April BD's BRING May BFPs!!

[TTCaWee1]

Hello Ladies - Welcome new comers and welcome back to my BnB besties!
I am Rachel, I am on my 8th cycle ttc #1. DH is 30 and I'll be 30 on April 20th!
I am hoping for an early BFP birthday present or a belated BFP birthday present! I am currently 1 dpo. After many months of getting my hopes up and being let down, I have decided to stop temping, stop OPKing and basically just BD and see what happens....but we'll see how that goes lol.

 

[TTCaWee1]

By sticking together for the last few months, some of us call each other by our first names....here's a list of us (let me know if I missed someone)

TTc - Rachel
Hoping - Kyla
Lausie - Laura
Jury - Julie
Bubs - Emily
Pdx - Sonia
Golds - Nikki
HWPG - Mirolee
Over - Alissa
Clynn - Cassidy
NDT - Nichole
White - Lydia
Robert - Amanda
Mummy - Simone
Waves - Waves
Brightly - Kristina
Iwanna - Rachel #2

 

[goldstns]

I'm here!!! Rachel- love the name. My fav season is spring. I hope for a bfp because IV always dreamt garage sale shopping for baby stuff.

I'm Nikki...
I'm 28, dh is 25
I am being treated for high prolactin (hopefully its going to be normal levels this month!!)
Dh has 0% morphology from sa...and is on 15 vit
This will probe be our last cycle (aka aprils cycle) before iui (at least that's what doc offered...but well see how I fell about keep trying naturally)

I'm currently 10dpo...testing tue/wed

 

[clynn11]

I'm here too! I hope April brings tons of BFPs!

I'm Cassidy, 22, DF is 25- we're getting married in July on our 7 year anniversary. Currently either 9dpo or 7dpo and hoping for a BFP! This is cycle 4 TTC after a year NTNP.

BTW ladies, DF and I are contemplating calling off the wedding, and just making it official and planning a trip around Europe with the funds instead. I'm seriously considering it lol. I just think the money could be put to better use on an extended honeymoon instead of one day, ya know? Plus i'm really not a planner and have been procrastinating and my mom is not helping in any way I thought she would. I'd love to see Paris, Rome, etc. and this may be my only chance in life.

 

[TTCaWee1]

If I could go back, I probably wouldn't mind taking ALL that money and putting it towards a badass vacation. But, on the flip side, I do loooove looking at my wedding pictures and all the memories that they hold. I see both sides.

 

[jury3]

I'm Julie.
I'm 29, DW is 28.
We are using a known donor and at-home insemination.
This will be our 4th cycle ttc #1.
Plan this month: get on a healthier track/lose a few lbs and possibly get checked out to make sure everything is as it should be with my body.

Julie - I just made an appt with an RE. I think it just depends on your insurance. I went in, talked to the RE, told him I really just wanted to start out with labs and an HSG. He agreed. But also offered meds and IUI next cycle. My OB on the other hand, told me to come back after a year. I went "over his head" on my own and made my own RE appt. My pregnant friend who is also a lesbian, went to the RE before starting to try, but they did IUI with donor sperm. But they did do an HSG in the very beginning. I think that going would be a good idea. Just because you have a limited supply of spermies and if I were you I wouldn't want to try for a year, just to find out that I had blocked tubes or something...ya know? I'm sure that everything is kosher but better safe than sorry. Thats how my friend looked at it...she wanted to make sure everything was golden before shelling out 5 grand to try to get pregnant.

Julie- not sure with ur insurance, but I just googled a fertility specialist in my area and just went. They said if your goal is to have a kid then I was making an apt at the right place. I didn't need any referrals. But I also already knew I had a bit of issues with my hormones. Once I was at doc apt they had a list of things to test at first apt and then they go from there depending on results. They took like 5-8 viles of ... I could look up everything they tested if you want to know. I understand some of the tests but not all.

I think I will call and see what I can get set up this week and see what my insurance will cover. I don't think I need anything invasive, just to test my hormone levels and maybe an ultrasound or something to make sure everything is as it should be. It's just like you said, Rachel, we don't have an unlimited supply of sperm, so I'd rather not waste time and wait a year. The less time we have to inconvenience our donor the better. It's not that I even think something might be wrong, but why not find out ahead of time so we can take care of it now. Honestly, I wish more doctor's would recommend doing that...if they were willing and wanted to do it/could afford it, why not save all that time! Thanks for the encouragement ladies, I was afraid people would say I was crazy! Even my mom was like, "check with insurance and if it isn't crazy, go for it!" lol

 

[jury3]

Cassidy-I may not be the best person to give advice bc I'm not a big wedding person...therefore, I say skip the big wedding and take the vacation! Have a small courthouse thing, have a small dinner/bbq with closest friends and family and then enjoy your time together on a honeymoon! Weddings are full of stress and you usually end up with a bunch of people there who you really don't know or really care that much about. I love the more intimate type setting. I also think weddings are crazy expensive and ridiculous! Don't get me wrong, I loved our wedding and had a blast, but it was bigger and way less intimate than I wanted (in-laws paid and planned the whole thing for the most part...). It would have been amazing if they would have spent half that money toward a really nice vaca for us instead! lol

 

[TTCaWee1]

Julie, I felt the same way but who cares what anyone else thinks? Even if you did feel something is wrong, we all know our bodies and its important to listen to them because usually, the message means something...

 

[pdxmom]

Hi girls,
here i am....glad tht im continuing this journey with ull even tho im in limbo land right now...

Im Sonia...im 30 amd dh is gonna turn 30 this april..we r waiting to try after a miscarriage in february for which i had to get a methotroxate shot...we r goin to get bak in the ttc wagon in june...till them im having fun with u girls

Cassidy...i love the idea of the small wedding cos i had such a big ass wedding tht dh and me didnt even know the names of more than 60% of the guests...both parents paid for the wedding but 700 people was really realy huge...i wish they had given us all tht money and we wud have done so so many other things....and girl if rome and paris is on your mind just do it....im in love with rome....no other city in the world tht enthrals me more...dh and me never wanted to leave wen we went there in 2011...it was on our europe trip tht we started ntnp...

Julie...id defly say to go and get your tests done...it makes u feel so much better once u know..watever comes out at least u know...best case scenerio is tht all will b well and tht will keep your mind so much at ease and everything will work better wen we r not stressed...all the best hun...

 

[jury3]

What kind of tests have you girls had done or what would you suggest? Do you know about how much they were? I don't think my insurance covers any fertility related things...

Cassidy- I second what Sonia said! lol

 

[pdxmom]

well honestly i think for the basic testing u dont really need to go to a fertility specialist....ive not yet gone to one and my doc did all of my initial testing which im sure your insurance will cover....the first thing my doc did was to test progestrone to c whether i was having a healthy ovulation...wen it turned out i was ovulating but not healthy ebuf then the clomid came out and 3rd cycle of clomid i was preggers...for this test basically he needs to do a blood draw 7 days after ovulation...as standard procedure they will say to go in on cd21 but wen i told my doc tht i was not necessarily ovulating on the cd14 bcos i was using opks to justify tht then he made me go in on cd25 and we found better results as the progestrone levels r highest to predict ovulation 7 days after which is mid way of your luteal phase....as far as the ultrasound is concerned...a normal ob/gyn can do an ultrasound to check for pcos and normal stuff buti dont think they check for ovarian reserves as i think tht comes under specialty...i wud suggest at least get the things tht your ob/gyn covers done and take it from there..hopefully ull not need a specialist

 

[HWPG]

hi! mirolee here! OH and i are 32. i have crazy cycles; A+ SA from OH. next cycle is HSG and clomid! scared and excited!
i would go on the trip; a couple of us have done the wedding thing (and the divorce thing!) and you can still TOTALLY wear a white dress, have pictures taken, eat cake, etc - either in another country or at the JOP or in a Elks lodge basement hall. do the trip!
julie, i would suggest day 3 blood work and 7dpo bw - fsh, lh, estradiol, prolactin, progesterone, testosterone, T4 and tsh. (you can get the 7dpo stuff done right now if you are close!). you dont have to go to an RE for this - my PCP did it. my order went PCP, OB, RE - but only because the first two dont rx clomid. and i'm only doing the HSG so we can confidently do the clomid - no sense amping up my ovaries if the egg cant get thru!
afm, cd27 today. seriously not sure how long this cycle is going to be. i'm kinda down about it because there is NOTHING that should have thrown it off, yet here i am waiting waiting. just want to be on to the next one! and i'm slightly depressed because the new babies are due any moment - i feel like a failure. seriously, 9 months after my bff and sister get pregnant, and i've had 7 cycles and no bfp. fml. fail. but life goes on; putting on my big girl pants and PMA!

 

[jury3]

Mirolee-I know the feeling! That friend I was saying is 3 months pregnant, that means she got pregnant at the same time we started...I could be 3 months pregnant and announcing it now. It makes me feel like I'm going to get left behind...You are not a failure though! You are doing everything you can and you will have it figured out soon! Don't be down about it What's PCP stand for?

So, maybe I'll call my gyno today and see if she does any of those tests. If she doesn't do them or is uncooperative then I will either try another gyno or try the RE.

 

[Disneybaby26]

This group name is fantastic!

 

[overanalyzer]

Hello. Hello! It's Alissa. I'm 28 and DH will be 31 in a few weeks. We have been TTC for a little over a year now. I have PCOS/irregular cycles. I have had two biochemical pregnancies (in September 2012 and Januray 2013). I have done Clomid cycles in December 2012, January 2013 and March 2013. I have had some testing done but DH has yet to do a SA. The RE has not been too worried about him having one done at this point being that fertilization has happened twice for us. Our next plan is to do Clomid with a trigger shot and timed intercourse. I have a few reservations about this that I will share and ask for input on...

Currently I think I'm like 4DPO. Nikki, so far, the tww is BORING! I'm really hoping that the next couple of weeks fly by since I have a lot going on. Thanks for asking though. You so have a tri-phasic chart going on! When will you test? Or wont you? AHHHH!!

Julie - I would try your OB first just for the spimplicity but don't expect too much from them. They may say for you to wait. If so, try an RE. You shouldn't need a referral for at leat a consult. As for testing, Mirolee had good suggestions. I have always believed in being pro-active and really wish I would've pushed my PCP (primary care physician) much more in the early stages of ttc. I think it could've saved me a lot of stress and anxiety.

Cassidy - if a wedding doesn't mean much to you and DH I would for sure do the trip. Don't do a big celebration to please others. What will matter most in the years to come is what you and DH remember and enjoy; what means most to you.

Mirolee - I can really relate to the feeling of being a failure. I know I am too hard on myself sometimes but I just can't help it. It simply sucks watching all of your friends pass such milestones in their lives while I'm sititng here left behind. I know this isn't the best thoughts/attitude to have but I think it's part of the process and normal. At least I'm hoping its normal haha. Making matters worse is delayed ovulation. I really feel like it wouldn't be half as bad if I new I would have a 28-30 day cycle each time. But the unknown is awful and creates so much more stres. Stress we don't need!

This is going to sound awful but I will be seeing a close friend tomorrow (due to a funeral, sucky) that is 7 months pregnant. She has been there for me this past year and I talk to her weekly. I am super happy she is expecting but having to see her I feel is going to be much harder than just talking on the phone. I'm going to be sooo jealous! And that makes me feel like such a bad person. That seems to be the story of my life while ttc, feeling like a bad person. Confession, I found out like a month ago that a friend is pregnant and havne't congratulated her yet because 1) I haven't congratulated her yet because I'm so jealous 2) I simply keep putting it off. Now tell me that isn't horrible! Ugh

 

[overanalyzer]

(Thought I would end by previous thread and start a new one so it didn't get too long haha). So my reservations about my upcoming monitored cycle:

My biggest worry is the choice for timed intercourse versus IUI. I know my RE chose this route as we are self pay patients and it will be cheaper but here are my thoughts. If we are paying for baseline testing and monitoring already, why not put in the extra money up front for an IUI where chances for a bfp would be greater? I feel we've timed intercourse well for the past 9-12 months and nothing has happened, so why would it then? Get my drift? I haven't yet inquired about the cost difference between the two but plan to do so this week. Plus, with DH's work schedule, I would hate to have him out of town when it was game time. Chances are good that he could let his boss know what was going on and postone his travels but still, just causes me anxiety and stress thinking that we may need to do that even.

What are your guys' thoughts?

 

[goldstns]

Julie- This is what my RE (reproductive endocrinologist) test for:
Estradiol
Free T4
FSH
LH
Progesterone
Testosterone
TSH
glucose
insulin
MTHFR
Vit D
AMH - this one actually tells you if you have mature. healthy eggs
Ultrasound

I got mine done 5dpo because I thought it was 7dpo but I think I was wrong. The reason he did all those tests are because apparently some of those hormones work together and they have a certain ratio in your body that he was looking for. I can't remember what all the test are for and what they need to be, sorry. Maybe internet can help.

 

[goldstns]

Cassidy- I loved my wedding and I am glad we did it, but I totally understand what you are saying! Go for the trip. However I love planning parties, our family paid for the whole things and me and DH had enough money saved up for a week vaca in the Caribbean. My DH can't handle anything longer so it worked for us. For you Id say do what you want.. if people get mad they will get over it down the road. It is about you and DF!

 

[BubsMom17]

Hello ladies and hello April!

I'm Emily, DH and I are both 30, have a 3 year old son, and are expecting #2 in November. I am so lucky to have had these ladies here with me the months I was trying, and will continue to offer them support whenever I can!

Right now my DH is out of work and is looking and interviewing like crazy for jobs, but I have a feeling this week will bring some good news. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Cassidy - DH and I had a courthouse wedding and a party the next day w/ about 60 people (mostly his huge ass family since my huge ass family all live in Michigan...). We spent about $2,000 on the whole thing, and I still got to buy and wear a pretty wedding dress that I lovvvvved! We never got a honeymoon, though, and still haven't DS was 6 months old when we got married so a lengthy trip was not an option. I am still holding out for my real honeymoon. We are thinking Hawaii next year for our anniversary in July, but we'll have to see how we are financially AND see how things are going with new baby.
My point is... I THINK a trip will give you more memories and joy than one day. My day was small and modest, but I wouldn't have traded it! I never wanted to deal with the stress of a big wedding after being a bride's maid in three of them! So happy I never had to deal with that! I regret not having a memorable trip with my DH more than not having a big wedding.

 

[goldstns]

Alissa- I am debating IUI right now too. I was offered to start it after my April cycle because they want DH to be on his vit a little longer. At my office (which i think the price is a good comparison) it is $800 for the IUI which include meds with it (like a shot to MAKE you release an egg, a shot of HCG/prog... and maybe other things). This doesn't include an HSG, which he offered me for the second round of IUI and the price would go up to $1000. Honestly in your case IUI might be a good option. However I believe Clomid might be a cheaper option for a cycle or 2. What was your DH SA?