General chatter while we wait (and commentary on the "pull out method")

[WinterBub]

The one person in labor/at appts thing is excessive at this point. I mean, you're talking about the father of the baby/partner of the mother. She most likely sleeps next to him, so if he has covid, she likely does too! And I agree, that the scans and being part of the appointments is a big part of the Dad getting to bond and experience everything. I feel like if I do get pg, I'll be shocked at the difference between having a baby pre and post-covid...

The tip of leaving the opk out is great- thank you! I have used one three days in a row and it is super negative. I'm CD 12 today, so hope it happens in the next week. Not looking to get pregnant, but would like to be normal again.

Re: the sign on bonus... Pretty sure in this case it is to do with the vaccine mandates. One hospital was in the local news for very loudly laying off unvaccinated staff, and they're now offeing $15k for new (vaccinated) nurses. I wonder what strings are attached. Ie. Do you agree to stay for a certain amount of time if you take the bonus.

Sorry for bringing politics into the discussion... I know it gets awkward, and now even more than ever The situation in Flint is awful it goes back to at least Obama's time, and seemingly still isn't anywhere close to fixed. I get that people can't just up and leave, and the whole thing is complicated. I do agree with the wider idea of leaving a state that is doing you wrong (supposing you have the means to do so). That's actually one of the strengths that America has. You have 50 divergent options. I've lived in different countries, and absolutely love America. My parents grew up in the USSR, and I think modern Americans are horribly spoilt and unappreciative in a lot of ways. There are problems to be sure, but poverty and suffering in contemporary America are the kind of life that my grandparents would've seen as affluent. Anyway... Will put my soapbox away. I'm politically homeless. I thought Obama was great (at least in 2008), but hate Joe Biden. So . I also think we get offered two extremes on many topics, and I often don't agree with either. The whole thing is a mess. I agree with your stance, Dobby, about hurting nobody and letting people vote however they want. My main desire is for the govt to leave me alone. I'm glad that the VA guy is hot- there's a lovely message in the idea of y'all getting it on despite the political gulf

Good luck testing, Shae! I know where you're coming from on hating waiting. Especially if you have the man you'd want to have babies with! I often think waiting for things would be much easier if you knew the end date. Ie. If you knew you'd have a baby in X months, you'd be able to accept and plan around that. But the waiting sucks without a set time because it seems endless. i also always wanted to be a Mom. I used to write down potential baby names in my high school day planner. Glad to hear I wasn't totally insane. Also insanely thankful I didn't end up with/have babies with my high school BF you clearly were a smarter young person than I was, and chose much better, Shae!

Dobby- when can you test?

 

[DobbyForever]

Sorry for the blitz post trying to get all our pumpkin patch stuff together and just realized it's supposed to rain off and on all day at the patch I wanted to take him to. Ugh. Will post for real later

I'm 5dpo. Normally, I start testing with cheapies 6dpo and then depending how those look I'll start with early detection tests 8 or 9dpo. I'm trying not to break the seal with any tests because of all those crazy indent lines I was getting before. I'd realistically like to wait until 10dpo because that's the latest that I've ever gotten a positive. I'm sure I'll cave sooner though like Wed or Thurs. The problem is I want to know ASAP but also the tests literally cost less than a single trip to Starbucks. So I'd rather just skip Starbucks that day and waste money on some hpts

 

[PrettyInInk42]

Winter - Omg, I still have a list of baby names that I wrote in high school too. In grade 9, specifically. Great minds. lol

Re: Spouses present at appts. Forgot to comment on this earlier. I honestly dunno what our local policies are right now. I know my cousin (who had her baby in May '20) could only have her BF around for a few hours after she delivered, then he had to leave. I'm hoping for another home birth this time, so they obviously can't kick SO out. Last time, the MWs were the ones who had left after a couple hours, so no issue there. lol. In terms of scan appts, I don't think SO is super interested. And they'll probably all be during work hours anyway. Hoping for 4D scan though and FX him, my mom, and the boys will be allowed to go.

Re: SneakPeek. Still gonna hold off just a little longer. As bad as it sounds, I feel like I may be less excited to announce if I already know it's another boy. :/

AFM, SO just asked me today when he should be asking for his "traditional week off" (e.i. the time he takes off immediately after I've had a baby). That's the first time he's asked me about my EDD at all. He never asked when I told him I was pg and I didn't volunteer the info. I told him May 16-20, though they've been good about letting him adjust the start as needed. He said the 20th would be nice cuz that's Alex's BDay number too, so it would be easier to remember. I told him if I had to be late, I'd prefer the 22nd, so the birth date would be 22/5/22. I love the look of orderly birth dates. Like I'm 8/4/88 (or 4/8/88, for you Americans, lol) and it makes me happy. In contrast, my dad was 27/10/51 and I'm like "ugh, too random". lol

 

[Flueky88]

Pretty I don't blame you for waiting. It can be hard having GD (and natural). I know I had it once I found out S/dd2 was a girl but that went away. I felt like dd3 might have been a boy up until about 10 weeks, then I just decided to come to terms that I was most likely having a girl and could grieve the dream of having a boy. I was pretty excited at the scan at 16 weeks too because of that. I'm not saying it's the right thing to do but it honestly helped me.

Winter well FX you get a positive opk soon, I think CD 11 is early for a positive

Ah, yes I do think overall we are blessed and have no idea how blessed we really are.

Dobby yeah I'm sorry for some of his ignorance. As a southerner, I do not share those beliefs with him. Not to say I identify as a liberal but there are things such as empathy and understanding that others don't have the resources that oneself may have.

I am looking forward to testing for you. I think 10dpo is a good place to start. I didn't test until 13dpo with V but my others I tested at 9dpo and had squinters. The lines were still faint but there at 10dpo.

Shae fx for you.

AFM all labs came back normal, so stress it is. Took girls to a party yesterday and they had a blast.

Not much to say from my end. Hope everyone has a great week.

 

[shaescott]

Quick selfish post and go cuz I’m at work.

BBT majorly dropped this morning, 10 dpo. I want to think it’s an implantation dip, but we shall see. I usually don’t dip until 13dpo or even a few days into AF.

 

[WinterBub]

We need to get some pumpkins! There's a local church fair coming up, and trying to decide if we want to go. Looks fun, but we're also anti-social at this point More OH than me, but I also can't be bothered with small talk and what not. Though that's a bad combo- I realized I've been quite lonely through all of this covid stuff.

Now I feel extra less crazy about the name list, Pretty. Lol. I remember one if my friends seeing it, and I was mortified I hope you can do a 4D scan, too! And I'm also looking forward to finding out the gender! Whatever will be, will be on that front... It's already been decided at this point! Hope you get a good bday date! Are you doing the prenatal (genetic blood test around 13w) testing at all? Or is that not really a thing in Canada?

Good luck, Shae. Looking forward to living vicariously through you and Dobby when you guys test!

I'll call the reproductive specialist this week and ask about the egg quality question. Do any of you have any knowledge there? I googled some, and will buy coQ10, as apparently that helps. But beyond that. Just thought I'd ask as you guys are more knowledgeable than Google for sure!!! Also lost 2lb in the past two weeks. Would love to go slightly faster, but pleased with movement in the right direction. I have the activity side sorted, but too many crunchy snacks in the afternoon/evening

 

[PrettyInInk42]

Flueky - That kinda sounds like a hope for the best, but plan for the worst thought process, which I totally understand. I'm trying to put out positive vibes though. Like, there can't be any doubt in my mind. It'll be what it'll be and I'll just deal with that info when I get it.
Glad all your labs seem to be normal. Do you have a plan to help you de-stress on a regular basis?

Winter - Something even better about the name list in that Alex was one of the names. I knew that was gonna be the name of my first born son since I was 15 and I think that's kind of special.
Ya, we do the genetic testing here. Gonna be getting that done in the first week of November.
Yay for the start of your weight loss. I remember losing about 10lbs between my MMC and getting pg with Matthew, which was about a 2 month span. Can't really remember how though, sorry. lol

Speaking of pumpkins, I decided to take the announcement pics today. I got the boys in cute, matching plaid sweaters and went to the garage to get the pumpkins I'd bought. Well, they'd both gone bad and were falling apart. I was so pissed. I've never bought pumpkins more than a week before Halloween and, after this, I never will again. So annoying. -.-
Also, less than a 190 days to go. Omg!

 

[Flueky88]

Shae I looked at my old bfp charts when I did bbt. I did have minor dips at 10dpo, only a 0.1 difference both times. They both rose back up afterwards.

Winterbub no advice about egg quality other than coq10. Great job on the weight loss and 2lbs/week is actually a great amount to lose


Pretty, I definitely understand. I just wanted to feel happy at the ultrasound with dd3 instead of disappointment like with dd2. Everyone is different though will keep having positive girly vibes for you.

Yuck about the pumpkins. Photos sounds good other than that

 

[DobbyForever]

Ah I missed so much lol but I have to get ready for work So one more selfish post and I swear I’ll legit post tonight lol

Things ended up working out. The pumpkin patches around here have either raised their prices significantly due to covid and/or require reservations. Toss in the sketchy rain predictions. I was really heartbroken that we may not get it done, but we did! The waitlist opened up at 11am for a patch 15m from my parents', and they immediately started letting people off the waitlist. Managed to snag a time right after nap. Went to a patch that had everything! A petting zoo, reptile zoo, obstacle maze, corn maze, haunted house, bouncy houses, tractor rides where you get to pick your own corn to take home (super yummy sweet organic corn, too!), and pumpkins. A had a blast. We were there for nearly 3 hours because the tractor ride line took forever, thankfully my mom stood in all the lines for us while A just ran around. Bro’s gf came with to help with photos and with A. Stepdad came to be the bank LOL. It was $23 for unlimited attractions, which covers 1 adult to accompany the child. The obstacle course was his fav and that was, of course, free haha. But I was happy because that’s really cheap for these parts. The first patch would have run me close to $100! Anyway A had fun and that’s what matters. But it was definitely a thank goodness I have such a great support system. I couldn’t take him by myself. Even with my parents, having someone agile is so helpful.

 

[shaescott]

Dobs such a cute pic, I’m glad you got to bring him after all! I hear you on skipping the Starbucks. Starbucks is so expensive for the stuff I like and they haven’t had cinnamon dolce syrup around me for months now I want my cinnamon dolce latte back! But I grew up with Dunkin’ so I’m content with my $3 large iced pumpkin coffee. Starbucks is a treat at that price point, even if they had the cinnamon dolce syrup.

Pretty understandable to wait for the sneakpeek. I’m looking forward to seeing your announcement pics, please share them on here as well when you announce!

Flueks I’m glad to hear that the labs came back normal

Winter I’m afraid I don’t have knowledge about egg quality, personally. If you can’t get info from us in this thread, the TTC boards may have some good advice!

AFM sadly this AM my temp was a bit lower than yesterday, I went back to sleep and woke ip soaked in sweat from a nightmare, took a nap and just woke up soaked in sweat again from a nightmare, so I’m assuming it’s my standard night sweats before AF. Test this AM was BFN. My CM seems a bit creamier today than the past 2 days and I have no spotting yet but I figure it’s only a matter of time.

 

[DobbyForever]

Alright let’s go!

Winter, I definitely see both sides to the restrictions. Just feels like the past year and a half has been no perfect solutions sadly. I’d just hope with the vaccination rates really improving, masking, and the availability of rapid tests that things would have improved with restrictions. Just sucks that it has to have such huge impacts on something that is so special. Glad the ops tip helped! Wasn’t sure if it was actually helpful haha but it helps me. I saw an instareel that said one hospital was requiring like a 2 or 3 year commitment. Gotta be honest, I don’t dig enough enough politics or the news or keep up enough to really discuss anything LOL so I guess I’ll join you in political homelessness. Also with you with hating the small chat hahahaha. No tips on egg quality enhancement. Sorry! Kudos on the weight loss! 1-2 lbs a week is great! So much more sustainable than those crash-y diets

Re high school bfs, def sounds like my bro is gonna marry his high school gf. He’s mid second year at law school, and he’s started going through the conversion/marriage classes with the local catholic church. He swore he’d never do it, but how things change after like 8 years haha. She’s not the greatest, but she’s nice to me and A. She’s just a bit of a leech and self-admitted lazy person. She wants the Palo Alto lifestyle but as a SAHM, but she doesn’t clean either… so like… come on now…

Pretty I think the private scan places are more lenient with people because most have extra space set up anyway. I was just watching “Teen Mom OG” and she booked a private scan here in Cali, and they let the parents and spouse come in. That’s not bad at all! I second Fluek, gender disappointment is such a real thing. And even if you get the results of girl like you’re hoping, idk. I love reasons to celebrate. So why not separate the two announcements hehe. Can’t wait to see your announcement! So sorry about the pumpkins rotting And I agree. I love a tidy birthday. And thanks for the translation because my American brain was so confused hahaha. I know y’all do a different format, but my brain just can never process it no matter how many times people explain it. I also had a names list. That was narrowed down to this is the boy and the is the girl and SO can have the middle name… maybe LOL.

Flueks aw well apology on his behalf accepted Yay for normal labs. Are they planning a recheck or we’re just sure it’s stress at this point? Glad the girls had fun!

Shae that is odd that the drop happened so early. I’m still going to cross my fingers that it bounces back up. And thank you! Girl, I love my CDL. I’ve literally tried every other latte, and nothing hits the same. It’s so sad. And now it looks like the ham and swiss croissant is out?! I like to alternate between that and the bacon gouda. But man if I go with A, it’s like $12. YIKES! I have a Keurig in my classroom, but some days I’m so drained I need that sugared up dessert coffee haha. Glad you have Dunkin’! I don’t even know where any are… Lol it’s right across the street but I do like that Starbucks has a drive through. I’m not lazy. I just don’t feel like doing anything. Selective participation. I also love that you asked politely for Pretty to share her pic and my rude a** is over here like can’t wait to see them all presumptuously

AFM work was nonstop today. Hopefully tomorrow is a little less crazy. Bit worried because I know computers are next up to be pulled if there’s a sub shortage, and I have it tomorrow. So holding my breath I get prep. Talked myself out of testing a cheapie. It’s hard because I do check my lh still with fmu and I literally have 50+ wondrous from buying the combo packs. I have zero symptoms though. I know symptoms don’t mean anything, but I’m really going to try my best to not test before Thursday (9dpo) if not Friday (10dpo).

 

[shaescott]

Dobs lol I got that “I’m not lazy” reference. While I’d like to claim selective participation, I know that in reality I am kinda lazy and I need to work on that. Regarding Pretty’s announcement, I was assuming she’d share it but then I was like “wait does that sound rude to assume she will? I’ll just ask her to”. Proud of you for not testing yet! Fx’d for you!

AFM, TMI but my vagina always starts to feel puffy when AF is coming and it felt puffy just now when I was checking my CM. I also saw the tiniest speck of blood in my CM. So, I’m pretty sure I’m out. If my temp rises, I’ll rethink that, but I doubt that’ll happen. All my classic PMS symptoms are here. Not sure why my temp dropped so early, I went through my charts and my temp dropping to this level didn’t occur until 13dpo or a few days into AF. Part of me wants to be like, well maybe I conceived and had a super early chemical and so my progesterone started dropping. Either way, it’s odd that I’m not properly bleeding with a temp drop like that. Idk. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

 

[DobbyForever]

Haha I was wondering if anybody would, so I went with the full quote instead of just selective participation. I recently discovered reels so don’t mind me. And to quote another one “how bizarre! how bizarre.” but seriously sorry you’re getting all these af signs, your crosshairs def look spot on. I’m still FXed for implantation vs early af

 

[shaescott]

Soooo my temp jumped back up this morning. I’m pretty hyped but I don’t want to get tooo excited because I feel like it’s still more likely that it’s nothing. SO is leaving for work in 15 minutes and I’m waiting to test until he leaves because I don’t want to tell him as he’s leaving for work or something if it comes back positive.

 

[shaescott]

Whelp. Wasted a FRER.

No spotting yet but I figure with a bfn at 12dpo the chances are very slim.

 

[DobbyForever]

I’m sorry. I know that’s disappointing. You know me, I like to hold out hope until AF shows. Especially if that was implantation then could just be too early. But definitely the TWW is hope for the best but prepare for the worst to the max so lots of hugs

 

[shaescott]

The temp dip is a new thing for me, I often get triphasic but no significant dip during the luteal phase. I want to think that it’s just too early, I did some googling and someone said they implanted 10dpo and didn’t get a bfp until 14dpo, so I’m hoping that’s the situation but I also feel like I shouldn’t expect this cycle to be any different than any of my others just because my temp did something wonky. Idk. Hopeful but prepared for spotting to start tomorrow on schedule.

 

[WinterBub]

Dobby- your little boy is beautiful! (And so are you!) Glad you had such a great time at the Pumpkin Patch. So nice that your family could come along, too. Also... I love reality tv. I've been watching 16 and Pregnant/Teen Mom from the very start So many quotable moments over the years...

I'm sorry your test was negative, Shae. Will hold out hope for you I've never tried a cinnamon dolce latte... But now I want to! Shame if I missed the boat for forever!!!

Pretty, that is really special- we should all have a mother who loved us and wanted us so much I love names like that- have a longer formal form, but a cute nickname built in. Matthew is lovely, too. I have loved all sorts of names over the years- from the out there (ie. Posy) to classics (like Luke). My OH is the limiting factor as he is quick to veto

I'm not against marrying high school partners as a rule. One of my high school friends did that, and they are perfect for each other. Just my own choice at that point wasn't great! Lol. Last I heard he was married, has a couple of kids, and is an electrician, I believe. We were just young and cringey, and if I'm honest, I don't think we liked each other all that much- just ended up paired together somehow. Anyway... I hope you grow to like your brothers GF if they do end up married, Dobby. So long as they are happy, hopefully it all works out as it is meant to.

AFM- been using opks and they're insanely negative. I even tried another brand because I thought the ones I had were maybe faulty. The test line is barely even visible. I could swear that I'm having ovulation pain on my left side, though. So, will wait and see what happens, I guess.

 

[Flueky88]

Winterbub, that's odd about the test line barely being visible. Doesn't seem right. I mean I've had some test lines lighter than others but would co sides them all dark. Hmm, what brands are you using if you don't mind telling me?

Shae I have never had a CDL. To be honest I'm not a fan of Starbucks. I asked what sort of frappe flavors they had and the guy on speakerphone legit said," we can make just about anything you can imagine".... me ,"what about a Mocha and strawberry flavored frappe". He responded, "can't make that, but that sounds really good!". I just find them overhyped, overpriced. Thankfully we have an awesome local coffee place. Best frappes and lattes! They also sell Hersheys ice cream which the girls love.

Sorry for bfn it's hard seeing a bfn later in the luteal phase.

Dobby, yes just going with stress for now. She said if they came back like they were or worse to call and order an event monitor and an echocardiogram.

I always find it interesting when someone marries their high school sweetheart. I didn't really have one. I dated some guys but nothing serious.

Love the pumpkin patch picture! I'm glad you had a great time.

Not much longer until testing time.

Pretty, I forgot to say. I do try to destress by walking, doing my exercises and stretches as recommended by my PT. A big part of my pelvic floor issues, other than 3 back to back pregnancies, is related to stress and how it causes you to involuntarily tense your muscles. I do try to do a bubble bath from time to time as well. My stress levels have went WAY down now that survey is over.


AFM not much here, work has slowed down a bit. I do need to give a presentation today but not too big a deal other than I might be a bit rusty as I haven't given one in nearly a year. However, it's a small group of 4, including me and I'm not intimidated by any of them.

We had a meeting with all the leadership regarding our survey. Found out our surveyor was really a quick, but we did very well even with her being one of the worst kinds of surveyors. One of the managers called me out and thanked me for all my hard work with the review findings. So that was nice.

Girls are good. DH and I are good. So nothing to fuss about.

 

[DobbyForever]

Shae I feel you. That’s the worst part of all this tracking. It feels like everything has two explanations, and even if something out of the norm happens they say expect the unexpected. But it’s always so hard not to get your hopes up

Winter, right?! Idk why reality tv is so fun. But it’s a much needed veg out time. Does DH have any name preferences? And thanks. That is frustrating though. Even after my surge, it takes a nearly a week to get back down to 0.3.

My issue is they seem to have settled. She sees a meal ticket and he sees someone who is less dramatic than all the unhinged women in our family. Grand scheme of things, she could be way worse. And she is really good to A, which has really helped our relationship. I dated the same guy all of high school. We were TOXIC, but we both got a lot of therapy in college and he married someone who looks similar lol. He’s a good guy with a good family, we were just both so damaged. He’s married now. Dunno about kids. He used to work at the same company as my ex, don’t think they ever ran into each other though.

Re opks I get a lot of like barely there lines. Ratios of 0.10-.02. It’s during my period and right after, and I get some mid luteal phase. Today’s test was 0.17. Was stark white the first few minutes I thought the test was invalid haha

Fluek omg I would have lost it! We can make just about everything but not that! Fail. I’m glad you have a great local spot to treat yourself to though! That’s what counts. So glad you have some solid self care routines. Hope the presentation goes well things stay on the chill side. Sounds like everything is going well over there!

Thank you ladies! I’m quite smitten with him. I have like 3.5k photos on my phone, and I can’t bring myself to delete them hahah.

I caved and tested because I was looking at A’s bfp chart, and I apparently got a faint line with fmu on 8dpo. BFN. Now that the seal is broken, I’ll probably test every morning lol. LH is super low, and it was super low at 8dpo last cycle too. So we'll see.