Queer TTC February 2009 - Page 2

[katharinerose]

Papa: Please move me to Waiting to Know!

Got my pos OPK this afternoon, insemmed this afternoon, and will do it again tomorrow morning before we got to work. We're way giddy here!

[FtMPapa]

Originally Posted by lemurmommies

I'm not sure whether I'm more worried about it not working or about it working. The joys of TTCing after a loss.

Well, I say, GOOD LUCK! That sounds like such a difficult place to be in.

Ok, hurry up and join me in the 2ww, everyone.

Especially good luck to Kat! And I agree - if you're using NECC for KD sperm, annoying as they are, the issues are different. (The rumours I heard really bothered me - like reselling donor sperm? Bizarre.)

Carmen - YES! Waiting to O is more stressful (when I'm doing the timing with OPKs myself, or even fending off doctors waiving trigger shots and Clomid at me) because there's the chance I can miss it, do it wrong, have something go haywire, etc.

When I'm waiting to test, there's none of that BUT WHAT IF I MISS IT??? fear - though on some level I believe gettting a positive test ASAP is important, like if I test earlier and get the BFP earlier, it will mean something, even though, after two years of this, and two ambiguously positive maybes so long ago, I oughta know better.

Is it just me, or is everyone heading into the wait now using a KD?

As for me, thank you everyone on your congratulations for Oing! It was a big deal, because I think I Oed on CD 24, which is rather late to O and have a viable egg (if conventional medical wisdom is to be believed, which I don't in this case).

I'm a little confused now, becuase today I had EWCM again! It was slightly different from my usual EWCM, there was a fair bit of it, but it was more white and wet and mine is usually more clear.

Yesterday, I had a tiny little bit of weird cramps, which may well have been just gas.

I am really hoping I didn't just O yesterday - because I turned down sperm on Saturday for lack of CM and a positive OPK that pointed to Oing on Wednesday, more likely Thursday, so I made the last sperm deposit Thursday.

My cervix is still sort of high, but that's never very reliable for me, because I'm really tall, but it seems closed, but it's high enough I can't tell whether it's soft/firm.

Any insight anyone???



I've been off super symptom watch the past couple of months, but I guess it's back to it now. I'm not completely obsessed just yet.

Due to my usual lack of CM, I am mostly convinced that my cervical crypts are damaged from being inactive for five years, I was reading something about damage that results from being on the pill - anyone know anything about correcting it? I wish I could go to fresh IUIs, but I need to find a midwife who knows how to wash sperm around here.

Any tips on DIY sperm washing?

[FtMPapa]

Originally Posted by katharinerose

Got my pos OPK this afternoon, insemmed this afternoon, and will do it again tomorrow morning before we got to work. We're way giddy here!

You got it, Kat! YAY!!! Good luck! ::

A suggestion, though, about your timing - if you just got a first positive OPK this afternoon, and you're testing OPKs multiple times a day, because you're using frozen sperm, you probably want to insem later than immediately after the first positive OPK.

What you want is to time that insem as close as possible to Oing - so probably tomorrow night rather than tomorrow morning.

If I had multiple vials of frozen, I would insem every 12 hours, doing 3-4 insems after the OPK, starting twelve hours later.

If you're using fresh sperm, the magic days are the day of the first + OPK and the day after - but frozen has a much shorter life span, so don't listen to the directions with the OPKs, they assume you're using fresh from the tap!

[megincl]

Originally Posted by FtMPapa

Any tips on DIY sperm washing?

I think you need a rather expensive machine. There's a midwife on here who can usually recommend if there are folks in your area who do the at-home wash and insem. I think it's defenestrator. Not certain. But I'd pm her to ask. She's who frog used.

good luck! We would do that were we not counting medically assisted IUIs in case we need to go to IVF (that is something to keep in mind, although I'm not sure how you're thinking about your options).

One other thing is that our doc down here will do the washing and insems. He's not really legally supposed to. But he has ways of skirting that and rationalizing that. So if all else fails, we're not THAT far away, all things considered.

I'm thumb twiddling over here waiting for your wait to progress.

megin

[FtMPapa]

Thanks, Megin!

I hadn't thought about midwife assisted IUIs "not counting" toward IVF. Hmmm. I have this probably completely wrong idea that if I go to the clinic they'll push me right into IVF, because I don't respond well to Clomid, at least, I didn't in the past, and I'm leery about the possibility of higher order multiples, especially as a single parent, so I'm scared to try injectables.

Oddly, I'd be happier with IVF than injectables, because I could make the call to only implant one embryo. It's harder to make that call with injectables, even with Clomid, I thought I had two viable follicles, so I spermed, and then I found out between the two insems that I actually had four that ruptured. My doc and I had agreed that I wouldn't inseminate with more than two, maybe three follicles.

I think this is probably my last non-interventionist cycle, if this isn't it, I'm going to get crackin' with something, semen analysis for sure.

[smartycat]

Originally Posted by FtMPapa

You got it, Kat! YAY!!! Good luck! ::

A suggestion, though, about your timing - if you just got a first positive OPK this afternoon, and you're testing OPKs multiple times a day, because you're using frozen sperm, you probably want to insem later than immediately after the first positive OPK.

What you want is to time that insem as close as possible to Oing - so probably tomorrow night rather than tomorrow morning.

If I had multiple vials of frozen, I would insem every 12 hours, doing 3-4 insems after the OPK, starting twelve hours later.

If you're using fresh sperm, the magic days are the day of the first + OPK and the day after - but frozen has a much shorter life span, so don't listen to the directions with the OPKs, they assume you're using fresh from the tap!

Kat, I agree with Papa. Everyone is different, but the general rule of thumb is that you ovulate 36hrs post +OPK, especially if you are testing multiple times a day so you are sure you have the surge pinpointed. We did 12 and 36hrs post +OPK our first two tries and felt that we were too early even with the 12hr post insem. On our BFP cycle, we did 24 and 36hrs post +OPK. And by looking at your chart from last month, I would say if you got the +OPK in the afternoon of CD19 and then ovulated on CD 21 (most ovulation occurs in the a.m. per our wonderful midwife)... then that was 36hrs post +OPK.

Bleh, I hope you don't think I am being a butt-in-ski, but thought I would offer my opinion. I hope you show us what we know and get your BFP! :

[lexbeach]

Originally Posted by FtMPapa

As for me, thank you everyone on your congratulations for Oing! It was a big deal, because I think I Oed on CD 24, which is rather late to O and have a viable egg (if conventional medical wisdom is to be believed, which I don't in this case).

Glad you O'd Papa! And a reminder that our newest little one (who we're half-way to meeting! was a cd25 egg. Hoping you get the same "old egg" luck!

Good luck to everyone in the 2ww! Autumnal Equinox babies for all!



Lex

[jodybird511]

Hey Kat,

Although I'm sure that Papa and Smartycat are generally right on the money about timing issues, I will venture to say that I used frozen sperm and the two out of four tries that I actually got pregnant were when I went in for the insem on the same day as the positive OPK. This last time, I didn't have positive OPK until noon the day of the insem and had my appt only 2 1/2 hrs later. Same day sperming definitely has worked for me!

[carmen358]

CD17 for me and no ewcm. Negative last 2 days on opk. :

I truly think I'm having performance anxiety. Sheesh.

[katharinerose]

Well, we went with this morning - we'll see if my temp goes up tomorrow or not. I of course didn't get your timing tips till later today, as my internet at home went down last night and I can't get the cable modem to work right. :

But my ovary went from twinge-y to dull ache to nothing now (expect for a slight tingling I'm probably imagining), and I don't seem to have EWCM anymore, so I think the timing may have been good. The other cycle I did OPKs for, back in June, I actually o'd the same day as the OPK!

Oh, and my co-worker has had baby dreams the past two nights that she thinks are for me. I'll take any baby juju I can get!

If it doesn't work this time, we'll definitely look at going a little later.

[carmen358]

Originally Posted by katharinerose

Well, we went with this morning - we'll see if my temp goes up tomorrow or not. I of course didn't get your timing tips till later today, as my internet at home went down last night and I can't get the cable modem to work right. :

But my ovary went from twinge-y to dull ache to nothing now (expect for a slight tingling I'm probably imagining), and I don't seem to have EWCM anymore, so I think the timing may have been good. The other cycle I did OPKs for, back in June, I actually o'd the same day as the OPK!

Oh, and my co-worker has had baby dreams the past two nights that she thinks are for me. I'll take any baby juju I can get!

If it doesn't work this time, we'll definitely look at going a little later.

Good luck, Katherine!! I hope your timing was impeccable.

[katharinerose]

Thanks Carmen! I hope your body gets it act together soon!

[FtMPapa]

Originally Posted by katharinerose

But my ovary went from twinge-y to dull ache to nothing now (expect for a slight tingling I'm probably imagining), and I don't seem to have EWCM anymore, so I think the timing may have been good. The other cycle I did OPKs for, back in June, I actually o'd the same day as the OPK!

Woah! Those are all EXCELLENT signs. It's variable for everyone.

Remember that - your body, no matter what we tell you.

I say it's a good sign your 'net was on the fritz!


I'm back to not thinking I Oed.

I have very thin EWCM, stretchy, not much of it, pretty thin in spite of me being dehydrated (crazy day) very shiny, and very wet, and very clear - sleek, almost silver even.

My usual EWCM is stretchy, scant, tending toward thick and goopy, with a mix of white and clear. I get a day and a half, maybe two days of true EWCM, but I've had two full days of this stuff, albeit intermittently, though my EWCM is usually intermittent, too.

Any insight? This cycle CM has been weird, maybe because of travel, maybe the maca and other supplements.

I've also had weird gas/crampiness, not like O.

I'm 5 DP-what-I-think-was-O - is this possibly a pregnancy symptom? Dare I get my hopes up???

[FtMPapa]

Originally Posted by carmen358

CD17 for me and no ewcm. Negative last 2 days on opk. :

I truly think I'm having performance anxiety. Sheesh.

Been There, Done That, got the T-shirt. C'mon, ovaries, do your thing!

[lemurmommies]

Originally Posted by FtMPapa

I'm back to not thinking I Oed.

I have very thin EWCM, stretchy, not much of it, pretty thin in spite of me being dehydrated (crazy day) very shiny, and very wet, and very clear - sleek, almost silver even.

My usual EWCM is stretchy, scant, tending toward thick and goopy, with a mix of white and clear. I get a day and a half, maybe two days of true EWCM, but I've had two full days of this stuff, albeit intermittently, though my EWCM is usually intermittent, too.

Any insight? This cycle CM has been weird, maybe because of travel, maybe the maca and other supplements.

I've also had weird gas/crampiness, not like O.

I'm 5 DP-what-I-think-was-O - is this possibly a pregnancy symptom? Dare I get my hopes up???

Hmmm... I really don't know. It's funny... I don't use OPKs at all. For the two cycles we tried (and got pregnant), we inseminated based on cycle days only, since my cycles are so so regular.

The cycle that I got pregnant with E, I had a lot of EWCM and had a hunch right away that I was pregnant. And I was. The cycle that I got pregnant with Noelle, I had little to no EWCM at all. I was feeling pretty sure that I wasn't pregnant, but then it turned out that I was. It has taught me that really I'll have no idea until I pee on that stick and get a +, or AF arrives.

to you though!

I admit to crying when I read the Queer & Pregnant thread yesterday and saw that s&d had their daughter. Our babies were only supposed to be 2.5 months apart. It felt really tough.

[pookafaye]

Lemur & Papa - big big hugs to you both

I'm very excited at the moment because I officially ordered the sperm shipment just now. : It should arrive at the Dr's office by Fri.

I was having a mini freakout this morning that I would O days early and I had no idea if things would ship on time and my Dr's office still hadn't faxed the forms bank to the cryobank. I'm feeling much better now because there was no surge today and not even my pre-surge that I saw last month - it was a very clear negative. I now feel secure that I will not O before the sperm arrives - lol

: for everyone! :

[FtMPapa]

Lemurmommies

It's going to be hard. I read something somewhere by a woman who lost her baby, the baby she planned to be her last baby. She soon decided to conceive again, and she called the new baby-in-the-belly her first baby's gift, because she wouldn't have been able to get pregnant again if she was still pregnant with the baby she lost, and she wouldn't have had another, that baby would have been her last.

This baby will be Noelle's gift in that same way for you, if it brings any comfort to your family to think of it in those terms.

[carmen358]

Originally Posted by FtMPapa

Woah! Those are all EXCELLENT signs. It's variable for everyone.

Remember that - your body, no matter what we tell you.

I say it's a good sign your 'net was on the fritz!


I'm back to not thinking I Oed.

I have very thin EWCM, stretchy, not much of it, pretty thin in spite of me being dehydrated (crazy day) very shiny, and very wet, and very clear - sleek, almost silver even.

My usual EWCM is stretchy, scant, tending toward thick and goopy, with a mix of white and clear. I get a day and a half, maybe two days of true EWCM, but I've had two full days of this stuff, albeit intermittently, though my EWCM is usually intermittent, too.

Any insight? This cycle CM has been weird, maybe because of travel, maybe the maca and other supplements.

I've also had weird gas/crampiness, not like O.

I'm 5 DP-what-I-think-was-O - is this possibly a pregnancy symptom? Dare I get my hopes up???

I think gas/crampiness can be a pregnancy symptom. But not having it can be too. I'm not much help, I'm sorry.

You don't temp do you?

[carmen358]

Originally Posted by lemurmommies

I admit to crying when I read the Queer & Pregnant thread yesterday and saw that s&d had their daughter. Our babies were only supposed to be 2.5 months apart. It felt really tough.

It is tough And it sucks. I'm sorry

[FtMPapa]

Originally Posted by carmen358

I think gas/crampiness can be a pregnancy symptom. But not having it can be too. I'm not much help, I'm sorry.

You don't temp do you?

No, I don't temp. I keep saying "Next month, if it doesn't work this month, I'll start temping." I've been saying that I'll temp "next month" for almost five years. I temped one month, it worked. I felt like it was a very nice chart, no need to do that again.

Is it just me, or is EVERYTHING a pregnancy symptom?

I did everything right this month, though - I took EPO and B complex, D3, prenatal vitamin supplements, folic acid, ume plum balls, and vitex, I'm taking baby Aspirin through the 2ww, I'm working on my pineapple. I'm taking maca. I've been eating well.

I got two rounds of sperm 48 hours apart, with ovulation right in there somewhere - if I ovulated when I think I did. And besides, this is my fifth cycle this go 'round, and my eighth cycle since the spring of '07.