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! 😂

I by no means think they are some kind of miracle worker but from reading around the reviews do seem by and large very good. I guess it’s just all about increasing your chances of pinpointing the most fertile days to DTD

Hurrah it's September!!! Usually hate the first of the month as it's when all my bills get paid but i am happy today!

Have already been to Asda this morning to get DH's hormone prescription filled. Thankfully we have found they have it so don't have to drag up to Harley Street to get it! and it's a lot cheaper too.

My husband has two weeks and one day til his probation period ends so fingers crossed. And then we can also hopefully exchange on our house!

We are hoping to get a SA done next week (he's got a massive deadline today so hoping to discuss dates later this week when he's calmer)

And my coil is coming out tonight!!!! hurrah!!!!

It's all happening!! eep eep

@Bells3032 busy bee this morning...I've not even got out of bed yet!
Hope your coil removal goes well, they told me to take some pain relief before I went, but it is just like having a smear really...and if you can feel your strings I'm sure it will be super easy x

@butterfly5291 ah usually I am a lazy sod and don't get out of bed til nine but DH was up early to go into work today for his deadline today and I wanted to go to ASDA before it got too busy.

I have some co-codomol before i go thanks. I've never really felt my strings tbh (i think i did at the start but only just) but hopefully it'll be easy

@Bells3032 exciting, hope it all goes well! And I'm with ya... first of the month, another month closer to TTC. I don't know about you all but as soon as we hit September it just feels like a fast track to Christmas?!

Last night we also decided to put our house in the market in Nov this year rather than March next year... I just think this house is going to take a good while to sell and if we can make the most of the stamp duty freeze then that would be great. (I also don't want to be heavily pregnant with a house move to do). Feels like it's all really happening now and I've woken up feeling a bit like OMG.. excited but also a bit like wow.., it's happening! Sorry if that doesn't make sense.

I went to my mums yesterday and found a load of books so I'm really going to try spend time reading rather than on social media.. I've read loads about how meditation can help conception blah blah so I'm hoping a bit of me time, reading will keep me calm.

Ok so I am excited this morning! I think I have ovulated for the first time since coming off the pill. EWM for the last couple of days and look at my BBT chart, it's shot right up, also my heart rate has shot up too and a quick google says that it does increase when you ovulate, annoyingly i stopped taking the ovulation tests because I was getting such mixed confused results due to my post poll hormones..

The only annoying thing is that that means in 14 days I should get my first period, and in 14 days me and my partner are going on our only holiday this year camping. 🤣 is it wrong to hope for a short luteal phase for this month only!

I will be so happy if my cycle goes back to normal though, I feel all out of kilter with my hormones.

Here is my chart! I'm really hopeful that this is it this time :)

@wrensandrobins does natural cycles confirm ovulation? If you put your temps into fertility friend it actually confirms ovulation for you. Here's my chart as an example. The red vertical line is when I ovulated and horizontal is my cover line, you would expect to see temp stay above this during luteal phase and then drop when AF is coming.

@Bells3032 good luck!!!

@wrensandrobins fingers crossed for you that this is it!

@sunflowersaremyfav93 yep the shops will be full of Christmas stuff from today and it will be Christmas before we know it! Which I find exciting and terrifying in equal measure as when the New Year it’s baby dancing time 😂

@butterfly5291 yes it does, but in the first month it won't confirm until you have a period, and at the moment I think it has my ovulation wrong- it's suggesting day 22 and I think it was day 33! I will try fertility friend and see what it thinks!

@TheNewMrsW Same.. I'm so excited but still a bit like OMG it's gonna happen 😂. Are you starting in Jan?

@sunflowersaremyfav93 that’s the plan! We’re also hoping to put house on market then too, not ideal timing but it will take us a few months to get it ready and I don’t want to put off ttc any longer as I’m 36 in spring and I really don’t want to hit that next birthday and still not be at least trying! Things have been so up in the air this year with our cancelled and rescheduled wedding, we’re put that all behind us now but it’s a bit annoying as if we had been able to get married in the spring as planned we’d be further on with everything else! Bloody Covid 🙄

Afternoon all! Feel great after a nice long bank holiday! You guys have been a chatty bunch as usual! Always look forward to reading everyones messages. I finally finished reading IWGTGP and I really enjoyed it! Some interesting stuff in there especially about timing your BD for a girl or boy, wonder how much of it actually works, especially if you are BDing everyday, how do you know which sperm is the one that will penetrate the egg?? I asked my OH about it and said if he could choose what would he ideally want, and I was so happy when he said he wants a little girl like me! Something so surreal about hearing him say he wants a little girl. Defo made my heart skip!!

@thenewmrsW I managed to successful wean my hubby off the coffee and he is now happily having decaf with me. Not sure it will go down so well when we have the same convo about booze! lol. Do you really think things wont get back to normal for weddings next year? We are planning on TTC in Nov so that I dont have to change all my outfit choices for a wedding next Feb.

@pebbleinthesand glad to hear your cycles sounds regular! I 100% plan absolutely everything around the month I am hoping to get preg.

@mackjm20 a staycation sounds lovely! I am in the process of looking for something at the mo, couple of days with OH parents and a weekend away just me and OH. Where are you planning on going? I am torn between Edinburgh or the Lake District! And defo just go for it! Sounds like you want to start in Sept anyway and if OH is on board, nothing stopping you really!!

@sa222 welcome to our growing family! biggest tips from me is start tracking your cycles now! I found I was ovulating 1 week earlier than the apps were telling me! I am 33 so almost mid 30's! You are defo not alone :)

@bells3032 that sounds so exciting!! Hope your coil removal goes well!

@wrensandrobins sounds promising and I can see a slight rise in your temp so keeping my fingers crossed for you!

@mackjm20 oooh a stacation sounds nice. I loved both Edinburgh and the lake district. Do you like history or just being chilled and relaxed. We are hoping to do a staycation at the end of Sept and decided to do Bath but now can't decide if to stay in Bath or Bristol. I did a thread asking which was better and it was literally split 50/50.

Haha. I have no idea how to do these temperature ones. I have a normal themometre. Can I use that or do i need a specific one? will my normal themometre be enough to notice spikes?

An hour til my appointment! eeeeeeeep!!!!!

@TheNewMrsW yes it seems there is so much to buy for a baby! Yes I am in the same position re mat leave being self employed l! Good idea re 6 months mortgage and car payments being covered :)

Sounds like it’s all go for you with the house etc as well :) good luck :) covid certainly has a lot to answer for!

@sunflowersaremyfav93 have you started tracking now? I have all the bits ready but opened the box yesterday and it all seemed so so complicated I’ve decided to leave it another month despite by suspected short luteal phase! So no guidance on the fertility monitoring for me sorry lovelies. If npnt doesn’t work by Christmas I will defo be all over every monitor possible :)

Omgosh yes please do send the list over re costs :)

So know what you mean about being on the fast track to Christmas now! So exciting re house on the market in nov :)

@Pebbleinthesand okay £1000 has made me feel a tad more relaxed thank you :) so good that this time round you will already have a lot of bits :)

@Bells3032 can you believe it’s September! Eek sounds like an exciting month for you with dh probation ending and house exchange :) good luck with the coil out this eve :)

Bath is lovely bristol is also nice but if I were to pick between the two for a staycation would defo recommend bath :) lovely spa aswell as so much to see :)

@wrensandrobins How exciting about the ovulation :) not so much re the camping period! Fingers crossed for a normal cycle pattern for you :)

@CookieMonster3001 Glad you had a lovely bank holiday :) my dh is so keen for a boy although I’m not sure i would want to wait until the day of ovulation prediction only to try haha so luck of the draw I guess :)

Oo lovely :) that sounds so nice :) we are going to Scotland to Skye Harris and lewis and I cannot wait. Would highly recommend Edinburgh if you haven’t been it’s so so lovely :)

Work has been manic today so have barely had chance to think about everything today which has been a welcome rest :) xx

@TheNewMrsW and @mackjm20 omg the amount of stuff you need for a new baby is insane. After seeing your posts I went and looked at the different lists and OMG. We have some decent savings and will hopefully have some inheritance by then (not hoping someone will die we are just in the pain of probate atm) so will have decent money in the bank and a job that pays full pay for 6 months and i am still worried about how much this will cost us.

I just didn't realise how much stuff there was - cots, changing tables and buggy etc i assumed but then have to add bibs, cloths, clothes, bottle sterilsers, breast pumps, nappy bags, feeding chairs, bath holder things, carry cots, bassinets etcs Ok you don't HAVE to have them but they're a good idea.

I am wondering if the ikea stuff is any good. We have ikea wardrobes and drawers etc and they're pretty sturdy but would you trust an ikea cot :-s

@Bells3032 crazy isn’t it :) so good that you will have a good amount of savings :)

I would defo trust Ikea furniture and cot :) they must sell so many that would be recalled if there was an issue. Sleepy head, prep machine nappy bins are a must in my mind as literally all of them were a life saver with my god daughter :) other than that Obviously car seat, pram and cot but going to try and not go OTT on the rest if possible haha! X

@CookieMonster3001 I thought it was interesting that her advice on how to get a boy/girl was the opposite of the advice in TCOYF! I told DH that the first time around I don’t care we’ll just be BDing round the clock to get some sort of baby! 😂 I just don’t know about weddings, I think maybe larger numbers might be allowed but will everyone have to wear masks, Will there be dancing etc?? Who knows but I do know I’m glad we just went ahead with a small wedding so we don’t have to think or worry about it anymore!

@mackjm20 @Bells3032 yeah it’s crazy isn’t it! As long as the crib/cot is sturdy enough (which I can’t complain about with ikea stuff) I think the more important thing is a safety compliant mattress, from what I’ve read! That said if I could swing it some of the Silver Cross stuff is to die for lol

@CookieMonster3001 what does it say about conceiving a boy or girl. I heard that BD before ovulation increases the chamce of having a girl. We said we were going to try and do that when we were trying for DD because we were convinced that we'd have a boy since there hadn't been a girl born in DHs family for 5 generations. I can't remember whether we actually stuck to it but we got our little girl either way. I don't think I'd be bothered either way this time. I like the idea of my little girl having a sister and also like the idea of having one of each.

@mackjm20 I found that you can spend crazy amounts of money if you're not careful but can definitely get by with not going crazy. There were quite a lot of things that we didn't bother with, like a changing table and baby bath. Be careful with the likes of sleepyheads. I've heard some scary stories about them and airflow for babies. We've never had any personal experience with them, so don't take my word as gospel.

Does anyone else have really short periods? I'm sure they used to go on all week when I was younger and now it's only lasted 2 days, which makes me think that my last period which I didn't think was the real deal may have actually been my first proper period after having my coil removed.

Yay it's out!! Was a bit sore but over quickly. I also had an amh test whilst there. That was more painful. Took three attempts lol

@Bells3032 woohoo! What other test did you get?
Regarding temperature...you need a basal body thermometer that reads to two decimal places. The temp changes are so slight that normal ones won't pick it up. They are only about £5 from Amazon.
You've still got a few months before you TTC right?
I started tracking using OPKs and bbt straight away but also started trying too.

Thanks. Plan was a bit later in the year. Officially ntnp now though. But after 15 years on birth Control I have no idea on cycles lol

After having all this info I could never have gone for the ntnp option 😂

@TheNewMrsW Omgosh some stuff is beautiful isn’t it :) I try not to even look at Pinterest as before I know it I’ve planned the full nursery hha!

@Pebbleinthesand Yea I have too! I wouldn’t put it in the cot but they are great for when you are out and about or like to use on the sofa whilst you are awake and baby can lay down :) my sister in law is a health visitor and literally says nothing in the cot so think that’s what I’ll go with :) each to their own though :)

My periods have been about 5 days since the coil but only 2 proper days the rest is just spotting really :)

@Bells3032 yay how exciting! My cycle resumed pretty quickly after having my coil out fingers crossed the same for you too :) ah I hope ntnp works quickly for you

@mackjm20 that's a good idea for on the sofa. Might be worth considering since I'll have a crazy 4 year old running around as well 😂. At least she'll be old enough to understand that you need to be careful around babies.