TTC Feb 2025

[sjwx]

Hi everyone, I'm on CD 7 (I think.. last month was a very weird cycle for me) and going to start ovulation testing with the easy @ home strips and use the app they have.

I've used the clear blue smiley face tests the past 3 cycles but wanted to try something different this month.. but I'm worried I'm going to read them wrong as the clear blue ones were very straightforward!

If anyone has used these strips, what time of day did you test? I've read not to use the FMU so plan to test at 6pm (due to work) until I get a line and then try and test at 12pm too..

And did you not drink/wee for 2 hours before doing the test? With clear blue I left it 4 hours but struggled!

Would be great to chat to anyone who's also hoping this will be the month🤞🏼

I thought to myself “this will either make or break my Valentine’s Day” lol. I hate the first two day of my period so if it comes it’ll be bang on Valentine’s Day 🤦🏼‍♀️.

I enjoy the LH testing too. I think there’s less pressure or something, maybe i enjoy seeing the line (i might buzz off that bit lol)

I'm going to try and stay positive - either, we have some lovely news to celebrate on Valentine's Day, OR, we let ourselves feel all we need to feel around lack of nice news and let that cement our intentions moving into cycle 2. Easy for me to say that seeing as it's our first cycle of trying... (and my partner's first ever cycle of TTC). This isn't my first rodeo, so I know how it feels to go through the disappointment loop, and whilst I have no idea how he might react, I think he could be more emotional than he thinks he'll be... if that makes sense. He's a sensitive soul!

Can I ask you ladies what you're doing about alcohol consumption? During stressful periods of my life (!!!) I'm partial to a glass of wine or two. When I was last TTC with ex-H, I didn't abstain from alcohol and, didn't get pregnant.

I did Dry January last month and actually really felt good about it (despite hoping I'd lose loads of weight as a result... which didn't happen!). I had a glass of wine on Saturday night but just didn't really enjoy it. I'm happy to stay off alcohol, for the wider health benefits as well as helping with conception. But, just wondered if anyone else has found an alternative for what I often used wine for which is to signal that it's 'switch off time' if you know what I mean? Having a glass of wine has been my way of knowing it's time for me to chill out, relax, not think about work etc. and I feel like I could do with a healthier option to have the same effect?

I don’t drink, i simply never found anything i liked the taste of and didn’t need to dilute with heaps of coke or something. My guilty pleasure is chocolate and crisps at night in front of the tv. I do worry about tablets tho wile ttc because i would take the odd ibuprofen for headaches and ibs pain. But i guess it’s probably a case don’t worry about it until you’ve a little someone to worry about.

That’s a good frame of mind you have. I was disappointed anyway knowing my period was coming on Valentine’s Day even before we decided to try in December (im a serious planner lol) i’d checked well in advance dear knows why 🤦🏼‍♀️😂💝💌.

When I stopped drinking I used to have tonic and a squeeze of lime or grapefruit in it. For me it tasted basically the same as a G&T and gave me that signal to chill out at the end of the day.

I've now graduated to a rooibos teas and usually something sweet. Not sure either is particularly healthy though!

I go with the view that the odd glass or two won't hurt as long as i'm not going mad every weekend!
Mind you, I don't know if it has any effect or not as we're still TTC our 1st 😆

I’m due my period on Valentine’s Day too ladies. Also not been drinking as got diagnosed with IBS last year and it is such a trigger for me. I’d have one glass if out socially though.

Sorry can’t help here either, I stopped drinking 18mths ago. Health benefits more than anything and with a small child could not deal with the hangover/tiredness 😂 it wasn’t worth it and I just didn’t enjoy it, one glass of wine would give me a headache.

resulted in me eating a lot more chocolate though!! 😂 that’s normally my weekend treat now.

But to caveat that I have become a big tea drinker and drink more coffee now!
I don’t really worry about the tablets paracetamol etc is that meant to effect early pregnancy? Seems crazy cause they give you much stronger tablets in labour! 😂

I’m much more relaxed going in to 2nd time around 😂

I'll be honest, hadn't even thought about tablets, but seeing as I only usually take tablets to help with period pain - hopefully, won't be much of an issue! I am also a big tea drinker. And a bit of chocolate with a cup of tea is just... ah, heaven. I play hockey which often sees me running around in the freezing cold most weekends, and there's NOTHING better than getting in after a game, running a bubble bath and enjoying it with a cup of tea and some chocolate. Best treat ever!

As with most things, I think you can take it as far or as little as you want to when trying to conceive, and then going by medical guidelines whilst you are pregnant. When I was pregnant first time, a friend of a friend was pregnant in France. Their medical guidelines about what is advisable during pregnancy was very different to the UK (at that time, not sure if it's different now), so we used to joke and say we'd like to have a 'French pregnancy' so that we could still eat loads of cheese basically.

Moving across from the Jan thread.

Teated negative yesterday, period 1 day late. We were away for the weekend and had a £120 meal voucher to use up, so wanted to drink if not pregnant. Disappointing as fell so easily with DD. I think we were both shocked it was negative. Obviously too much symptom spotting. AF will be along soon.

Fingers crossed for Feb. I'll be testing on 27th.

You're not out until AF makes an appearance - will keep my fingers crossed for you and hope you're not left in limbo for long.

Hopefully either way, February is your month!

I don’t drink a lot these days (same reason as above poster having a small child). But on the 8th Feb I’m on a night out for a friends birthday and my husband and I are having a rare night at a hotel. I’m going to test that morning, although at 7DPO probably too early to show, and have a few drinks if negative.

With tablets - when I was 32 weeks pregnant with my little girl I was in intensive care with Covid. I was almost put on the ventilator but amazingly the cpap machine worked and saved my life. I was given scans and X-rays (I went into acute liver and heart failure) and was on steroids and other meds. I lost 9kgs in a week and my baby gained weight! Obviously don’t take medicines that aren’t deemed safe in pregnancy, but it did give me a new perspective on how resilient babies are. I’ve got a terrible cold atm and I’m dosing up on paracetamol and cold and flu tablets. The cells won’t have even attached to the wall yet, and they don’t start feeding from the placenta until 16 weeks so I wouldn’t worry this early on xx

This will be me 😂 it’s like you weren’t meant to eat Brie at all 3 years ago now you’re allowed it as long as it’s cooked. They change all the time doesn’t they!

Gosh that sounds awful! I had Covid at a similar time when pregnant with my first but god you went through it! But it is incredible that baby gained with you being so ill. Just shows so resilient 🤍

I think I'm beginning to enter crazy season... Forgot how easy it is to slip into symptom spotting and 'confirmation bias' territory. And I'm only like 5dpo... Dear Lord.

I have a good feeling about this group too @Mama09876 - I am sure it'll be a lucky one. But, trying not to get hopes up too high as man alive, feel my chances are SLIM.

@Taysonic glad it's not just me, every month i'm saying "don't overthink too soon"...every month I overthink too soon, also only 5/6 DPO..going to be a long two weeks!!

OMG!! Thank goodness i’m not the only lol. I was full of good intentions and i have completely slid into symptom spotting land yesterday 😂 (for which i actually have very little tbh). The only thing i have now is achey boobs, like burning nips hahahah no other way to describe it 🤷🏼‍♀️. I had that wee bloody/pink/brown spell at the very beginning 3/4 dpo can’t really remember but that lasted a day and a half tops probably ovulation spotting or dear knows….just life messing with me. I’m 7dpo today. Fingers crossed for all of us in here 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

It defo feels a lucky group! I think there’s going to be some positives 🤍

have to say I’ve not gone to crazy (yet!) I’m absolutely full of cold, toddler off nursery and on antibiotics and a very busy couple of weeks in work so kinda glad just having something to distract me!

But I known next week I’ll be picking up on ever ‘sign’ can’t wait till people start testing. NC confirmed ovulation for me though so officially 6dpo!

I’m crazy too, don’t worry 🤣 feels like a long week.

I DTD the morning of Feb 1st. I got a peak on OPK 1st Feb at 12pm. Lots of mucus that night and 2nd. Tailed off on Monday. Only DTD once though so will be surprised if anything comes of it.

Don't know how many days past ovulation that would make me. Is the peak before ovulation?

The Premom app quoted my ovulation the day after my peak which was the 28th February so i’m 7dpo according to that so yea i’d say day after the peak. You’re 3dpo i’d say. It’s really a guide tho isn’t it because our bodies can go early or late. Just another delightful minefield to be explored lol 🙄.

I gonna do a test on Friday. I’ll be 9dpo, i know that’s early still but sure i’ll have made it that far 💪🏼. It’ll be lovely to be able to share our journeys with each other it’s so comforting & supportive. Hopefully we’ll do some celebrating along the way.

Thanks @PoppyGirl222, that makes sense. I have a while to go! Think I’ll test next week

Eeeek! I'm ridiculously excited for positive outcomes for other people! Isn't it weird how quickly you can get invested in other people's journeys too?

I'm going to do my absolute best to hold off testing until the 14th Feb, if AF hasn't made a surprise early appearance. I was quite a bit late in January (a week late!) so going by my usual cycle length this month but if I'm 'late' again, it's going to drive me crazy! To be honest, being late on my period in January is what confirmed to my partner and I that we were ready to start trying. It kind of planted the seed of possibility and realising that it would have been 'good' news if I was pregnant last month made us go for it!

And then if it's BFN for me this month, I'm definitely going to OPKing next month. I just want to have that certainty around ovulation and being more informed. It's fascinating to hear everyone else's scientific data and peaks and calculations... I want to nerd over the data!