Preparing and TTC in 2023 - Thread 2

[DanisEndo]

Thread no 2 as thread 1 was so close to getting full!

As a reminder this is a positive support thread for anyone preparing and planning to start TTC in 2023 💖

If you join start by introducing yourself with your age. what no. you're trying for and when you plan on starting plus any goals you might have before then! for example:

@DanisEndo
Age 27
TTC No.1
Starting Sep 23
I want to:

• loose some weight (would like to get down to a healthy BMI by exercising and doing all home cooking, nothing to major or restrictive)
• do some decorating around the house
• get married (1st September woooo!)
• change job / company

I have endometriosis and PCOS, 2 surgeries down and hoping I'll still be all clear by the time we get to trying.

Theres a long list of us now so bare with me updating it as we go 😅

Good luck everyone!!!

is anyone on this thread TTC second child and struggling. I’m on my 3rd cycle 10 DPO but I just feel it’s not happened again and I’m really struggling with the idea of it taking so long.

I’ve tried feeling my cervix but I can’t tell if it’s hard or soft (it feels both) so again all signs pointing to not pregnant. If anyone is in the same boat or has had a similar experience and fallen pregnant please share as I’m going crazy.

Also congrats @xTinkerbell! Amazing news. Can I ask when you first tested, was it before or after your period was due?

welcome everyone who has joined 😀

@cats1990 I am ttc second child, 6dpo on my first cycle but I have the absolute fear of it not happening. I have irregular periods and after 1st cycle ttc dd that lasted 79 days, I then fell pregnant a few weeks later so feel incredibly lucky it happened so quickly and on the 2nd cycle.

I know it’s silly stressing about it already but just don’t think I can possibly be that lucky again!

@CTMcG I am feeling exactly the same as you. We had a PUL which we fell pregnant first cycle, our son was first cycle and now I’m on my 3rd cycle and I feel like it’s not going to happen.

I’m due on my period next week and I don’t feel like I’m pregnant but I feel bizarre today, weird cramping/sensations and feel really spaced out and a bit sick but I don’t feel like I’m pregnant. I took a first response 6 days early today and it was negative but then part of me is still hopeful for this month

@cats1990 Hello! TTC #2 over here too 😊 I'm not where you are yet but I can feel myself heading that way in a few months time. Cycle #2, felt like we gave it a really good go last month and felt implantation, AF was delayed too (unusual) but no baby! Timing for my FW is really inconvenient this month. I have the added challenge of TTC at the same time as a friend, so feel the pressure mounting 😅 I'm calm for now, but will probably start feeling it at the end of summer. However, I know these things take time!

I suspect my fitness / diet may play a part here as I was mega fit and healthy with baby #1 🤣 you are so early in your TWW, plenty of time for that BFP! Especially since you are feeling off xx

@LeopardLover its so stressful isn’t it. You can’t help but read into everything.

when I meant next week i meant this week so Wednesday will be two weeks from ovulation which is when I am due on as I come on 13/14 days after I ovulate. I usually get spotting the day before my period comes so I’m just waiting for that over the next few days.

I am sure I’m not pregnant but you can’t help but hope can you.

hope you don’t get too stressed and the pressure overwhelms you.

Congratulations @xTinkerbell !

@cats1990 Yes, also ttc a second child and feeling anxious. The first took about 9 months and I'm only on my first cycle and already feeling all the anxiety setting in.

I'm about 7dpo right now (guessing based on cervical mucus and sex drive, and past testing that also showed ovulation around day 12). I am feeling kind of queasy, but I guess that could be the heat. I had a chemical pregnancy in Feb, and it was really weird, I had morning sickness almost right away and then started bleeding about 4 days later. That didn't happen with my son, I didn't have any nausea until 6 weeks. Has anyone ever had morning sickness really early on and everything was ok?

Hi everyone!

I haven’t posted on here in a while but I’ve officially started TTC now and would love to join back in.

Last month was the first time we actively tried but only did the baby dance twice before ovulation so maybe we didn’t try hard enough haha. I felt so many “symptoms” that I didn’t think I’d ever had before, like little twinges, cramping and brown spotting way before period, but then my period came as normal!

Feels like time is going really slowly now!

Congratulations @xTinkerbell !!

We got the ball rolling with referral for fertility services yesterday. I’m glad I sort of knew what would happen- going to take a while to get my husbands referral linked up with mine from my practice (as we’re registered at different practices). Couple of hoops to jump through for me- 21 day bloods (even the GP agreed it’s kind of pointless for PCOS!) and a chlamydia test for me. Amazingly they’re going to use our private fertility MOT for the AMH, ultrasound and the sperm test. So that’s fast tracked things a bit. My husband can’t get to his GP until mid July but it still feels good to have got started. So far I’m impressed but I forgot to ask what the expected waiting time is!

Great news that everything is rolling CR :) I hope the wait time isn’t too long.

Had our consent appointment yesterday and have our dates now! I start testosterone gel around the 12th July (first day of my period) and take that for that entire cycle. Around the 7th August when my next cycle starts I will start stims. Who knows by the end of the summer I could be pregnant!

@CRbear @Hopingforno2in2023 exciting stuff! Must feel good to be doing something proactive. Everything crossed for you both!

Thanks @SnookyPook and @Hopingforno2in2023 !

I am mentally prepared for a years wait and quietly confident we will get pregnant in that time - so feeling good. I’m an organiser so having everything teed up but hopefully not needing it suits me.

exciting @Hopingforno2in2023 - everything crossed for a pregnancy this summer!

How is everyone's month going?

I'm on cd 22. Had a couple of queasy days and some breast pain but could be the heat. Trying not to test early.

Hello!

Just popping back on by .... been a few weeks since I last posted. Still got no 'peak' or 'positive' on my easy@home ovulation strips, and started bleeding again on CD22. This is my third bleed since stopping birth control and I'm yet to have any positive ovulation.... feeling very deflated by it.

Have been informed that this isn't a 'period' as a period can only happen once ovulation has taken place. So it's just a bleed... so not marking it down. Currently continuing to test throughout the bleeding and onwards... now CD24..

Praying after this bleed or throughout July I see some resemblance of a positive ovulation! Otherwise might give my doctors surgery a call...
Have attached my chart for reference.

Sending you all baby dust for this month!!

@Minnierose11 yeah I was it was just a different name so didn’t click right away that it was the same pill. I can’t remember when I got a peak OPK. Tbh I seem to struggle with getting peak OPK’s anyway despite being on my third pregnancy. I think i’ve had a peak once or twice.

Yeah we were every 2/3 days throughout the month and I conceived after 3 full cycles.

Im with you, definitely wouldn’t go back on birth control. It’s scary how little we are taught about the side effects and what it does to our bodies.

On CD25…. First month trying after pregnant in October, MMC and Ashermans Syndrome. On cyclogest progesterone during the luteal phase for the first time too, so have to do a test at 12DPO rather than wait for a missed period which is a bit different. Ovulated CD19 so a bit of time to wait so working on distracting myself.

@Minnierose11 I didn’t get a positive ovulation test with easy@home this month, must have missed the surge but my ovulation was confirmed by ultrasound. So you never know!!

@Minnierose11 - can’t remember if you are already, but I highly recommend tracking BBT. It’s the only way to actually know if you have ovulated. You can still get an LH surge and not ovulate in any case. But if you’re not picking up anything, give it a go this month and see?

Hello!

My only problem with that is, my sleep cycle is quiet erratic. I don't wake at the same time everyday so i don't think it'd be all that accurate and therefore not that helpful... unless it's ok to test at different times aslong as it's before I get out to bed/do anything. But from everything I've read it needs to be same time everyday.
Just for reference though, which thermometer do you use and where did you get it from?

I've been tracking consistently with test, 2-3 times a day. They're all very low readings.
I just find this all just a minefield it can be quiet over whelming... I'm completely new to all of this. I kind of wish I never started with the tracking and just went in blind with regular BDing. But my close friend suggested I used them, infact she brought them for me initially and since when I've expressed my concerns or feelings of panic; her response has been "yeah tell me when you've been trying for a year." Because that's how long her first took her. Which isn't helpful at all.
My mum doesn't really understand all this stuff because back in her day none of this was a thing. You simply just tried for a baby. X

Oh really ... that's interesting. Was there any obvious reason why they weren't picking up your surges or peaks? Did you track any other way or just rolled with it in hopes you were ovulating and found out you were pregnant? X

@Minnierose11 nope! no obvious reasons. I didn’t use OPK’s with DS but used them on and off with DD and this pregnancy. The month I fell pregnant both times I didn’t even get close to a peak. Honestly this time round I was worried I hadn’t even ovulated after a 16 day cycle last month.

I tried temping this time round but I found it gave me more questions than answers so after three months I gave up on that and just hoped I was ovulating and all was okay. With DD I didn’t temp, just hoped and it all turned out okay thankfully

@Minnierose11 - what I have done is use Fertility Friend (see photo) to track all of my temps/ CM/ OPKs. As you can see, my temps go up and down in a zig zag way but it still sees when it ticks up a bit and tracks ovulation. I test between 5am and 7:30am (first time I wake up, I just grab it), but say I wee at 4am and then test at 6am it still gets a there or thereabouts reading.

I use this thermometer: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0842Q3W7T?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

now I basically know if it’s below 36.50 that’s before ov, above that I may have ovulated (unless I’ve been very drunk and it goes up!!)

One of those I used the Clearblue advanced OPKs alongside, another I used nothing. I really would try those this month if expensive just to try as you only have to test with your first wee and it’s easy to read them.

but tbh you’re probably right….. it may be better just to relax a bit and then see. But it’s hard once you start!!!!

@xTinkerbell sounds like a good approach!!!!

@Hopefulhoney6 I've just ordered a BBT off Amazon which had lots of positive reviews so I'm going to give that ago as soon as it arrives. Alongside my easy at home strips, and see if next month yields anything more positive... if not then I may see if I can get in with a doctor to see why nothings happening.
I've spoken to someone who also works a mix of nights/days (my situation) and they test as soon as they wake everyday (sometimes 7am sometimes 3pm) and they've managed to get regular patterns through that way so hoping I'll be the same.

And that's the thing isn't it!! I keep thinking, just stop with it all but then the next day comes and I'm like no.... I want to know haha.
I feel I wouldn't be as bad if I knew it was ovulating but it just wasn't our month to conceive, I think it's the panic of not actually ovulating that's stressing me out so much because of course without that, there will definitely be no conception!

Curious aswell - for anyone in this thread. Has anyone tried Maca root? I've read really positive things.. curious to see if anyone's used or is using it that has any feedback?

Hi all! Hope you don't mind me joining :)

Age: 32
TTC baby number 2
Plan to start trying November or December 2022

I have a 17 month old DD. Took us about 3 cycles to conceive her so feel lucky there. I have PCOS and a history of irregular cycles though so feeling somewhat worried going into ttc again.

I plan to prep as much as I can the next few months by taking the right supplements and tracking my cycle.

Huge congrats to all the BFPs so far and baby dust to all TTC!