Anyone TTC #1 and 30 or older?

[Angel5000]

So this morning my sister told me that her doctor recommended taking Tylonel PM during the last few weeks of her pregnancy to let her sleep. I did some research and it's a Category B medicine, just like Tylonel is, and did some more research on using Tylonel PM during pregnancy and apparently it's a fairly common recommendation from doctors. I had hubby pick some up today. I should probably call my doctor first but I won't get a reply right away so I'm going to try it tonight, and try to leave her a message tomorrow to see if it is something I can continue for the next couple weeks. Because, seriously, if I have to repeat another day like today where I am teaching math on less than 4 hours of sleep, I might just die.


MissDoc - I'm so sorry that you're there too! It just is so annoying how people throw around "sleep now" but if you then say you can't sleep it's "well that's what you're going to have anyway with baby". I am tired of feeling like I can't talk about any problems I'm having because people who already have kids have almost a gloating "you have no idea what you're in store for" attitude about it.

PSamuel - Oh I hate when FF changes your chart! Since FF uses a combination of aspects, including your temps, your CM and your OPKs, it will shift charts as you update info. There was only a month or two where it was really probably incorrect for me. Once I learned how to properly read OPKs and CM then FF was really the most accurate of my trackers. It was a little off a couple months when my temp did not rise for 2-3 days past O, and those months I knew it was inaccurate because 1) the CM change was really evident and 2) I was seeing my specialist and the doctor was able to pinpoint O to the day, and FF didn't give me CH until a day or two after that date because of temp issues. Hopefully you'll get it sorted soon.

Looking at your chart temps I agree with the CD14 O, but with the EWcm and +OPKs occuring later, I can see where you would get a CD20 date too. I certainly won't discourage you from early testing. I'm horrible at waiting. That's what ICs are for.


Kat - I don't remember you mentioning anything about it. I was just annoyed with friends who have something snarky to say about everything. I say I am tired and they say "enjoy sleeping now, you'll never sleep again", but if I say I've been up since 1:30 this morning and haven't slept since then because of insomnia I get "well, you won't be sleeping after teh baby comes anyway so get used to" and if I say anything about my SPD I get "what did you expect, painless pregnancy?" or "no need to whine, we all went through it" or "you think birth is going to be more pleasant?" It's infuriating, and honestly I could use just a little bit of understanding. I don't feel that way from anything you've ever said.

I don't have a pregnancy pillow, I just have two body pillows. I like to put one on either side so if I roll over I don't hae to bring it with me and I put part of it under the bump and part between my legs. I added another pillow to that too so that my hips are propped up more - it helps with the SPD.

 

[MissDoc]

Angel, my biggest pet peeve right now is when people ask about my birth plans and I tell them (it's a very natural leaning birth plan, with a doula to support unmedicated labor and hopefully delivery), they ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS make a snide comment. Such as, "yeah, we'll see about that", "you'll get the drugs", "you'll feel like you're dying and you won't care one bit about natural childbirth anymore", "just wait", "everyone thinks that, but you'll see", "only women who haven't given birth want a natural childbirth", and so on ad nauseum.

Or even if they don't say anything, they roll their eyes or make a face like I'm delusional to be planning for a minimal intervention birth. It's funny because I feel like you can't win. If you go natural, everyone has something defeating to say. If you need interventions, people try to make women feel like they weren't strong enough or whatever. It's all so freaking annoying.

 

[star_e]

I am so sorry about those of you who are not sleeping well. It really is the worst especially when having to wake up early for work. Honestly my heart melts if you have to get up at 5am and have not slept. Angel I take Tylenol pm occasionally and it does help.

I can join in on the lack of sleep too. I keep waking up at night around 2am or so. These are nights that I have not taken the Tylenol p.m. Usually I only take Tylenol p.m. if I'm having trouble falling asleep. Ive been waking up lately not because I need to use bathroom though sometimes that is the reason but from nausea. So I start to feel better if I'm propped up and so I sit up for a while maybe like 30 minutes or so and then I try to lie back down and it takes forever to go to sleep and it's just awful. I'm not sure why the nausea has gotten so much worse later in the pregnancy. Part of me is wondering if it is even the pregnancy or if it's just G.I. issues because I've had some in the past but usually in the past it's like a sudden attack that's very severe not a constant nausea over an extended period of time.

Kat I def tried to eat smaller more frequent meals yesterday per your suggestion and that helps some for sure. The icky feeling just seems to stick around.

I'm moving to Canada at start of the new year so I'm also dealing with that stress. Figuring out health insurance stuff and well ugggggg it's a lot.

 

[Fancy_Pants]

Angel, Jezika, MissDoc - thanks for the warm, welcoming words! I am so happy to be here. Happy to be trying and feeling very fortunate that technology enables me to connect to other women in the same or similar boats all over the continent. What a time to be TTC! Lol.

Angel - I've started charting and temping about a year ago since I went off of conventional BC. I had the Mirena IUD and it expired shortly after DH and I were married so I decided that it would be good to give my body a break and try natural the Fertility Based Awareness Method. So glad I did because not only did it give my body lots of time to get back to "normal", it gave me lots of time to understand what was "normal" for me. It's been really neat using OPK strips now though and comparing the results to my data set. Jezika, you asked what my postgrad was in - aquatic biology and environmental science. The scientist in me is thoroughly enjoying all of this research, as you can probably tell (LOL @ data set). What are you studying?

In cycle news, I just had two days of positive OPK tests that correspond with my temping, charting etc. so DH and I have been busy. Lol. Anyone have any thoughts on the optimal time for sperm to build up and how you should work that angle during LH surges and imminent ovulation? Is it best to just have as much BMS as possible once you see the double purple lines on the OPK and until your temp increases? Or should you try for every second day to give DHs men a chance to regroup?

Fingers crossed for that BFP on Christmas Eve (AF is supposed to show on that day). This has given that Mariah Carey Christmas song a whole new meaning this year. "Baby, all I want for Christmas is you!". Haha.

 

[PSamuel]

So this morning my sister told me that her doctor recommended taking Tylonel PM during the last few weeks of her pregnancy to let her sleep. I did some research and it's a Category B medicine, just like Tylonel is, and did some more research on using Tylonel PM during pregnancy and apparently it's a fairly common recommendation from doctors. I had hubby pick some up today. I should probably call my doctor first but I won't get a reply right away so I'm going to try it tonight, and try to leave her a message tomorrow to see if it is something I can continue for the next couple weeks. Because, seriously, if I have to repeat another day like today where I am teaching math on less than 4 hours of sleep, I might just die.

PSamuel - Oh I hate when FF changes your chart! Since FF uses a combination of aspects, including your temps, your CM and your OPKs, it will shift charts as you update info. There was only a month or two where it was really probably incorrect for me. Once I learned how to properly read OPKs and CM then FF was really the most accurate of my trackers. It was a little off a couple months when my temp did not rise for 2-3 days past O, and those months I knew it was inaccurate because 1) the CM change was really evident and 2) I was seeing my specialist and the doctor was able to pinpoint O to the day, and FF didn't give me CH until a day or two after that date because of temp issues. Hopefully you'll get it sorted soon.

Looking at your chart temps I agree with the CD14 O, but with the EWcm and +OPKs occuring later, I can see where you would get a CD20 date too. I certainly won't discourage you from early testing. I'm horrible at waiting. That's what ICs are for.

Angel, I hope you get a good night's sleep soon. I have bad sleep patterns normally so a lot of times I tend to function on 4 hrs of sleep. But I guess I'm sorta used to it. I make up for it on weekends or unintentionally nap in the evening sometime. Good luck with the Tylenol PM.

I tested this morning at 10dpo (i think), BFN - which was expected. My temp dropped today, so waiting to see tomorrow's temp. If it drops further I'm out, if it increases may still have a shot. May test again day after at 12dpo. My test strips are ICs which came with the OPKs, so might as well use em up!

Oh, btw, I had metallic taste in my mouth yesterday 2 diff times (just for a min each). Today I have bleeding gums, so that's weird!

 

[PSamuel]

I'm moving to Canada at start of the new year so I'm also dealing with that stress. Figuring out health insurance stuff and well ugggggg it's a lot.

Good luck with your move star_e. I have a move to Canada coming up too, possibly around May. So sometimes I wonder if not getting a BFP now is God's plan to help me cope with the upcoming stress. Time will tell

 

[Jezika]

FancyPants - I agree it's so nice to connect over the internet with others. I don't know many people here that are having kids right now, so I'd feel pretty lonely on this journey without this resource. Wow, awesome postgrad choice, btw. DH and I think those are such interesting areas. My PhD is in Clinical Psychology (which is ironic given the update in my next post). As for timing for sex, I'm not an expert of course, but I've generally heard that doing it every day is advisable IF there are no known or likely sperm issues. Have you seen "The Great Sperm Race" video on youtube? Fascinating documentary.

Star - you're moving to Canada? Where!? Sorry if you've mentioned before... my memory suuuucks.

Kat - gah, it's so annoying when people think they know everything. My mum is the same, and just today she was talking about how I should definitely have a episiotomy, totally disregarding the past 20 years' research on it. And a bunch of other things I'll just get too annoyed to mention. It stresses me out, even though I love her to bits and know she means well.

Angel - such a lovely bump pic! It makes me realize just how much my bump has dropped over the past few weeks, which I am sure will happen to you soon too. Also, I hear ya on how people's opinions re: sleep and pain are totally unhelpful. I never used to care much about comments like that (gosh, I probably made them myself!), but now I'm super sensitive to them. Esp. when people would insist I'm having a boy based on my bump, even after I told them that's not what THREE ultrasounds said. So I don't know what to suggest re: sleep, though Tylenol is a good thing to try. Maybe it will also help in a placebo kind of way. The other thing you could try is relaxation tapes if you wake up in the middle of the night? There are some free podcasts you can download. I often find those helpful for the psychological part of insomnia. Also, relaxation decreases pain. But above all, just remember that there IS a time limit on what you're going through, so just hang in there. I can't imagine how much it must suck to have to go to work and teach teenagers while going through this, though. You're definitely doing an amazing job just getting through this. When can you finish work, btw? Oh, also, re: SPD, do people not realize that only 1% of us get it!? So no, it's not really accurate to say "we all went through it - did you expect pregnancy to not be painful." Yes, I did, but I'm dealing with all the pain YOU dealt with, in addition to the feeling that my bones are being wrenched apart by a vice, thank you.

PSamuel - Welcome! Make yourself at home. As others have said, everyone here is great. I hope your TTC journey is nice and short

MissDoc - I totally agree that we can never win when it comes to birth choices. Sometimes I feel like I have to defend whatever answers I give, which is not right. Really the whole thing should be unquestionably pro-choice.

 

[Jezika]

PSamuel - where in Canada are you moving to?! And I got my BFPs on 11DPO so there's still hope

AFM, I've been an emotional wreck all week. Irritable a lot of the time and totally lost it yesterday. I had my final oral exam for my ethics class (one day after my due date) and it was going so badly and the prof was quite cold and snappy, so I just burst into tears and cried through the last half hour of it. Then I spent the rest of the afternoon sobbing uncontrollably. I still finish the course with an A and she does not give A+s to anyone anyway, so it's not like my performance mattered at all... I just felt so overwhelmed by then. Definitely a lot of hormones flying around.

Another thing that's been getting to me which is SUPER irrational, is being upset by seemingly everyone around me giving birth before me even when they're due after me. It makes me upset and bitter to see all these pics of people getting to hold their babies and talk about how much they love and adore them, because my silly mind thinks it's so unfair that they get to experience this early, while I am overdue and feel like I'll NEVER get to experience it. So irrational, I know, and it completely ignores how incredibly lucky i am anyway. But I know of 12 people that were due after me or just a few days before me who have already had their babies. A friend of mine in Chicago whose baby was due December 17th just had her beautiful bay this morning, but when I saw the announcement on Facebook, I just sobbed. And of course I feel like a horrible person. A horrible, bitter, irrational person. And honestly, there are no signs that Matilda is coming (other than some diarrhea a days ago). I actually almost believe she just won't come, ever. Goodness, I'm a mess... yikes!!!!!!

 

[PSamuel]

Jezika - will be moving to Toronto. My DH was there for a year during our initial courtship and first 10 months of marriage. We both loved it, although he didn't get to explore much due to the lack of company there. Now that we will be moving there together we are actually quiet excited for new adventures! Where are you at in Canada? I've already jotted down Banff national park, Montreal, BC for future travel plans

And congratulations to you. High emotions aside, I'm sure this is a super exciting time for you. Have you decided on her name? Set up her nursery? I can't wait to be where you are at now!

My mom delivered me post her due date too. She always says to be "You refused to budge out of your cozy bed of 9 months"!! Which is still kinda true till date - I'm not a morning person and have to peel myself out of bed each morning!

Oh, and I plan to test again at 12dpo. So let's see...

 

[Jezika]

PSamuel - I'm in Toronto too! We love it here. Been here just over 8 years now When are you moving?

We are naming baby girl Matilda, and we only have a one-bedroom apartment downtown so no space for a nursery, but we have a crib and sooooo much stuff ready for her. And I always thought first-time babies were more likely to be overdue than early, but it's just difficult to see so many first-time mums around me not sticking to that trend! Like why meeeee?! I read that babies born at 41 weeks are slightly smarter than babies born at 39-40 weeks, but have have slightly higher chances of physical disabilities. So maybe she'll be smart?

What kind of HPTs are you using?

 

[PSamuel]

Jezika - right now looks like a April / May move - could be earlier too. Should have more clarity by end Jan regarding move dates.

See there you go - silver lining - smarter baby!

Currently I'm using the ICs which came with my OPK packs I bought. If I do get a positive on these will test with a digital HPT.

 

[Jezika]

Ah, are they Wondfos? That's what I used.

 

[PSamuel]

Ah, are they Wondfos? That's what I used.

I'm using a brand called "easy@home". Bought it off of Amazon.

 

[KatO79]

Angel ok glad that I wasn't annoying I'm sorry your friends aren't being understanding, maybe they're frustrated themselves and are lashing out? I don't know. I'd try to just ignore their comments and note that they're not people you can vent about your insomnia and SPD to. If they ask I'd just say things are ok and quickly change the subject.

Jezika awww sorry your mom is annoying you It seems to be normal for mothers and MILs to comment everything regarding their grandchild. I'm sure we both can look forward to comments on how we raise our children as well Sorry you're having such a tough week, I hope things soon get better

AFM I'm going insane Since yesterday Alexander has been difficult to get to sleep and being overtired caused him to want to constantly feed with almost no breaks So my Mothers Group meeting yesterday went with me feeding or walking around one of the other mothers' house to help stop Alexander from crying so barely got anything to eat all day. I ended up driving to pick DH up from work so Alexander could get some sleep (driving puts him to sleep very quickly) and I could get a break from the constant feeding and crying Things didn't improve with DH home as I got him to take over looking after Alexander while I got some rest and he complained constantly in a annoyed voice about how Alexander wouldn't sleep and concentrated more on watching his shows than actively trying to get Alexander to sleep. Luckily I got him to sleep relatively easily after a 2 AM feeding but he's been impossible since then so didn't get more than 3-4 hours sleep and thinking I won't get any naps today the way things are going. Oh and my nipples are sore again from the almost non-stop feeding and him latching on extra hard because he's so tired

 

[PSamuel]

KatO79 - Sorry you're having a rough time with your little one. Maybe at some point he'll sleep off the discomfort? Sorry if that statement doesn't help - I don't have any experience with babies myself. But atleast I'm learning through all of your situations, so thank you for sharing! I really do hope you catch some rest for yourself soon.

AFM: I tested yesterday at 10dpo BFN (think I had already mentioned that not sure). The temp did go back up a bit today, so its still in the higher range. So yest we BD just for the fun of it and when I went to clean up I noticed a teeny tiny streak of red. So small it was as thin as a hair and bout a cm long. Nothing after that though. Not sure if it signifies anything. But I've been having cramps on and off, lots of gas and dull lower backache all the time.

Question: how do you define breast tenderness? I've been getting twinges from within and around my breast, but don't know if that qualifies as breast tenderness. This has been happening for the past 2 days now. Any thoughts?

I will test again at 12dpo, which is tomorrow. I so want a BFP, but something tells me maybe not this cycle.

 

[KatO79]

Thanks PS although it's hard for him to sleep off being overtired. Overtired babies are very hard to get to sleep and Alexander can already be difficult to get to sleep when he's not overtired. Still remember my almost 12 hours of hell where I just couldn't get him to sleep Sorry about your BFN although I wouldn't completely give up until your temp goes down for a couple of days. Hmmm I'm not sure but I would define it as your breasts feeling sore, like pressure hurts. Twinges can still be good though, I don't think mine got actually tender during pregnancy and I also experienced it more as twinges. Although I do think some also experience breast tenderness/twinges as AF symptoms as well. Maybe if it isn't a normal AF syptom for you it could be good?

AFM I think Alexander is back to normal, thank God! I'm starting to think these periods are growth spurts although I don't know for sure.

 

[star_e]

kat - so sorry about being so tired. that sounds incredibly difficult. i can't imagine how tired you are as i get tired when i get little sleep for a few days. so hoping you get the much needed sleep you deserve soon.

angel - is the tylenol pm working?

psamuel - i think of breast tenderness as being sensitive to the touch and especially notice it when i take off my bra, my bbs feel just so sensitive. good luck with this coming cycle!

jezika - you are so very close. fx that you meet your LO very soon and the delivery goes smoothly.

miss doc - how's it going?

afm - bought a home doppler and am enjoying finding the heartbeat. also still dealing with the nausea. it seems to hit very strongly at night, interferes with my sleep and carries through to the morning. the day/afternoon is ok.

 

[Angel5000]

I have 1 more week and then I'm on a 2 week break for the holidays! Really hoping that baby decides to show before December ends so I don't have to go back the first week of January


PSamuel - I used the Easy@Home also, they're essentially very similar, if not the same thing, as Wondfo's. I tended to alternate between Wondfo's and Easy@Home, depending on which brand was cheapest. I found that the "5 minute" wait time was a little incorrect because the stick took a little longer to dry than that. On all 3 of my BFPs (first 2 were CPs, then the 3rd stuck), the line showed up after the 5 minute mark, usually closer to 10-15ish minutes. I know they say that makes it an evap but I obsessively saved all my pee sticks during any given cycle until after AF arrived and never had a line on any others except the 3 BFP cycles (and was able to confirm those with another brand). All in all, I think it's a good brand.

As for tenderness, I don't know how to describe it really. I didn't have a lot of tenderness during this pregnancy but did have a couple odd twinges. TBH, I had almost no symptoms/signs until a few weeks after my period was due and even those were minor.


Jezika - I can't believe your LO hasn't shown herself yet! I know they say first timers are more likely to go over, but I'm getting impatient already and I have 4 weeks left. I can't imagine how much you must be ready for her! how long will your doctor let you go over before they induce?

Kat - I'm so sorry that Alexander was being difficult. Poor kid. You two aren't having an easy time lately.


Star - the tylonel PM is amazing and working wonderfully. I'm still waking up a few times at night but am able to go back to sleep, which makes me feel mostly human again and I'm not dying at work! I'm so sorry your nausea is so bad at night. At least you can get mostly through work okay but that's awful that it's interfering with sleep.

Glad you're enjoying the home doppler. I loved mine. Really helped reassure me that all was well

 

[KatO79]

star unfortunately I won't be able to sleep through the night until Alexander is at least 6 months old. Think once babies can eat more solid food they can sleep for longer stretches and you can first start introducing it when they're between 4 and 6 months. So unfortunately lack of sleep will be my new normal for some months to come. Until then I'll have to nap whenever I get the chance. I think that's how it is for most mothers. Although those that bottle feed get a bit more sleep I would think as it takes longer for baby to digest formula than when it's breast milk.

 

[KatO79]

Ugh so this weekend was a bust sleepwise Friday night was ok but Saturday night went badly as even though DH took over getting Alexander to sleep, I just had huge issues falling asleep so only got 1 hour or so each time. Then yesterday I was feeling super tired and asked DH if he could watch Alexander and right after I'd fed him and only wake me up when he's hungry again. Nope, he chose that exact time to get something done for work so I had to power through my exhaustion He tried to make up a bit for it by trying to get a very overtired Alexander to sleep after a midnight feeding but it didn't work and after 1 hour he gave up so I had to get him to sleep. Which worked after 1 hour of rocking and turning off my bedside lamp so the room was completely dark. Then got up a few hours later to feed him again and had a slightly easier time getting him to sleep. Only for DH to turn on first his bedside lamp and then the light in the hallway so Alexander semi woke up. I told him to not turn on the lights and he got pissy with me Alexander woke up shortly after he left so almost no sleep for me again Oh and last night I fell asleep on the couch while DH was doing his crap job trying to get Alexander to sleep so he loudly complained which woke me up He claims it wasn't intentional but really, why does he have to constantly loudly complain about trying to get his son to sleep

Oh and I've ended up trying to negotiate for a better relationship with my toxic brother. I told him via text (he refused to talk over the phone) that he needs to stop putting me down. His response was:

I'm willing to talk peace, not ultimatums - things "I need" to do. I've not given you any marching orders - why the continuing reprimand?

I told him I was sorry he saw my request for just a bit of respect and consideration for my feelings in that light. His response:

I'm not aksing you to change who you are, do think it is fair for you to put such demands on me?

I did manage after a bit more back and forth to get this out of him:

Okay. I'm not going to get involved in trench warfare over this issue. I promise to be on my best behavior okay? If that's not good enough for you than perhaps one of us is not ready to make peace at this time.

So agreed to giving it one last go although my plan is to have as little contact as possible and hope he can keep it civil at least. His wife was pissed though that I hadn't told them about my pregnancy and that I already had Alexander. She thought me bad for keeping that info secret from my brother after all he's done for me like walk me down the aisle at my wedding (that was the gist in short). Ugh it's always my fault Just confirms that I need to keep all communication short and sweet and be as low contact as possible. If my brother behaves like an ass again then I'm definitely done! I'm sure it's only a matter of time I do fear though that him and maybe my sister are expecting to now be at least one of the 5 minor Godparents to Alexander and I have no desire for them to be - plus I wasn't named a Godparent to either of their children, heck my sister didn't even invite me to her son's Christening.