated yourself

Enjoy Bath @Kescilly, your mom sounds fab

Congratulations @MrsRRC

Sorry about the bfn @79andnotout, hope you've had a good weekend

Could be stress @BambiOnIce80, you've had a lot on during the last month. Are you sleeping okay? In your previous cycle, was you also not drinking? Although, I don't think the drinking would cause a constant rise. I have read that the stress hormone cortisol can suppress the LH hormone, which may explain the unexpected OPK results. Anywho, I am sure the splurge at the shops will help wit realigning the hormones 🤗

Update - temperature was down this morning and it's definitely AF. In response my OH just said 'oh well, we'll just have to have more sex' 🤣. Currently curled up on the bed with a hot water bottle on my tummy waiting for cramps to ease off.

@PixieN @BambiOnIce80 as an only myself I'm very firmly in the one camp too (and I'm a bit petrified of the thought of twins)!

Sorry to hear you have painful cramps @Weathergirl1, hope the hot water bottle has helped

I'm debating with myself whether or not to buy a test 🙄 I definitely need tights, have got a huge hole developing thanks to my lovely fur baby. Thought she'd just caught it and made a pull but it's developed into a big hole on my knee.

Thanks ladies ❤️ I'm sure it may be down to all the recent stress (funeral is Wednesday, so hoping my stress levels will go back to what's normal for me), but there's still a little bit of me that thinks it's down to my pesky, cysty right ovary (although she normally gives me a BFP OPK 🤔) 😒 Trying to wrap my head around how come my temp is up at what was clearly my 'corpus luteum making progesterone' level last month if I haven't ovulated last month 🤔 Kind of looks like my oestrogen has gone on holiday this cycle! I haven't drunk much this cycle, I've slept well, I've not had any nasty viruses- only remaining factors are the recent acute stress and the fact that my right ovary is quite cysty already... I could tie myself in knots with this and still not be able to figure it out, so I'm going to give myself a mental slap and pack it in (until tomorrow when the doc gets to be bored to death by my musings! 😂).

Sorry to hear that AF might be on the approach @Weathergirl1 💐 Good that your OH has a plan for next cycle though! 😄 I'm an only too, so I think I'd only want the one even if my fertility wasn't an issue 👍

@VenusStarr I bet there's dust everywhere! 😣 Keep your eyes on the prize- it'll definitely be worth it 😎 I found a warming draw to be my surprise 'how did I live without this before?!' item... And the boiling water tap... And the ice maker... And the wine fridge... 😜 Although I'm not keen on taking early tests, I do still keep some in 'just in case'. It's kind of good to know one is there if I'm ever lucky enough to need it.

Any news at your end @Amanda81? I Hope your chart is looking better than mine?! 😂 Was the prediction right and did you ov this weekend?

@BambiOnIce80 - I was totally wrong about my O prediction, but the FF app was correct (typical an app knows my cycle better than me). FF predicted CD17, I'm currently CD16, and got a static smiley on my CB advanced OPK monitor this morning. I also do IC OPK's in the evening and got a positive yesterday evening. So should be O-ing today/tomorrow. I'm guessing today. Let's see what the BBT does tomorrow morning. My chart looks a lot better than last cycle, and did have a little bit of a rise this morning. I've attached my chart, what do you reckon? (Ignore the drinking...that didn't happen at all🤣🤣🤣). I've schedule in DH for this evening to cover all bases 😂😂

Hi @BambiOnIce80 my FW was just like yours. No positive OPK and no ewcm. I'm not impressed but trying not to think about it. I'll put it down to the unexplained body rashes over Xmas. The idea of unovolatory cycle scares me 😱. I bought coq10 and DHEA but will wait for AF first before starting taking them. In the meantime I am drinking water non stop and eating well. Luckily my sugar cravings have subdued 😆

@VenusStarr hang on in there. The dust from building work is a pain, it gets everywhere (I had it even in my ears) but your kitchen will look so much better when it's done. I love mine and can't barely remember what the building work was like. 👷‍♀️

@BambiOnIce80 which app are you using for temping? I don't think it's very helpful for comparison that the y-axis has completely shifted between the two graphs! You will see variation from cycle to cycle, and I even get different ovulation rises month to month. I've attached 9 cycles worth of data as an example.

Cramps have now gone - yay! Thank you for the 😀

@Amanda81 that is indeed a very good looking chart 🌡️😍 Certainly looks to my amateur eye that you might have even ov'd yesterday with that dip 👍 Sounds like you've got all your bases covered with your DP too 😉 I still can't help manically googling and trying to make sense of mine 😏 The main take home point I'm getting (aka clutching onto!) is that my temp shouldn't be as high as it is if I didn't ovulate- so I might have, but early 😕 I think I'll only really know when AF arrives and I see how long my cycle was (27 days or less = ovulated early; 33 or more = annovulatory) - think I'd better just buckle myself in for the waiting game! 😒

@QuantumGirl, we could well be annovulatory buddies! 😂 I got a darkish (but no way BFP) OPK when I started testing on CD13 & I've had stark glaring BFN's since, so I'm wondering if I might have ov'd early for me (I really am excellent at clutching at straws, aren't I?! 🤪). Also (urgh- TMI 😳) I was very 'damp' in the knicker department CD12&13, to the extent that I logged it in my app. Now wondering if it was watery CM, but didn't put 2 + 2 together as I wasn't expecting it that early 🤔 No idea why I'd ov that early (if I've oved that early 🙄), but I guess it could either be stress or the macca root I've been taking 🤷‍♀️ If it's the macca root then I guess it will be repeated next cycle when it's lefties turn to ov. Again a case of wait and see (but I'm soooo bloody impatient!). What CD are you now and when would AF be due so that you can try and get to the bottom of your errant cycle mystery?

Fabulous graphs for you too @Weathergirl1! I use the flo app, but it's only my second month of temping. If it's anything like it was with my OPK data then it'll take a few more temp charts before it presents the data better. If it's not that and it's just because it's rubbish, then it may well be time for me to change apps!

@BambiOnIce80 sorry about the maybe missed ovulation 😡. How frustrating. You’ve had a tough couple of weeks though so maybe not to much of a mystery. I’m sure you will be back up and running next cycle 😊. Good luck at the docs.
I love a good splurge. I went for some new boots and a chunky cosy cardi 😍.

@QuantumGirl sorry about the missed O. All these missed O days are a little frightening, I’m only know getting to know my cycle length (debatable on weather it’s an actual cycle).
But I’m sure next month will soon come around for you Time has a funny way of running away with you doesn’t it? 🤔

Sorry about AF @weathergirl bloody pain in the arse isn’t it. Feel better soon.

I know @QuantumGirl, I have to keep reminding myself of that! Half of the ceiling is down now and we have no sink or radiators at all down there now. Am upstairs freezing as the heating doesn't seem to be working properly and the TV is broken! I didn't really want to have it in our bedroom but now it's not working I want it! Dh is on lates all week 😥 and I think af will arrive tomorrow 😥😥 all in feeling a bit sorry for myself this evening.

Might run a bath...

@BambiOnIce80 - I was confused about my temperature rise today and the correlation with my OPK's. yesterday (cd15) I used my FMU on the CB advanced kit and got a high. I then used my IC OPK's in the evening and got a +opk. I woke up this morning and got a rise in temp and got my first peak on my CB advanced. The CB advanced states that as soon as you get a peak, you are fertile on that day and the day after, so cd16 and cd17. I guess I will see what the temp does tomorrow. On my last cycle my temp raised the day before O. I have currently got some feelings down below, could be ovulation pain...🤔

I hope tomorrow goes well. I think you are right, I think you had an early ovulation as the temps are on the LP scale. I guess you will truly find out in 10 days or so.

Good luck tomorrow @BambiOnIce80 !

Thanks everyone for the commiserations on the bfn. Relief conquered disappointment this month, I got AF on sat morn and had a great weekend with my child free friends and drank lots of fizz! I am feeling completely fine with whatever hand fate deals me. Also convinced OH that if we don't have a bun in the oven by the end of summer we are getting another greyhound as our dog was SO much happier hanging out with her skinny companion. They really are pack animals.

Roll on next month. X

@PixieN I'd totally dress up too!

How are you finding the CB monitor?

@BambiOnIce80 I had a "bad" cycle last summer where a peak was never detected. It was definitely a stressful month where I was sleeping erratically and I'm sure that affected my cycle. Hoping the next cycle goes better for you. And good luck with the appointment tomorrow!

@VenusStarr tell us all about how fabulous your house will be when the work is done! I love hearing about home renovations/decorating.

@Carley321 how have you been doing? Do you feel like your cycle is stabilizing at all?

@79andnotout sounds like you had a fabulous weekend! And a solid plan. Greyhounds can be such sweet animals.

@Kescilly hello. I am good thanks. Well my last 3 cycles went 37, 31 and 33. So not spot on but Atleast they are in some sort of range. The only thing concerning me now is how light my periods are I just get a very light spotting for a day, the. Brown stuff before and after (tmi).
How are you feeling?

@79andnotout sounds like you had a lovely weekend. It’s good to remember there’s life outside ttc lol.

Hi @BambiOnIce80 today I'm CD22 and AF is due on the 4th. In December I did an opk test with CB in the evening and got a smiley and it makes me wonder if I had tested that morning the result might have been negative as was the test the morning after the smiley. So maybe this month we both ovulated but didn't test (you can see how I am also clutching at every straw I can! 😁).

Had a productive day yesterday. Went to my first body pump class at the new gym and got the forms for my fertility tests from the GP. The blood tests are for AMH, FSH, rubella and chlamydia. No scans 😕. All I have to do now is wait for AF as the tests need to be done between CD 2 and 6.

Happy to know you had a naughty shopping spree. I love doing that but I am a ponder. I think and think about buying something and usually when I finally decide to go and get it, it's sold out. Story of my life.

@VenusStarr i used to have my microwave in my bedroom when the downstairs was getting done and microwaveable wheat cushions saved my life! I love them. Another good thought for you to keep sane is that you will have an amazing kitchen in time for the summer ⛱☀️.

@Beeseeinya not sure if I have congratulated you on your BFP yet. Apologies if not, superb news ❤️

@79andnotout glad you had a great weekend, I'm jealous. I don't have friends with dogs or without kids. In fact I have very few friends but I blame DH for dragging me to live with him in the woods where no one comes to visit ☹️

@Kescilly I really like the CB monitor now i’ve got into the routine of using it. Had a daft moment though a few days ago when I woke up before my alarm and decided to test so I didn’t waste fmu - thought the monitor was broken, but turned out it was only 1.00am and way too early to test lol 😳 🙈 It’s pretty pricey too, but much better than relying on just my app.

@QuantumGirl @BambiOnIce80 just a bit of curiosity getting the better of me.

So I have CB advanced it sais to test in the morning which I started today, but I get up plenty of times through the night to wee and Will never fail to get up between 3 and 7 (I get up at 7). Would this be a reliable prediction?
I used CB (not advanced) last month and didn’t stick with the instructions to much, I tested in the evenings. I had a smiley for 2 days. Can the monitor give a false smiley?