Ttc Tips Time!

[WishingIWasLucky]

congratulations on your successful pregnancies ladies! Care to share any tips that led to your happy pregnancies. Been ttc for 2+ years. No success. Had mc in March at 8+2 weeks. Fertility checks fine for both parties. Maybe we're not doing things right?! Please share! TIA

Hi wishing well I was trying for 8 months and I know thats not a long time in TTC terms but, maybe it was coincidence, as soon as DH started taking Zinc I got pregnant, well about 6 weeks later. So give that a try, it will do him no harm anyway.
Do you time it right etc? I'm sure you do with ttc for 2 years, drinking plenty of fruit juices, particularly grapefruit juice (maybe an old wives tale but I've heard lots of women say they've used it, something about cervical mucus)
Pre-conception vitamins? Healthy eating, nice wine to relax in the evening (obviously not loads but so many say they went had a holiday, 'relax' time and got pregnant) Good luck and come back and tell us if it worked!

Clear blue fertility monitor. Had tried for 6 months prior and then bingo first month we used it. Also that gel that mimics your vaginal secretions to help carry the sperm. Can't think what its called now...

pre-seed fertility gel/lube is what you're thinking of honeymoo, we got some of that after TTC for over 3 years, worked first time. However, DH also started taking men's multivits 3 months before for zinc (and other minerals/vits but can't remember which) plus I'd been monitoring my cycle very closely for over 2 years so had come to recognise from my discharge when I was going to ovulate.
Different things work for different people, the CB fertility monitor didn't work for us as I was monitoring my BBT at the time and it would say I was ovulating when I wasn't but I have PCOS and it did say it doesn't always work with that.
Probably the most important thing is not to lose sight of having fun whilst TTC, DH & I have both said how much more we enjoy sex now that we're not trying to get pregnant, it created such a pressure for us.

Well, we're not taking the preconception vits, drinking juice or using the lube. Don't use OPKs etc. Have regular 27 day cycle: generally get busy in fertile week (as shown on period app). Will try ALL of your tips ladies. AND will keep you posted. Please keep those FX for me. I have such little faith that it will EVER happen for us?

Poor you-it is disheartening I imagine when others seem to have it happen so easily. I just want to say I have more than a couple of friends who just assumed they couldn't conceive and then 10 years into the marriage( in their 40s) it just happened.
I think being as relaxed as possible helps, eating really healthily, get on the pre natal vitamins( I am sure you already are).

Sorry about the mc too-just don't give up the hope as you know all is well physically and it will happen.

Thankyou cherry. That is so kind. It gets quite all consuming after a while. Just hope you're right. :-)

Another vote for zinc here, I made DH take it before ttc both times and we have got pregnant extremely quickly each time. Vitabiotics do his and hers conception vits if you are feeling rich, otherwise just basic zinc tabs for him and folic acid for you.
Also, try to get busy a couple of days either side of your fertile period in case you ovulate at a different point in your cycle than the app thinks you do. Every 2-3 days during your fertile period plus a couple of days either side.
Good luck, fingers crossed for you.

Get the book 'Taking Charge of your fertility' by Toni Weschler. Bit like a manual but lots of really good information on monitoring your fertility.

Good luck

Well - DH and I had been trying for about 2 years, I was taking my temp, using OPK etc etc .... then had a mmc in Feb.

MIL, SIL and neice came over for a holiday (from South Africa) just when I thought I would be ovulating in March ... I had a regular 29 cycle. So after they left we did the deed on day 19 and 20 of my cycle - I know this as I was off for my 21 day bloods on the Monday. I had also used an ovulation stick and it told me nope you are not ovulating - imagine my surprise when I fell pregnant that month !

So I reckon for the 2 years we were trying we were doing it too early in my cycle - I must ovulate really late in my cycle !

Good luck !

Thanx Wriggle! Will take your advice on board. Mum2: already bought the TCOYF book. However, due to odd hours at work, can't really take temps with confidence. Don't really have that much CM to be honest, maybe that's where the lube may help? Tried OPKs just once over Christmas, went positive on 13th cycle day. As period are regular I tend to work round that. But may take Toni Weschler a bit more seriously now! Thanks.

Bonza- you are a star! We NEVER DTD past CD 15/16. always wear ourselves out BEFORE then. Also read that a luteal phase of under ten cannot support a pregnancy?! May have to keep going for that little bit longer then. How do you guys manage to keep him interested for that long though?! My Dh is begging for a break after that fertile window week? Will invest in the zinc

Nope we also stopped after the average fertile window ... I also went to acupuncture which may have helped...

Congratulations Bonza. Hope you have a happy healthy pregnancy. x

Five or six times should be enough per cycle for 27 days- start day 10 or so then every two or three days until say day 20. Should mean you have a good chance of catching that egg. Doing it every day makes it a chore and apparently doesn't give enough time for the sperm to produce so you don't get such a quality product
Doesn't seem too much. We tried to do it earlier in the evening so we weren't too tired. I also made sure I lay down for a bit after the deed to keep the sperm in there and let the little guys get to work.

After 9 months TTC I got pregnant in the month where we only had sex twice, just before I think I ovulated (based on CM). I'd ditched charting and it was the first month where I felt quite chilled out about it all. I'd also been having acupuncture for 3 months. I don't know if it was just "my time" as 9 months is well inside the average but I do think acupuncture helped with stress levels which can only be a good thing. Plus I had been eating healthily, taking preconception vits (both of us) and exercising.

Thankyou wriggle! Your tips have been indispensable. We've just done 3/4 nights in a row, before he gets shattered. Sometimes manage to miss a day then give it another final go. Very rare though. I think we've been going about it the wrong way! Watch this space...keep those fingers firmly crossed please guys

Congratulations Vintage. I'm gonna get us some preconception vits. You are right it may be all the stress getting in the way too. x

Good luck OP and congrats to all the others on here who are pregnant.

Not too sure I'm qualified to give the advice since we never really tried too long, but going by a combination of what we did and what I read

I think generally being relaxed about the process helps a lot, charting and OPKs can be helpful to pinpoint when or if you ovulate but they can also turn it into a science experiment or military operation! Having sex two to three times a week for a couple of weeks is enough for me- any more and I'd get bored or cystitis!

I think different times work for different people (thinking about it you might be better starting maybe day 7 or so in case you ovulate early but I am in no way an expert on cycles since I have never been regular in my life, I'm sure there are people in ttc forum who can help more with that).

I guess because I'm not regular I had no idea when ov was so we had to just keep at it. FWIW this month this month I tried to check for ovulation since we missed last month due to me having an unexpectedly long cycle. I had no ovulation pains, no EWCM and the cheapy opks never showed a positive. So we just kept at it until I got a BFP (or if AF had arrived).

Hi Wishing, good luck with all the tips received. We got lucky on our second month trying by getting down to it every other day of my cycle. We kept the mood light and fun as much as possible. It turned out I conceived a few days before my period was due so it was a good job we kept at it.

Hi wishing, try this.

Seven that's a great site, lots of useful advice and not selling anything or telling you to follow some crazy diet. I read about the cough syrup thing before, sounds bizarre but lots swear by it.
Have you ever posted it in the ttc section?

You've been too kind guys! Wish all these good vibes and tips bring us some luck soon. I promise to try every other day from cd7 until BFP or period arrives. Never done this before. Thank you so very much for your support. x

I had a luteal phase defect and we had an appointment booked with a fertility specialist for a week or so after I got my BFP. The month we conceived I did the following:

Accupuncture on day of ovulation and a week later
Preseed
Clearblue monitor
Positive visualisation of egg being fertilised and then sticking
Sex pretty much daily from about day 9 until a few days after ovulation
No booze
High dose of vitamin B6
Diet prescribed by acupuncturist

HTH

Congratulations loveinacoldclimate! You had all bases covered then! Just out of interest - what was the prescribed diet?

How much b6?