What worked for you?

[Angel022605]

I'm currently on my 12th cycle trying and it has been a very heartbreaking journey. I just had endometriosis removed back in Oct. So very depressed. I started off tracking CM, CP, BBT and OPK. I stopped BBT for a while and haven't yet restarted it. I stopped it because I don't get up the same time every day(while I worked got up at 715 and days off got up about 10). I've heard it's critical that you get up at the same time every day regardless so the reading will be accurate. I'm thinking of either dropping OPK and just chart CM and CP and DTD every other day in the predicted fertile window OR adding back in BBT just because having both OPK and BBT is super beneficial to tracking. I'm just curious....what helped you? My sister got pregnant just by DTD every other day during her fertile days and didn't do any kind of any tracking such as bbt or opk or cm or CP. My friend got pregnant by tracking bbt opk cm and cp,and another friend got pregnant by just putting in a journal when her LMP started and stopped and never used an app or calendar....confusing.....I know either way helps....please tell me your story and what helped you.

 

[pansorie]

I was on clomid prior to both my second and current pregnancy. For my second pregnancy I did not track anything, and went just by the CM. Looking back I feel like I really lucked out with the timing.

This time around I had a menstruation app that has a feature of predicting your ovulation date. I used that as well as tracking CM. This was another lucked out thing. I did not ovulate when I thought (and when the app predicted); but my husband and I just happened to have sex the following Saturday and Sunday, which is when I suspect I did ovulate.

 

[UnderPressure]

I relied more on CM than anything else. This time hubby and I had also begun taking FertilAid the month we fell pregnant.

 

[brittany12]

I tried for almost 3 years before getting pregnant with DD so I know all of your emotions and I know the things you'll want to say when I tell you my advice.. but I literally gave up for the most part the month I got pregnant. I stopped everything, had sex when we felt like it which was always during my fertile time just because that's how my hormones and body works.. I did do an opk or two when I had a feeling it would be positive (and which it ended up being positive). But one other thing I remember doing that time and also this time was baths every night almost.. I had stopped doing them because of all the crap you read online about baths and being pregnant or getting pregnant. But they are super relaxing for me and I just said screw it! Took one almost everyday and literally let myself and my body relax..

Good luck! It will happen and I know the struggle and emotional toll it takes, but try doing something to help your mind and body relax- for me it was long baths

 

[Rousseau31]

The cycle we conceived, we were actually going to step back and take a much more relaxed approach. Then a pregnant friend gave me a box of her unused OPKs!

But I was honestly over the OPK testing and checking cm and cp. So we just dtd when we wanted to. I tracked AF on an app, but paid no attention to the fertile window. In fact, that cycle, I logged no data. So I'm not even sure what day I ovulated or how many dpo I got my BFP!

 

[misspriss]

First pregnancy, used OPKs but did not catch the surge. DTD every other day using SMEP (based on calendar), and used softcups. Not sure I actually was doing that when I conceived as I ovulated late though.

Second pregnancy, surprise, lost early.

Second child/Third pregnancy - SMEP and softcups. Started SMEP based on calendar. Used CM to pinpoint ovulation.

Fourth pregnancy - tracked CM, DTD once on peak mucus day.

 

[Angel022605]

I relied more on CM than anything else. This time hubby and I had also begun taking FertilAid the month we fell pregnant.

How does fertile aid help/what does fertile aid do?

 

[stellababy]

I learned that timing is everything. When we were TTC, I tracked ovulation with OPKs and also paid attention to CM.

We also had amazing success with Preseed.

 

[UnderPressure]

I relied more on CM than anything else. This time hubby and I had also begun taking FertilAid the month we fell pregnant.

How does fertile aid help/what does fertile aid do?

It's basically an OTC supplement that's supposed to boost your reproductive system. They have it for men and women. When we conceived our first child, it was after a year and a half of trying and stress and the "fertility Olympics" as one of my friends put it. I was diagnosed with PCOS, put on metformin, then femara, had an HSG, they took me off femara and were referring me to a reproductive endocrinologist... My husband also had issues with his sperm morphology and semen viscosity. I told my husband that I would consider IUI, but not IVF. During the whole process, I think that month is when I finally relaxed and let go. I decided that I would be happy to add to our family through foster care adoption of we couldn't make it happen... And then we found out we were pregnant days before our appointment with the RE and just weeks before we we to start the process of becoming foster parents....

This time, I really wanted to do everything we could to avoid having everyone and their brother looking in my vagina and judging my reproductive capacity. We tried for some time on our own, but figured the FertilAid might just give us a little boost and it seems to have worked. If you look it up, there's a decent amount of info on the company's website.

 

[Sommerfugl]

Our second child took 14 months to conceive. I tracked my periods, observed CM, did OPKs, then started temping. The cycle that we finally conceived I used egg whites, inserted after DTD. I was concerned that I didn't seem to have much fertile CM and read some encouraging stories. At that stage I would have tried anything.

But also, I think, for me, we needed to DTD before OPKs and CM pointed to being in my fertile window, as on that cycle, and my other two pregnancies, we DTD a few days before I would expect to be fertile. It could just be a coincidence, but my first and current pregnancies resulted from sex on CD14; it's rare I ovulate before CD16, often CD17 or 18.
My OH has a low sex drive so after trying for several months, sex became a bit of a chore so we saved it for when I thought our chances were higher. I think this may have been our problem, not doing it enough early enough.
It doesn't sound like you have that problem though.

But yes, egg whites, another coincidence maybe or just luck.

I hope you get your BFP soon, TTC can be such a miserable time

 

[xdxxtx]

I didn't vote in the poll, but it took me 18 months to conceive my first baby. I know how devastating it is. I learned a lot along the way. First off, have you considered going on the (mini) birth control pill for a month to reset hormones? That's what eventually worked for me. I conceived 3 months later. I had also lost a good chunk of weight (60 lbs. I was still overweight.) My OH's cousin and his wife had been TTC for well over a year (she has endometriosis) and went on the pill for one month and conceived a month after going off (miscarried due to genetic abnormalities, then conceived a successful pregnancy directly after).

Trying a more natural route, I conceived two of my kids during a Whole30. Google that. It's a strict eating plan, but you get super healthy, super quickly. I conceived one while eating a Paleo diet, which is similar but I was allowed to have natural sweeteners and Paleo desserts.

My second-born (the only one I hadn't mentioned) was conceived by piggybacking off of the pregnancy hormones of my second-born because I was unable to nurse him and started ovulating again right away. Not recommended and higher risk, but if you want two kids, it's a possibility if you don't plan on nursing.

Edit: I use Ovia to track my periods just so I know when to expect my next cycle, not for TTC.

 

[Bonnie11]

I honestly think the more stressed you are about charting etc the less likely it is to happen. We were ttc for such a long time and charting everything I could. At my last appt my doc told me to stop everything and relax... we went on holiday a month later and I decided to have a month off charting etc,just used pre seed and bam bfp. The only thing I did second time around was pre seed which i really recommend x

 

[mara16jade]

Since it's been 12+ cycles, I'd talk to your doctor. It could be nothing but bad luck, it could be something simple, or it could be something you'll need help with.

With my first, I tracked my cycle, tracked my temperature and used OPKs. We got pregnant on the 2nd try. Amazing. With my current pregnancy, it took over a year, one miscarriage, failed clomid cycles and finally success on one IVF cycle. I will forever wonder what the hell happened, and why it was so much more difficult this time. But for now I'm pregnant, and couldn't be happier. It was a long road, but it worked out. I wish I had asked for help sooner though.

You can also start supplements. For sperm and egg quality to improve, you need 3 months minimum. Most fertility clinics always suggest CoQ10, and of course a prenatal vitamin. But you can take it a step further and look into other supplements. Also acupuncture and yoga have actually been found to have really positive effects. Keep going, don't give up. You'll get there. I know it's so hard.

 

[pansorie]

Since it's been 12+ cycles, I'd talk to your doctor. It could be nothing but bad luck, it could be something simple, or it could be something you'll need help with.

With my first, I tracked my cycle, tracked my temperature and used OPKs. We got pregnant on the 2nd try. Amazing. With my current pregnancy, it took over a year, one miscarriage, failed clomid cycles and finally success on one IVF cycle. I will forever wonder what the hell happened, and why it was so much more difficult this time. But for now I'm pregnant, and couldn't be happier. It was a long road, but it worked out. I wish I had asked for help sooner though.

You can also start supplements. For sperm and egg quality to improve, you need 3 months minimum. Most fertility clinics always suggest CoQ10, and of course a prenatal vitamin. But you can take it a step further and look into other supplements. Also acupuncture and yoga have actually been found to have really positive effects. Keep going, don't give up. You'll get there. I know it's so hard.

Same with me. With my first I got pregnant in the blink of an eye. Fourteen years later (at 35 years old) with my second it was not happening. I was pretty impatient, and I think we were only actively trying for about 6 months before I went in and saw my doctor for what they called a "preconception interview".

They did bloodwork, and everything came back fabulous except my progesterone. I wasn't ovulating. When I next saw my doctor she said "We can run a battery of tests on you to see why you are not ovulating or I can put you on clomid and we can get you pregnant. What do you want to do?" Well, when she puts it that way you can guess what I chose!

I was fortunate, I guess all I needed was a kickstart. My body responded very well to the clomid and I was pregnant 3 months later. This time it took one round of clomid before I became pregnant.