TTC books

kaskade

Okay, I went to the store today and flipped through Taking Charge of Your Fertility.  Holy textbook, batman.  I want to see what happens if we just "take away the goalie" [Nykola, I stole that from you because that was an awesome line].  I don't want to chart.

I ended up getting What to Expect Before Your Expecting. I flipped through it a bit and it had some silly stuff - no sh!t, I shouldn't snort coke when I'm trying to get pregnant?!  But some of it looked like interesting info. 

Anyone have any experience with this book?  Should I suck it up and just get TCOYF?

Seattle_JiLLn

Well if you just want to pull the goalie, then just pull the goalie.  No books needed.  Maybe the Joy of Sex?  The Kama Sutra?     But you dont' need a book to get pregnant.   Just have fun.  Worry about charting and OPKs and all of that stuff if/when you start getting frustrated that it's taking too long.

 

Are your cycles pretty regular?  That will make it easier.

 

Oh, a really easy "read" is to look at the TTC/charting tutorials on www.fertilityfriend.com - it's basically the cliff notes for TCOYF.   It will talk about the signs of ovulation - like cervical mucus stuff (fun!).  So you could browse that so you can start noticing ovulation signs without having to temp or anything.

iHeartHimMore

TCOYF can seem a little daunting at first glance, but I actually found it to be a really easy read. ?It's full of little stories and anecdotes about real people to, so that helps it flow a little faster. ?I'd give it a shot if I was you.

Pulling the goalie and just seeing what happens certainly works for a lot of people. ?We didn't go that route, so I can't say whether it would've worked for us. ?But FWIW, I learned SO much from TCOYF. ?There was so much about my body that I didn't know. ?How one gets to nearly 30 years old without understanding what's happening inside her every month is kind of baffling, but it seems to be really common. ?Whether you end up charting or not, I think it's worth reading.

Good luck and have fun! ??

mishquiche

Definitely get TCOYF.  It's intimidating at first, but it has such a wealth of information.

CinemaGoddess

iHeartHimMore:

TCOYF can seem a little daunting at first glance, but I actually found it to be a really easy read.  It's full of little stories and anecdotes about real people to, so that helps it flow a little faster.  I'd give it a shot if I was you.

Pulling the goalie and just seeing what happens certainly works for a lot of people.  We didn't go that route, so I can't say whether it would've worked for us.  But FWIW, I learned SO much from TCOYF.  There was so much about my body that I didn't know.  How one gets to nearly 30 years old without understanding what's happening inside her every month is kind of baffling, but it seems to be really common.  Whether you end up charting or not, I think it's worth reading.

Good luck and have fun!   

This!  I was shocked to learn a lot of what we were told as young women does not apply to everyone, especially the 28-day-cycle thing.  Even if you're not planning on charting, the non-charting chapters are really helpful just to learn a few things about how your body works.   

asianbymarriage

IMHO... yes, you should get TCOYF. I feel like every woman should read that book, b/c if you don't, you're depriving yourself of such a wealth of info about your body, it's ridiculous. I know it seems daunting in size, but it's actually really fascinating. You don't have to read the IF parts unless you start to have problems, and you don't even have to chart... you could just observe your CM and see if it matches patterns described in the book. I never really needed the book to TTC (although we did use it successfully to prevent for 6 months). But just reading the first couple chapters informs you so much, as long as there are no IF issues, I would be surprised if it took you longer than 4 months. I found the book to be very empowering.

*And what cinema_goddess said is 100% correct. I've always been really regular, but my cycle is 24 days, and I ovulate around day 8. If I were TTC and aiming at day 14, I would never get pregnant. I would never have known that if I didn't chart a little, or at least count days and observe CM. ?

McJen715

I just wanted to say ditto to the other ladies. I ordered TCOYF off of Amazon, and when it came I was a little shocked at how hefty the book was. It really held my attention though, and it was an easy read. Like the other ladies said, you don't have to read the whole thing unless you want. I read it before we started TTC to get an idea because I knew I wanted to chart right away. I only skimmed the IF sections, but if we continue to have no luck I'll probably go back and read over them better.

JodiLinn503

iHeartHimMore:

  But FWIW, I learned SO much from TCOYF.  There was so much about my body that I didn't know.  How one gets to nearly 30 years old without understanding what's happening inside her every month is kind of baffling, but it seems to be really common. 

 

I completely agree with this! I learned a ton about my body reading it and was amazed (and disturbed?) by how much I didn't know.

But, Jill is also right...you don't need a book to get pregnant. Do what feels most comfortable to you.

Seattle_JiLLn

Start with this:   https://www.fertilityfriend.com/HelpCenter/FFBook/index.html

 

It's the cliff notes I was telling you about.  If that raises more questions and makes you feel like you want to learn more, then get TCOYF out of the library for free.  If you're loving it, buy it.

In the meantime, have a lot of sex. 

Mrs.Kiltlifter

Kaskade do you want my copy of TCOYF? I will be more than happy to loan it out to you to read, take notes, and embrace. I don't need it since we have to do fertility treatments. But I agree with pp that it is probably the best book to learn about your cycle and getting PG.

kaskade

If you're offering, I'll take you up on that!  I know I don't need a book, but I do like to feel informed when I'm heading into things.  It makes me feel more prepared, just in case I do need to start charting or things don't work out as planned.

At first I was a little intimidated by flipping through TCOYF, but after reading What to Expect Before You're Expecting, I think I'd prefer more information.  Plus, all those rave reviews make me think it must be worthwhile.

 My email is kaskade101 at yahoo dot com if you don't have it.