2023 TTC 35+ Part 5

[VixFromThe6ix]

Hi lovelies,

New thread!!

Please tag whoever you can so everyone knows we are here.

@CurlyWurly1991 is this the bpa thing on the receipts? I didnt know anything about plastics and bpa until mumsnet lol if it is then yeah, uk banned all bpa being in anything end of 2019 and completley gone by beginning 2020.... even so, ive just gone and bought a glass kettle lol is it still a thing in the US then?

Thank you all so much for being utterly lovely once again.

Huge Congratulations @VixFromThe6ix, you are absolutely justified in feeling everything that you are feeling, it is completely understandable. But I’m also really happy and excited for you. You’ve got this xxx

@Cressie2 oh I’m so sorry, sending a big hug 😔

@CurlyWurly1991 i didn’t realise they had banned bpa in receipts in the EU, I probably still won’t touch them to be safe, but it makes me feel better for the people who have to handle receipts day in day out!

it starts with the egg is interesting for sure, I think I’ll adjust my supplements a bit based on what’s in the book.

Which pregnancy tests does everyone buy?

@happytobemrsg i have the natural cycles ones for strip tests and then clear blue ultra early non digital ones if I’m feeling fancy/wanting to test super early 🙈

thinking I’ll ovulate tomorrow more than likely, so about to head into the two week wait… and I’ve a big team day at work on Monday where I’ll need to avoid them seeing I’m not drinking 🙈

@Cressie2 oh I'm sorry - how disappointing for you. It's really shocking to me that so many of these tests seem dodgy. I had no idea until I came on MN about how unreliable they are! Hope you're doing ok. Enjoy your lovely coffee in the morning.

@Eirlys1986 nice to see you on here - glad you're ok ☺️

@happytobemrsg I use the OneStep ones... was ready to bin them off last month as when I was going through my CP I was Googling like mad and there were loads of poor reviews of them that had me clinging to hope that they were just sh*t tests.. however, they were pretty accurate (unfortunately!). I've always used them as my 'first test' and then after a couple of days of positives on those I treat myself to a CB digital!

@Bumblebee413 ❤️ thank you

@Cressie2 oh no :( that sucks so much! I never had false results with easy@home but there are many stories on MN that have experienced false positives or indents. It's so misleading. Hope you're feeling ok. Sending hugs!

@CurlyWurly1991 what is all this about receipts?? Should I not touch them?

@happytobemrsg I do my crazy excessive early testing with easy@home sticks and then when there is a sure line I get clearblue. I don't really need to get clearblue for confirmation it's more so to keep and for a picture haha

Hi @VixFromThe6ix, it’s my fault re the whole receipt thing, I mentioned it as part of reading it starts with the egg…

i had read/heard ages ago about not touching receipts as it was bad for your health/disrupted your hormones/messed with your fertility, so I have basically stopped touching them if at all possible, and where I have to touch them I try to just take a corner and then always wash my hands before eating and also don’t take them after using hand sanitizer because that allegedly increases absorption. (I am aware this seems like a lot, and maybe a little tinfoil hat-y)

so I’ve done a little further research, and basically BPA, which is a chemical that disrupts your hormones, used to be present on the paper they use to print receipts, but in 2020 the EU and the U.K. banned it the use in receipt paper. However it seems that most places are replacing the BPA paper with BPS which apparently is almost as bad, according to the European chemicals agency: https://echa.europa.eu/-/bisphenol-s-has-replaced-bisphenol-a-in-thermal-paper

the European chemicals agency seems to be legit, so I think I’ll continue avoiding receipts like the plague 🙈😅

also BPA can be found in other places, such as the linings of food tins and in plastics, FYI

apologies, long BPA message over now

Oh and the other thing I’ve heard to avoid is re-using plastic water bottles, especially if they’ve been sitting in the sun or near heat - it’s recommended to drink out of glass or stainless steel instead.

@El1988 oh wow I never even heard of that. I'll be more awar from now. Canada probably didn't ban BPA paper 😔 some quality and safety standards here are way below European.
I rarely if ever drink from plastic bottles. We don't buy them. I have a stainless steel bottle and a glass one. Microplastics is terrible and wish more was spoken about it
Thank you for an explanation ❤️

@VixFromThe6ix no worries, you’re very welcome! All of this is with the caveat that I work in humanities, I’m not a scientist - but I feel it’s easy enough not to touch receipts unless 100% necessary and to avoid plastic bottles, and it won’t have caused any damage if it’s wrong 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’ve been trying to phase out stuff in our apartment where plastic gets heated on contact with food as well, as things break I replace them with wood or stainless steel or glass, as appropriate. Can’t hurt, or at least I hope 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yes the BPA thing is for real. I atopped uaing and reduced as much as poss years ago. I use glass bottles, glass dishes, stainless still. 0 plastic even BPA free. Tinned tomatos I no longer buy i just "make my own" pasata in glass jars etc. It is hard I had to cut and atop buying certain items as I can't find safe alternatives.

I also made it a point of getting rid of all the plastic Tupperware and replace all with glass. Got rid of all the reusable plastic water bottles and got stainless steel. I replaces all non stick cookware with stainless steel or cast iron. But there is obviously still a lot of plastic surrounding food like bread coming in a plastic bag, or milk. We are just now getting the last of food stores getting rid of plastic bags and replacing with reusable or paper bags.
Microplastics has so many negative effects on our bodies, specifically reproduction in both men and women.

I’ve had a bit of a break from the forum and just coming back now and catching up. Ovulation day for me!

Just started listening to the 28 days later podcast, very interesting. I was completely oblivious to cycles and how short a time frame it is actually possible to get pregnant in until I came off the pill and read up on it.

@VixFromThe6ix im also on a mission slowly getting rid of the plastics in the house - I have my eye on the salad spinner next 🙈😅 I think the plastic around food like bread isn’t as bad because it doesn’t come in contact with heat or acid, like in tinned tomatoes.

@EvelynKatie i know it’s mad, right? I went to a Catholic girls’ school and they were so obsessed with us not getting pregnant or having sex that I had no idea how difficult it would actually be when I tried 😭

Did any of you get implantation bleeding in any of your successful previous pregnancies ?

@El1988 its drilled into all of us as girls that the minute we have unprotected sex we’ll be pregnant. I mean, I get we shouldn’t be saying to girls that actually, it’s slim chance and only on x amount of days etc. but I think you only suddenly realise the truth when it actually comes to TTC and it’s pretty crazy really. I also think education around periods should focus more on just the basic biology of a woman’s reproductive system.

@EvelynKatie exactly! I really think in late secondary school they should at least flag a few key fertility facts like when it starts to get harder to get pregnant and what to watch for with endometriosis or other things that could possibly affect fertility later etc etc - all we got taught was don’t have sex because you will get pregnant and it will be the end of your life and then they brought in some nuns to see if anyone fancied joining the convent 🫣

@El1988 exactly! I’m very fortunate in that I’ve never had any issues with my periods but I obviously know of friends who do, and on the podcast today when they were covering women who have extremely heavy periods and fibroids etc. I just thought, why didn’t we get taught this stuff at school! Maybe it’s different these days… showing my age now 😂

Yes super hard. Back in the day was much easier. When I was growing up there was our local market who sold wholesale no oackaging just fill yourself and we used to use glass jars back then and sacks. Flour, smell ina, rice etc. These places are hard to find now.

Morning! How is everyone? 12dpo here... my period cramps have arrived and my typical AF bowel movements so pretty sure she'll be popping by within a day or two! 😌

Hi @SnookyPook sorry to hear AF is on her way 😔 but I guess you never know until AF actually arrives? But then no one wants to get their hopes up just to have them dashed.. sending a big hug!

I’m ovulating probably today, so about to head into my favourite time of the month, the TWW…

i was listening to a podcast recently and they said TTC is living your life in two week blocks, and that really resonated with me 🙈

@El1988 thank you, and yes, you never know, but definitely psyched up for her arriving! The two week block thing is so right! Hope you're feeling positive about your chances this cycle. Good luck for the tww!

@SnookyPook hope she doesn’t show xx
Doing ok thanks just waiting for ovulation. Was starting to see EWCM but seems to have slowed again. I’m getting really irregular ovulation and based on latest blood tests I’m sure high oestrogen is the culprit. Like, my boobs are so sore and I haven’t ovulated yet… ordered yet more supplements to try and help.

5DPO (predicted) here. Boobs are incredibly sore but any hormonal changes make them ache so not considering it a sign. I don’t feel pregnant at all. I KNOW it’s still too early to feel anything but not feeling very optimistic this morning.