If it took you over 6 months to conceive - what did you do/try/change before it worked?

[1woodpecker]

Could do with a little hope that it can happen and ideas on what we could try 🤞🏻

With DD1, it took nearly 6 months. The issue was that we were not trying soon/often enough. My best days were much earlier in my cycle than I realised. (NB: I wasn't using any tracking or ovulation testing) So when DH was going to be away, we gave it the old college try the night before he left and voila.

When I wanted to go for DC2, I tested this theory and we were lucky the first time. (Well, DH was a little disppointed b/c he had been hoping for a 'long campaign' - his words :)

We found that having sex after we thought I ovulated worked for us (depends on how fast or slow the sperm is I guess)… also preseed fertility lubricant (other makes are available) was an absolute game changer for us - good luck x

Applied for a job (DC1, 12 months of trying.
decided to stop trying and went in holiday (can’t tell you how much I hate writing that response, I’m sorry) dc2, 26 months of trying).
had a quickie with no contraception to hand… DC3.

im so sorry you’re going through this, but hope my story gives you hope.

Both kids we did basically the same.

Dd 1 was a first attempt baby. I tracked my cycle, used ovulation sticks and dtd every day in fertile window. I used a moon cup after to hold all the stuff in. Pregnant on the first go.

Second time it took 5 months. Same thing. Tracked cycle, used ovulation sticks and dtd every day during fertile window. After 3 months I gave up with the moon cup. It's really cliche, but the month we finally fell pregnant I had sort of "given up". We did all the stuff but I decided to not think of it as sex for a baby but just decided to enjoy it. I don't want to go too tmi but we experimented with different positions and just had a good time. I guess with the pressure off and less stress about it in my system it finally happened. I could not believe it, as I kind of started to think it wasn't going to happen (because dd1 had been a first attempt baby I sort of thought that would happen second time too...). Found out on holiday.

Took a break from trying, got very drunk, had some time of work and did fun things. Found out I was pregnant a month later when I felt really sick!!

Gave up trying after three years. Happened very soon after. Also trying later in cycle. turned out I had stage 4 endometriosis so felt terrible around ovulation.

Same as above, l just gave up trying as hard. I went on holiday and came back pregnant.

Remember that it can take more than a year, even if nothing is wrong. Just try to always have that in the back of your mind.
If a year passes, then start to get investigations. Remember that women get pregnant in all sorts of situations, under stress, bereavement, illness, even war zones, so the hackneyed relax/have a holiday means nothing. Good luck.

Another vote for take a break from trying...delete the tracker apps, no googling fertility stuff, no ovulation sticks, etc for at least a few months.

Of course do take prenatals though

I would agree with this. Just cutting all that stuff out will help because it's just too much of a focus.

I was ttc nearly two years and the cycle I conceived was the first time I took clomid. Same happened with my friend.

however some other things happened that month

• I had had a course of reflexology to “regulate” my irregular cycles. All a bit “woo” tbh and not sure I believe any of it but I quite enjoyed the treatments which weren’t very expensive. At that point I was in the “I’ll give anything a whirl” camp!
• I had started taking levothyroxin to treat very borderline underactive thyroid.
• I booked “our last ski holiday” having put it off believing that surely I would be pregnant soon! We still went, I was 13 weeks by then, just took it (very) easy.

Thanks all! Think I might take a break from tracking/OPKs over Christmas. Still taking a million vitamins etc (read It Starts With The Egg!) but perhaps just a break from the rest. Have had a very stressful year so think that could be part of it

Gave up trying. And stayed off the Mumsnet TTC boards because they were causing me to obsess over things I'd never even heard of.

put hubby on decaf coffee… he used to drink 7/8 cups of normal coffee a day and read that this could cause problems… 3 months later - success!

I conceived on month 6 (chemical pregnancy) and month 7 when I tried using a fertility cup. Could be absolute coincidence but I'll definitely try it again if/when we TTC a second baby.

Second baby took ages to conceive. Was tracking ovulation from first month so that wasn’t the key.

my hisband was v stressed at work. I made us both take COQ10. Used pre seed.

had more ‘fun’ sex and stopped mentioning conceiving to him.

Honestly we just gave up . We couldn't put ourselves through the awful stress anymore.
We started going out more , booked brilliant holidays and it naturally happened !
Good luck OP 🤞

2 years for both children I tried

1. High concentration of folic acid
2. Half aspirin per day
3. Exercise
4. Was a little overweight so lost weight

5 gave up drinking

1. Agnus castus

Took 4 years. Nothing was wrong. Told by Dr to focus on something else, has fun, went on holiday, because a gym bunny - pregnant by the Christmas!

First time took 11 cycles. I didn't use ovulation tests other than on 2 random cycles but they both times confirmed I was ovulating when I thought I was. The cycle we conceived I used concieve plus lubricant. V early pregnant with baby no.2. this was our 3rd cycle and I used ovulation tests every month this time (easier to plan with a toddler in tow) but again, it was the first month we used concieve plus lubricant.

Took 13 months of ovulation sticks, timed sex etc. we went on holiday and I didn't track that month got pregnant. Second time I stopped the pill and got pregnant almost immediately. I was so shocked!!

Me too, I've never had 'egg white' mucous so thought I'd never conceive!!

(the conception board is super helpful for this stuff too)

I got pregnant this cycle and we used fertilily after 11 months of ttc and one MC.. who knows if that helped but it wasn't a difficult thing to try!

Took me 9 months. I have no idea if it helped but in the two months before I got pregnant I started acupuncture and put both myself and hubby on high strength CoQ10 (600mg daily).

This isn't a practical suggestion but we also moved house and conceived the first time we tried in the new house. I really wonder if I was stressed out in the months leading to completion and the removal of that stress was a big factor 🤔

I’ve just given up ttc #3 as we are the 3.5 year mark now and no luck at all. Still hoping it’ll happen but seriously doubt it. I have adenomyosis