Pre-TTC checklist

FiancB

So I'm trying to make myself feel better about waiting a few months before we actually TTC starting in about September. I've started taking prenatal vitamins and just finished my first cycle off birth control and began charting. Almost done reading TCOYF. 

I need to get blood tests done to check my titers and I know for sure I need chicken pox and meningitis vaccines. I need to get my teeth cleaned. Also need to get my heart checked out- I was having some palpitations a couple years back and got it checked out, they told me I had a regurgitating mitral valve but never really talked to me about it. It's about time I get a second opinion on that and make sure it's not getting worse. 

I could also definitely stand to lose some weight. I have a bit of hypertension, mainly because of a medication that I wouldn't be able to take when pregnant anyway, but losing weight will hopefully help that along. 

Am I missing anything? Is there anything in particular that you're doing while you wait to start two-week waiting? If I go for a consultation, will they want to do a pelvic exam? Because I did that less than a year ago. 

catrb89

Hello! My DH and I are about 15-16 mos from TTC. We want to take another big trip next summer, and around that time, we will discontinue BC. I started taking prenatal vitamins recently, mostly in hopes they'd help with my skin! Since my timeline is a little longer, my list is too!

My checklist: 

-security system

-new car, 4 doors

-get pain under control (I have fibromyalgia and want to get everything managed better)

-finish physical therapy & strengthening program

-preconception visit wit-h hubs (I assume this will involve bloodwork and the like) - I was told the top of my uterus is flat, as opposed to being round, like the top of a lightbulb. They wanted to do another ultrasound to rule out any additional abnormalities

-6 month emergency fund

-final decision from vets on whether one of my kitteh's eye needs to go (problems since birth, just need to know if I'm need to pay for surgery anytime soon)

-find reliable animal-sitter for the hospital visit

That's about it for the more generic goals. Best of luck! 

StarbucksShip

OP, sounds like you have most of the important stuff covered! One note though; have you arranged to see a dentist before you TTC? Dental health is supposed to be just as important in pregnancy. May as well get any rough work done sooner than later.

My understanding is that there's taking care of the doctor's appointments and finances. Then there's the building habits. That's where we are now.

My husband and I are working our butts off on getting our diet under control. We moved into our first home and have been unpacking and "maintaining" the house for the past 10 months (and the wedding, and holidays, and deaths, and trips...) So we developed a bad habit of eating out a lot. My husband is also incredibly vegetables adverse. The only way it could be more extreme is if he smacked plates from my hand while screaming in terror.

My hope is to start eating a little bit of fish more each week as well. I've read some recommendations of up to 12 oz of fish a week! I usually only eat fish once or twice a month. Plus, it's been really tricky because we're trying to follow the best choices from Monterey Bay Aquarium

Finally, in the next six months I'm training as though I'm entering a marathon. A Bradley method book I read made this comparison to labor and my mother thought it was a fair way to describe it. She had natural childbirth twice (literally no pain, too!) and I'd like to do the same. So I'm adjusting my workouts to include endurance training, toning my legs for squatting, doing yoga, and learning meditation.

bublesmiled

The one thing I wished I had done when I was ttc or pregnant the first time was to start saving some more money.  My dd was born and the economy crashed the same year.  We were not prepared financially for me to take a pay hit and an increase in bills (daycare, diapers, formula).  This time around, I'm going to try to put the money that I would be spending for daycare away early, so if we get hit with a financial hit, we will be better prepared.  

mcmurray33

It looks like you have most of the bases covered.  Only thing that I might add is a dedicated baby savings account.  DH and I have an allocated about set aside each month while we are TTC.  Those sweet little nuggets can be expensive! 

edit: I can't spell

FiancB

Good idea on the savings, I just checked and it's gone down a bit. Will definitely work a lot this summer!

How many people have gone for genetic testing? I'm wondering how common it is. 

bmo88

Sounds like a good starting point. As others have said, depending on your financial situation, maybe consider saving more money if possible.

DH and I are planning on starting to TTC in just under 2 years now. We have a plan to pay off all non-mortgage debt, have six months savings in an emergency fund and have $5,000 in baby savings. In addition, we are budgeting as if we have a baby now and need to pay for child care while covering all other bills and save 15% for retirement. Ideally, it will help us absorb the financial impact of having a child.

lalalin

FiancB said:

How many people have gone for genetic testing? I'm wondering how common it is. 

My husband went in to get tested. He did it mostly because he has always had a lot of health problems. He wanted to make sure that if he had a genetic condition, that we were prepared emotionally and financially to have a baby with health issues before TTC (he had several surgeries as a baby and young child.)

We are not going to test for anything else.

Xstatic3333

Our main goal is savings, too. We'd like to hit our e-fund goal plus $5,000, but will start as long as our emergency fund is set if next January comes around first. I also want to raise my retirement contributions now so I'm not tempted to slack on it once we have a LO.

Health-wise, I'd like to run my third half marathon this fall, which will help get me in an overall healthy state.

Life-wise, if the financial stuff is in order I'd like to take a pretty big trip somewhere. Savings comes first though.

House-wise, I'd like to redo the carpet in our office to make it a respectable guest room, so the guest room can become a nursery. It's in pretty rough shape, torn up and lots of pet stains from when our pup was new.

Medically, I'll probably start prenatals in June. I heard once that 6 months before TTC is a good target.