I have been MIA for a couple of days - sorry! I had an awesome weekend filled with friends and family and the sun shining :) Since this is something I do for fun and to hopefully become part of a broader TTC community, I decided that if I miss a few days because I get caught up in life, that's okay with me. I hope that you'll keep reading even if I don't check in every day.
I thought it would be worthwhile for me to post a recap of this cycle so far since I haven't really posted any of the nitty-gritty details. If you follow my blog, you would have read one of my posts from last week Just Relax where I touched on the fact that I was regular since going off birth control until the cycle before we officially started TTC when my cycle jumped from 29 days to 36 days. While my cycle was regular, after the first couple of months I stopped paying attention to the signs of fertility like cervical fluid which I had been tracking previously, so I have no idea when I actually ovulated during the pre-TTC cycle. Further, since I had no idea what was going to happen this cycle, I decided to just take a laissez-faire approach - track nothing, BD constantly and hope for the best. Now that I'm in the TWW I'm thinking that this probably isn't the best approach for me. I would rather have an idea of what is going on with my body and possibly an idea of what to expect. More on that later.
Here's TTC Cycle #1 in a nutshell:
CD1 (April 13) -CD4 - AF
We DTD on CD5 just because we wanted to :)
From CD9- CD22 we DTD 11 times. Yep, I think that's a record. I figure that it's unlikely that my cycle would exceed 36 or 37 days (hopefully?!) so CD 22 is 14 days back from then which is the common luteal period so somewhere in there we should have hit a potentially fertile day.
I considered checking CM, but honestly could not tell whether I was looking at leftover semen or CM and gave up on it early on in the cycle. I haven't paid enough attention to know any of my other signs of fertility so I have absolutely no idea if/when I ovulated this cycle... which means I have no idea when the possible window for implanation might be and even worse, when I could test for PG! Let me tell you ladies, this is not fun. My mind is playing tricks on me already. Today is CD25. Yesterday I had cramps all day - they were sort of a dull ache, not as intense as menstrual cramps but not quite like intestinal cramps, although it is hard to say because I've never concentrated so hard on cramps before in my life... honestly I was loving it thinking maybe there was hope after all. Oh and my boobs - I am constantly squeezing them as if they are a direct line to my uterus. So far nothing yet but I'm sure they will start to be tender soon from all the abuse they are getting. My husband is also pointing things out to me all the time now too. For example, we were eating a treat we have been hooked on lately, and I told him it tasted funny to me. He gave me his most convincing "you must be pregnant if this tastes funny" eyes. There is no escaping it.
Okay, rant over. As a result of the above, I went out and purchased the book Taking Charge of your Fertility (TCOYF). I have read the first 4 chapters and am enjoying it so far. Once I'm done, I'm going to decide on a plan for next month which I will of course share with all of you out there in TTC land. Stay tuned!
Yeah I'm not much one for flying blind either. Mind you we just don't get it on often enough to just go "ooops!"... Left over semen is an easy one. It clear and slippery. It seems a lot like EWCM except that you just can't get the stuff to stretch. It comes apart immediately. That and left overs tend to have that funky sex smell... Blegh.
ReplyDeleteDon't stress to hard about symptoms. Progesterone is responsible for the majority of pregnancy related symptoms and as your luteal phase is when progesterone is at its highest regardless of pregnancy, you will experience a lot of things that will overlap but don't necessarily mean much. The big things are more likely to turn up closer to when AF is due because your HCG levels are big enough to play with your progesterone a bit more. :-)
Thanks for the words of advice, they're very much appreciated. I have backed off from the imaginary pregnancy symptoms since I wrote this post yesterday. It would be easier if I knew when to expect AF! I feel somewhat empowered from reading the book and can't wait to start charting next month. If it works as well as they say it can, the insight would be invaluable for me as someone who wonders and worries constantly.
DeleteDo you like the thermometer you use & if yes, what brand is it and where did you buy it? I looked at Walmart and Shoppers Drug Mart and haven't been able to find one.
Ahhh yeah.. the not knowing when AF is due part does make things a littttle more complicated! :-)
DeleteI'm in Australia so I am not sure if you've got the same one over there but I use a Surgipack http://www.homepharmacy.com.au/products/products_view.cfm?ProductID=9899 They are available at most pharamacies over here. I like that is goes to two decimal places and that is works in just a few seconds as well as being very quiet so it won't wake DH. Also has a memory recall thing for the last temp too!
BTW - I've added you as a friend on FF. :-)
DeleteOooohhh Australia! I wish I was there too :)
DeleteThanks for the link, I will check it out but will try to find somewhere closer to home to order it from.
Confirmed you as a friend! I had no idea FF had that function. Your old charts are intense, you were a tracking machine!
I think your BD bases were covered for that cycle ;-) & I have read some of TCOYF while I was at Barnes & Noble but I Haven't purchased a copy yet - I'll do that if we aren't successfull the first 2 months we start TTC this year. But i have heard great things about it and that it's very informational!
ReplyDeleteLOL, yes I think we may have gone a bit overboard with the BD. So far so good with the book - once I'm finished reading I'll write a post about it!
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