Tips on Conception - New to this!

[GG2707]

Hello!

Firstly I hope everyone is safe and happy despite all what is going on in the world. What is happening?!

I am new to this website and also new to all the abbreviations everyone uses (if anyone can shed any light on these.. this would help me a lot haha!). Bit of background I am 26, newly married and me and my husband are wanting to start trying for our first baby in the next couple of months. We are both active, eat healthy and don't smoke.

I was wondering if anyone had any tips for conception? Anything really from food to eat to exercising or positions! We are both new to this and feel like currently we are going in blind!

Also side question.. I'm interested to know what people did about drinking alcohol. I am no way a 'big drinker' however enjoy a few drinks at the weekend.. did people stop this all together when trying to conceive or carry on until they tested positive? I'm intrigued as at the end of the day.. no one knows how long getting pregnant is going to take do they!

Thank you in advance.

What is happening it is all so weird, sometimes it doesn't feel real!!

I am new here also, so probably not the wisest of persons to ask, however I will do my best to help!

The abbreviations - normally they come up in italics when someone posts a comment. Otherwise just google the abbreviation and 'mumsnet acronym' and it normally comes up! In a week I feel like I have become an expert!

I've tracked my periods for the last year after coming off the implant (not TTC at the time) and it has been really helpful to see the fertile window. If you don't already track, I recommend!

Take folic acid supplements now - apparently the sooner you start the better!

Keep active and try not to stress too much about TTC in the first few months. I am 'giving it a go' for lack of a better phrase this month. If it doesn't work then next month I am going to track my ovulation to see when it happens, then chill back out for a few months!

I have read a lot about pineapples, raspberries, and Brazil nuts on here - I am not there yet! Best thing to do is stay healthy and active!

I am also not a massive drinker, but don't like to turn down a G&T in the hot weather! I have had a couple this month but I haven't gotten drunk. I believe you should be okay and just keep acting like you normally would - look to cut down in the next few months if no success! I have also heard that caffeine is actually worse when TTC than alcohol, so I have cut down to 1 cup a day and then decaf. However that is just reading comments on here!

I hope this is somewhat helpful and I have imparted a full weeks worth of forum hopping upon you .

Hey @GG2707

I'm new to TTC too so will be watching this thread for some tips with you!

One thing I have been doing is using ovulation test strips which I got from Amazon and also measuring my body basal temperature every morning to try and understand my cycle better.

Best of luck x

Hello. I say don't worry about the alcohol - abstaining from alcohol 2 weeks per cycle when it can take months to conceive is a pretty big ask!

Try and cut down on caffeine in your TWW though (max 200mg/day) as that is meant to increase the risk of miscarriage by a decent amount.

Speaking of TWW - that's the two week wait after ovulation day (OD) until your AF (aunt flo) is due. People like to DTD (do the deed) or BD (baby dance) during their FW (fertile week) - in the hopes of getting a BFP (big fat positive) from 10 DPO (days post ovulation) onwards. The LP is the luteal phase btw, which is the second half of your cycle.

You'll get the hang of the acronyms quickly though!

For now - just start the folic acid and use a period tracker to get a feel for when your fertile week is. There's only really 4 days or so per month where DTD can lead to a baby, which comes as a shock to a lot of people when they first start this process. Also, bear in mind ovulation day can be different each month (so not necessarily CD14) and can be much later/earlier than you think. The safest bet is to DTD every 2-3 days throughout the whole cycle if you're not planning on using ovulation tests (OPKs) or temperature tracking (BBT).

Hi girls, new to this too! So happy I've found this thread. I'm 24, this is my first month TTC for baby #1.. very early days, supposed FW is in 7 days so I'm going to try to just make sure we've sex every second day at least, taking folic acid, taking ovulation tests daily and try keep my inner control freak at bay! Best of luck this month ladies 💕

My tips after getting far too obsessed by everything for 9 months TTC my DS is RELAX. Have sex regularly, enjoy yourself, try not to obsess. Seriously the month I gave up stressing about it was the month we conceived. Don't waste a fortune on pregnancy tests by testing too early. Wait till you're AF is actually late and good luck and baby dust to you all!

Tracking BBT and CM changes was useful for me as my ovulation day wasn't when you would expect so we'd have been doing it at the wrong times.

Take folic acid, be healthy, don't get too worked up over it (easier said than done!).

Maybe it'd have helped me to have a project or something (house DIY, training course, whatever) to focus on as well when TTC to take my mind off it.

@jabberbino @SweetDreams92 @Juno231 @Inthesky42 @Notajogger

Thank you everyone for your tips! Much appreciated. I guess the main one is don't stress! But like a lot of you have said it's easier said than done isn't it. Our friends got pregnant after the third time having sex.. so I've always had it in my head as soon as we try we will fall pregnant but I know it's not that easy!

Very interesting about @Notajogger what you said regarding having a distraction. I am currently studying my AAT (Accounting) qualification which is due to finish in December when I will qualify, it isn't full time it's day release and I have 2 exams left to do after the 2 I take in July. We are going to start TTC in July and I was worried at first thinking.. should I be studying at the same time as being pregnant (hopefully)?! However after reading a lot of peoples messages.. I think I will be glad of the distraction and actually.. the stress of both studying and being pregnant will counter balance each other.. When I'm worrying about one I can hopefully think of the other to take my mind off it!

Good luck everyone xx

some old wives tale:
Drink a little glass of grapefruit from CD1 till ovulation, it improves CM
Eat pinapple for 5 days post ovulation, helos with implantation
Drink pomegranate juice after ovulation to help build up a nice womb lining
Seed cycling- spoonful of pumpkin and linseed everyday before ovulation, spoonful of sunflower and sesame seeds after ovulation.

Things you can sort of include in your diet if you like them 😄

I just had sex to conceive my first and second child and got pregnant right away. I knew ish when I ovulated though as I get ovulation pains, but we had lots of sex anyway all month so we didn’t need to do anything remarkably different. I think it’s easy on this website to get obsessed measuring and over analysing, personally I think that’s something you move onto if things aren’t happening. If you have sex regular sex anyway there isn’t any need to measure things. The only thing I’d take is folic acid whilst trying. I’d also just carry on your life as normal no need to stop drinking and enjoying yourself (unless you have terrible habits and drink loads). If you are fairly young as you are it should happen quickly without any weird diets, measuring temperatures etc.

As for stress I had my 2 children in the middle of a very stressful PhD, I had no issues. I did actually go to the doctors at one point as I was so stressed I was worried about what it could be doing to the baby (I was hoping I’d be allowed a few weeks off to relax, but no!) he just said the baby is well protected so being stressed isn’t going to have any impact. I have 2 perfectly healthy children born full term.

@DontStandSoClose makes me relieved to hear that because I'm such a worrier! Diagnosed with anxiety and it has me so worried lately