Preconception planning - anyone want to join?

[sunflowersaremyfav93]

Hello!

I've been reading loads on the importance of pre-conception nutrition and preparing your body. Some say 3 months before and I've seen some that say 6 months before.

I find myself trawling through threads on Mumsnet but wondered if there were any ladies planning to start TTC in the next few months and wanted a forum to chat about ways to prepare / excitement of it all etc.

I often find myself going on to my bf and mum and they're like ok ok! 😂

@butterfly5291 I'm in the same boat as you with not really knowing what my cycles doing. I had my coil out on 14th of July and I've had 2 lots of 2 days worth of period but not had proper AF since. I have found it quite stressful not knowing. I feel like I don't even know how long I need to wait for AF to arrive.

@Nate1 that's really good that they've been so clear about it with the staff at your school. I'd feel awful if I webt back and then had to leave my class straight away but I'm not really sure that I want to have the conversation with my headteacher before there is an actual pregnancy and not just the hope of one.
Sorry to hear that you're worrying about PCOS. Hope you get some answers soon either in the form of AF or a positive test.

@mackjm20 I'm excited for you about NTNP! I wish my OH was into that, I wish I was more into that but part of me thinks oh crap what if I get pregnant sooner and then I don't fit in my bridesmaid dress (stupid thought I know!!) although we may do this in October just to see what happens.

@Nate1 I think I would want to try and wait until after my period is late before testing but I know these things are easier said than done! I said I was going to wait till Aug/Sept to do OPKs and here I am a month later and already knee deep in it haha

@butterfly5291 I am so sorry to hear about your cycle, fingers crossed they regulate soon and that AF comes quickly so you can get your MRI done! Must be frustrating being in limbo.

@Lollipop87 lol your OH sounds like mine!! I have heard that the week before you ovulate/after your period and the week before your period/after you ovulate you are the most energetic and the week of your period and ovulation is when your energy dips. I have defo found this to be true. Yesterday I was struggling so hard! Me and OH went for a walk in the evening and I was huffing and puffing after 10 minutes!

My AF showed up in the middle of the night (usual for me, I never start during the day, always at night!) and bang on time for when I predicted ovulation this month. Decided to override the function on my FF app, and glad I did!

As promised, I have attached a pic of my temping graph from a full month of accurate tracking (setting an alarm and everything!) and its good to see a nice biphasic trend going on, you can clearly see 2 sets of temperatures with a corpus luteum dip at 6DPO and then a slow decline in temperature leading to my period.

Next months project will be to do a full batch of OPK tracking starting from CD8 or 9 until the LH surge has tapered off and I can see clear ovulation on my graph.

Can you tell I have been spending a lot of time researching!

@CookieMonster3001 ah sorry I think I read @queenatom post about NTNP and thought it was you as you were tagged in it my bad completely. Makes total sense with the plan re the bridesmaid dress. Loving the graphs and organisation :) super impressed with the amount of research and shows it works :) x

Lovely chart, @CookieMonster3001 and very impressed with your timing skills! Mine attached in case anyone is interested - it's very satisfying being able to see the biphasic pattern as you say. Less satisfying staring at that short luteal phase ...

@queenatom your chart is looking good! Hopefully it will lengthen out, but at least you can clearly see ovulation is occurring!

I cant stop eating today. Someone please cut my hands off!

@CookieMonster3001 @queenatom your charts are so good! I literally wish I was organised enough for this lol!

Great charts ladies! @CookieMonster3001 that’s exactly how my energy patterns have been going, glad I’m not just going crazy! I’ve already had 3 slices of bread today, think this week is a write-off and I should just start again next week 😂

I’ve been reading a book (fiction this time) called Inconceivable that’s about a couple trying to get pregnant, it’s so funny as it’s based on diaries from her perspective and his perspective and you get the typical male/female views of things. It’s fairly old (from the late 90s I think) so I feel sorry for the woman that she doesn’t have a lovely group to chat to online and has to write to a made-up imaginary friend! I’m hoping it has a happy ending and that they do have a baby, in it the couple have been trying for 5 years without seeking medical help which is just madness!!

@Lollipop87 if it makes you feel better, I've just eaten 3 lindt balls (the caramel ones pop in your mouth and are AMAZING) along with an entire giant bag of prawn crackers... LOL

Aww that sounds like a good book to read. I can't imagine how hard it must have been back in the day. My mum always tells me stories about having 4 miscarriages and no one in her family understanding what they were or why they happened. Her mother in law thought she was cursed because of it and because she kept getting pregnant with girls.

@CookieMonster3001 and @Lollipop87 I had a day like that yesterday - once I started eating I couldn't stop. I was like the hungry Caterpillar

I ate ALOT of Cheetos, a chicken bake from gregs then a choc caramel shortbread, more cheatos.......then a waffle with Biscoff spread on it and another with Nutella on it and a bowl of pasta with loads of cheese on for dinner Needless to say I HAVE to behave myself today that was about a weeks worth of calories haha!
Felt really fed up after my binge and then went into a spiral of self pity because I get worried this is never going to happen. We have been NTNP for ages and nothing has happened so I think I am just freaking out that something is wrong. However I think its probably natural to have days like that and I am feeling much more positive today.

Woohoo AF just turned up! Bring on the next cycle! And I can now have a drink this weekend!

@butterfly5291 hooray! Did your MRI get rescheduled because it was late?

Glad I’m not the only one that’s had a bad week food-wise, I had a fairly healthy dinner (chicken, new potatoes & salad) but I’m now having a G&T and a few squares of dairy milk!

@JamesZebra that’s a good attitude to have, I always just say to myself that I can’t change what’s done and tomorrow will be a better day...and you know what, it usually is! Xx

p.s. just fed my 13 month-old niece her dinner, gave her a bath and put her to bed while my sister meets her friend for a drink and it made me soooo broody! Can’t wait to give her a little cousin 🥰

@Lollipop87 the lady rescheduled for next Friday but I think I'll call her in the morning and see if she can fit me in tomorrow. She wanted us to abstain if AF didn't show just incase my cycle was all over the place and I got pregnant now 🙄

Sounds like a lovely evening. My brother's girlfriend is having a baby in November...I can't wait to meet my first neice... already got 4 nephews from older siblings.

@butterfly5291 thats good your AF arrived. Hope you get the scan sorted asap.

I was in Asda earlier and some of the baby clothes are just adorable. I wanted to buy them all Obviously i didn't buy any but I did get a new pair of jean in a size 16 AND THEY FIT which is a hugh thing for me!!! I can't remember the last time I got into a size 16 - they're snug but nothing a week or two of being good won't fix :)

I did some meditation tonight too which was really good for clearing my mind of stress. I think I am going to make it part of my morning routine. I included the link below if anyone is interested :)

That's great! Well done! @JamesZebra I need to crack on with the weightloss! I have been 3lb away from not being obese for 2 weeks, and suddenly my head is out the game!

On the subject of baby clothes, I have brought a reusable nappy pattern and have started making some for my friends baby 🤣 not helping my broodiness!

I'm going to yoga before work tomorrow so hopefully that will get my day off to a good start!

@JamesZebra thank you for the link, I've read loads about the benefits of meditation so should really make the effort to do it one a day.

Me and my bf have eaten really well this week, he's lost 5lbs, hooray! I've been making lots of healthy dinner and the only treats in the house from now on is either fruit or homemade cake (we'll see how long this lasts). We went for date night tonight and he's been talking so much more about when we have a baby and about starting TTC in Feb. It's so lovely to hear him talk about it without me going on. We shortlisted baby names on Sat (can't remember if I mentioned that already).. problem is now I literally cannot wait, I'm so broody!

Have you all discussed baby names?

@sunflowersaremyfav93 my boyfriend cant take anything seriously so if we ever talk about having a baby he refers to it as Geoff or Tarquin bloody idiot.....its a good job that I love him.

@JamesZebra 😂😂 love that!! What are they like eh?!

Such good efforts on the weight loss, all! 🙌 I am now officially 25 pounds down since the New Year, which I'm happy with (even if there's a lot more to go!)

@sunflowersaremyfav93 We have had names picked for a while - bit stressful though as every time a friend has a baby I brace myself in case they've picked the name we want!

@JamesZebra - We also have a joke name that we use when we're talking about our hypothetical future child 😂

@butterfly5291 so pleased that af has arrived hope you can now get the mri and smear sorted :) congrats on your soon to be niece :)

@JamesZebra well done on the non scale victory of the size 16 that’s amazing :)

@sunflowersaremyfav93 yess we talk
Baby names all the. My in-laws always say they don’t like the ones I pick though but c’est la vie lol!

@queenatom well done on the25lb loss
That’s so so good! X

@mackjm20 can't please everyone can you!

@queenatom I know what you mean!!

What names do you like? I love hearing other people's name list. 😊

Our shortlist is...

Girl

Lara
Sophia

For a boy we'd call him Nicholas after my boyfriend's Dad who passed away a few years ago. Sounds terrible but I'm really not massive fan of the name?! I wanted Oliver or Lucas

@sunflowersaremyfav93

I love all these names (not that I keep an iPhone note Everytime I hear a name or anything haha):

Everly
Olivia
Isabella
Charlotte
Matilda
Laila May
Summer
Georgia
Amelia
Eliza
Eloise

Isla
Ophelia
Esme
Delilah
Aria
Elodie
Sunday
Gracie
Daisy
Darcie

Harrison
Oliver
Orson
Riley
Sebastian
Jackson
Logan
Elijah
Archie
Arthur
Alfie
Joseph
Alexander
Thomas
Rogan
Asher
Arlo
Patrick
Theodore
Ronnie
Ralphie
Oakley

Love your shortlist- is it worth discussing the name as a middle name if you aren’t sure on it so it can still hold sentimental value? Xx

Such pretty choices, @sunflowersaremyfav93 and @mackjm20!

We like Eleanor (shortened to Nell) or Martha for a girl, Finlay or Ezra for a boy. Haven't decided on middle names but I'd quite like to use my maiden name as a middle if we have a boy - it's a fairly popular boys name (in fact it's on your list, mackjm20) so wouldn't look incongruous and it works with both the names we like.

@queenatom @mackjm20 ah I live your name choices!! A few of our name choices are on your girls list as well but we decided on those two, I'm sure it'll change by the time we actually have a baby but I haven't come across many Lara's. I always wanted a name my grandparent could pronounce (I'm Italian) so it limits me a bit. I love Matilda!

I'm hoping once he sees me go through the pain of giving birth he'll be happy to have Nicholas as a middle name. I just think it's nice for our boy (if it's a boy) to have his own identity.

Also I'm meant to be ovulating atm and the other day had the usual cramps but the ovulation tests I've been doing haven't come up with a line the same colour or as dark as the window next to it. Do you think I should get those cheap strips and do a teat everyday?

@JamesZebra I've never attempted any kind of meditation but might have to give it a go. Thanks for the link.

I was at my target weight after doing slimming world before my holiday but I've eaten and drunk thatuch in the past 2 weeks that I'm dreading getting on the scales when I get home on Sunday.

@queenatom I know what you mean about friends picking you favourite baby names. I'd had my little girl's name picked out since I was a child so everytime someone had a baby girl I was so scared they'd pick her name. Luckily I got in there in time with DD.

I love hearing baby names! I definitely have a list going on my phone which I keep adding to and deleting names off @mackjm20. I really like Ophelia but I don't think my other half would go for it. If DD had been a boy she would have been George and I think that'd still be the name we'd go with for a boy.

My names list is:

Girls:
●Eadie/Edie/Edith Rose
●Freya Mae/Rose/Grace
●Luna Rose/Violet/ Quinn/ Noelle/ Mae
●Paige
●Indie
●Chloe (Coco)
●Zara
●Niamh
●Ophelia

Boys:
●George
●Luca/Lucian
●Bernard (Bernie)
●Thomas
●Albert/Albie/Bertie
●Rupert (Roo)
●Ezra
●Theodore

@queenatom they are lovely names and love the idea of using your maiden name that’s so nice :)

@sunflowersaremyfav93 Lara is so pretty :) also I’m sure he will understand that and your reasoning behind own identity should sway him:)

@Pebbleinthesand it’s okay to let your hair down sometimes :) I hope the scales are kind to you :) but well earnt break I’m sure and well done for getting to target :) I’m glad others have name lists going to haha! Your girls names are so pretty! And such strong boys names too :) nice that you have a boys name from previously that you still like :)