Starting TTC Journey and New Job...

[CatLadyH]

Hi all,

Just after some advice/opinions/experiences please. This is my first post so apologies for the ramble.

This year has been a bit of a stressful one career wise. After working in the same area of industry for 8 years I decided to change jobs into a different sector. I started a job in August and quickly realised it wasn't the right fit for me and I was certainly not the right person for the role. I left in November and have been really lucky to have started a new position at a company this month where I feel much for in my comfort zone.

Husband and I have just been married over a year, I was really keen to start a new job role and be settled by the time we would start TTC in late 2022. However we were meant to go on our honeymoon in Jan 2022 but pushed it back to Jan 2023 due to covid.

We are going to St Lucia which does have a Zika risk which makes me a bit concerned - looking at available information online it wouldn't appear there's been any recorded in recent times, but it still worries me. Should this be a concern? Are we best waiting TTC after the 3 month window as advised?

Also I'm just a bit anxious in respect of my new job role I have started. We've already delayed TTC due to moving the honeymoon etc - I really don't want to put things on hold for much longer. I have looked at the companies maternity policy and they don't really kick in the significant benefits until you've been there in excess of 2 years which is fair enough.

I think I may be just overthinking things but I am at a point in life where literally everyone seems to be having children at the moment! I also appreciate the journey to getting pregnant isn't as easy or straightforward as it seems and I know my husband is keen to start as a family as am I.

Given the above I don't know whether to start TTC ASAP or give ourselves a bit of time in respect of the Zika risk and job situation to get into the groove (and pass the probationary 3 months)? I would welcome anyones views and thoughts.

Thanks,

H

If it’s still recommended to wait due to the zika risk then I’d wait if I were you, I can’t understand why you’d risk it. If it’s not recommended anymore then go for it!

Hello! Firstly, congratulations being a newlywed :) and for getting a new job that seems to fit better with what you want/need. Regardless of their may policy, you can have faith knowing that a good company is a good company and it has to help when TTC. From my experience you also can’t sit back and wait for things to maybe happen or not so going for a new job was in my view, a positive!

I was surprised to see your comment about zika as I hadn’t clicked on the post for that reason however we’re in a similar position in the sense that we’ve literally just come back from Dom Rep. I had a chemical pregnant just before we went (first one ever and TTC our first), it was bitter sweet because it meant I could relax and not worry too much about the zika risk but also enjoy some good all inclusive 🥴😂

That being said, I happened to chat with my Dr on return as I wanted a referral onto a fertility specialist (as I have endo)… and overall I’ve been trying for around 3 years (my prev relationship was 10 years) - albeit only a relatively short length with my current partner who I’ve been with for around 2 years. Hope that all makes sense! Lol. Anyway the Dr advised for us to wait until the recommended time period of 3 months before TTC - although I have done endless research and the risk appears hugely minimal these days (unlike in 2016). I have however found out that you can pay for an antibody blood test for Zika virus so while we’re being safe, and timing it outside of ovulation… I’ve got that plan on the back burner just incase we experience a ‘miracle’ too. It’s a really difficult choice to make but ultimately you don’t want to risk any harm to a foetus in early stages (which is the predominant risk I believe).

Clearly no expert here but just sharing my experience 🥰🫶 xx