London TTC buddies chat thread

[Leeze]

no sign of the little one yet, unfortunately! seeing midwife again tomorrow - I'll get another sweep and if that doesn't work will get booked in for induction. I don't really want to get induced because that means I have to be in the delivery suite and not the birth centre - and there's less chance of a more natural birth. but, to be honest - my main priority at this stage is that we both come out the other side safe and healthy.

MK8 - you always have such lovely inspirational stories!!

hope you're all enjoying your weekends xx

 

[starrilicious]

Finally cracked today and booked a doctors appointment when I woke up with no voice. Seriously I have been sick for so long!

I had an awesome birthday weekend too. So much fun. AND I had a dress fitting on Sunday AND I love my dress its so pretty.

Leeze - Fingers crossed bubba comes safely soon. Hope you get to have a natural birth. I dont even like to take painkillers too much so I defo want to try for a natural birth when my time comes around too. Whats your birthing centre like? Do they have birthing pools? I would love that!

MK8 - I really loved your little dialogue with the doctor. It really did make me LOL. Love it xx. Oh and good luck for hubby.

I ordered the maca (the powder because I didnt read your other post before i ordered it so its coming soon) and today is the first day of my video log so excited to start that.

Hope all of you are well!

xx

 

[Clanger]

Hey ladies,

Leeze hope sweep no 2 wasn't as painful.Really hoping your little lady decides to make an entrance very soon.As you say, the important thing is getting you both through labour swiftly and safely.Really hope that means she makes her own way out in the lovely birthing centre, but if not keep repeating your mantras and keep your eye on the prize....that amazing first cuddle with her.A friend whose birth didn't go the way she wanted at all recently told me that even her unplanned c section was the most amazing thing ever....we are all thinking of you...keep up the updates.

Mk8 that apointment sounds amusing.....hope jizz pot attempt no 3 is successful this time for your poor hubby!

Starilicious, get well soon.Glad you ha a weekend full of treats...dress trying on sounds brilliant!I had a dream about my wedding dress last night....definitely won't fit into it at the moment!

Sophiebee hope you are making sense of your bottles of pills and had a fun weekend.

Take care ladies.

 

[mk8]

Oh Leeze, little leeze is nice n comfy in there!

QUick one as need to hit tescos.

DH got his SA results back - all normal. I am taking them to my GP on Thurs to see what he thinks. I wonder what he will do.

I wanted to pick your brain about the results (lower reference limits in brackets below):

- Liquefaction: Complete
- Viscosity: Normal
- Volume: 6.3ml (>1.5)
- Concentration: 35 million/ml (>15m)
- Total number: 220.5 million (>39m)
- Progressive: 41% (>32)
- Non-progressive: 3%
- Non-motile: 56%
- Normal forms: 7% (>4)
They look good to me... so then what now. Is it me? Hmmm...

 

[Leeze]

Star - hope you feel better soon, honey - definitely a good idea to see the GP when your voice goes! Great you had a good weekend and how exciting to have had a dress fitting!!! With the maca powder, I've heard people say if you mix it up in a shake or smoothie it's not so bad but that it doesn't taste that great otherwise. The birth centre has got 4 rooms and 2 of them have birthing pools - I'd love to use one of them but I think if I end up getting induced I can't use the birth centre because you have to be monitored by the Doctors as part of the induction and the birth centre is midwife-lead.

Clanger - thanks for sharing about your friend, one of my friends recently went through something similar - she was really set on a natural birth and ended up having an emergency c-section - but has said really now that she doesn't care and she's just so happy to have her baby. How's things with you? less than 6 weeks till your due date!

MK8 - those SA results look great. My OH had 20 mill concentration which is at the low end of normal. Good that you finally got the results back!! Good luck with the GP appointment on Thursday and try not to assume there's something wrong with either of you - it really could be just bad luck so far.

Soph- I hope all is good with you and you're feeling ready for your IVF journey.

Anyway, no baby news from me yet. Had my sweep today which luckily was a lot less painful - was more like a smear test and just minor discomfort. I've been booked in for an induction for this Friday so unless she comes naturally before then at least I know she'll definitely be here by the weekend!!! I really hope she does come before then because then hopefully I can have her at the birth centre - but really I'm just happy to have an end in sight and know I get to meet her soon!! xx

 

[mk8]

Quick one, in a mood and peed off w dh. Why am i not preg yet? Argh!

Hope u girls r good.

Hope lil leeze arrives soon!

 

[SophieBee]

Hi everyone

Sorry I've been so quiet - my work is insanely busy at the moment (3 major deadlines all at the same time) which means I've just not had any energy in the evenings. So shattered...

Hope you're all well - Leeze, waiting with bated breath for news from you... It would be funny if you and my sis ended up having your girlies on the same day (she's due Friday but has been having twinges since the weekend).

Will catch up with you all when my head is a bit clearer...

XX

 

[mk8]

hey girls

how are you all today?

sophie- hope that work eases up.

star - how is the wedding planning going?

leeze- hope that little leeze is ready to come out to play.

clanger- how are you doing honey? when are you off on mat leave?

as for me, not having a good time right now. i dont know what has come over me but i am having a really low time. i just feel sad and depressed- kinda like im heartbroken. im angry at myself for feeling this way too but i cant help it.

after receiving dh's good sa results, i feel kind of numb. i am pleased that he is healthy but i feel so, so scared that there is something wrong with me. another friend announced shes pregnant today. one gave birth 2 weeks ago. another two are giving birth later this month. im surrounded by pregnant ladies at work and to top it off, everybody is asking me when i am having a baby. i want to scream. i have my appt with my gp on thurs to show him dh's results. i dont know what the next plan of action will be, i assume either hsg or clomid first. i am petrified that they will tell me i have blocked tubes. i know its better to know now than later but the idea of facing something like that scares the hell out of me. the only other things i see being an issue is maybe i have hostile mucus or maybe my progesterone is a bit low (12 day luteal phase but spot on 12dpo. 21 day prog test also indicated a level of 26nmol/l, which is less than the preferred 30, though i think over 10 suggests ovulation). its so hard to explain but i just feel exhausted. im so sorry for the negativity but i kinda dont have anybody to spk to about this right now.

x

 

[Clanger]

Hey ladies,


Quickie from me! Sophiebee sorry up hear about crazyass work schedule.Hope you get some r and r soon-hope you have at least been managing to have some chill time and a glass of wine in the evenings.

Leeze am on tenterhooks for you too.So excited to hear your news.Hope being overdue and massive and fragile is manageable for you, she'll be here so soon.

Mk8 so sorry to hear about how low you're feeling.Totally understandable given all you've had to take in.How are you and Mr Mk8 feeling now?All those scenarios you're thinking of...well stop letting your mind wander off down roads it don't gotta missy....AND as I know how hard it is too keep a wandering mind under control then even if the blocked tubes or low prog scenarios were to be the case (which is so unlikely) then both are very compatible with pregnancy.The tests sonar show that you and Mr Mk8 both have exactly what is needed to make a baby Mk8-good sperm and eggs.You've also been hugely proactive in getting this info early on.Totally appreciate how hard it must be surrounded by all those pregnancies though, am thinking of you.Re the jizz test results....am completely ignorant about this and could be reading things wrong but wonder if it's worth getting the lower limits for motility from your doc?Just because being majorly ignorant about this I tried to find them
Online but found it hardto make sense of the info...most places suggest 40% motility (so 60% non motile).Wonder whether if Mr Mk8 is on te lower end of results innterms of motility that could be worth knowing.Know Leeze said Mr Leeze ha some results at the lower end of normal and think perhaps (could be wrong here Leeze so shout me down!) se thought this could have contributed to the length of time it took them
To conceive and that she thinks that spacing out the sex, taking vits and lifestyle changes may have helped them.

Essentially Mk8 there are no real problems identified here and the stats suggest your bfp is just around the corner.But I know how hard that is to believe and am really glad you have your docs app and things are progressing for you there.Make see you have some distraction time planned to...away from sperm research and hormone levels and google.Thinking of you.

As for me...terrified and excited, can't believe I am here about to go on maternity leave.On the cusp of something amazing and feel overwhelmed by it all.

 

[Clanger]

P.s.
Starilicious-hope you're feeling lots better and have a fully functioning voice now!

 

[starrilicious]

Hi Guys!

I'm feeling lots better better today the antibiotics have started to kick in and starting to feel more normal, yay!

Leeze - I'm glad your sweep went ok. I hope babies making it's way here soon! Will you be able to let us know when it's time??

Clanger - Hooray for maternity leave! Do you have anything fun planned besides sleeping?? lol. Actually maybe you should use that time for extra extra sleep, you'll probably need it.

MK - Awww hugs! Hopefully it will happen soon for you! Try not to worry about what could be before you find out what is, if anything, wrong. Don't worry about moaning to us, that's what we are here for! I agree with Clanger plenty of distraction projects are in order. Need to paint the bathroom? Start that now! You can paint miine if you like xD.

As for me, since I went for my dress fitting we've been trying to organise going to buy the dress fabric which will be tomorrow. I dunno if I mentioned but I am having my dress custom made by my sister who is a seamstress.

I started my own video log! The quality isn't that great dunno what happened to my webcam but will get a different one tomorrow soon but you can see them here: https://www.youtube.com/user/Starrilicious?feature=mhsn so please subscribe! I have no subscribers yet . I really like making the videos though, very theraputic. I kept saying that I would never fill a 15 minute video and I went to almost 30 mins in my first one!

I have another interview on Friday YAY! This one is customer support at a cheese company! Mmmm cheese. So wish me luck on Friday, I might need it.

Currently on CD48 but I am feeling a bit premenstrual so fingers crossed!

 

[Leeze]

Hi lovelies

No news from me as yet - so still holding on to Friday's induction date. Will definitely let you know as soon as I can but I've read inductions can take about 48 hours so it might be Sunday or Monday before I get a chance.

MK8 - Firstly, feel free to share whatever you need to with us - that's what we're here for. Rant if you need to, worry if you need to, scream etc etc. Get it all out, I say!!! It's totally natural to worry and to go to worst case scenario. Saying all that, I also very much agree with what Clanger and Star have said - it does sound like so far there's nothing to suggest anything is wrong - and I think you can drive yourself crazy with worrying and reading up on all the things that could be wrong. I know it's really hard with lots of pregnant people around you too, and people asking constantly when it's your turn - I had this a lot too - one of the hardest times for me was when I had my loss and told 2 of my close friends - both of them announced about 4-6 weeks later that they were 12 weeks pregnant and this was awful for me. I then set myself a goal that I would be pregnant again before their babies came (I know that sounds crazy in a way) - anyway, in the end one of them had her baby a bit early and I wasn't pregnant by then -- the other had her baby right on time and I got my BFP 2 days before she had her baby. It was still really hard seeing them go through their pregnancies, but now it's great to have 2 friends who can give me advice/hand-me-downs etc. I know it's easier for me to have a different perspective on things now, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that your time will come - and you'll probably look back at this time now with some sadness and have some compassion on yourself on what you went through - but you'll also be looking forward to exciting new times. Clanger is right too, in terms of my OH having low concentration - and we felt a big factor for us what about making lifestyle changes, taking vitamins, and DTD less often (and the HSG too though - I reckon). Would it be realistic for you to set yourself a target of when you want to be pregnant by, and put in place a few different plans of what you could try? This is what we did in the end - like I say I had this personal goal of wanting to be pregnant by the time my friends had their babies - but actually in January of this year I set myself a new target that I wanted to be pregnant by the end of this year because I didn't think it would happen by the February which was when their babies were due. Would it help you to set a target of wanting to be pregnant within the next 12 months (I know it seems like an age away but then you could have a few different things you could try and it might help take the pressure off a bit?). Anyway, I hope I haven't ranted on and that this has been helpful.

Soph - sorry to hear work is mega stressy - hoping this is helping to take your mind off things a bit and not stressing you out during your playtime

Star - CD48? Wow. I'd be climbing the walls with impatience and screaming and shouting. You must be one patient lady. Hoping your next cycle starts soon, hon and that things settle down for you in terms of how long they are. Good luck with the interview

Clanger - hooray for maternity leave!! have you got anything planned or are you going to be using the time to relax? I found I was pretty busy the first couple of weeks but have been able to slow down since then.

Hugs to all

 

[Leeze]

oooh - my waters have broken during the night!!! - have been to the hospital to get checked out. all looks ok so far, have been sent home to wait for contractions. if contractions don't start tomorrow then it's back for the induction on Friday. Wish me luck!!!! xx

 

[Clanger]

Lots of luck l

 

[Clanger]

Lots of luck lovely!How exciting, she's on her way to meet you!Thinking of you.xxx.

 

[SophieBee]

Oh wow! Exciting news Leeze! Best of luck sweetie and check back when you can.

Big hugs!

I've got my first nurse consult today - will update later x

 

[starrilicious]

Leeze- So exciting! Hope all goes well hun xxx!!

Did I say CD 48 I meant 58 because today is 59. I am about to start a new chart on FF cos its off the page... I'm used to it by now though, I once went a whole year!

 

[mk8]

OH LEEZE! YES! Little Leeze is about to be born. Best of luck hun and hope everything goes well. Will be thinking of you. Gosh, this is so exciting. Only feels like yesterday when you told us you got your BFP! Woo hoo!

Thank you for your kind words also ladies. Definitely made me feel heaps better. I have my appointment with my doctor today to discuss DH's SA and what he will do next. When I last saw him (Aug), he told me to go back at the end of the year (going earlier as now have SA's results). I asked what he would do then and he mentioned he could put me on medication to help me ovulate. I asked him what's the point when I appear to ovulate (according to day 21 bloods). He said it would make me ovulate more/stronger eggs and thus increase our chances. He didnt mention HSG at all then so I wonder what he will suggest today. Will keep you all posted.

Star - its lovely that you are having your dress made. Means so much more than just buying it from a shop. You will look lovely I am sure.

Loving your youtube log. Will be subscribing to you for sure later today! All your talk of cakes is making me hungry! Haha.

What else are you doing for your wedding? Are you having a civil service or a church one?

Really interesting to hear about PCOS in your vlog. When I had pelvic pain, my doctor sent me for a blood test and an internal u/s to test for various things. He said one of them was to test PCOS. I had elevated Free Androgen Index (can indicate PCOS) but all other levels were OK. My testosterone was normal but was on the higher end of normal. No cysts on the scan so my doc did not diagnose PCOS. But I am not too sure having read up on it. My periods are regular (around 27 days in length), no cysts, do I would think not. But I have other symptoms- skin tags around my neck and under my boobs, high free androgen index, hair thinning. A few years ago I also had high blood sugar levels (so perhaps I do have some insulin resistance). That said, I appear to ovulate so I guess it should not make a difference if I do have PCOS right?

Sophie- I was wondering about you and where are you with IVF at the moment. Are you taking your meds right now? Cannot wait to hear your update on what the nurse says. I hope you are doing well and staying chilled. I also hope that work has eased up on your end.

Clanger- mat leave. WOO HOO. I bet you are having fun looking at all the cute baby stuff. Haha. Not long until you will be updating us on your water breaking etc.

 

[SophieBee]

Hello all!

I'm very excited to see that there is no further update from Leeze, which I am taking as a good sign that she is very busy doing much more important things!!

I have missed heaps and heaps of updates, but I promise I have read them all.

Star - so glad you are feeling a bit better and EXCITING about the interview tomorrow. Will be sending all manner of positive vibes in your general direction! Mmmmm cheese indeed! I haven't had a chance to check out your vlog yet, but I definitely will.

mk8 - hope the doc appointment went OK today - do let us know what he said. I never had an HSG (interestingly they don't generally bother with those at my clinic) so I don't know much about them. I know Leeze paid privately for hers though, so it might be worth investigating that if you think it is worth a shot. We went straight from SA onto IVF referral because of me being all over-the-hill and well and truly past it at 35 (well, I was then - now I'm EVEN OLDER! ) Anyway - hope you got a bit of action and that things start moving for you soon.

clanger - so super jealous of mat leave I can't even begin to describe it! Mind you, I think at this stage I might just need a bit of a break - with or without the loveliness of a baby!

As for me, well I just wrote a massive update on today's nurse consult on my journal, but the abridged version is: injections are a piece of cake and the whole things is being delayed by about 2weeks, which means a planned embryo transfer (all going well) in mid to late January. Am ever so slightly massively excited now!

Have to take the pill for an extra 2 weeks, which I HATE
I am suffering from horrible teenage spots and have not actually properly stopped my period, which has been going since 31st Oct. MASSIVE SIGH!! Anyway, it will all be worth it in the end (please, please, please!)

Work is still stoopid busy and will be until at least Christmas, but at least that is not so far away now. It feels slightly less out of control this week, or maybe I've just got used to it

Hope everyone's well - will try not to leave it so long next time!

Soph xx

 

[mk8]

Hey Sophie

Good to hear that your appointment went well. I will check out the full update on your journal and respond properly there.

My appt with my GP went well. He looked through my hubby's SA and said the numbers look great. He prescribed me 3 months worth of Clomid. He didnt want to though, he wanted me to cont trying for another 6 months (in his mind, we will have been ttc for 2 years in 6 months time!) But he said he knows I am impatient so has given me the meds. It's a low dose and he told me to go back to him in 2-3 months time. There are potential side effects (bloating, vomiting) and I am to ring him if I suffer from this. Interestingly, he said he will only do an HSG when we have been TTC for TWO YEARS because it is very invasive. He said the likelihood of me having blocked tubes is v v rare because I have never had an infection. I did ask whether it is poss to have had an infection and not know it - he said that is v rare. Hmmm. Not from what I have read! I do wonder why he would prescribe me meds before checking my tubes, I am guessing it is due to NHS cuts and I am feeling rather livid about it. He also said that my borough will not fund ANY IVF treatment! I was shocked to hear that and told him I know people who are going through/have recently gone through NHS funded IVF. But anyway, one step at a time. I am happy to take the clomid for now and wait 6 months until I get an HSG. Hopefully I won't need it. Hopefully I wont need to start clomid and I get my BFP this cycle! I am trying to be positive about this. The doc told me to not clock watch and not time BD. DH and I will have regular BD throughout the month but I am interested to know what will happen to my cycles whilst I am on clomid so I will temp and OPK. I find I am most anxious because I google and research like nuts on the topic of TTC so I need to really lay off that now. (After I do a quick research on Clomid that is! haha).

Leeze- I am hoping that you are holding little Leeze right now

Hello Star and Clanger!

xx