TTC #1 & a few questions for you girls that are in the know!

[SilverSky]

Hello everyone,

I am a newbie to MN and I think its a brilliant site/resource and will probably end up being a bit of a lifeline.

In short: OH and I are TTC #1. Seriously. Used the Ovulation calendar and on the predicted ripe days, we did the deed and AF is due 14 Jan, which is next week. I have not got my hopes up, as I am realistic in that it may take awhile. Last year we were not trying/not preventing and nothing happened.

So the point of my post!!! is when you are TTC do you:

avoid certain foods?
take cold/flu meds?
reduce alcohol/caffeine intake?

Or do you wait til you get your BFP before changing your eating habits etc?

I am taking Folic Acid and I am trying to improve my diet, not by dieting as dont really need to lose weight, but by upping the amount of fruit and veg etc....

Thank you!!!

Hi SilverSky,

I am pretty new to MN too and me and DH have recently decided we would like DC #3, though we wont start TTC until towards the end of this year. I am using this (agonisingly) long wait to get my body in tip top condition. to answer your questions, I would recommend you start taking a folic acid supplement and begin eating healthily from now - you can get a list of foods to avoid from your doctor or google it (I'm sure there'd be one on MN somewhere too). It would probably be a good idea to visit your GP for a health check and let him/her know of your intentions to conceive and make sure there are no underlying issues. If you already do regular exercise, keep it up. If not, I would suggest starting something gentle like swimming or pilates - though do also check with your doctor.... personally I don't see any need to avoid the usual cold/flu/headache meds until you get a BFP, but again, you could discuss this with your GP.

Otherwise, I would say have fun trying and good luck!

Great thanks.

Have already read up on the food to avoid when pregnant, wasn't sure that if you are TTC to whether you should avoid them also.

Typically am now mega craving blue cheese! Always want what I cant have!

I don't know if you have to avoid them whilst TTC, but I know that when I found out I was pregnant with my first, I immediately felt guilty about the alcohol I had consumed the previous weekend, and the brie and bacon baguettes I liked to scoff at the uni cafe! You might as well get used to avoiding them from now...but this is just my opinion....

Yeah - not sure what to do for the best! Plenty of people don't even know they are preggers and eat/drink allsorts with no ill effects dont they?

yeah, true. I just feel that if you are actually planning a pregnancy, it makes sense to start as you mean to go on....it's not worth the guilt you feel when you do find out that you're pregnant and you just had a weekend of boozing or something...your best bet, to put your mind completely at rest, is to seek the advice of your GP

My current pregnancy (32 weeks) was planned and I went as far as charting my cycle rather than relying on an ovulation predictor which simply works off the assumption the 'average' woman will ovulate on day 14 of her cycle. If you're not 'average' though, and it turns out most women aren't, then the timing of your intercourse could be off for optimal chance of a pregnancy.

Anyway, that aside, perhaps you'd feel comfortable doing what I did when it comes to avoiding alcohol/'bad' foods/meds whilst ttc - ie, in the run up to ovulation, indulge/use (in moderation), and in the two week wait (from ovulation until expected period or positive pregnancy test) abstain. That way you don't feel too deprived, especially as for the average (there's that word again) healthy couple it can take 6-12months to conceive.

Lots of good luck!

MandaHugNKiss - thank you, I think I will follow that plan.

How do you chart your cycle? Though some part of me thinks that should perhaps see if nature takes the right course before getting scientific and formulaic about TTC!

silversky welcome the mn! Became a lifeline for me when ttc#1. Thought I'd add my tuppence to the thread. When I started ttc#1 I went threw myself into cleansing my body of caffeine, alcohol, unpasteurised cheeses etc! But this radical change in diet could have also affected my metabolism as my cycles started to get longer and longer which is not what you want to happen. Best thing I found was taking everything in moderation. Assume it will take a few months to conceive (if it doesn't then brilliant!), so the odd glass of wine won't harm, neither will the odd cuppa/Brie & grape baguette! It's often cited that the embryo doesn't share your bloodstream for the first 6 weeks. So if you were to have had a couple of drinks whilst very early on in pg it shouldn't be a problem unless of course you have a history of multiple miscarriage in which case you'd be a lot more careful.

I conceived ds on cycle 4, on nye after sharing a bottle of champagne with dh. I also had the ocassional glass of bubbly at the two or three weddings I went to during pregnancy. Ds is a very healthy 15 month old now, although he does have a taste for champagne and we had to give him his own pretend glass this Christmas.

Be careful, but as others have suggested don't be overly strict while ttc or you could end up feeling deprived.

Good luck!

I would say live your life as normally as you can. TTC can take a LOT longer than you expect and it can start to rule your life. Yes, eat healthily and take your folic acid supplements. But I seriously wouldn't agonise over every bite you eat and drop you drink. You will get miserable, it will start to rule your life, and you will lose all sense of fun in the process.

Relax, have a glass of wine or two if you want. Have a piece of stilton if you want. You are not going to damage the baby doing that in the first 6 weeks.

And don't test early.

Wonderful advice all.

Do have to improve my diet anyways, more fruit and veg is required so that I will do. I seem to be able to do that with the thought of a baby in mind than when I was just doing it for myself. Crazy?!

I am not going to waste money on tests and I am fighting the urge and will wait til I am late, if I am as no doubt AF wil pitch up on time waving a big fat hairy hello!

So its life as normal and I wouldnt even know how to start tracking my cycle and I don't understand those statements on some of the threads with all the figures and cycle numbers. Ignorance is bless for the time period.

May the path to Motherhood be a short one!

I stopped drinking alcohol and coffee while TTC, other than that, I carried on as normal until I knew I was pg.

Just wanted to add...before ttc my DS I had a blood test to check my immunity to rubella. Thankfully it was fine but if you aren't immune they'll give you the jab then you would need to wait 3 months before ttc as it's a live vaccine.

Rubella can be quite nasty in pregnancy so it's a good idea to get checked out.

Hope it helps! Good luck xx