Yogurt pot yuppies, sexy basters and UFO discs - part 3

[eloiseislost]

Starting yet another thread on self insemination before our second one locks down!

Welcome to THE most supportive group you could wish for if you’re starting or you are already on a self insemination journey.
Remember, nothing is TMI and you are not alone. 💖

Calling the usual suspects, in no particular order (and sorry if I missed anyone 😊):
@ComebackQueen
@Makingnumber2
@Janefx40
@AdriannaP
@MrsKin90
@primrosechill
@bigsweetpotato
@Sydney1986x
@Bluey18
@Birchybirch
@Lori23TTC
@Cathie102
@Labrat3
@DinkBoo
@Oilyoilyoilgob

Let it rain BFPs!!! 🐣

@Oilyoilyoilgob & @Sydney1986x Have a look at this video, it explains quite well about insertion and removal of soft discs: . Come back to us with any further questions of course! 🙂

@AdriannaP Thank you so much, I really hope these are our rainbows! 🌈 🌈 Feeling terrified at the moment, but trying to take it a day at a time. Part of me can't help but remember how excited I was when I got the previous BFP and I feel so guilty about not being excited about this one yet. 😞

@ComebackQueen Thank you, you are so kind! ❤️ I know from experience that when I see pregnancy announcements online I feel crushed, but in here it's different. Every BFP is personal win and source of hope that the method works! 😃

Thanks @bigsweetpotato 🥰 How are you getting on?

Eeeeek maybe congratulations 😉 @eloiseislost! Unbelievably I saw a rainbow on the drive in to work this morning so I really really hope this is a sign this is going to be your sticky bean!! 💕

@Makingnumber2 Aaaaw what a lovely thought, thank you so much! ❤️🌈❤️

Thank you very much @eloiseislost removal seems more simpler than I’d imagined. I’ll be giving these a go ☺️

@Oilyoilyoilgob My biggest fear before trying the removal was that it would get stuck. But it really helped me to look at the video, to realise that it really has nowhere to go but out! 😄
I follow the advice of sitting on the toilet to remove and push out with my pelvic muscles, that basically unhooks the cup out from under the pubic bone and I can easily hook my finger under the rim and pull it out.

Hi ladies, I'm joining you! I haven't finished reading the old thread on here but thought I'd say.
I'm 41 and never had children. Hubby can't ejaculate. Never has but can on his own.
He also has sperm quality issues. He is taking injections from the fertility clinic and his sperm has improved loads.
They're pushing us for a decision IVF but we won't get funding so a) it'll cost a lot and b) I'm terrified.
I decided last month this is the time to try self insemination. I am utterly terrified of being pregnant and giving birth so this fear itself has kept me from starting to try earlier.
Anyway this is the week I ovulated. I used the clear blue test that told me Sunday was high fertility and peak on Weds. We have inseminated 5 times but not sure if we missed the peak time. Hubby couldn't produce for 2 days as he'd never had so much "action" lol I had the symptoms of ovulation Weds, yesterday and still some cramping today. Managed to inseminate this afternoon.
As I say, this is our first time ttc...

Welcome @Remembermee! Wishing you and your husband all the best with your SI journey. Sounds like you guys have got off to a great start already ☺️ Wishing you peace and patience in your TWW

I am on the verge of a slump ladies I’m afraid. I should be happy because it’s Friday night but instead I’m feeling meh and a bit down tbh my boob is less sore today which means AF is on her way and the tell tale back cramps have started up. My app says 10dpo today and AF due Tuesday so cramps and less sore boobs line up perfectly with last cycle. Really thought this could be the cycle. I’m drowning my sorrows in Prosecco which I know long term doesn’t help anyone or anything but I’m at a loss of what else to do. We also had some bad news this week about DH’s mum who has cancer and she is now into her final 6 months (max) the specialists have said. I so wanted to have some good news to give her instead of nothing much to mention just same old lockdown life activities etc. Sorry for being a Debbie downer. I will snap out of it tomorrow but there’s no sympathy really from DH because emotional reserve is spent (understandably) dealing with his mum dying.
Hope everyone else has more of a Friday feeling than I have going on over here right now 😂

@Remembermee Welcome to the club! 😃
You're off to a great start indeed, wishing you best of luck! My DH has the same issue, cannot ejaculate during intercourse -or in my presence for that matter, but he's fine in his own. We are in psychosexual therapy and we have so far not achieved ejaculation but we have found ways to enjoy intimacy without the pressure of expectations. And we've been TTC since September using SI. I got pregnant on the 3rd attempt but ended in MC in December and I just got a BFP again. I'm terrified but try to stay positive and hopeful. If anything, we know SI works! 😉 A few others have recently got their BFP so hoping this is a lucky thread for all of us! 🍀

@Makingnumber2 I am so sorry you are feeling this way and I am sorry for the terrible news for your MIL. As devastating as the situation is, try not to let it put more pressure on yourself with regards to TTC. Yes, it would've been poetic to be able to share good news with her before her passing, but when you have your baby (and you definitely will) you will honour her life and memory by making sure you talk to them about her and that way she will be a part of their life in a way.
Also, it's OK if you don't "snap out of it", allow yourself all the time you need. We live in unprecedented times, a worsening, relentless global pandemic and you are TTC and you just got terrible news. Give yourself time and do some serious self-care. You absolutely deserve it. And you're not a Debbie downer at all, this is a safe space to talk about anything, it doesn't always have to be rainbows and butterflies! 😉
Sending you a virtual hug 🤗

@Remembermee Welcome and lots of baby dust to you, you'll find lots of support here . It's always nice to have new people join us!

@Makingnumber2 I'm so sorry to hear about your MIL. Sorry too, to hear you are feeling in a slump, it sounds only natural when you have so much going on in the background on top of everything else. Eloise is right, you need to take care of yourself and do whatever you need to get yourself through. And if that means lots of prosecco, so be it . Sending lots of hugs xx

@eloiseislost I'm doing ok, thanks for asking! I am currently 7 wks 4 days. I haven't got much sickness which is good (but Also worries me!) but I have super sore boobs, backache and I literally feel exhausted all the time. I had a few days of minor spotting last week and earlier this week which made me really nervous. Debating whether or not to have a private early scan to put my mind at ease. My first mid wife appt is 9th feb which stills feels ages away!!! Then I think the first official scan will be shortly after.

@Oilyoilyoilgob good luck with the soft discs! I would just say, watch out for (tmi) squirting in the morning if you leave in overnight! I had many an accident lol

@Remembermee welcome! You've come to the right place! My dh struggled with the same issues but SI gave us new hope and definitely works!

Good luck everyone xx

@bigsweetpotato oh my goodness I missed this in my time away from the thread. Sending you a huge congratulations and my best wishes for a safe and healthy pregnancy ☺️

@Remembermee welcome to the most supportive thread! I’m in a very similar boat, 40 this year and absolutely petrified of giving birth which has stopped me for many years trying to conceive. Like @eloiseislost we are also in psychosexual therapy, husband has ED when it comes to PIV sex but we are getting there slowly and have been SI and tracking opks properly since Sept 2020. I got pregnant in sept but had an early mc so yes, this method works. Wishing you the best for your bfp, hopefully you get one soon ☺️

Oh @Makingnumber2 I’m ever so sorry to hear about your MIL, that’s awful and so sad. It’s absolutely ok and normal to feel upset, have a slump and cry and have a drink-now is not the time to beat yourself up. This thread isn’t all sparkle and good news and nor should it be, we are all humans just wading through good and bad times.
Yes it’ll be lovely if a pregnancy happens and you can tell her within the next few months, but if not she will always live on in your memories which you’ll then pass on to her future grandchildren. That energy she has, and the energy between you all will exist forever.
Right now yes you could still SI if you feel like it (if your period comes) but take it step by step and treat yourselves kindly. Big hugs 💚

@eloiseislost big congratulations!! Excellent news. I know it must be scary right now but hoping this one sticks for the next eight months or so! I think I should really look into discs... I might be generalising but it seems like this is the method that works for a lot of people on here recently?!

Hope everyone else is okay. CD6 today and will start SI-ing soon. I should be excited that I’m done with my period but honestly I’ve been feeling quite deflated lately like it just won’t happen again for us. Work has been hell: we are a team of 11 and THREE women are either pregnant or just gave birth so it’s impossible to have a single meeting without baby talk. Meh...

Right so for the random midnight posting, I did not know you need to only dip your ovulation strips into your urine sample for 5-10 seconds. I had left mine in there for the full ten minute window before reading the result.

Why am I such a loser.

There’s clear instructions & instead, I take them all out so they’re only left in their sealed packet and throw the box away.

Such a dummy!

@primrosechill It sounds like I get commission from sales of soft discs, but for us they've worked every time! My theory is that they help in 3 ways:

1. The swimmers are placed right on the opening of the cervix, bypassing the vaginal canal. Normally many swimmers die there, never making it further. It's not quite but it's the closest you can get to an IUI at home.
2. It keeps all the swimmers against the cervix for longer.
3. You don't need to handle the swimmers almost at all, whereas I assume there is some damage during keeping them in the tub to liquify, the sucking them with a syringe, then expelling them again.

Having said all that, many, many women have been successful with syringes, or turkey basters for that matter! 😂 Go with what feels comfortable for you, there's no need to add extra stress to TTC! 😉

@ComebackQueen Aw bless, fellow disposer of boxes here! 🙋🏻‍♀️ I've made some hilarious errors myself because I hate boxes taking up space! But don't worry, you live and learn! 🙂

@primrosechill good luck to you for this month. I never used soft discs but fell pregnant with SI three times. We never did more than 2-3 times a month, in my experience it’s all about timing. I think acupuncture helped me too.

@eloiseislost hahaha I’m glad there is someone else that throws boxes away, my husband jokes that if it’s not nailed down, I throw it!

Ok so, I’ve POAS this morning, an OPK to be more precise and this time for the correct time but it’s giving me a weird result?

I think I ovulated around CD26/27 based on the bloating and headaches I experienced a week ago.

I’m now CD33 I believe, my last three cycles were 35,33 and 34.

But previously I had cycles lasting 45-55 days.

Is this second line due to recent ovulation?

@ComebackQueen No, there is almost always a second line on OPKs, they are different to pregnancy tests. The hormone OPKs look for (LH) is always produced in our bodies but we have peak production before ovulation. At that time, the second line on your OPK will be just as dark or darker than the control line. You have now ovulated so no need to use OPKs any more (says me! 🤣)

@eloiseislost omg Thank you I am so bad at this - oK I’ll start testing after my period finishes to get my fertile day lol. I read somewhere you test everyday and line only appears if ovulating. Seeing as it’s the weekend I’ll research properly so I’m not so clueless.

You lot must think I’m a right looney tune

@ComebackQueen I think nothing of the sort about you, I was exactly the same when I started using OPKs.
Some women may not have a second line unless ovulating, but I would say probably most do. It's down to your baseline levels, whether they are lower than the sensitivity of the test.
Happy weekend reading! 🤓📚

Thank you @eloiseislost @Bluey18 and @Oilyoilyoilgob for all your kind and lovely words. Feeling very emotional still today (another sign AF is on her way...)
Hope everyone else is doing well today. X

@Lori23TTC have you caved in and tested??

@AdriannaP thanks for the encouragement - syringes worked for us once but it’s been almost 9 months since the miscarriage and no sign of success again. Because we were successful on the third try the forst time, I naively assumed things would happen equally as quickly now 😞 being surrounded by so many pregnant women at work doesn’t help at all - plus entering my 30s has added to my anxiety - I just feel at a long time lowest if I’m honest.

@primrosechill What worked once, chances are it will work again! 🙂
I understand that being surrounded by pregnant women can be devastating, especially at work, where most of the time can't be avoided. What has helped me a lot since I started TTC it's the thought in the back of my head that there is a good chance every pregnant woman has gone through a few struggles to get there. I mean, look at the MC statistics, they are scary! Same goes for infertility, male and female. You will hear a few women almost boast about how easy it was for them, but most of us who have struggled tend to remain silent.
One of my friends has been with her now husband since first year of uni, married for 6 years, they are both in the mid-thirties and had twin boys in July. I thought to myself "Ah, must have been Clomid!" 😂 Of course I'm making wild assumptions here but it helped me stay sane and it doesn't hurt anyone! 🤷🏻‍♀️

Thanks @eloiseislost - that has been my go-to strategy the past few months and completely agree that you don’t know what you don’t know. I have tried not to moan but for some reason (or MANY reasons) this month I just struggle to stay positive - which I guess is okay to just as long as I find a way to shake it off eventually! X