Anyone TTC #1 and 30 or older?

[Etisgonnab]

Was feeling random waves of nausea yesterday so broke down and took hpt this am. BFN. Then I entered my temp from the morning and FF adjusted its guess on my od back to cd9. I'm feeling kinda bloated and a bit crampy so it's probably right and I'm out. And if it is right about my od I'm worried because--TMI alert-- there's no way we could have BD better or more on cd8 or cd9. Like four times on cd9 alone (what can I say we were feeling it :wink: )

Bummer of a morning so far. The nonstop rain for the past two weeks isn't helping

 

[Gagrlinpitt]

I'm expecting AF on Sunday and I'm honestly ok with it.. I was really bummed at first but honestly, with everything going on right now it's probably better that we have another few weeks. Besides, this month was so stressful it's probably better to wait until we can conceive under no stress..

 

[Angel5000]

My graduate thesis presentation is in about 3 weeks, and I'm so far behind. The progesterone has made me so fuzzy headed for the last week that I haven't been able to do hardly any work on my paper and before that I was sick. Of all the months, it would be my last month of my program.

DH's mom and brothers are coming to visit this weekend. I think DH decided to tell her this weekend. I'm leaving that decision up to him since my mom and sister already know. It's still too early but I am really kind of "meh" - at this point I've told so many people (like my boss and my "team" - the other math teachers) out of necessity that we might as well tell his mom. The extended family doesn't know and that won't happen until my 8-9 weeks can.

Etis - don't worry. Remember that even in perfect circumstances there's still only a 25% chance (or something like that) of conception. your time will come. I still don't understand why FF moved your CH's again but sometimes I can't understand the app.

Gagrl - Yeah, stress isn't a good thing for the little one.

 

[star_e]

ettis - sorry about the bfn. i know its hard and totally sympathize with feeling like its hard to understand the temps and that things are unpredictable. i feel the same way. i never know whether or not something is screwing FF up or if i should believe what it says. and this ttc journey, it really is a numbers game. that's the way i see it. we will all get it eventually. we just have to keep trying. hope next cycle is the one.

angel-good luck with the presentation. it must be difficult having to concentrate and plough through the work while feeling fuzzy from the progesterone. it would be difficult enough without any thing extra. so good luck getting it done and hope the weekend goes well with the family.

gargl - i agree, trying to conceive with less stress can only be beneficial to the process. good luck with the next cycle.

afm: temp dropped below coverline. DH does not think I Oed, he thinks the temps were high b/c i got really sick around the time FF says i Oed. and i was still sick for the next few days, but not nearly as bad as on saturday. im also going to take some meds for my stomach bug starting tomorrow. i'll just keep observing. if i did not O, then next cycle i'll start telling FF that i have this or that symptom b/c it might help it interpret the info better.

 

[SassyV]

AF today, on to cycle 2. I think I'll temp this month. Anyone have time to explain what I should look for? (Sorry newbie!)

 

[Etisgonnab]

Angel: thanks for the support. Just the older I get the more anxious it makes me. Even though we were more ntnp this month, it still makes me worried that we could have timed it very right and still gotten nowhere. Sorry to hear about your presentation. It's like Murphy's law in a way isn't it? I'd suggest first mapping out what all needs to be done, then take each thing in small chunks of time, giving yourself as long as you can to focus before taking a break. You know all this I'm sure since you're a teacher but still it might help. Right now you have two priorities and two priorities alone: your pregnancy and finishing your program. Get that off your plate so you can have all your attention ready for your little one!

Star: thanks again for the kind words and empathy. As you're well aware, it's so frustrating not know what's going on, when to try, if to try, etc. you're right, we just need to keep at it and hope for the best. When did you find out you had PCOS? When do you next go in o see about whether your follicles burst?

Gagirl: yep stressing isn't going to help a pregnancy, so we should all be mindful to stay calm.

Sassy: sorry to hear AF came to town. I'm a day or two behind you. I'm not a temping expert and have had awardee time getting a chart that's readable so I'll leave it to others to give you advice there. I'd suggest downloading the FF app and tracking through the app. They also have a lot of tutorials about what you should be tracking, how to track, etc. and it will analyze your results for you. Get opks as well. I use a combo of the digital ones and the cheap strips. With the strips I keep them taped in a notebook so you can watch the transition of the strips getting lighter to darker when a LH surge is detected back to lighter again. It can be helpful to better pinpoint your od.

Afm: just waiting on AF. Expect her to be here by Monday, and I'll start over with a new cycle. Going to switch to vaginal temping this time. Also get my diet back on track and start working out again. I need to take control of that. Then fx something happens and I catch that egg this time. But still I wonder: Is it possible to be extremely regular and not be ovulating?

 

[Angel5000]

My next levels came in!!! Wed: 541. Friday: 1843!!! I'm going in tomorrow for my first ultra sound to locate ... egg sac?

:woohoo:

star - you can drop below cover line even after O. I've had that happen a few times. Keep tracking and see what happens.

Sassy - Temping can be realy confusing at first. I would recommend using fertility friend and going through their temping tutorial. It's great and taught me a lot. Maek sure you have a thermometer that is qualified as a BBT. You want to temp first thing in the morning before you do anything, and before you get up. You'll want to temp after a decent amount of sleep (3+ hours of uninterrupted sleep is best, but don't stress if you do the "wake up look at clock and fall back asleep" thing right away, it's more that you don't want to get up and walk around a lot). When you are temping the temps don't mean much until you get a shift. They may be up and down adn very rocky or they may be steady, everyone and every cycle is different. Usually you'll start to see dip around Ovulation time but not necessarily. You can only confirm ovulation has happened after temperature shifts up by at least .4 degree, and stays shifted up for at least 3 days. The general rule is that the shift is at least 3 days of temps higher than the previous 6. If you are using Fertility Friend app it will do the work for you, just put in the temps.

Good luck and feel free to ask questions if you need to!


Etis - I totally understand. Every month that we didn't get the bfp and yet we had perfect timing I worried that something was wrong.
thanks for the advice on the paper. I sat down today and started to map out what my discussion paper needed to have and now I'm going ot try and get thoughts organized and put together. So much to do!

 

[star_e]

ettis - i totally understand the anxiety too. im 34 and would like more than one child. i was naive about ttc before starting. i honestly knew nothing about this process and am slowly becoming more competent. there is so much to learn. and yea, its hard b/c even if the BDing is on point and even if someone does O, its still difficult to get. its a numbers game. but its even more difficult if there are other problems like pcos. ive known about pcos for a very long time; this may be foolish, but i never did anything about it. since ttc was not on my mind, i never thought about trying to see if there were natural ways to try to O though diet and lifestyle changes. i just didn't have it on my mind. anyway, now that im finally in the ttc world, im experiencing the challenges it imposes, especially when clomid does not work. if i don't start AF by cd35, i am to call the doc to get the pills to begin prometrium to induce AF. im skeptical as to whether or not i Oed as my temp has dropped way below the coverline and the 3-4 days prior it was also low, but since i temped twice on those days, i recorded the higher temp b/c those temps were closer to the time i usually temp at. i have a feeling that b/c i got sick at the same time FF said I Oed, that the sickness screwed them up. only time will tell.

good luck next cycle with temping. hopefully you'll get more stable temps. im still figuring out the temp thing too.

 

[Angel5000]

Went for my Ultrasound today. Found my gestational sac, and doctor says everything looks good for 4W+6. After this week, the doctor is going to see me every week for an US until I am 12 weeks! Wow! I'll get an US every week! Right now I have just a little blob, but it's a cute little blob. I'm so excited.

He thinks we're going to maybe see the heart beat next appointment (scheduled for 6W+1).

I've been wished a happy mothers day today by my doctor and a couple friends who already know. I feel so loved.


The little black blob on my pic is my gestational sac. That's my little blob.

 

[Jezika]

Star_e - I hear ya on naivety. I always always always thought, "Oh, I'll just get school and career and travelling etc. out of the way, live a bit of life and maybe start considering kids from 30 onwards and just pop 'em out exactly as planned." It seemed like I knew tonnes of mothers around 40 so it never entered my head that it might not be straightforward. Even though I'm pg now I'm still petrified that something is wrong and still find the whole TTC thing really daunting. Also, I feel terrible and it's probably just my neuroses, but my BFF just turned 36 and is as laid back about TTC as I used to be, and I feel like saying to her, "Dude, don't assume it will be plain sailing - you better get on it NOW!" but obv. I can't and won't. Also, she's only just been with her bf a year now and wants to marry first.

Angel - I saw your post on another thread but didn't see your pics till now. Nice! And it's funny 'cause I always wondered what the round black thing that the embryo sits in is. I had assumed it was the uterus but I know it's not. So it's the gestational sack? Then what's the balloon that hangs out near the embryo/fetus and is attached to it? Or is THAT the gestational sack and the black thing everything sits in is the amniotic sack? And why doesn't the uterus look like a cavity? I clearly shouldn't be having children... (nor deserved to pass bio class).

 

[Angel5000]

Jezika - from what I understand, the black spot is the gestational sac. The balloon thing hanging out near the embryo is the yolk sac. Doctor said you can't quite see my yolk sac yet as it's just developing. I think (not sure) that the amniotic sac and gestational sac are the asme thing....maybe? LoL my biology skills aren't much better than yours apparently!

 

[Jezika]

Yolk sac! That's the one!!! I was searching for the word and then googled u/s images, saw "gestational sac" and "amniotic sac" and thought it must be that, but no, yolk sac is exactly what I was told the balloon thing is! Whew.

 

[MrsRose168]

My next levels came in!!! Wed: 541. Friday: 1843!!! I'm going in tomorrow for my first ultra sound to locate ... egg sac?

:woohoo:

star - you can drop below cover line even after O. I've had that happen a few times. Keep tracking and see what happens.

Sassy - Temping can be realy confusing at first. I would recommend using fertility friend and going through their temping tutorial. It's great and taught me a lot. Maek sure you have a thermometer that is qualified as a BBT. You want to temp first thing in the morning before you do anything, and before you get up. You'll want to temp after a decent amount of sleep (3+ hours of uninterrupted sleep is best, but don't stress if you do the "wake up look at clock and fall back asleep" thing right away, it's more that you don't want to get up and walk around a lot). When you are temping the temps don't mean much until you get a shift. They may be up and down adn very rocky or they may be steady, everyone and every cycle is different. Usually you'll start to see dip around Ovulation time but not necessarily. You can only confirm ovulation has happened after temperature shifts up by at least .4 degree, and stays shifted up for at least 3 days. The general rule is that the shift is at least 3 days of temps higher than the previous 6. If you are using Fertility Friend app it will do the work for you, just put in the temps.

Good luck and feel free to ask questions if you need to!


Etis - I totally understand. Every month that we didn't get the bfp and yet we had perfect timing I worried that something was wrong.
thanks for the advice on the paper. I sat down today and started to map out what my discussion paper needed to have and now I'm going ot try and get thoughts organized and put together. So much to do!

Great news!! You're so lucky to get weekly ultrasounds. I'm having to wait 4 weeks til my next one and it's killing me. I'm so nervous that something has happened since the last u/s. The worrying never stops! But really happy that things are progressing well for you

 

[MissDoc]

Ooh, how exciting you got your BFP, Angel. That is just amazing. And as stressful as it is coping with early pregnancy and the requisite paranoia, lol, at least you'll be all done with your program very soon and it will be a huge thing off your plate. How great will that feel!

Etis, I was reading your struggles with your roller coaster chart-- sorry it's been so wonky to read! I hope it evens out for you over this next cycle. I get so mad when all of my signs don't make sense or add up in the way they should (this month is like that for sure for me).

Star-E, I'm sorry to hear about all of the stress! I hope that this next cycle feels calmer for you (I feel you on the anxiety and frustration--it's pretty much all I can think about... I don't think I go more than 2 hours without thinking of fertility related stuff and worries). Fingers crossed for your next round!


AFM, I am now in TWW. I think. FF thinks I o'd on Friday (CD12) because of temp rise, but I disagree. I think my temp was higher this weekend due to traveling, exercise, and stress. I think I actually o'd yesterday (CD14) based on other signs (OPK, CM, CP). Either way, I o'd SOMETIME in the past few days, assuming yesterday, but not certain because my signs aren't lining up perfectly. Depending on when I actually o'd, I got 2-4 BD sessions in, so hopefully I have a good shot either way. Used preseed for the last two times and a softcup for the last two times as well. I had some pink spotting with sex Saturday and Sunday, which could just be from the sex itself, but could also be O bleeding I've read.

Ugggh, now to wait for the next two weeks. I plan to test on 5/22 if I'm patient, but may start testing as early as 5/18 if I'm not.

 

[Jezika]

Mrs.Rose I feel you. I'm so worried something has happened since 7-week u/s, esp since my weird brown discharge started literally since the day of my u/s.

 

[Etisgonnab]

Hey everyone! This thread has gotten lively!

Angel: AWESOME news with your US! that's so cool and also amazing that you can get weekly US. How fun! Fx everything continues to go well. How's your paper coming?

Star: I feel ya! I was the exact same way--just waiting it out till I was ready, worked for awhile, went to grad school, back at work now--finally feel financially stable enough to begin ttc and here it is that I'm about to turn 35 and am like this probably would have been so much easier 10 years ago. Oh well, I know plenty of people who are older than I am who have gotten pregnant, including my 42 year old cousin who just had a surprise third baby (she had to do IVF for her first two--she had her surprise pregnancy 5 years after her last round of IVF). I'm not giving up hope yet. It's way too early for that. We can approach this like we're researchers gathering data to help us figure out how best to catch that egg.

MissDoc: Thanks! Yeah it's been crazy. Hoping that vaginal temping--while kinda gross--helps get more stable temps next cycle. Good luck to you in your TWW! It sounds like you did a good job timing things so fx for a BFP! Keep us posted for sure.

AFM: AF is due today but as of posting hasn't showed up. And for added fun, after I entered my data today FF again adjusted its guesstimate on my od and put it back at CD15. In a weird way, I'm slightly satisfied that this app can't figure it out either. Like in a "it's not just me, my temps and signs really are all over the place!" kind of way If AF doesn't show by tomorrow I'll be surprised. Poas again this afternoon and BFN again, so I'm sure she'll show. But I am not late ever, so it would be weird for me to be late even by a day let alone any longer than that. We'll see

 

[SnuggleDragon]

I just turned 30 in March, ttc since November

 

[Angel5000]

Yeah I'm so very lucky to get weekly US. I am so paranoid I couldn't imagine having to wait until 8 weeks!! I've been googling rates of miscarriage and everything. The only thing that makes me feel better is that once you get to 6 weeks and see the heart beat the risks significantly drop (even though they aren't gone completely).

Today I went back to the gym for the first time in 2+ weeks. Between the pneumonia scare and then so many doctor appointments with this pregnancy I haven't gone lately. Plus the exhaustion. I was almost too tired to go but I forced myself to go and I feel so much better afterwards!

(please no judgement, just need advice)
Question: what do you ladies think about caffeine?

My research seems to imply there is a correlation between high caffeine intake and increase miscarriages but also says that <200mg has no correlation between miscarriage and caffeine, and that it is the higher amounts that is a problem. I have cut down to only 1 cup of coffee (if I have a second cup it's decaf but I'm drinking peppermint tea at work now because of the nausea). I had a "zipfizz" this afternoon because come about 1pm I had reached a point where I wasn't going to make it through the rest of my classes at all. The zipfizz has approximately as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. Most of my research says that the reason zipfizz is considered "not recommended" for pregnancy is because of the caffeine, though it has 100mg of caffeine and that is below the limit. And I'm using about half a tube right now.

I KNOW I should not drink a lot of caffeine, so please no judging..... But the exhaustion is epic. And when dealing with high school kids I can't be that tired....and my last period class is the worst behaved of the day, I need energy to survive. I don't know what else to do. :/


MissDoc - Thanks! Hopefully you have your O date right. Good luck!

Etis - paper is coming along. I got the rough draft of my discussion portion turned in, waiting on feedback from the professor and then I'll spend the rest of this week editing. So ready to be done! Sorry about the bfn, but hopefully AF doesn't show! Keeping FX

SnuggleDragon - welcome!

 

[Jezika]

I don't know why they explicitly caution against this zipfizz thing but I imagine it's because a lot of people don't immediately think of anything other than coffee containing significant amounts of caffeine. If you need two cups (or equiv.) a day to get you through, I'd say that's find and dandy. I believe the problematic amounts are much higher, and of course medical recommendations likely err on the side of caution with two cups anyway. I've also seen many women here point out that "back in the day" women used to drink coffe left right and centre and everything was fine for the most part. Could iron and/or sugary snacks be helpful too?

 

[KatO79]

Angel I've read that eating often helps so eat snacks during the day. Go for protein and complex carbohydrates when possible. Unfortunately the caffeine is going to make you crash hard once the rush wears off which is another reason to be careful with your intake. Caffeine in the end will make you more tired as a result!

Sugar BTW has the same effect as the caffeine which is why you should limit sugar intake as well.