Weekly checkin - Dec 2

dolphin012

This check in is for anyone on this board to participate in and will occur every Wednesday. If you are new here and haven't made a separate intro on the main board please do so before checking in so we can "meet" you! It's easy to do just click the new discussion button in the top right and post away.

1. Your Name or Screen Name (not full names) and State you are from.

2. How long have you been TTC? Are you TTC #1,#2,#3, etc.?

3. What are you doing this cycle? Are you seeking help with a fertility specialist (RE)? If so, what stage are you in? Charting/temping? Testing? Medicated cycles? IUI? IVF? DE?

4. Where are you in your cycle? (Waiting to O, 2WW etc) If in the 2ww when will you test?

5. How do you feel about this cycle? (Are you hopeful, anxious... etc)

QOTW: are you a winter person? Do you embrace cold snowy days? Or do you prefer to be enjoying the warmer climates, wearing shorts in January?

MntnGirl

1. MntnGirl, CA

2. TTC #1 almost 1.5 years

3. Completed CD3 labs for first round of IVF. All normal, but TSH is 2.8 and for IVF RE wants 1-2 and prescribed 30 days on levothyroxine starting tomorrow and then a recheck. We already decided to postpone IVF because insurance will cover half starting in January (nice surprise this past month). Taking prenatal vitamins, CoQ10, and NAC daily, preconception tea and maca CD 1-14. Seed cycling.

4. CD16, BD every other day, but not charting or planning to test.

5. Feel a little weird about the thyroid medication because my levels are "normal," but there's no hesitation about doing what my RE recommends. Also realizing I have about 30 days to figure out how to better manage work/home life balance.

QOTW: I am not a winter person, but I don't mind short winters and bundling up and wearing boots, cozy sweaters, and scarves.

agriffin92013

1. Amanda from South Carolina

2. TTC #1 for almost 3 yrs

3. RE has given me the option of doing a 4th IUI with Femara and Gonal F and I've been doing acupuncture

4. CD 1

5. I have mixed emotions about this cycle.

QOTW: I'm more of a spring person

emsmama15

1. Heather in MN

2. TTC #2 for 19 months (Yikes, how did it get so long?)

3. In the middle of stims for IVF #1.  Taking prenatal vitamins, CoQ10, Fish oil (on hold during stims), Myo-inositol, Vit D, Acupuncture, Reiki, Mayan Abdominal Massage (going today, I love it), meditation, low gluten/dairy/sugar, no caffeine, alcohol, diet pop.  I also lost 47 pounds before starting IVF.  YIPPEE!!  Basically, I feel the best I have in years, so I'm hoping I have a hospitable environment for an embryo or two...

4. CD 9, Stim Day 7, probably will trigger Saturday, retrieval Monday, transfer the following Saturday.

5. I'm feeling very hopeful.  I'm looking forward to our Christmas miracle!!

QOTW: I actually really do like winter.  Ask me again in March when we're getting MORE snow and I'll probably have a different answer.  But right now, I'm loving the snow.  

@MntnGirl - I think most REs want your TSH less than 2 and if it'll help you get pregnant, it's worth it.  My Endo keeps my TSH in the 0.5-1 range because I honestly FEEL better there.  I got up to 1.7 and I asked to go up on my dose last spring since we were getting CLOSE to the 2 cutoff.    I hope it works for you!

daisy62103

1. sinnet from upstate ny

2. 4th month ttcal

3. charting/temping/opk's

4. 10dpo today, will test mon 12/7 if af hasn't shown. temp is up, but my sleep has been really restless the past few nights as we're house hunting and just put an offer in. So I'm not sure how much I trust the temps. I'm going back to not temping past 3dpo next month as it's too stressful for me. 

5. I feel like af is coming. I don't forsee a bfp this month. Ugh. 

q: not big into winter, though enjoy going sledding and building snowmen with the kids. Overall I hate being cold and i'm already ready for spring weather.

Sporty1216

Sporty1216 from Nebraska.

TTC #2 for almost a year

Used opks and preseed.

CD23, so 10DPO. AF is due on 12/7, but I'll wait to test until she is at least two days late. At least that is what I'm telling myself.

I feel hopeful, kind of despite myself. I had a weird couple of days where I had what I called "lightning crotch" when I was pregnant with LO. I want to believe that was a sign of implantation or something, but I'm just really making that up. otherwise, no real symptoms. I have been super crazy exhausted, but that could be PG or it could just be life. Haha.

Winter. It's charming for a while and then I'm totally over it (long before it's totally over).

happyktmom

1. happyktmom from VA

2. TTC#2 since 4/14

3. Back to basics this cycle.  I'm still temping/charting but that's about it.

4. CD9, I just started with lots of 'fullness' and some EWCM which is super early for me but I'm rolling with it.

5. I'm not hopeful anymore, in fact I'm feeling quite defeated.  I feel like calling the RE for a reminder of what to do if we decide to come back.  I have not been in touch with them since May.  I'm going to discuss IUI with DH tonight.  I told him I was done if we weren't pregnant by the end of the year and I just don't think I can drop it so easily.  I feel guilty for continuing to put so much effort in ttc#2 when I have a perfect 3 year old DD.  I feel ungrateful.  I feel like I'm asking for too much.

I love winter from the inside   the fireplace, Christmas, Hot Cocoa, the beauty of snow (from the inside).  I agree with you, @Sporty1216 - The charm wears off, usually by January! HA

emsmama15

@happyktmom - your desire for a second child doesn't make you greedy or ungrateful.  It means your vision for your family includes more than one child.  It's taken me a long time to actually believe this, but I'm there.  My family is MEANT to have more than one child.  I feel it in my soul.  Good luck!!  

PoeMasque

1 Jen, Oregon

2. TTC #1, 1st cycle

3. Cycle charting

4. CD 21/ 6 DPO

5. Feeling anxious. our timing was great, so definitely hopeful! I was distracted by work for the last 4 days, but am officially on vacation until the 10th, so now I get to linger in limbo with no distractions.

6. I like cold and snow for about 3 days, then I'm ready for fall to return. Our days here are super short and I work night shift, so December is my least favorite month since I rarely see the sun. I do love decorating for the holidays though! Can't wait to get going on that (I know I'm way behind this year!)

Mamafesto

Mamafesto from New England

TTC #2 since Feb 2015; 5th cycle ttcal

CP, CM, OPKs, PNV, Vit D & B6, raspberry leaf tea til O, chinese herbs, fish oil, probiotics, vitex, acupuncture, maya abdominal massage, hot foot soaks, bd EOD during FW, OTC progesterone cream after O

CD 14, WTO - looks like I just about got a positive opk this morning and feeling o pain, so I'm thinking it'll happen in the next 2 days

I'm feeling surprisingly positive lately. Both my MAM therapist and my acupuncturist were really pleased with my progress. My uterus is no longer retroverted and apparently my chi is much stronger (based on my pulses). I also feel so much better. I've been sleeping well, enjoying time w/my DP and LO and am much less stressed about work. DP and I also recently booked a trip to Puerto Rico and I've been focused on planning the trip. Whether or not it happens this cycle, I am in a much better place physically and emotionally than I was a few months ago after my MC. I think I'm coming around to being ok with one and done if we give it the old college try for a few more cycles and aren't successful, which is making me a bit more relaxed about the process.

I like snow, but do not enjoy the cold. We like to x-country ski and do a little downhill, but it's difficult these days with the LO. LO loves playing in the snow, and this year he'll be able to enjoy it more since he's almost three.

@happyktmom, I was feeling exactly the way you are just a short while ago. Your emotions are completely normal but don't beat yourself up. I'm sure you're a wonderful mother and that is likely a good part of your motivation to have another and give your daughter a sibling.

MntnGirl

Thank you, @emsmama15! That is really good to hear. My Rx is 25mcg and I took a half last night and another this morning because I was so worried about how it would affect me during work today after reading about side affects and other people's experiences online. I know, Google is sometimes a bad idea. Lol

@happyktmom - If you and your family want another LO, that's all that matters. If you had 10 (and could afford them), I would not judge and I have 0. Regarding hope, changing our strategy (getting ideas from this group) has helped me. I stopped testing months ago, but knowing I have a timeline for IVF helps.

Piperella

1. Laura from VA
2. TTC#1 for a long time.
3. IVF #1 - Egg Retrieval straight to FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer)
4. Had my egg retrieval on Sunday.  30 eggs retrieved, 25 mature, 20 fertilized, 12+ very good embryos at Day3.. tomorrow (Friday) the good ones will get frozen for a future FET in Dec/Jan.
5. Kinda in the middle.  I'm happy to have so many eggs, but I'm really wishing I didn't have to wait until January possibly for the transfer.  My little pity party:  I haven't been able to be in a 2ww since September and I'm envious of everyone just waiting and those getting BFPs... I'd like to get to this point already.  Patience has kind of worn down lately.
QOTW: No.  I like clean, fresh snow.  I get very cold.. even when the weather is in the mid-70s.  I detest days in the 30s/40s/50s when it's cloudy and rainy. The winter is a nice time to go to WDW, though. 

KLake42

Kathleen in GA

TTC #1 since early 2015

Getting ready for IVF #1 after 7 failed medicated IUIs

Just waiting for AF, so I can start birth control.  It seems like I ovulated late this cycle, CD22, but my temp rises slow so it could have been earlier, and I have had very short luteal phases when not medicated, so there's no way to tell.  Tuesday will be day 29, and the day I should see AF if I'm regular.

I'm feeling anxious and discouraged.  I'm already trying to figure out the next step if this doesn't work, either we just inseminate my wife or do partner IVF.  And we may have a known donor lined up, but I'm trying to find out if the sperm of a known donor has to be quarantined for 6 months for IVF like it does for insemination, and we won't want to wait (wife isn't a spring chicken, either).  Blah.  And I think my anxiety might be in overdrive with the news, and so many things I care deeply about being part of public debate at the moment (not gonna go into my politics here, but just saying, feeling intensely).

I'm not a fan of the cold.  My feet are turning into ice blocks that won't melt until April.

BernieRae

1. @BernieRae Oregon

2. TTC for 2+ years

3. OPKs, preseed (if I can remember), Thinking more about what I'm eating/drinking and trying to make good choices (tricky with the nagging sweet tooth I've had the past few days. Still drinking coffee (1 cup a day), but debating switching to green tea...

4. CD 9 - the fun part of the cycle

5. I feel like I'm in research mode this cycle. I'm going to look over all my lab results and pay more attention to symptoms of O. I'm trying to tell myself that while it's been over 2 years of TTC, it might have been a fresh start since my polyp removals so maybe this is only like our 3rd cycle of TTC "Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies..."

QOTW - I like a minimal amount of winter. A gentle snowfall is so beautiful. I have a video that I took from my apartment back in Chicago. It was like I was in a snow globe.  If I can figure out how to post I will. The long cold winters really got to me there. Winter in Portland is much better for me. The grass is greener in the winter than in the summer. Flowers start blooming in February. And if we want snow we can just drive an hour to the mountain. 

lickastick

1. Createillumination from CA

2. Looks like I am onto 6/6

AF showed up early this morning so I am back to CD1. This was a tough cycle because while I wan't very attached to a BFP this cycle, for the past 5 days I have had crazy cramping, bloating and a feeling like something was "there" like when I was pregnant before. Total mind f%$&, and i wasted a bunch of hpt's testing everyday since 9dpo. I'm wondering if I have a fibroid or something because what I felt was very not normal. Ugggggghhhhh, I feel like crap today. I'll just keep going with the supplements, herbs, mayan massage and acu. We'll get a SA done in january if I'm not KU by then, and I might start looking into RE's for january as well. 

QOTW: Living in southern california sometimes we have full on beach days where we swim and lay on the beach throughout the whole winter, in fact it is supposed to be 77 here today. I don't do winter. My DH always wants to do a snowy vacation, but we always go tropical, because I don't do cold!

susykat77

Re-intro  *Loss mentioned*

1. Your Name or Screen Name (not full names) and State you are from. Katherine from Colorado

2. How long have you been TTC?   TTC #1 for 18 months

3. What are you doing this cycle? Healing from miscarriage for now. I think that we will try naturally this cycle just because. Small back story - we've been in the Czech Republic for the last 6 months for IVF and we are headed home in a week. We've left frozen sperm with the clinic and they will begin looking for a donor so we can try donor eggs maybe in March.

4. Where are you in your cycle? 2 days post miscarriage via cytotec at 9w4d. Diagnosed MMC at 9w1d

5. How do you feel about this cycle? (Are you hopeful, anxious... etc) Eh, not super hopeful still so sad... after 3 IVF cycles with fresh transfers, a natural IVF cycle, and a FET cycle that resulted in a BFP, I can't imaging that we would get pregnant naturally BUT maybe somehow being pregnant got my body in gear and it'll happen for us.

QOTW: are you a winter person? I like when there are things to do in the cold - like ski. But just cold for the sake of cold, I'll pass. I do really love being able to have a fire in the wood burning stove. 

Edited to add: I know it may seem early to be back on a TTC board but I need somewhere else to offer support and read posts besides my old BMB.

PattersRN

1. PattersRN, OR 2. 4th cycle, TTC #1 3. Preseed, Pregnitude, charting/temping 4. CD 13, got pos OPK yesterday evening 5. Meh. I feel like We haven't been on top of the BD'ing this cycle. We started last night (prior to that it had been Monday due to a hectic week), will again tonight and continue until I ovulate. Temp jumped this AM, but it was also taken 2.5 hours later than normal too. We'll see. QOTW: sort of. I hate the short days and lack of sun. I do like to snowboard though. I also enjoy it when we get snow, but in western Oregon that's rare. I think the last time we got measurable snow was 2 years ago. (Sorry this isnt formatted. It was, but somehow it got unformatted when I posted. Probably has something to do with posting from my iPad)

dolphin012

@emsmama15 - good-luck with your retrieval!! Did you trigger yesterday? 

@Piperella - that sounds like a great ivf cycle so far. The patience is very hard -- the ivf process is so much longer and tedious than i would have ever guessed. 

@susykat77 - i am so sorry for your loss. We also just finished all our ivf transfers and with no luck in the end. It is a sad, tough feeling. Hang in there. Good to hear you have plans moving forward and you are back on the board. 

dolphin012 from CA

ttc #1 for a while

CD2 - AF arrived on schedule 4 days after stopping injections. It was a super busy week this week so haven't been able to spend much time discussing our next steps with my partner. But i think we will probably go back to trying naturally this month b/c how can we not?? No high expectations after all the eggs we went through with ivf, but who knows, maybe every 1 in 33 of my eggs is good and this will be the one.  We are definitely not going to be relying solely on the low odds of natural ttc moving forward though and are considering all the (very overwhelming) alternatives. @KLake42 - i can relate to the anxiety associated with thinking ahead and everything involved with figuring out and then executing the next steps. Its super daunting. We can do it though!

QOTW: Love winter -- xcross country skiing, snowshoeing, the warmth of woodstoves...   We will see if we have one in CA this year..

susykat77

@dolphin012   Thank you. I am trying to look at our month of trying naturally as a much needed break from the IVF world. It is such a long tedious process!! 

emsmama15

@dolphin012 - you've been in my thoughts!  I hope you can come to some conclusions about next steps soon.  I did trigger last night.  Egg retrieval is in the morning.  Fingers crossed for some good eggs...