Queer TTC January 2008! - Page 5

[KnittingTigers]

: Congrats Cookie! :

MMM- I think it's really hard to stay sane in this process. One thing that helped keep me calm was the statistic that most straight couples try for six months, and it's not until they've tried for a year that they're considered to have an infertility "problem." Three times is an emotionally exhausting thing. But, just because it's wearing you out emotionally doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with you or your body. This stuff just takes time. One thing that is worth thinking about though- have you done any semen analysis on your donor? There's an at-home test here called Fertell that tells whether a man's sperm count is in the normal range. If you haven't done this, it might be worth thinking about- if there's a problem on that end, you'd want to know about it sooner rather than later. I'm sorry that this process is taking a toll. By the time I got pregnant (six tries), I was convinced that I was infertile.

[Forthwith]

Hello all!

I've been lurking in this thread since September, and I thought I'd introduce myself. My name is Nora. My wife and I decided to TTC starting in June/July, but we've been talking about maybe starting sooner. I'll be the one getting pregnant, so right now I'm obsessing over BBT and cervical mucus, trying to figure out ferning, and torturing myself by looking at pictures of babies.

Congratulations to snoopy13 and cookie70!

[frog]

Welcome, Nora!

I'm obsessed already. I dreamed last night that I got pregnant before the swimmers arrived (because I'm magic, apparently) and the first person to congratulate me was Marie Osmond, who was an OB in this dream (I have nothing to do with OBs IRL) and congratulated me with a nice little make-out session (I don't find her attractive in the least IRL).

[megincl]

Originally Posted by frog

Welcome, Nora!

I'm obsessed already. I dreamed last night that I got pregnant before the swimmers arrived (because I'm magic, apparently) and the first person to congratulate me was Marie Osmond, who was an OB in this dream (I have nothing to do with OBs IRL) and congratulated me with a nice little make-out session (I don't find her attractive in the least IRL).

Oh my goodness, Frog. That is a hilarious dream! A great way to start my day -- good laughs.

I hope that actually getting preg with the non-dream tadpole will be as easy!

[BurtsGirl]

May I please be moved to Waiting to Know. We had our IUI this morning without the vagal response! Woot! 2WW here we go.

Congratulations to snoopy13 and cookie70!

[JenInMpls]

frog?!

Marie Osmund, eh? Hm. You could analyze that dream ENDLESSLY.

[simplelah]

Congrats cookie!!

And LOL frog. It's good to know that the TTC crazies haven't affected you yet...


PS: Still no period here. Seriously. Testing in the AM. All signs of AF or pregnancy are gone. What the heck?

[simplelah]

and... I think I got all of the changes... PM me if I missed you

[JenInMpls]

answers for Megin

OK, Megin, here's what my friend C. who's done all this had to say:

The Hcg shot gives an additional element of control to the timing of ovulation. Say you're getting close to ovulation. They check out your ovaries with an ultrasound and have a look at the follicles. There may be loads of follicles that are looking like they have potential, but they also may beat a retreat before they get big enough to release an egg. When one of the follicles is big enough (C. couldn't remember the size anymore), they give you the trigger shot to make sure that that follicle releases its egg.

C. always got her trigger shot in the afternoon and then came in for insems the next morning and the morning after (2 mornings in a row). She did her insems at the same clinic that I did mine and they only do insems at 8 AM.

She was unsure about the spinning down of the sperm / life span question. They were spinning down her husband's and doing IUI because he had a lower sperm count and her mucus was "borderline hostile". The ob figured it would give the sperm more of a fighting chance.

She did very strongly urge you to know what your limits are before you start doing any interventions, because she says it is a slippery slope. If you know now that you do NOT want to use drugs, ever, to try to release more eggs at ovulation, draw that line in the sand and stick with it. She said that OBs have many "tricks up their sleeves" and will bring them all out to try to get you pregnant. When you're trying to conceive you are at an emotionally weak point because you really want a baby, and when it sounds like someone can give you that, you might be willing to do things you don't actually want to. C. did Clomid for a few cycles at the near-insistence of her OB but then went off of it because she was so freaked out by the potential of multiples. (Well, that and it turned her into a weepy, paranoid, vertigo-plagued psycho. But it doesn't affect everyone that way.)

Thus spake my resident expert. Hope her words were helpful. xo jen

[JenInMpls]

Originally Posted by simplelah

PS: Still no period here. Seriously. Testing in the AM. All signs of AF or pregnancy are gone. What the heck?

implantation spotting?

:

[frog]

Had my first red raspberry leaf tea today. Not bad!

Meeting with our midwife this evening to talk strategy.

[Sugerson]

My midwife took away the easy prenatals - gave me liquid iron (Flouridix), folic acid pills and flax oil (which I have now switched to pill form of) and asked me to order the tea from Maia Midwifery in Walnut Creek CA. She is amazing and I am so glad to have the support. Enjoy your experience with your midwife!

Originally Posted by frog

Had my first red raspberry leaf tea today. Not bad!

Meeting with our midwife this evening to talk strategy.

[simplelah]

BFN.


Going to start actually temping on a daily basis and taking vitex. If we are on a break, we can at least use it to figure out my crazy ass cycle.

Jess is also starting to wonder if she may want to carry this or future pregnancies. Hmm...

[erthe_mama]

I'm going to be ttc with vitex as well... apparently my roomate bought me some...

[Twylightdove]

My midwife also recently put me on flouridix. Does anyone else have info on the fertility benefit of this? I'm already on some not so easy prenatals, vitex, DHA, and my own blend of fertility tea that she approved. I mix my tea with a little juice and sparkling water for taste.

[lemurmommies]

Reading everyone's TTC adventures is making me feel baby-crazy. I'm so, so hoping that our KD will be able to fly up next month so that we can try for #2. When we conceived Ez it worked on the first try; I'm trying really hard to convince myself that it won't work so quickly this time so that I don't get too hopeful.

When we were TTCing Ez, our KD was a student, so it seemed so easy to just tell him when we needed him here and *poof* here he was. Now he's a busy real estate lawyer, and I'm getting worried that he won't be available when we need him. Not to mention that we'd need him here on Valentine's Day if we want to try in February. I wonder what his partner will think if they end up here...

With all this info about prenatals and herbs and teas - do you ladies use commercially available teas and herbal supplements? I was looking at red raspberry leaf tea today, but I don't know if the stuff I can find in a regular health food store is what you are referring to. Can you point me in the right direction?

[JenInMpls]

I make my own tea from the herbs. 1 handful red raspberry leaves, 1 handful nettle leaves, 1 handful red clover blossoms. Pour 1 liter boiling water over, cover and let steep overnight. The herbs are usually readily available with bulk herbs/spices in a co-op grocery. My herbalist approved this method so I guess the non-exactness of it is okay.

night night... j

[Twylightdove]

I do the handful method for my herbal tea too. I make a pitcher full to keep in the fridge. I get my herbs in bulk from a local specialty store (cheaper) but I could get it from my local health food store too. I use red raspberry leaf, nettle, oat straw (highly recommended) and peppermint (for taste). My midwife okay'd red clover blossom but my ND says it isn't recommended for pregnancy. Because of this conflict in opinion I only add red clover blossom during the folicular phase and take it out after ovulation.

[frog]

Originally Posted by lemurmommies

With all this info about prenatals and herbs and teas - do you ladies use commercially available teas and herbal supplements? I was looking at red raspberry leaf tea today, but I don't know if the stuff I can find in a regular health food store is what you are referring to. Can you point me in the right direction?

I'm just using the Yogi brand red raspberry leaf tea in the bags. I'm high-maintenance like that.

turtle's making tinctures of nettles (which we got in a swap from dance baraka) and of catnip for me for pregnancy. They're sitting on the shelf right now, doing their thing and waiting for me to get knocked up.

I'm not taking a prenatal at all, with the blessing of our midwife. I developed a kidney stone over the summer and the urologist suspects the prenatal I was on the last time we ttcd (and I also wasn't drinking enough water, which I've changed). I'm already on iron because I'm anemic. I'm also taking vitex (tincture) and folic acid at this point. I'll probably switch over to a sublingual B-complex vitamin (from the folic acid) shortly--I didn't write down whether I should do that right now or whether I should do it later so I'll ask her when we do the IUI this week.

The IUI. Which we are doing this week.

Great googly moogly.

[JennM1021]

simplelah...i'm so sorry for the BFN.

can you please move me to waiting to know?