Newbie Intro Thread Week of 5/29

pebbledam

Please read The Ultimate TTGP Guide pinned at the top of the board. It's full of information about TTGP and about our community here on TB.

Please introduce yourself and share as much or as little as you are comfortable with. Once you're ready, feel free to jump into any of our daily/weekly threads to start participating in the community.

Welcome!



Ages (you and SO): 

How many months have you been TTC? 

What are you doing to get knocked up (WAYDTGKU)? 

Tell us about yourself! (Kids, pets, job, hobbies, etc.)

lurvleybunchococonuts

Hai guys!!
Ages (you and SO): 30 (me) & 38 (DH)

How many months have you been TTC? uhm about 4 months but was totes doing it wrong for the first 2 so let's go with 2

What are you doing to get knocked up (WAYDTGKU)? FF tracking, CM/CP, gonna start temping next cycle 

Tell us about yourself! (Kids, pets, job, hobbies, etc.)  I'd been lurking about for a week or two, before deciding to make an account. Cause you all seem awesome! Also, simply reading through the guides, etc were AMAZING help. I was totally that "omgamipergnerntguys?" "halp I'm one day late even though I know I have irregular cycles" person and was driving myself bonkers, so I'm sure DH is a saint for not murdering me. But your words of wisdom and lurking were a godsend!

I work as a lab tech essentially making baby formula for cows. 

TW (bear with me, I never know when/how to use these) I have a 6 yo SD who is awesome! How amazing she is, is one of the reasons why we're trying. I was completely a-okay with just her, being the product of a blended family that did it wrong myself. I'd never want to subject a kid to what I grew up with. With that being said, as much as I adore her now, I can never imagine treating her or a potential sibling any different (End TW). 

We have two meow heads, Tarfu & Bohica. They're quite annoying but I love their stupid faces! 

And I have far too many hobbies to count, I enjoy reading, crafts such as knitting/crocheting/sewing, painting/drawing on occasion, working on building a doll house with SD, container gardening (this is my second year trying it out woot woot home grown veggies!), canning (this will be my third year), fishing/hiking/camping, movies of all sorts, so yeah, I like doing "stuff"! 

Plus I'm kind of an awkward turtle, I laugh at inappropriate times, I think I'm funny although DH swears I can't tell a joke to save my life, I'm a klutz, and I can't dance although I try my hardest! And yeah... that's me  

lurvleybunchococonuts

Also, sorry ^^^that's super long. I ramble.

pebbledam

Welcome @lurvleybunchococonuts! Just because you were doin' it wrong, doesn't mean you weren't tryin'! In all seriousness, I think you should count those months. TTC is an emotional journey and being 2 months in versus 4 is a pretty big difference! I LOVE being a stepmom and my DSS is a big reason why I want to grow my family! 

[Deleted User]

<blockquote class="Quote">
<div class="QuoteAuthor"><a href="/profile/pebbledam">pebbledam</a> said:</div>
<div class="QuoteText">Welcome @lurvleybunchococonuts! Just because you were doin' it wrong, doesn't mean you weren't tryin'! In all seriousness, I think you should count those months. TTC is an emotional journey and being 2 months in versus 4 is a pretty big difference! I LOVE being a stepmom and my DSS is a big reason why I want to grow my family! </div>
</blockquote>
This.  Mentally/emotionally it totally counts. Plus that "year" general guideline about starting testing/treatment factors in that time bc they figure most people are not 'doing it right' the whole time, either.  That rough guideline drops down to 6 months of, "well-timed, conception-focused intercourse," though, plus youre over 30, so just bear that in mind.  If you <i>do</i> happen to hit the 8-month mark after you KNOW you had good timing for 6 of those months straight, it may be time to get some preliminary tests started.

But you're SO not there yet, so don't even worry your purdylilhead about it, pussycat!  ;) Welcome!
<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/tx/9w3266sglj3o.gif" alt="">

lurvleybunchococonuts

Thanks @pebbledam & @BusinessWife I hear ya. Learning after all those years of BC that it's not that "easy" was a shocker lmao, especially after my sister "accidentally" got KU at 19. /sigh. But hey, in the meantime I get to hang out and get to know you ladies!
*Edited cause I type real good.

JNCPro3130

Hello, everyone! I'm reintroducing myself. I did an introduction a few months back when I should have been on the BOTB board. (Sorry about that!) So, here is my correct introduction!

Ages (you &SO): I'm 33 and SO is 35.

How many months TTC? I'm waiting for AF and we'll start month 1.

WAYDTGKU? I've been tracking my temp and CM for a few months. I started a PNV and cut out caffeine.

Tell us about yourself: I'm an elementary school teacher who is SO excited to be on summer break. I love my job but it's been a hard year and I'm tired! DH is a firefighter and paramedic. He has some crazy stories!

We have 2 dogs (a Scottish terrier and a westie). They're super sweet and wonderful dogs. *TW child and pregnancy mentioned * We also have a 2 year old son who amazes us daily! 2 has been a great age. We're in the middle of potty training which is not for the faint of heart but going well so far. I used TB when TTC my son and learned a ton, so hopefully this time I'll be able to offer help on charting or TTC more than I could last time. *end TW*

I look forward to chatting with you!

barrelocarol

Hi, Ladies! I'm Carol.

danjoly

Hi ladies! I was an active member of this board from July 2015-November 2015. I'm making a comeback as we are TFAS. 

Ages (you and SO): We are both 31 

How many months have you been TTC? We are starting next cycle. I'm finishing the induction phase of a treatment for my autoimmune diseases and I'll get the green light after

What are you doing to get knocked up (WAYDTGKU)? I already had my MFM consult to be sure I'm all ok to start. I'm tracking my CM but I don't think I'll temp this time because I have very inconsistent wake up/sleep + I was literally obsessed with temping last time and I would love to not go down a crazy spiral again

Tell us about yourself! (Kids, pets, job, hobbies, etc.) Our son is going to be 1 in July. I'm a SAHM but was previously a high school teacher for 5 years. I immigrated from Canada to the US in 2015. English is not my maternal language so I'm sorry in advance for my poor grammar.  My hobbies are photography, sewing/quilting and crafts in general. I also love to do home improvement stuff and DH and I are big DIYers. I'm also a very active person. I was a aerobic and Pilates instructor back in Canada. 

hedgepig

@danjoly Welcome! I am also a quilter - do you have a picture of something that you're proud of that you'd like to share? What subject did you teach?

danjoly

@hedgepig I only have access to a picture of the first quilt I finished 3 years ago! Also, I was a modern history teacher. It's a Mandatory course in the Quebec curriculum for senior year! 

lurvleybunchococonuts

@danjoly that's beautiful! I admire quilters, but haven't been able to get into it.  The few I've done always end up uneven and looking like a hot mess.

dimeadozen

HELLO LADIES! 
I've been very antsy to start this board!  

Ages (you and SO): 24 & 29 

How many months have you been TTC? First month (waiting for AF to make her way out of town then the fun will begin. lol)!

What are you doing to get knocked up (WAYDTGKU)? For the first few months I'm just going to check CM and try to line everything up that way. 

Tell us about yourself! (Kids, pets, job, hobbies, etc.) Neither of us have children, our closest is our German Shorthaired Pointer, Bailey (pictured below) DH and I like to spend out time outside playing with Bailey or walking at the park. In October we're driving to Austin for weekend trip to try a few of the Top 50 barbeque places in Texas. I'm pretty excited about that, haha.

About two weeks ago I applied for a promotion at work and they are taking a long time to decide so I'm chomping at the bit waiting for the yes or no.

I started the BOTB board but didn't get too far in, so I look forward to meeting you ladies and hearing about your journeys!

ETA: photo, didn't work the first time

dimeadozen

@lurvleybunchococonuts Baby cows!! That's not a career I hear about every day, but sounds very interesting!

@jncpro3130 What grade do you teach? I'm majoring in Elementary Education! Good luck with the potty training. Thank your husband for his service

@barrelocarol Welcome, Carol! Good luck with TTC

@danjoly Do you enjoy the US over Canada? What are some things you liked about Canada versus here in the US? Do you like being a SAHM versus going to work?

Sorry in advance, I use exclamation points way too much.

hedgepig

@danjoly Thanks for sharing... it looks super cheerful and snuggly

barrelocarol

Ugh I posted a whole big thing and TB deleted it

JNCPro3130

@gspmom21, I've taught 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades. Of my 11 years, 7 were in 2nd grade. I'm teaching 3rd next school year which I'm excited about!
Bailey is beautiful! What a sweet face!

@danjoly, that quilt is awesome! I'm always impressed by people who can create such amazing things! I can hardly sew a button. It's sad!

[Deleted User]

@danjoly. Yay!  So happy to see you bacj hereTFAS!!!  I agree temping can take a girl on a crazy-train...  I haven't temped in a while, only tracking CM more or less to know where I am in my cycle right now... will be relieved actually tho once we start treatment - there may well be a lot of needles... but no temping!  Lol ;)

Jyoung327

Helloooo. I've been on here for a few years but never regularly posted on ttgp and instead am a hardcore lurker and occasional poster on other boards. Figured I would introduce myself again to this group so I don't look like a random. FYI I have a strong GIF game to contribute and only speak in mild sarcasm. 

Ages (you and SO): I just turned 29, dh will be 31 in July. 

How many months have you been TTC? This is cycle 1 of ttc #2 (technically #4 if you look at my siggy/history)

What are you doing to get knocked up (WAYDTGKU): not all the things. I was planning to temp (and I'm so frustrated that I didnt) but my LO is 1yo and generally wakes up at 530-630am and several days in at row my attempts at an early alarm failed (aka I shut that ish off unconsciously) so I missed too many days to have a good chart. I peed on many an opk this cycle and tracked cm with FF. Next cycle will definitely be temping cuz the not knowing when I ovulated part is killing me.

Tell us about yourself: I have 1 rainbow baby and 2 dogs. Favorite hobbies include all the Netflix (rewatching friends and new girl for life), running, and currently spending most of my life studying for a licensing exam. I'm the only one in my friend group currently ttc so my bump lurking has exponentially increased. Hope you'll have me! 

lund

@Jyoung327 is it weird that I recognize your siggy/history but not your handle? LOL. At any rate, welcome!

Jyoung327

lund said:

@Jyoung327 is it weird that I recognize your siggy/history but not your handle? LOL. At any rate, welcome!

Haha I dont care, Im just happy someone recognized me! I always read peoples siggys too! 

SquirrelsRWatching

Ages (you and SO): 30/30

How many months have you been TTC? 1

What are you doing to get knocked up? Just a fertility tracker app for now.

Tell us about yourself! I frequented the Feb '15 board when I was pregnant with my DS. I consider myself a newbie, because so much seems to have changed in the last 2 years! I had never heard of "drink until it's pink" or "symptom spotting" (I have a problem with the latter right now in my tww!). Anyways, about me, I work in employee training as a course developer and trainer. My husband and I have been together for 10 years and married for 7 years. DH is an air quality engineer. I love standup comedy, baking, quilting, and video games. My twin sister is also ttc too. 

mangoandguava

Hi! So, uh, I intro'ed back in August... and then never really worked up the nerve to jump in even though I'd been lurking for over a year at that point.... So we're gonna go for Round 2.

Ages (you and SO): I'm 28, DH is 29. 

How many months have you been TTC? The short answer is that we aren't yet. There's a longer answer that includes about three years of NTNP, two years of lurking here and reading TCOYF through twice, and tons of time spent borrowing trouble I have no business borrowing, but I'm going to ignore all that. 

What are you doing to get knocked up (WAYDTGKU)? Does sporadically taking PNVs count? I'm waiting to reset and then I'm going to start trying to temp (again... ugh, alarms). I've been monitoring CM, mostly for understanding what each one feels/looks like, for a while but it seems unpredictable so I'm upping the ante. Shooting for a true 1/1 cycle for July, or hopefully August. 

Tell us about yourself! (Kids, pets, job, hobbies, etc.) I work in development and leadership at a call center, which means I help train new agents how to use the systems we work with every day, and give them "real life experience from the call floor" so that they have a touchpoint for how calls go on a daily basis. DH is head chef of a local restaurant, meaning he rarely cooks at home, but God help you and your pants buttons if he does. If you ask DH, we have one 7-year-old "cow-kitty" cat named Po, but we *really* have two. The other one is Hendrix, and he's a grey tabby, about 4 months old, still semi-feral, and apparently thinks I will eat him if I'm standing up but that I'm perfectly safe sitting down. (I don't have any decent pictures of them, which is really quite sad. I usually take videos because eventually I will catch them being funny, and then they will win me millions.) I don't have any hobbies, honestly, except being a cat chair and occasionally rereading Harry Potter. I have lots of things I want to do - crochet, sewing, cross-stitch, embroidery, gardening, live-plant aquariums, etc - but I get home and have no desire for anything other than being completely lazy, so anything I can neglect/kill is a no-go, and craft supplies are spread all around my house waiting for me to use them. 

[Deleted User]

<blockquote class="Quote">
<div class="QuoteAuthor"><a href="/profile/poandhendrix">poandhendrix</a> said:</div>
<div class="QuoteText"><p>[Snipped]  I usually take videos because eventually I will catch them being funny, and then they will win me millions.) I don't have any hobbies, honestly, except being a cat chair and occasionally rereading Harry Potter. <b>I have lots of things I want to do - crochet, sewing, cross-stitch, embroidery, gardening, live-plant aquariums, etc - but I get home and have no desire for anything other than being completely lazy, so anything I can neglect/kill is a no-go, and craft supplies are spread all around my house waiting for me to use them.</b> </p></div>
</blockquote>
So much ^^^This. :/  ughh.  The. Worst. Right here...

hedgepig

@SquirrelsRWatching You quilt too! There are quite a few of us on here Do you have a picture of something that you made that you want to share?

onlywantone

Hi! I've been lurking on these boards since I started TTC, but I've been too busy to really get involved until now. 

Ages (you and SO): I'm 28 (had to think about that one for a minute, haha, I'm starting to lose track already), and my SO is 34. 

How many months have you been TTC? 3 months/4 cycles

What are you doing to get knocked up (WAYDTGKU)? It feels like everything under the sun. Lots of sex, obviously. Started using OPKs on our second cycle TTC. I bought a thermometer to track my BBT, but I just can't.  I get up too many times in the middle of the night to use the bathroom (I have a chipmunk bladder; imagine what it'll be like when I'm preg!) Some preseed, but that stuff is so messy, and I'm already washing my sheets at least once a week due to the BDing, so I think I'm going to cut down on it. Prenatal vitamins (I got the gummy ones; they are DELISH!) I think my SO has been taking a men's multivitamin sporadically. I have to watch when I take my prenatal because we eat very healthy and I don't want to overdo the Vitamin A (I heard that's bad when TTC). We both exercise 4-5 times a week, and I've been doing that consistently for about 10 years. 

Tell us about yourself! (Kids, pets, job, hobbies, etc.) I'm a psychologist and my SO works in media (TV and radio/podcasting). My husband is a veteran, but I didn't know him back when he was enlisted. When we started dating, we actually decided that we never wanted kids, nor did we ever want to get married, but you can see how that turned out! I love exercising and cooking.  We're homebodies and usually spend our time watching our favorite TV shows or Netflix.  Other random facts: We've lived in every region of the country except for the South. We've moved across the country 3 times. We have 2 dogs: a white, fluffy, prissy, cuddly older dog and an athletic, high energy, playful puppy. Right now we are making bids on houses, as we'll be moving across the country (again) in a couple of months. Exciting times! Nice to meet you all. 

SquirrelsRWatching

With DS and our small house, I havent made a quilt In a while. These I did probably 5-6 year so ago for my brother and his Japanese wife. He calls her Mushi (symbol on the left which means bug) and she calls him inu (dog, the symbol on the right) because my brother can make a funny pug face.

SquirrelsRWatching

I'm glad to see so many people my age quilting! I get my quilting love from my grandmother, but she passed before I could learn from her. I took up teaching myself the year after she died. I think I was 14.

hedgepig

@SquirrelsRWatching What a cool idea for a quilt set! I love to meet young people who sew/ quilt as well, and to get to see all the beautiful and interesting things that people make!

babycakesday

Hi, I've been an active member on the July 2016 BMB.  I'm ready to start trying for baby number 2. 

Ages (you and SO):
me (27) and DH (29)

How many months have you been TTC?
We pulled the goalie (BC) about 2 months ago. We set the goal that once our LO slept through the night to start having sex often. She has been consistently doing that for 3 weeks now! 

What are you doing to get knocked up (WAYDTGKU)?  
Nothing so far, but we will be tracking CM and OV once AF leaves the building. 

Tell us about yourself! (Kids, pets, job, hobbies, etc.)
We have a 10 month old DD. As well as 3 cats and a dog (husky/corgi mix.) I am a SAHM right now and love it. Baby J and I attend stroller strides daily and love hanging out with other moms and babies. I love to read (A LOT) and crochet. Although lately my hobbies include drinking cold coffee, cleaning constantly and sharing my meals. My whole life revolves around being her mama, but I can't wait to see her with a sibling. She is so great with the other babies so it makes us excited to see what she will be like with a younger baby. We just recently bought a house and we're planting our first garden once this rain stops. I'm so excited to get to meet everyone! 

Edit: corrected DS to DD. 

pebbledam

@babycakesday - I thought "DS" stood for "darling son"?

babycakesday

@pebbledam You are 100% correct. This is why I always try to avoid posting when she's awake. I can't multi-task at all!