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! 😂

@mackjm20 hahah so I've got a countdown for it not only one in days but I've done another for months and weeks and then another for weeks... crazy!

My work isn't generally that busy in August so I have way too much thinking time

@sunflowersaremyfav93 aw lush that will be so nice to get away in October :). Good that you have lots of time to lose the weight as so achievable :) I need to get one of these countdowns lol!

Ah see I am so so busy but my head is just not in it lol!

Still nothing of note on the OPKs - I'm so impatient, just want to confirm ovulation and get the TWW started! Managed to cool down enough to do the deed this afternoon so at least that's something.

Loving the countdowns 😂 I definitely had one of those running in my head for the past few months!

I ended up being a lot busier this afternoon with work so the day went quickly and I didn't spend the whole day thinking about having a baby, that being said, an old colleague of mine is due tomorrow and half of the people I follow on Instagram it seems so now I'm going to eat fruit (because pre-conception nutrition is all I can control with TTC atm) and watch crap tv.... another day closer to starting a family... eye roll!!

Morning everyone! Did everyone get some nice cooling rain last night / this morning? Was still hot overnight, and DH keeps having sex dreams due to me not wanting to do it in this heat so I think I’ve made him sexually frustrated - cue him trying to touch me in our sleep because it’s the only time I sleep naked when it’s this hot 😂 Kept pushing him away and going “get off me” - how different it’d be if we were TTC I’d be like hell yes!! 🤣

I also have days where I think about it lots or not very much. Yesterday I don’t think I thought about it at all as I was so busy with work and had dinner in our neighbours’ garden in the evening. I think it’s because I know we’ll be trying a bit later now I’m trying to push it to the back of my mind. Need to get back on the healthy eating, haven’t felt like it recently!

@Lollipop87 hahaha I'm exactly the same!!! Last night I kept going oh it's way too hot! 😂 I must try to also push to the back of my mind!

I've been terrible this week eating wise, must start again Monday!

Hallelujah for the rain but it's still sooo humid today.

Hi guys!! Been off a couple of days because work has been manic and I have had an assignment to write. Just handed it in so all good! No idea how I am supposed to study for a masters, work full time and be pregnant but I will handle it when I get there (90 days to go!)

going to try my best to catch up on everything!

@pebblesinthesand I am writing this out on a note! Thanks for the suggestion haha

@sunflowersaremyfav93 Im not too sure about having sex everyday, but I really dont think I would be able to manage that, I am hoping every other day during fertile week will be enough but will see how it goes! did you manage to get your OPKS sorted? I start mine up again tomorrow which is CD9 because I ovulated early last month.

@queenatom I agree, I really dont want sex to become regimented and still want to keep it fun and enjoyable.

@lollipop87 thats so interesting about the rubella! I have my smear test this afternoon and will ask about a full health check before TTC whilst I am there.

@jameszebra keeping my fingers crossed for you, your doing amazing waiting this long! hoping the spotting doesnt turn into AF

@butterfly5291 well done for getting through your MRI, doesnt sound fun! Hope your results come back soon so you are not waiting too long.

@mackjm20 yes! TTC is all I think about (apart from the last 4 days where I have been manicly busy!) but I feel like I am literally planning everything around it, even though its still 90 days away (im not counting you are! lol)

Found a little lump underneath my nipple the other day which has given me major anxiety and is stressing me out. When I go for my smear today, I am hoping she will be able to check it for me and not tell me to book another appointment! Fingers crossed its nothing nasty.

Hi! I would love to join you guys, hoping to TTC our second child in January. I'm a big planner and am also so desperate to TTC, I find it really helpful to keep busy with getting as healthy and ready as possible until then. I haven't caught up on the 30 pages yet, I was wondering what else is worth doing besides exercising/healthy eating and prenatal vitamins? I saw someone mentioned rubella immunisations, would a chickenpox immunity check also be worthwhile (seeing as DD1 is at nursery and hasn't had it yet)?
Relaly appreciate the advice, good luck everyone!

@59giggles My doctor only mentioned the rubella one, may be worth checking but you should still be immune if you had a vaccine as a child? I'm also using anti stretch marks lotion as preparation skin-wise. Xx

I've been getting my finances sorted too......I got my credit card paid off today! So happy I don't have to worry about that any more :)

thanks for the encouragement @CookieMonster3001 im still bleeding so I don't think I am pg this month but I will try again next month.

@queenatom sorry to hear nothing of note on the opks how are you finding them in general? I haven’t used any yet but have been tracking CM and now I’ve convinced myself I have a short luteal phase so despite being adamant I was going to NTNP before using them I now want to try them (losing my mind slowly as the thought of babies consumes me)

@sunflowersaremyfav93 good that you were able to distract yourself with work :)

@Lollipop87 haha amazing that your dh even wants you in his sleep! At least the lots of sex part will not be a problem in your house when ttc starts :)

@CookieMonster3001 huge kudos for working whilst doing your masters that’s amazing well done :) I know what you mean about planning everything around ttc I am the same. Sorry to hear about the lump were they able to put your mind at rest in the appointment? Hope you are okay x

@59giggles welcome :)

@JamesZebra well done on the credit card! That’s my goal by December to be debt free :) sorry to hear about the bleeding hope you are okay x

@59giggles Id definitely recommend start tracking your cycles and ovulation a couple of months before hand. My apps were predicting mine 5-6 days out!

@JamesZebra that's annoying! Fingers crossed for next month and well done for paying your credit card off that's amazing!

@mackjm20 smear test went well but the nurse said she wasn't able to check my breast and that it has to be done by a GP. Only problem is all the GPS are only doing telephone consultations so I have one booked in for 24th August. I gave it a bit of a feel this morning and it feels like its got a little bigger so its definitely making me feel really anxious. Annoyingly because me and OH moved house in Feb, I updated my address at the doc's because I know they post out your smear test results, and because of that they have booted me off the register because I am no longer in the catchment area, so after the 28th Aug, I no longer have a drs surgery and the one in our area which is newly developed has had its opening pushed back because of Covid! So frustrating!!!

@mackjm20 Definitely finding the OPKs helpful - funnily enough just taken one and nice solid second line there. Not 100% it's positive but it's certainly very close!

I know some people find having all the information a bit stressful but personally I'm finding it reassuring. It's good to see that my body is mostly doing what it should, and where it isn't yet (my short luteal phase last cycle, for example) at least I know to keep an eye on it and can also read around it for guidance. Knowledge is power!

Hey everyone,

I've not heard back from the Dr but he told the receptionist she could tell me my MRI results were fine and he'll call me to discuss by Monday. I was expecting it to be fine, just means I need to keep taking medication. Hopefully the change in hormones when I'm pregnant will stop the headaches.

In other news I got an offer on my house yesterday, and made a profit of £32k from what I paid less than 3 years ago so that's nice! We just need to find a house now.... going to see one tomorrow but if we don't love that then there's nothing else on the market at the moment....which is a bit stressful.

@queenatom what cycle day are you on? Do you track bbt too?
I'm on CD9 and trying the CB fertility monitor this month, it's been asking for tests past two mornings. I didn't ovulate till CD16 last month. I'm going to start doing cheap OPKs in a couple of days to see if they correlate with CB. BBT is only thing that does show if ovulation actually happened though.

@CookieMonster3001
I’m glad the smear went well- so sorry to hear she couldn’t just put your mind at rest! Oh gosh bless you I can only imagine how anxious you would feel. I really hope they manage to get you booked in ASAP so unfair to make you wait. I’m sure it will be fine but good to have that reassurance isn’t it! Sending love your way x

@queenatom you have convinced me! I’m going to order some what ones do you use? I think I’m going to be freaking out about this short luteal phase that I’ve just learnt is a thing otherwise lol! Hopefully I can match it up with my flow app :)

Knowledge is power is a much better way of looking at it! Thank you :)

@butterfly5291
Good news that the results are fine :) fingers crossed the hormones do prevent the headaches :) Amazing news on the house congrats! Hope tomorrow goes well :) xx

In my news after 2 of my girl group gave birth in June one of my other close friends has just told me she is pregnant :) I am so happy for her and excited! she was worried about telling me as she knows we delayed our plans due to covid which made me a little sad (at her not wanting to tell me) as everyone does it when it’s right for them it doesn’t make me any less happy for her :) anyway I am super excited for her and massively broody still :) x

@mackjm20 I use the Femometer ones, think they’re all much the same though.

@butterfly5291 Glad the MRI results were all clear and good news on the house sale! Yes, I’m tracking BBT as well, hopefully will see a rise in the next few days although I think the heatwave has thrown my chart off a bit, it was higher than normal on the really hot nights.

@queenatom thank you have just ordered some :)

@butterfly5291glad the MRI went well and congrats on the sale of your house! That's a healthy profit

Started the OPKs again today for this month, and downloaded the premom app, and much prefer it to the fermometer one in terms of scanning your OPK in. My temp has been a bit erratic last couple of days too, but think that's because its been insanely hot!

Hi all hope everyone has had a lovely weekend. I have literally not stopped eating or drinking! Serious detox needed this week!

Hi everyone! Been absent for a little while as we’ve been away, hope everyone is OK!

I’ve been struggling a bit with the LH tests the last couple of months which is quite disappointing. I missed the surge completely last month even though I was testing every day (sometimes twice), I had lines that got darker but never as strong as the control line. Then this month I had a darker one at 11am yesterday (CD13) so tested again at 7pm and 11pm and still not a positive!

I’ll test again around 10am, but I’ll be pretty gutted if it’s still not positive or it’s lighter than the ones yesterday. Presumably if the lines get darker (the line was barely visible on days 10,11 and 12) then I am getting close to the surge so I must be ovulating? Getting a bit worried now!

Hi, hope everyone's alright. I've just been catching up on the thread after not really looking at it since getting home from my holiday last weekend (Post holiday washing has nearly done me in).

I've become a bit fed up with everything TTC related since I still have no idea what my cycle is doing. It's only been a month since I had my coil out but I expected to have a bit more of an idea as to what's happening by now. I had 1 day of bleeding at the beginning of August and now have no idea when to expect my period or when to test if it doesn't appear.

On the plus side me getting annoyed with it all has meant that I've not really thought too much about it for the last week. It's so frustrating because if it weren't for Covid, I wouldn't be in this situation right now as I was planning get my coil out at the beginning of June, if not earlier than that so by now I'd be int he same position as a lot of you and know what my cycles doing.

Hi @Pebbleinthesand I was the same situation as u last month, came off birth control and had a very light bleed. Then another 5 weeks until I got a period. It's the wait and unknown which is so annoying.

This will be my first month TTC, had period on 26th july, tracked ovulation with strips and I think I ovulated around 7th/8th aug. Skin during this time was horrendous, prob due to hormones not knowing what was going on after being on the pill for a long time.
Due my period this weekend, trying my best to not take an early pregnancy test but it's so hard. If I am pregnant il be due early May. But I have a strong feeling I wont be.

@queenatom I got the fermometre ones to start tracking next months after the coil comes out (2 weeks tomorrow omg!!!). glad to know they're good.

@KittyT30 good luck with your first TWW!! fingers crossed for you.

DH is going for blood tests this week to see if his LH and FSH are up and if so then will have a SA maybe next week or the week. Was debating whether to wait til after the SA but I know it can take months for cycles to settle and don't want to wait and then my cycles still aren't regular (been on BC for about 15 years). so all a go go

@mackjm20 if it makes you feel any better I just ate an entire pack of border biscuits lol

@MsQueenInTheNorth which OPKS are you using? Ive been using the one step ones and having similar issues. The lines never really get very dark and after a bit of googling this morning, it seems its quite a common issue with the one step ones and apparent the easy@home ones are a lot better, so might pick some up. This month I tested CD 8 - completely negative, not even a whisper of a line, CD 10 - still negative but a veryyy faint line, CD 11 (yesterday) - very dark line but not same as or darker than control so I classed this as a high result but not a peak result and then CD 12 (today) tested and the line is not as dark. I am starting to get some ovulation pains today, so I am classing the OPK on CD 11 as a positive and imagine I will ovulate between today and tomorrow. I've given myself 10 tests for this month, so going to keep testing as I have heard your LH can surge multiple times until you actually ovulate.

@Pebbleinthesand this must be so frustrating!! I hope that your cycles clear up soon and you have a better idea of whats happening.

@KittyT30 fingers crossed! let us know how it goes!

@Bells3032 hope the blood tests go well for your DH!

lump in nipple doesn't seem as hard today but feels a little bigger! Still another week before my telephone consultation which is annoying, but I am praying it goes away before then. Hoping its just a blocked duct or cyst or something that goes away on its own!

On another note, I cant remember who said they have done this, but I now have a countdown clock on my phone telling me how many days until our 1st month TTC! haha! 87 days sounds like a long time, but after I have ovulated this month, I only have to do it 2 more times before I try to fertilize it! That doesn't make it seem too bad, and I think we have decided that even though we were going to TTC in Nov, we are going to NTNP in October as a sort of first run.
I am also thinking of investing in some evening primrose oil, as I have noticed I don't get a huge amount of CM. Like I am supposed to be in a fertile patch right now, but mine looks almost cloudy and I don't think its supposed to...... too scared to google images of CM in case of TMI LOL.

@CookieMonster3001 I have heard that you should be careful with evening primrose oil as it can mess with your cycle - maybe one to investigate further to see if it's right for you?

All signs suggest that I ovulated this weekend (CM, positive OPKs on Saturday morning and temp is now on the up) which is good - two cycles in a row where I've ovulated on CD14/15 so hopefully that means I'm fairly regular.

On the downside though, I seem to be physically disintegrating - been bothered for the past week or so with random aches and pains all down my left side, think a hip injury I had at the start of lockdown is playing up again and to top it all off looks like I'm on my second bout of thrush in 8 weeks 🙄 What a mess!