How close are you to TTC? What's one thing you want to accomplish before you start?

bmo88

I just saw my ticker and noticed I have officially hit the 7 month mark until we TTC. It's not close, but it doesn't feel nearly as far away! There are still a few things I want to get done before TTC, but my main focus is finishing my graduate degree and paying off our debt. We will have all non-mortgage debt paid off by November 2016. I will be done with the majority of my grad degree by December 2016 and then have just one, easy class left. So not entirely done, but will be in the home stretch.

So, how far way is your TTC date and what do you want to accomplish before that date?

rainbowturtles

We plan on TTC in September and I think it would be wise to get a second vehicle before I get KU but also don't want to postpone trying if we don't have one yet lol I'm so anxious to start! 

Nelbetron

We are planning on Nov. My career has a lot of professional exams- I am sitting for one in October, and would really like to pass. Non-career wise, I'd like to lose a few pounds that I've gained over the past couple of years, nothing drastic though. (Like 15 pounds... it's just been slowly creeping up) I'd ideally like less debt, but if we were to get KU in November, I'd have all credit card debt paid off, and less than 1 year of car payments by the time baby came out, so I'm OK with that. 

borgie05

Trigger warning: mention of previous pregnancy/child

Originally we were going to start trying at the end of the year but we have to push it back now to probably spring of 2017. Unfortunately I developed anxiety during my pregnancy with my son (he's 14 months old now) which progessed into postpartum OCD. I'm still dealing with in, it took me a while to recognize it was more than just the normal hormone adjustments, and so I'm currently seeing multiple therapists trying to recover. It also took me a while to realize because you only really tend to hear about postpartum depression, but in reality there are many postpartum mood disorders that you have to watch out for. Also I've never had any mental health issues before so I just didn't know in general. I knew I didn't feel normal but I thought it was the hormones. (When you do get pregnant, please get help if you develop during pregnancy and do not wait like I did because it gets worse as time goes without help-- just a little psa). Anyways the goal is to have a healthy mind for 6 months before getting pregnant again. So to start at the end of the year, I would have to be better like, now. I just started seeing a new therapist who I think will get me where I need to be, but it's going to take a couple of months so now I'm hoping to be ready by March. It's a very real possibility that we have to push it back more though. I'm bummed to push it back because I was set on having our second closer in age to our first, but having a healthy pregnancy is so important for any future baby and my family that I will just have to wait. But hey that's life though, sometimes things just don't go as planned.

aboxofchocolates

Hopefully we will be ttc end of July (if we don't find another reason to put it off).  I actually feel like we are at a really good point in our life.  The only things I want to push myself to do now is to take a bit better care of myself in regards to eating and exercising.  I would also like to focus on balancing my work life balance.

@borgie05 I'm sorry to hear about your struggles with anxiety and postpartum depression.  Although I don't know what you are going through personally my husband struggles with anxiety and depression.  This is actually the reason we put off tic for another year.  I think people need to talk about mental health more so we can be aware what to look for and how we can help each other.  

borgie05

@aboxofchocolates thank you. I will get better in time, the good thing my newest therapist reminded me is that since I didn't battle with this before pregnancy, that it is for sure postpartum and temporary. In time and with help I will be back to my old self. It's just annoying to have to push back plans because of it. But that's life and any of the postpartum mood disorders can affect any one of us. Part of the risk we are willing to take for our sweet babies. I recently started being more open about it though in efforts to help others recognize signs for themselves and to know its ok and they will get through it and are not alone.

I am sorry to hear your hubby struggles with anxiety and depression as well. It's rough for sure! I hope he's willing and able to get any help he needs.

amiec-2

So sad to hear about the OCD, wishing you all the best and good for you to want to be healthy before trying, shows the dedication to havi by a healthy, happy family!!!

I am exactly 11 months away from TTC

klmcguire

bmo88 said:

I just saw my ticker and noticed I have officially hit the 7 month mark until we TTC. It's not close, but it doesn't feel nearly as far away! There are still a few things I want to get done before TTC, but my main focus is finishing my graduate degree and paying off our debt. We will have all non-mortgage debt paid off by November 2016. I will be done with the majority of my grad degree by December 2016 and then have just one, easy class left. So not entirely done, but will be in the home stretch.

So, how far way is your TTC date and what do you want to accomplish before that date?

Congrats on almost being debt free!

bmo88

klmcguire: Thank you! It's been 4.5 years in the making and throwing a lot of extra income at it, but we are so happy for it to be gone soon.

klmcguire

bmo88 said:

klmcguire: Thank you! It's been 4.5 years in the making and throwing a lot of extra income at it, but we are so happy for it to be gone soon.

We are in the middle of financial peace university and I swear there is no light at the end of my tunnel. Every time I turn around there is new Dr. bills or something goes wrong in our house. I will be so freaking happy to be debt free!

bmo88

klmcguire: I agree, sometimes it does feel like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. But sometimes focuses on the small success helps and also realizing, if you weren't working toward paying it, think how much debt and financial strain you would have when all those things do come up!

kisenshe

We are planning on TTC end of Feb 2017. I can't wait and he's excited too. I can't stop looking at baby things online and getting impatient.

thatcma

We don't have a specific TTC date set but the ballpark is next spring.  We (like you) have been working on paying off debts. We have no credit cards, by the end of this month we probably will have 1 of our 2 cars paid off, and probably the other car paid off by December. The only thing left to pay will be student loans, which we both agreed to put on the back burner in order to start our family. It would be nice to be debt free, however it would take too many years to do that.

We are currently (in addition to paying off cars) also putting money aside to get a house. Once we have a house and it is all set up we plan on TTC. I really don't want to wait, but know we are making the logical good choice to do so. It is just so hard to wait on something you both (more me) want so bad.

**EDIT: we are taking out my IUD in 8 days (it's so far away, LOL) and while we will not actively TTC we won't prevent it either. If we have not conceived by January I will switch to active TTC

Sh8knKnotSterd

We plan to start TTC as soon as this Mirena is out which is scheduled to happen at the end of September. I really need to lose some weight so I am working on that from now until we get our bfp. I want to get pregnant sooner rather than later but I also want to lose about 50lbs so I know those two aren't working with each other. lol.

CraftyG

We don't have a concrete date to start yet but it keeps changing between next year and the year after. Our main issue is that we keep going between being sensible and practical and just wanting to start haha. We decided to write down a tick list and just kind of work off that. I want to finish my degree (December) start a new job in that field, buy a house and get married, so a lot of things to get done! Unless we decide to change it we're going to start trying once we're married. I also need to figure out how long I have to be in my new job for before I can get full maternity benefits as that will have an impact on our decision.

I'm so excited for those of you whose dates are coming up!

bmo88

Thanks for responding everyone! I can't believe it has been two months since I created this post. That time actually flew by.

thatcma

This Thursday is the official start of my TTC journey! My IUD will be removed, and only time will tell how long it will take. 

flashley-2

Hearing everyone's goals is so exciting. Best of luck to all of you !!! This is one post I feel I can finally join in on.

My husband goes for a Vasectomy Reversal a week from today !!! He will be on rest for at least 10 days then af comes to visit. We will be TTC beginning in October !!!

bmo88

@FLAshley: Thanks for joining the thread! You are going to be TTCing soon! I am getting my Mirena IUD removed in exactly one month, so hopefully I can understand my cycles better. So I still have 3.5 months, but it's getting closer.

knottie0d8cc4d43bacc09f

Exciting that everyone is getting closer and closer to TTC! Good luck to all  

@bmo88 can't believe you started this with 7 months to go - now you're more than half way!

bmo88

@secicc12: I was just thinking that I cannot believe this was started almost 3.5 months ago. While it feels like time drags daily, overall, the time has flown by!

flashley-2

bmo88: 3.5 months will fly by !!! We don't expect our journey will be an easy one but we are positive and looking forward to the journey. We are all in this together. I have never been in such a supportive group ! I love it !

flashley-2

I'm not sure why that happened in all bold ! 

nia23

Hello all! I'm new to posting here but have been lurking for a little while. It's so nice to join this community. DH and I are planning on TTC starting next month. I've been off the pill since May - wanted to give my body a few cycles before TTC. I've been wanting to do some of the same things you girls mentioned: focusing on my health, taking vitamins daily, etc. DH and I are also looking to purchase a home and hope to do that in the next few months. But we decided start TTC before we find a house (we've been looking for the past several months). It stresses me out a bit, but I think we are making the right choice. 

SaphireSweetie88

Welcome @nia23

knottie0d8cc4d43bacc09f

Welcome, @nia23! Nice to have another BOTB member

flashley-2

A friend of mine and his wife found out they were pregnant and needed to sell the home they were in and upgrade to a bigger one. It was so stressful for them but now they are in their sweet home and patiently awaiting baby. All will work out, live for the day - don't worry about tomorrow @nia23

nia23

Thanks for the welcome. And thanks for sharing that story @FLAshley - I think there's an expectation that if you're planning to be pregnant you should be 100% ready in all aspects of your life. But is anyone ever 100% ready? I don't think so. Like you said, live for today! Countless couples have been through this before - and many in less than perfectly ideal situations. We all find our way!

mill1020

@nia23, you're right.  Nobody can be 100% ready!

As for us (in terms of pre-TTC goals) and *if* we actually go down that road again (hopefully), we'd probably just be waiting for the post-Mexico vacation Zika safety timeframe of 6 months.  So that would put us at somewhere around June 2017.

nia23

That's something awesome to look forward to in 2017 @mill1020 - I wish you the best!

laurmarie0415

Hi! Like @nia23 I am new to the boards! SO and I have been TTC for a few months. Our only things we really wanted to accomplish prior to pregnancy were establishing our careers and getting married. We have both been in our jobs for 2+ years and got married in April.

There are a lot of other things that would be great to accomplish before we have kids, such as paying off our debt which we are currently chipping away at, buying a home, promotions at work, etc. We have decided not to put off TTC any longer though. I am a very anxious person, and could honestly always come up with some aspect of our lives that we don't have totally on lock, that isn't QUITE there yet. So, we are instead prioritizing TTC and going with the mindset that with smart decision making everything will come with time. Fingers crossed!!

flashley-2

@laurmarie0415 I love the way you think. We feel the same. Yeah, we have debt - nothing serious. We just bought a home with 45 acres that really needs a lot of manicuring on the outside and some finishing on the inside. Really, the place is a ton of work ! We are starting to try for a baby in October after my DHs vasectomy reversal. We can't wait ! A baby is priority. The rest will fall into place. We both have great jobs. Plans of expanding my business. Why wait when your ready ! Good luck on TTC - hope you conceive quickly and are blessed with a beauty !

nia23

It's nice to have a community that you can go to with these thoughts, @laurmarie0415. I'm not sure about you but we are not telling anyone that we are going to begin TTC soon. I'm anxious also and I think the support of my DH and talking with you girls will help me feel like others know what I'm going through and we can share all our thoughts and feelings!

@flashley that's great! We are thinking we'll start trying in October too, so we can be on this journey together. Best of luck to you!

laurmarie0415

@nia23 we aren't sharing with others yet either! There was so much pressure before we got married about having kids, we are trying to avoid constant questions! 

@FLAshley exactly! Sounds like you have so many awesome things in the works

flashley-2

@laurmarie0415 @nia23 besides DHs parents we haven't told anyone else either. We only told them because we went away for surgery and they knew something was up. They are super excited which makes me nervous. I'm sure we will get along well in our TTC journeys !!!! We have a lot of exciting things going on and we think it's great. Keeps us active and moving ! I am glad we are all in this adventure together ! Having others to relate to is wonderful and such a blessing ! Good luck ladies !

bmo88

Ladies, the date is getting closer for many of us! We are actually contemplating starting TTC in early December now, but not 100% certain. Still talking it through. 

mill1020

@bmo88, that's so exciting.  What happens when you start TTC?  You'll tell us here on this board before "disappearing" into the TTC world, right?

December isn't very far away.  We're all going on a weeklong trip to Mexico with my in-laws and I am actually dreading it quite a bit.  My MIL doesn't like me and to be perfectly honest I've never enjoyed her too much either.  First world problems, though, huh?

bmo88

@mill1020: I plan to stick around these boards! I am hanging out on the Trying to Get Pregnant board just to learn some things and when I get a BFP (fingers crossed) will probably join another board. I have been on this board for almost two years, so I don't plan on disappearing anytime soon.

December isn't too far way indeed. So it's exciting, but also a little scary. Having never been pregnant before, I have no idea what to expect about the experience, so it will be an adventure.

Sorry to hear about the MIL. While maybe a first world problem, it's definitely not enjoyable to spend time with people you don't get along with, especially on vacations.

sheknows6

Hi everyone, new to the boards as well. We are so close to the end of the year, and that's when DH and I are going to start TTC as well....it's right around the corner!

We have not told anyone, and are thinking we won't until we get our BFP and are in the safe zone for miscarriage. I bought an OPK and some PT, and I can't believe it's almost time!

bmo88

sheknows6: Welcome to the boards! Please stick around and ask lots of questions. This board can be a little slow, but still supportive and helpful.