Filed under: Baby, Ovulation, Pregnancy Symptoms, Trying to Conceive | Tags: BBT, BFP, CM, OPK
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I POAS this morning and saw my first BFP. I’m still shaking a little bit. I didn’t take my BBT or really use OPK this month. I just watched my CM. DH was also more relaxed than usual. We took a nice vacation with our dogs. I didn’t feel pregnant at all. My BB had stopped hurting. Last weekend I cried because I didn’t think I was pregnant, and I was so upset that DH didn’t want to do a SA. This weekend I kept feeling a pull in my lower abdomen when I stood up quickly. Which was odd. This morning I woke up and my BB hurt again. I’m about 12 dpo, so I POAS to encourage AF to start. A BFN is usually a good way to get the next cycle started. Instead I found two bright pink lines. I didn’t really expect that! I’m pregnant! I keep checking the stick, and there are still two lines!
DH is out of town, so I haven’t been able to tell him. SHHHH! I want to think of a great way to tell him, but I’m sure I’m just going to blurt it out when he calls to check in.
I’m not sure why, but I noticed fertile CM earlier this cycle. Since I’m spending so much money on acupuncture, I’m going to attribute the change to the needles. It could be the phase of the moon, or that I’m slowly getting regulated after 5 years with an IUD. I may never know why for sure, but I think I’m going to ovulate earlier this month. I’m not taking my BBT or using the OPK. I was just using CM observations this month. I usually don’t notice fertile CM until CD12 or so, but this cycle I noticed it on CD9. The exciting part is that we had planned a vacation for some BD last week. I had thought I would ovulate then when we planned the trip, but as my cycles went on my ovulation date and LP changed, which threw off when I thought I would ovulate in January. Grrr… I didn’t anticipate ovulating until the week after our trip. But, I started to get fertile CM right before and throughout our trip. Hurray! Needless to say, I was excited. This wasn’t the high point of the trip for DH, but it certainly was for me. I’m hoping that this is our month- as I hope it is every month. I feel relaxed, and not charting so much has made me feel less stressed. We’ve been able to BD every morning since I notice fertile CM. I got my fertility spell completed, so I hope that will help the cause! I got my fertility monitor all set up and ready to go, so I have something to look forward to next cycle if it doesn’t work out for us. Now I just have to wait… FX and Baby Dust that this is our month!!!!
I decided that I am not going to do anything this month. No BBT. No OPK. I am going to chart my CM. It’s hard not to notice that when you use the bathroom. I’m just going to relax and enjoy January. DH’s schedule is great this month. We’ll be able to BD every other night for the next week or two, so I don’t need to know exactly when I ovulate this month. Hopefully, we’ll have our BFP, but if not, I got a Fertility Monitor. It’s an interesting little device. We’ll see how it works. I got it used off ebay for $60. It’s typically over $100, so I’m glad that I got a deal. I’m bidding on the test sticks you need to use with it. You have to start using it by CD 5, but I didn’t get it until after that because of Christmas. I’ll start using it next cycle, which will be something to look forward to if I get another BFN!
I’m hoping I will like the fertility monitor better than the OPK. I think it won’t make me feel as crazy! With the OPK, it was stressful to constantly get negatives. It was also hard to hold my urine and try to pee at the same time every day. You use FMU with the monitor. I’ve read that the monitor gives low, high, and peak results. My CM is pretty accurate, so it’ll be a good cross reference.
I got a BFN this morning. Yuck! I just started spotting. Double Yuck! Welcome to Cycle #5. I’m almost at six months TTC. That makes me frustrated… and scared. For some reason, I really wanted to be pregnant for Christmas. I know there is always next Christmas. I’m only 29- there’s no rush… Blah, Blah, Blah. I just had all sorts of Christmas daydreams.
DH and I had this baby plan that we put together a few years ago. We tentatively mapped out when we wanted to have kids. I thought it was so great at the time, but now it’s making me sad- next month is the last month I had listed as a “baby making month.” I truly had no idea how long it would take TTC. It only took my sister 3 months, so I just went with that. I thought we’d be pregnant by now since we got a head start on our “schedule.” Ha Ha Ha. We weren’t able to really TTC last month- we only BD once because of DH’s schedule. So, I’m crossing my fingers that the stars align this month for us, and we get our BFP.
But, on the positive side, I ovulated earlier- CD 17, and my LP is longer- 12 or 13 dpo. So, acupuncture and Vit B6 is working for me. I think my cycles are starting to level out. I’ve read in a few places that it can take up to a year for some women to get back on track after an IUD. I am going to let my FF subscription run out. I think it will be healthier for me to obsess less about it. I’m not going to take my temperature or use the OPK. I’m going to chart my CM, and we’ll be able to BD this cycle every other day starting when I find fertile CM. I am going to stay away from sugar. I’ve read in a few places that it’s not the best for you when TTC. I don’t remember why, but it’s sugar- you’re not really suppose to eat it anyway. So that will be on my list of resolutions for 2009. I really love my yoga DVD, so I’m going to do that and a strength training routine a few days a week.
I can’t believe 2008 is almost over. The time has flown since we started TTC in August. It might snow tonight, so maybe I’ll play some Christmas music while I wrap gifts. Tomorrow will be CD 1, so I’ll have to do some nice things for myself.
Happy Holidays… and Have a Happy New Year!
I had a leftover generic OPK from last cycle. I wanted to use it first, and then bust out the fancy brand name OPK. I started testing on Friday, and I decided to use FMU because a few ladies on FF posted that their RE recommended it for OPK. I usually test at 4 pm after peeing and limiting liquids after 2 pm. I was assuming it would be negative because I always thought you weren’t suppose to use FMU. Wouldn’t you know that I got a positive result. I thought it would be positive at 4 pm because I felt some cramping. I was excited because I felt it on the left side, and I haven’t felt anything on that side since my IUD was removed. It was negative at 4 pm that day, and I haven’t had a positive since. Hmm… I had fertile CM on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday. I only started testing on Friday, but my temp hasn’t dropped- just gone up. It’s not as high as it usually is after I ovulate. So maybe I ovulated, or maybe I’m about to ovulate… I feel some cramping now. I wish things were more clear-cut.
It wouldn’t normally matter, but we were only able to BD on Saturday because of DH’s schedule. If the positive OPK on Friday was accurate, then we at least had one BD attempt during ovulation. If not, then we missed our opportunity this month. Grrr…. DH is super busy this week and wanted to not actively TTC this month. As if that is possible now! It’s like we opened Pandora’s box. There is no going back! I understand his side, but I was totally crushed. This is Cycle 4, and I feel we are going to be at Cycle 6 before I know it. Ugh! But, I tried my best to limit baby talk. I only slipped up around Thanksgiving because of my Dr. appointment. Oops… I don’t think I’ve mentioned it to him in almost two weeks, but I’m pretty sure he was aware of why I was seducing him on Saturday.
I’ve also decided to not have further testing done until my yearly gyno visit in February. I’m going to not temp or do OPK in January. I can tell when I’m fertile by my CM. I’m hoping that will make me feel more relaxed. I’m going to go to a different practice and see how they approach my concerns. I don’t feel comfortable with how my current practice handled my concerns.
But, I’m still wondering if that positive OPK on Friday was accurate…
I think I liked it better when I wasn’t so involved with my body.
Today I am on CD 12, and we are going to start BD tonight. Last cycle I ovulated on CD 19, so I figured starting on CD 12 would be good. I’ve been checking my CM, and I’ve tried to check my cervix. I’m not so good at checking that. It’s hard to reach, and not that pretty of a position. I haven’t really noticed any fertile CM, but it’s a little early.
I was checking my CM today, and I noticed some light brown CM, which immediately freaked me out. I learned from the internet that some women will bleed a tiny bit at ovulation time. I have never noticed this before. It’s been awhile because of the IUD, but this hasn’t happened for the past three cycles. I have a little bit of cramping. I am worried that something is wrong- as always. It’s too early to ovulate, but maybe my body is getting ready a little early because of the Vitamin B6. It would be great if that was the case. I would love to have a longer LP.
I can see why it typically takes 3 months or longer to get pregnant. It’s takes that long just to figure everything out and to see a pattern.
I hope I didn’t scratch myself while checking my cervix. I’d feel like such a dope if that’s why I’m spotting.
I’ve read some of the book “Taking Charge of Your Fertility.” It was a toss up whether to buy it or get it from the library. In the end I bought it. I figured it would be a good reference, and it would help me follow my rule of not getting my information from the internet. Not that the internet isn’t a good resource (it is- I’ve learned so much already)- I just spend too much time doing it, which usually leads to chat rooms discussions that stress me out.
It’s an interesting and informative book. I knew a lot of the information already, which helped my confidence that I am TTC correctly. I also like the fact that they stress not waiting a year if you have timed your BD during your fertile period. I plan on keeping as much data as possible, so that I can talk with my doctor about this at my yearly exam if I am not pregnant by then. It is easier to think of 6 months instead of 12 months of BFN.
This may be odd, but I loved the fact that the book included real pictures of CM. Sometimes I’m not sure what kind of CM I’m looking at. I’ve been able to turn to those pictures to get a good idea of what is fertile CM. I’m glad that I ended up buying the book just to have these pictures.
I never thought I would want to have pictures of CM in my house. It’s interesting how TTC changes things.
This morning I woke up with a dip in my temperature! My CM is changing as well. I’m hoping that means ovulation is starting soon. I’m well aware of the fact that I don’t totally have the hang of temperature charting, so I don’t want to get too excited. I’m not really sure I’m doing the OPK correctly either. It still show a light line, so no ovulation yet. But, I’m worried that I am drinking too much water and diluting my urine a bit… According to the wide variety of ovulation calendars I’ve searched over the past week, I should ovulate this weekend. The waiting is terrible! My plan is to go to the bookstore today for non-baby reading materials to get baby off the mind for the upcoming TWW. I need a project!
My husband and I celebrated trying to create a family last night by going out on a real “date”- complete with make-up, heels, and a dress. It was fun to get all dressed up and to have a romantic night out. So far baby-making has been fun- a new experience for us as a couple. But I can feel the tension underneath it all. I can imagine that as the months wore on, the “fun” could easily be replaced by different emotions…
But, for right now, I am excited by my BBT dip.
I’m ready to ovulate. I feel like it’s taking forever, but I should have an egg some time this weekend! I’m using the OPK and taking my temperature (BBT). It’s a little frustrating so far because I haven’t ovulated yet, so there isn’t anything exciting to report on my charts. Nothing but a straight and faded lines. I’m hoping to see a big spike in temperature and a dark line soon. While I’m waiting I’ve been doing a bit of research.
The world of conceiving is filled with all of these terms I never knew before. TTC. OPK. BBT. Another term that I have learned recently is cervical mucus (CM). I had no idea that this term existed, and I really had no inkling how important it was for conceiving a child. I’ve often noticed the different changes, but I never thought much about it. Apparently, each change is significant for different reasons. There’s a lot of information about egg-white cervical mucus (EWCM) because this is what is needed to help sperm get to the egg. For some reason, a woman’s vagina is too acidic for sperm, so the EWCM protects it. Again, more information that I did not know before looking into how to conceive a child.
Other terms are baby dance (BD), big fat negative (BFN), big fat positive (BFP), days past ovulation (DPO), home pregnancy test (HPT), etc. I think it’s pretty cool that there’s this whole world about conceiving complete with it’s own language. I’m excited to learn about it and become part of it during my own journey to motherhood.
