TFAS W/O 1/8

cdepperschmidt

*This is a check-in for those with babies/children at home. If you are having a hard TTC day or TTCAL day this post may mention children or issues specifically related to parenting or babies. Pregnancy may also be mentioned. Please feel free to lurk at your own discretion.***

What number are you trying for?

Cycle/Month?

WTO/TWW?

Ages of other child(ren)?

Any thoughts about this cycle?

Any questions?

Rant/Rave/Brag

GTKY: What is your favorite thing to do with your child(ten)?

cdepperschmidt

Edit: I’m a hot mess today. I swear I didnt see this thread so I created it. Then I went back to the main page and was look oh nvm. Then I realized it was TTCAL...

kristah2

What number are you trying for? 2

Cycle/Month? 2

WTO/TWW? WTO

Ages of other child(ren)? 14 mths

Any thoughts about this cycle? only early yet. H is gone right around O time so hoping to get some DECENT timing when he gets back. 

Any questions? nope

Rant/Rave/Brag: Rant - My back is a mess and it's hard to care for a 14 mth old who isn't walking AND 4 dogs (I have 2 and I'm watching my moms 2) and no H. 

GTKY: What is your favorite thing to do with your child(ten)? Go into his big gated play area and sit on the floor and play with him. He is so much fun and he loves to play! 

elothair

@kristah2 Oh man, back problems are the worst because every movement hurts! I hope yours improves soon - and that the baby and dogs go easy on you!

What number are you trying for? 3

Cycle/Month? 10/10

WTO/TWW? TWW 

Ages of other child(red)? 7, almost 4

Any thoughts about this cycle? Pretty sure I'm out as I had a BFN this morning at 10DPO and this is when I got BFP with both my other two. Just waiting out the next 2 cycles so I can get an RE referral.

Any questions? Nope.

GTKY: What is your favorite thing to do with your child(ten)? With both of my kids it's the one on one time I get with each of them. With my daughter its girl's dates - we try and do one every few weeks where my daughter gets to choose our activities. Last week we had one before she went back to school that involved shopping, playing a new game she got for her birthday, and sushi. With my son, every Monday I work from home and he stays home with me and we have "mommy/buddy day" which once again is mostly whatever he chooses - yesterday's was going to the mall to get a new Pez dispenser, tot romp at a local rec centre, and a happy meal before coming home so he could watch a bit of TV and I could get some work in while we snuggles on the couch. 

Spylon

@kristah2 I hope your back starts to feel better soon! Can't be easy lugging around a 14 month old when you're in pain 

@elothair Aww, I love the girl dates and mommy/buddy day idea! I'm sure they really appreciate getting to spend some one-on-one time with you, too. 

What number are you trying for? 2

Cycle/Month? 4/4

WTO/TWW? TWW

Ages of other child(ren)? 19 months

Any thoughts about this cycle? I don't have a good feeling about this cycle. I won't be testing for a few more days, but I've already prepared myself for a BFN.

Any questions? Any recommendations on brands of OPKs?

Rant/Rave/Brag: So yesterday was DD's first day back at daycare after 2.5 weeks off... and she was a terror. My daycare provider started babysitting a new baby, and apparently mine was not thrilled about no longer being the youngest. I'm sure she'll be so happy about getting a sibling in the future lol. FX today will be a better day for her. 

GTKY: What is your favorite thing to do with your child(ten)? My favourite thing to do with DD is read. I love how obsessed she is with her books! She's starting to "read" to me sometimes, which is adorable. It's just gibberish as she turns pages. I love it!

wishiwaspreggo

@elothair - sorry about the BFN and the possible RE referral I do love your one-on-one time with your kids! I plan to do something like that in the future when I have more than one. When I was a tween/teenager my mom would call me in sick at school once a year and we'd spend the day shopping. It was so much fun and I plan to do something like that in the future. I have a son though so it may be more like paintball or laser tag I can do rough-and-tumble as much as I can do girly so DS lucked out with me!

I don't have much to add for myself - just waiting for the AMH results. I'm not particularly anxious or anything. Once we do cycle it won't be until next month at the earliest so... hanging out for now! Checking out how other folks are doing.

GTKY: I love taking DS to the pool. We have a little play area at the indoor pool at the YMCA and DS goes nuts for it. As soon as we get to the locker room he charges for the door to the pool and I have to pull him back so I can get his floatie/arm wing thing on and take his shoes off. An hour or two at the indoor pool and it wipes him out for the night! I haven't taken him for a while because it's been too cold and I worry about getting him back to the car even if he's a little damp due to sub zero temperatures. But it'll be warmish the next couple nights so I'll try to take him this week.

elothair

@Spylon Hopefully your DD was just a terror because of the change in routine rather than the new baby. After being off for that long I'd probably be upset to go back too, lol! And yes to reading with them - my dd can actually read now so she reads me a chapter a night before bed and then I read a chapter from a slightly harder book to her. Reading with my babies has always been one of my favourite things!

@wishiwaspreggo Getting the one on one time with them is so much more precious once you have more than one - we started it right away when my DS was born to ensure DD knew she was still important. Both kids also do alone days with DH and they are usually much more rough and tumble selections! Definitely a different choice for boys than with girls - I can't see my DS ever choosing shopping, lol! I hope the AMH results come back positive for you guys, and I'm glad DW finally decided to get it done!

Spylon

@elothair I really hope you're right! I have a friend who has a two month old and we've gone over there plenty of times without any issues, me holding the baby and everything. She's never made a fuss. So I'm really hoping that it's just he change in routine. And for reading, I can't wait to do that too! Maybe read a chapter book, a few pages a night. 

nmbrcrnchr1

@kristah2 sorry about your back, hope it gets better soon

@elothair sorry for the BFN 

@Spylon my DD loves to read too. She will “read” to herself for a long time, I often wish I could see what was going through her head!

What number are you trying for? 2

Cycle/Month? 5/6 (I think)

WTO/TWW? WTO

Ages of other child(ren)? 2

Any thoughts about this cycle? Not yet, too early

Any questions? Nope

Rant:our DD has never been a good sleeper, but she was finally sleeping thru the night consistently. she was sick a few weeks ago and ever since she’s back to her old waking up 3-4 times a night and she won’t fall asleep unless we lay with her (sometimes it takes an hour!) anyone else have this problem and do you have solutions? I am thinking about sleep training but we’ve tried before with no luck and honestly the thought of it exhausts me even more!

Rave: I’ve managed to workout every morning so far this week, since DD wakes me up around 4:30 I figured I might as well workout!

GTKY: What is your favorite thing to do with your child(ten)? Play outside, she loves being outside so it’s so much fun to see her so happy. I’m seriously considering moving south bc this time of year is so depressing being stuck inside.

kristah2

@nmbrcrnchr1 are you doing home work outs or heading to the gym? You are so on the ball - I wish I had some of that motivation!

eleven_

@kristah2 Dang girl! A toddler, 4 dogs, and no DH? I’m so sorry. FX that your DH makes it back to you for some good HIO timing 
@elothair I’m so sorry about you BFN. I hope your next 2 cycles pass quickly for you if you don’t get your BFP. So cute that you spend one on one time with your kids. I think we've talked about this, but when does your 3 year old turn 4? Have you asked him what kind of birthday he wants?
@spylon I’m sorry you don’t have a good feeling about this cycle. I hate that. I really love the ClearBlue Digital OPKs but they are a little pricey.
@nmbrcrnchr1 I feel you on sick kids and ruining a perfectly good sleep routine. I think that is what has happened with us. It’s so hard to get back on track. Sleep training is the bane of my existence. It is so emotionally and physically draining on everyone involved. We’ve been having to lay with both my  kids for the past month and I finally put a stop to it this week. It’s been hard but it’s getting better. FX that you guys can figure something out so you all can get more sleep.

What number are you trying for? 3

Cycle/Month? 7/7

WTO/TWW? WTO

Ages of other child(ren)? DD is 2.5 & DS is almost 4

Any thoughts about this cycle? I have so much of myself invested into this cycle. I started temping and I’ve been using OPKs twice a day. I know I will take it really really hard if nothing comes of it. Andplusalso, I’ve always wanted an October baby.

Any questions? No

Rant/Rave/Brag: I don't have much to say except that I’ve had a really hard week and I swear my kids can sense it. They have been so sweet to me and have kept the fighting to a minimum.

GTKY: What is your favorite thing to do with your child(ren)? Honestly? My favorite thing to do is just to snuggle on the couch with them while watching movies. I love getting out with them too but having them close to me makes me feel so content. 

flyingmombula

@nmbrcrnchr1 I feel you on the sleep front. My 2 year old has still never slept through the night!!! We bedshare and are still nursing though. Hope to wean soon. The thought of sleep training exhausts me too. I think we will try a full size bed soon. 

My favorite thing to do with my LO is Gymboree. He absolutely loves it and goes nuts running around, screeching with glee for the whole 45 minutes. 

wishiwaspreggo

@nmbrcrnchr1 @flyingmombula I co-sleep too. DS is an awful sleeper. It's exhausting. He has to be between DW and I, and he can't fall asleep unless he's physically touching both of us. It actually makes me glad we're delayed with TFAS because we really need to break him of this before adding a new baby to the mix. I am going to dedicate myself to sleep training the next one so this doesn't happen again. We've been way too easy on DS about things we shouldn't have and I regret it.

Spylon

@nmbrcrnchr1 @eleven_ @wishiwaspreggo @flyingmombula Sorry to say this ladies, but I am so comforted by the fact that I'm not the only one with a toddler that still doesn't sleep through the night! It seems like everyone else around me has kids that started sleeping through the night super early. We're gonna work on it too, but you guys made me feel much better about it!

kristah2

The whole not sleeping through the night thing makes me scared to have a second. DS slept for 6 hours since 6 weeks and has increased since. He sleeps 12-13 now. He has hit sleep regression where he would wake up multiple times for about a week and then go back to his schedule. 
I don't know if I can survive a child who doesn't sleep. 

eleven_

@spylon Right? At least we can all suffer together 

elothair

@eleven_ My DS turns 4 on Valentine's Day! As of now he wants a pirate party and we're still trying to decide if we do it at home or rent a room/play centre somewhere. When does your DS turn 4?
@nmbrcrnchr1 Good for you working out and taking advantage of no sleep! Both my kids were awful sleepers for the first few years but eventually they did get over it (around 3.5 for my DD and around 3 for my DS).

To all of you with the younger ones not sleeping - they will sleep eventually!! Both my kids now go down around 8:30 and sleep until 7:30/8 if I don't have to wake them up for school. Bedtime is still a struggle because neither of them wants to go to bed but once they are down they sleep through thankfully! But the first 6 years of me being a mom was so much broken sleep between the two of my kids that I'm pretty sure I'll never fully recover!

eleven_

@elothair That's so cute his bday is Valentine's! And a pirate birthday sounds so fun. Going somewhere for their birthdays is so fun but so much planning! DS turns 4 on March 19th and he only wants a dinosaur bday. We did that last year too so I was hoping he'd pick something else but he is set on dinos! 

holly321

What number are you trying for?  3

Cycle/Month? 5/11

WTO/TWW?  Benched

Ages of other child(ren)? DD is 6, DS will be 5 in about 2 weeks

Any thoughts about this cycle? There is finally an end in sight, my doctor will probably unbench me in 3 months!

Any questions? None

Rant/Rave/Brag rant, DD is in meltdown node and has everyone on edge.  DS was upset with her and threw a potted plant at her, which don't judge me, was a little funny (no one but the plant got hurt) but, now I get to steam clean the living room once the kids are asleep, if that ever happens.  Rave though, this is her first true meltdown in probably a month or 2, so there's progress!   

GTKY: What is your favorite thing to do with your child(ten)?  I love coloring with DD, and I love when we get alone time.  DS doesn't go to school on Friday's, so we go to playgroup and usually get a few hours together after.  (A lot of Fridays someone has an appointment, so it doesn't happen as much as I want.)

holly321

@kristah2, I hope your DH is back on time.  And I hope your back feels better soon.

@elothair, fingers crossed that it is too early.  My BFP'S have been all over the place with my pregnancies, DD was unknown, 2nd pregnancy was 12 DPO, DS was 7 DPO, 4th was 15 DPO. and your days with you kids sound nice and like ours.  DS loves to get Happy meals.

@spylon, I hope the next days back at day care go better.  My kids are having a hard time getting back to school from Christmas break. And there has been cancellations, late opens and early closings, or doctor's appointments every day, so we haven't had a normal day yet!  It's so sweet she is starting to "read" to you. I remember the first time each of mine did that.  

@eleven_ I am sorry this has been a rough week for you,  but that is awesome they are taking it easy on you.  

nmbrcrnchr1

@kristah2 I’m working out in our home gym, we have a treadmill and weights so I do little workouts in the morning when I can. I don’t have time to actually go to a gym since there are none close by
@Spylon @eleven_ @wishiwaspreggo @elothair @flyingmombula well I feel better I’m not the only one lol. We were way too lenient on sleeping habits and if/when we have a 2nd I will be doing things differently (I hope!) I know in a few years I’ll want her to cuddle and she won’t want to but right now I just want sleep! 

cdepperschmidt

@kristah2 My back was in so much pain before DS started walking and when he was just starting to walk. I found relief at the chiropractor, do you have one?

@nmbrcrnchr1 DS is the same way, horrible sleeper. Everytime he gets down to only one waking, he gets sick or gets a tooth and we are back to square 1, it’s tough. I’m sorry your dealing with that!

@flyingmombula DS has never slept through the night either. I just recently cut out MOTN nursing. I’m determined to wean.

cdepperschmidt

What number are you trying for? 2

Cycle/Month? 2/2

WTO/TWW? WTO

Ages of other child(ren)? 2

Any thoughts about this cycle? It feels like it’s taking forever to O. But it’s only day 15.

Any questions? No

Rant/Rave/Brag: I have to go back to work after a 6 break. School went back from winter break last Tuesday and Wednesday, but then we were out for snow days Thursday and Friday. I took off yesterday because DS was sick and today we had an ice day. 

GTKY: What is your favorite thing to do with your child(ren)? This is probably to my detriment, but I love snuggling him as he falls asleep.

kristah2

@cdepperschmidt yes! I had one when I lived away and I just found a new one and started there yesterday. Hopefully a couple treatments and I'll be back to normal. My next one is Friday. He said it's most likely progressive from being tense and carrying around a 14 month old all the time.

Spylon

@holly321 Thank you! Yesterday was a much better day. The morning was rough, but she went back to her usual routine of playing happily with the older girls and didn't seem to mind the baby. I'm so relieved lol. Hopefully you get to go another long stretch without any meltdowns from your DD! 

jengibre_zorro

@kristah2 - sorry about the back - do you see a chiropractor?
@elothair - at what age did you start doing dates?  I like that idea, but i feel like my son is too young to understand special time together yet
@Spylon - we had the same daycare fiasco!  He has made an epic scene each morning.  He also started a new room after the break, so i think it was too much change. He's already doing better though - fx its short lived!
@nmbrcrnchr1 - we have been through sleep training 8 million times (except i refuse to leave him to cry all night, because he would.) I feel like even with sleep training some kids are just terrible sleepers.  I think the training is more for the parents to feel better about the situation
@eleven_ I really hope this is your cycle.  And it's sweet that the kids are going easy on you.  I feel like littles ones are more empathetic than we give them credit for
@holly321 - i think we're kindred spirits, because i find myself laughing during some of the meltdowns.  I wish i could record some to play for him at his 18th birthday....
@cdepperschmidt - get all those night time snuggles while you can!!

What number are you trying for? 2

Cycle/Month? almost 4/3

WTO/TWW? TWW

Ages of other child(ren)? 18 mos.

Any thoughts about this cycle? censored for foul language

Any questions? see below

Rant/Rave/Brag   I travel a lot for work, and my husband travels not as much, but some.  Because of this, at no point will we be in the same state during next cycles fertile week.  Do we try to meet in the airport bathroom for  a quickie as i return/he leaves?  Why is this so hard?  Should i start blocking out O week for travel on my work calendar, or is that over the top?

GTKY: What is your favorite thing to do with your child(ten)? dance party!  He is a dancing maniac, and has moves just like Elaine in Seinfeld.  I love to put on a record and just rock out with him.  

coco2787

What number are you trying for?

2

Cycle/Month?

Not sure if I'm calculating this right but I think 2/4

WTO/TWW?

WTO

Ages of other child(ren)?

Almost 4.5 

Any thoughts about this cycle?

CD1!  So happy to be off the damn bench!

Any questions?

Nah

Rant/Rave/Brag

I love hanging out with my son, but I am also very grateful he is back at school this week.

GTKY: What is your favorite thing to do with your child(ten)?

Probably snuggles.  He is the best snuggler, sometimes he'll stop in the middle of playing just to run over for a hug.  

Spylon

@jengibre_zorro I vote yes for both airport bathroom quickie AND blocking your calendar!

rosebud332

What number are you trying for? 2

Cycle/Month? 1

WTO/TWW? WTO

Ages of other child( 10 months

Any thoughts about this cycle? Excited/nervous to be actually trying now

Any questions? Nope

Rant/Rave/Brag Since everyone is talking about sleep...my kid decided two nights ago sleep was not for her! She woke up at 11:30 and stayed up until 3:30 am. Awful. I hope it was a fluke...last night she slept through the night thank goodness. Lack of sleep is definitely what I'm most nervous about with a new baby. I don't do well with sleep deprivation and I don't even know how to take care of a toddler and new born at the same time, let alone on no sleep!

GTKY: What is your favorite thing to do with your child(ten)? Right now I just love watching her play and learn new things. She's at an age where she is picking up a lot of new skills and it's so much fun to see it happen.

wishiwaspreggo

@Spylon - glad we could make you feel better it would suck to believe you're the only one dealing with a bad sleeper. It's fairly common, apparently. @elothair - thank you for the reassurance that it'll get better! Too many people are like "lolz you'll never sleep again!!!1!!11" Last night when I was trying to get DS down he hopped out of bed to find DW (who was in the shower). I went after him and heard his voice in the bathroom and when he realized I was coming to get him he slammed the door shut! Little turd is lucky he's so cute :P I think (hope, pray) things will change once he starts preschool. If he has a reason he needs to get out of bed in the morning and has a program that will adequately stimulate and wear him out, that'll really help. Just a matter of doing the research and figuring out where to send him. So many options, it's fairly overwhelming.

wishiwaspreggo

@kristah2 - FWIW if your second child is a bad sleeper, it's just something you get used to. I get *enough* sleep but I wish I could get more. I am able to function just fine, though. I just remind myself that he's only going to be little and act like this for so long before he grows out of it.

Spylon

@kristah2 I second what @wishiwaspreggo said; you kind of just get used to it. DH and I both work full time and we still function fine even though DD has slept through the night only a handful of times since she was born. We take turns and we let each other have a day of sleeping in on the weekends. Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE for her to sleep better, but it's not horrible. 

wishiwaspreggo

We do that too, @Spylon (letting each other take turns sleeping in on the weekend)! It's a brilliant strategy and one I highly recommend to all parents of crap sleepers It definitely helps restore sanity for both of us.

elothair

@jengibre_zorro I started the one on one dates with my DD after DS was born - so around 3.5 which was pretty perfect age. We used to start really small though -  meal out, or ice cream, or a play centre. Now we do half day/all day outings together at 7 years old. With DS it's still about half day max before he needs some down time!

@wishiwaspreggo I've had so many people say awful things about having kids and how you'll never sleep, eat in restaurants, etc. again after having them. Thankfully I've found all of it to be untrue and I always remind myself when we are in a phase that it will pass. And it goes so quickly that I try and remember to appreciate each stage...I still can't believe I have a 7 year old in Grade 2, it seems like she was JUST born!

flyingmombula

@cdepperschmidt do you mind if I ask how you got rid of MOTN nursing sessions? I would LOVE to cut that out rn. We are bedsharing so that’s hard to do. His OT says we should start with naps so we are going forward with that this week (nursing to go down but not for any wake ups).

Mylitta

What number are you trying for? 2

Cycle/Month? 6/5

WTO/TWW? Tww, as of yesterday? 

Ages of other child(ren)? 11m

Any thoughts about this cycle? Not looking good. Timing didn't work out great due to sick baby. 

Any questions? Nope 

Rant/Rave/Brag - sick baby! I feel terrible for him. I suck his nose out, bought an herbal cough syrup (he hates but it's actually helping,) baby boogie wipe things. Brought him to bed with/on us to make sure he can sleep in an incline - or else he's up every 45 min to an hour. I had it two weeks ago, H got a touch but we nipped it in the bud. We were hoping it would skip him. No such luck. He's mostly refusing to eat food, which I understand. Do you think it's fine to nurse more often? He's open to it and I'm, not pushing, but making it readily available. I'm just trying to make up those calories. 

GTKY: What is your favorite thing to do with your child(ten)? Watch him learn something new. He finds out he can do something and its so proud of himself. I love seeing that look on his face - pure pleasure and pride! 

acciocoffee

What number are you trying for? 2

Cycle/Month? 7/5 (1 loss 1 benched)

WTO/TWW? WTO 

Ages of other child(ren)? 2.5

Any thoughts about this cycle? Excited to be off the bench! I'm feeling really good about using OPKs for the first time. We just guessed on timing the first few months of TFAS so it will be nice to know that we did everything we could. 

Any questions? Nope

Rant/Rave/Brag - We painted a wall in DD's room this weekend to look like a dark sky with stars. Yesterday I picked up the "Moon in my Room" that I ordered from Target and her room is just so cool now! DD is obsessed with the moon, so she was pretty excited to have one in her room now! 

GTKY: What is your favorite thing to do with your child(ten)? I love watching movies with DD. She gets so cuddly and I love it. I'm really feeling the baby fever lately so I've been doing lots of movie nights so she snuggles up with me. 

flyingmombula

@Mylitta nurse often! He’ll get better faster, especially because you caught it first. He’ll get your antibodies through the milk, and the extra calories won’t hurt either

@acciocoffee that sounds amazing!! I want my room to look like that!

coco2787

@Mylitta definitely nurse more!  He can afford to miss a few days of good eating but with some extra nursing you know he's at least getting plenty of fluids.  
@flyingmombula I know you didn't ask me, but the only way we were able to eliminate MOTN nursing was to move him to his own bed.  We bed shared until about 20 months and then moved him to his own room.  I would still nurse to sleep and if he woke up in the night I would nurse briefly, and over time (a couple weeks) I reduced the amount of time I would let him nurse for.  Eventually that changed to just snuggles.  By the time he was 2 he was sleeping through the night pretty consistently.    

flyingmombula

@coco2787 thank you!! I actually just had somebody tell me the exact same thing worked for her DD! I am definitely going to push for a full bed now with DH. 

cdepperschmidt

@flyingmombula

The first thing I did was cut out the random comfort sessions, so we were just doing nap time, bed time, middle of the night and when I got home from work. Then, I cut out the after work session, by saying he could have it at bed time. After that, I dropped nap time, also by saying he could have it at bed time. Next, I cut out MOTN, that was the hardest! He cried and screamed (we cosleep), but after a week of saying only at bed time he stopped asking. Finally, I started chipping minutes off at bed time. I started with 5 minutes per boob, then 4, 3, 2 and now a minute and 30. I set a timer and told him he could have it until the timer went off. The gradual slow down has been pretty easy, usually he’s done before the timer. I need to just cut the cord, but he keeps getting sick and I don’t want to cut him off when he doesn’t feel well.