SMEP - anyone giving this a try this month and want to join me?

[Mum2DD89]

New to mumsnet 🙋‍♀️ and I've seen loads of threads where everyone is so lovely and supportive so thought I'd post. This is our 4th cycle ttc #2, 1st cycle giving SMEP a try as I've seen so many success stories. With our first, we got so lucky and ended up pregnant on our first month trying so this waiting is a bit of a shock, although I know out 1st was the exception not the norm! Would love to hear any success stories, or any other ladies that want to compare notes this month x

@EdinburghGirl1 wanna bet this is the cycle you fall, just when you least expect it. Tends to be that way sometimes

• @Aurora81 yeah i got a load of cheapies to do alongside the CB however I dont think itll help me much because I only see DH in the mornings weekdays. Even if I were to see a peak in the evening, he's not around. Its worth it for weekends though, ill definitely do that I'm also doing lots of vitamins, prenatals, eating well, seed cycling, minimum alcohol but unfortunately it does take some time to see results... hopefully now going into my 3rd cycle itll start to show fx

@allgoodthings84 sounds like your nap helped? Maybe you're overworked and perhaps its your hormones playing up? oh dominoes for dinner sounds yummy, id order it anyway, never know you may work up an appetite

@NatGee that would indeed be lovely. I suppose only time will tell.

@Aurora81 very true. I'll see how it goes. That's good it's all paying off for you and the tea has helped.

@allgoodthings84 that's good the bloating has eased. I had some bloating pre ovulation which wasn't very comfortable.

@NatGee @EdinburghGirl1 I don’t feel stressed at work at moment. I’m working on Easter 2023 and that’s not too bad it’s just busy and I’ve had a lot on out of work too but not stressful. Might have been something I ate maybe. The nap definitely helped whether it was the rest or stretching out or both. I’ll be ordering in a little while for sure

how is everyone?

@allgoodthings84 good, all sounds positive 👍🏽I'm doing alright, currently cd13 and had my second flashing 🙂.

Modified SMEP slightly by BDing a bit more often than recommended, which hopefully won't turn into a marathon since I am now supposed to be in my fertile window 🤯

So CD8 ✅️ CD10 ✅️ CD12 ✅️ CD13 ✅️ and everyday until I've ovulated, which I hope will be Tuesday. Also started using my fertilily but no pressed. In fact I am seriously contemplating using egg whites if needed. It's natural and apparently is a great medium for the little guys' motility 🤷🏽‍♀️Ill definitely let you ladies know how that goes

@allgoodthings84 how are you feeling now? I think progesterone in the luteal phase slows down our bowel and cause bloating too. I find eating a 🥝 every day helps. Check back what you ate the day before as something caused it.

@NatGee ovulation should occur 12-48 hours after a peak, so don't worry too much about the timing. Our bodies carry on regardless. We use coconut oil, but not that much when I start getting EWCM. I actually had EWCM up 2 dpo this cycle,... Maybe it was the high potency evening primrose oil ☺️

@EdinburghGirl1 🤞🏻for you ✨ I do believe when we let go a bit our bodies relax more and that has to be good for us ✨

@NatGee fingers crossed the plan works for you this month. I looked into pressed but haven't bought it yet. Might see how things go the next couple month. I do get EWCM so not sure if it would make a difference if not.

@Aurora81 that's interesting as I also had EWCM 2dpo which I thought was a little strange. Thank you although I've not felt very relaxed in general the last few days which isn't particularly helpful I know to ttc

@NatGee @fsr111 how are your OPKs today? Hopefully you won't have to wait too much longer!

Had the shortest LH surge in the world yesterday! My test with FMU this morning was only just positive.. so glad I was testing so much during the day else I'd have missed it! And my temp has gone up slightly today too which is hopefully a good sign 🤞

How is everyone feeling? Those that are in the TWW how many dpo are you? I'm excited to see some BFPs soon!

@Aurora81 that’s very true. The reason I was thinking not pms related is because it doesn’t happen often to me. I do have IBS though (but not in the loo rush way but can go days without needed to poop tmi I know 😂 but I had been the day before) so likely IBS playing up in a different way to normal. Oh well it’s gone now and I enjoyed my pizza ha ha

@Mum2DD89 I’m 10dpo today but not feeling very hopeful as feel exactly the same as I usually do pre AF

@Tubbytele thanks so much for that info, that makes me feel better. Very exciting it happened so quickly for you! We overdid SMEP last time also, more of a struggle this time. No we're away travelling for a couple months so I'm not temping or using opks.

@NatGee the age seems common where I live, my friends have recently had / are having their firsts - all around 37 too. I did SMEP the month before I got pregnant - it wasn't successful that month. I did SMEP plus extra sex the month after and it worked.

@NSx how're you!? All good here thanks.

To those having ewcm after ovulation, I think I'm 2dpo but got ewcm again today mixed in with creamy 🤷‍♀️ could he because it's my first cycle after having my baby

Good morning ladies 💕

how is everyone?
im 5dpo nothing much to report here, except I feel my temp is fluctuating up and down but not by much.
woke up freezing this morning and temp was lower. Can room temperature affect bbt?
it’s cold up in Scotland today 😂☔️

x

Hello everyone, I've been enjoying reading all of your updates this morning! Glad you caught the surge @Mum2DD89, I'm now CD16 and still getting flashing smiles, going to have to buy more sticks soon! 🙃 This cycle is definitely make me think that for months I thought being more casual and not using opks would help me not get too fixated but in actual fact I was probably missing ovulation because it was later than I thought.
Who is the first person to start testing? I can't wait to see some BFPs soon!

Good morning ladies. I'm doing ok. 4dpo so nothing to report here. Just trying not to think about it too much until next week.

@NSx yes it's miserable here today. Pretty rainy!

@fsr111 that's good the OPK are giving you an insight into your cycle. Fingers crossed that helps you get your bfp this cycle.

@allgoodthings84 hopefully AF doesn't arrive for you.

I know we DTD plenty over fertile period but I'm just not hopeful this month

@EdinburghGirl1 im the same as you this month… I don’t think I’ve caught. U know u just have a gut feeling.
Plus my temps have been so weird over this last week, don’t know if it’s due to drinking on Sat, stress about my cat or just the weather changing but my BBt is a bit messed up, and it’s not particularly high at 5dpo, so I’m pretty much convinced it’s not this month. I’ll be 11dpo next Friday so may test then just to get it out the way.

I had a meeting with my consultant at the hospital yesterday & she said 35 years old isn’t old at all, she said more and more women are having their babies in their late 30s and she said one of her other patients who’s just had a baby is 55.
She said not to put pressure on ourselves, to ditch the OPK’s and to just DTD every other day during the fertile window. She said we’ve not to worry it will happen naturally! (As I was a bit concerned about not conceiving again) 🥲
So if it doesn’t work out this month I think I’m going to go for a more relaxed approach next month, because I think all this ttc is stressful! My skin has been awful this week 🙄

** she also said about DTD every other day, to give sperm a chance to regenerate. Which I found interesting. She’s one of the leading fetal medicine Dr’s in Scotland - so it’s food for thought.

Wow that's all really interesting @NSx, always good to have some expert advice, especially on the age. I'm 36 so definitely also feeling a sense of pressure like many others on this thread. Did the fertility doctor suggest any next steps for you?

@fsr111 for background I lost my girl to a chromosomal syndrome in May, at 17.5 weeks. So it was a follow up for that.
what she said was that as long as you’re having regular periods, there’s nothing to worry about and that I shouldn’t consider going to my GP Until I’ve tried to conceive for a year as she was confident it would happen normally - (I was asking her if I should get tested for anything - she said no)
she said at 35 I’m still very much young in terms of having a baby- which was something I had worried about.
I advised her that I had read about people struggling to conceive as quickly the second time round and that it might take longer this time, she said that just because it happened fast the first time doesn’t mean it will take a long time the second time & she said many factors like stress can contribute to it taking longer, so she said the key is just to try and focus on something else and not let it consume you. She said on average it can take upto a year and that is perfectly normal, however for most people it probably happens sooner with regular DTD.

she was really lovely and did put my mind at ease as I felt I was worrying myself a bit 🥲

@EdinburghGirl1 @NSx bless you both, they say it will happen when you least expect it, hopefully this happens for you, I'm keeping everything crossed for us all 🤞

@NSx that's some great info, thank you. Definitely helps to put your mind at ease, as much as it can be anyway. TTC is so stressful, much more than I thought it would be!

@NSx yeah I get what you mean about gut feeling. I think because it took 4 months with first I just don't think it will be quicker than that especially being older. That's interesting to know what the dr said. A relaxed approach sounds good. Maybe I'll just try every other day next month. I used to get spots when I was stressed so it might very well be that.

I suppose I know it will or should happen at some point I just don't like waiting and not knowing and just want to be pregnant as soon as possible

@Mum2DD89 yes I think if you over think it and over do it it can have the opposite effect - it’s obviously easier said than done. 😂 but I think if it comes to it next month I’m going to try and be more relaxed about it and just DTD every other say through fertile window to see what happens.

@EdinburghGirl1 Well the first time I caught after 2 months - that was only in feb this year so I was hardly much younger - however this is cycle 2 now for me, and tbh I don’t hold much hope. I’m hoping I’m wrong but I just feel this might be a longer wait for me. 😒 I feel the more I want it the longer it will take 😅

@EdinburghGirl1 it’s been beautiful here today 😮

@NSx i know not the same but my resting heart rate dipped at 5dpo but has gone up since then so your bbt might still get higher yet. Im not hopeful this cycle either though as feel exactly as I always do a few days before AF comes. I love what your consultant says about give it time being over 35 won’t be an issue. I hope that’s true as the worrying is getting me down. Every time AF comes I think it’s all because of my age and it won’t happen. I’ve got a child but she’s 7. I tried not taking opk’s last cycle (well it was forced because of holiday) and it stressed me out massively not knowing when I ovulated but doing opk’s I don’t get stressed about ovulation. I don’t think my partner would be up for every other day through whole cycle

@allgoodthings84 it’s turned out lovely now but it was horrendous earlier 🥲
she really couldn’t have been more dismissive of my age being an issue so try to relax on it 🤗💜 it’s easier said than done, but I did air this concern to her and she said I’ve only to contact my gp after a year which would make me a whole year older (36) so clearly she isn’t concerned by our age!

I get what u mean, I won’t ditch the OPKs but I will do alternate days next month I think, atleast over fertile week

@Mum2DD89 That is one clear peak! why did you test again that day, is it because you saw an increase to .46 that day? My LH strips keep showing a low reading but I suppose that's the difficulty, catching the peak. My OPK showed another flashing smiley, third one in a row so hopefully ill have a static tomorrow or Monday :)

@A1b2c3d4e5f6g7 thats very possible, I too had some ewcm after ovulation but it was very little although I haven't had children yet. I imagine your body will take a little while to get back to what's normal for you

@NSx that's a good question about bbt. I imagine the temperature wouldn't affect it but I could be wrong? 55 wow but yes, your consultant is right, women are delaying childbearing to later and later if they are having them at all.

@allgoodthings84 well, you don't have to feel anything, many don't. so there's still hope! hang in there

@NSx I'm really sorry about your little girl, that's horrible. Only so recent also. How are you?

I had a MMC at age 36. Mine was a lot earlier, but my cycles still went a little weird after for a few months. A shorter luteal phase, spotting before period, lighter flow. My doctor said much the same as your doctor - you will be pregnant again in a year very likely and so to only go to GP if we weren't. Have you noticed any cycle differences since? I only mention because I went to a fertility acupuncturist, because things felt off. I was pregnant the next month after five unsuccessful cycles. I had the worst period ever after starting the acupuncture, and I think I hadn't had a proper period bleed and needed to reset my hormones. The spotting was and short luteal phase was indicative of low progesterone apparently. You might not feel hormonally off though, just mentioning in case you do feel like everything hasn't gone back to normal x