Things I wish I knew before TTC

So, when you first start trying to make a baby it seems so foreign and exciting, and you naively believe that you will be knocked up pretty quickly. But it doesn't necessarily turn out that way for everyone. But, let's not think about infertility right now, I want to share some information for those who are just starting out and to maybe help people not be so confused about tracking their cycle. Strangely enough for some odd reason, I honestly wasn't tracking my cycle correctly until I went into the specialists. How could I be so off when I even read so many books and on the matter.

Tracking your cycle is extremely important to start doing before you start TTC

I felt so dumb when I learned that when the doctor asks you when your last period was IT IS NOT the last day you needed a pad or tampon. The date you need to give your doctor is the very first day of your period. This very first day of your period is your cycle day 1 (CD 1). But, you also have to know that what is considered your first day of your period is the heavy flow stuff, not spotting.

What's the difference between spotting and heavy flow? Well, generally you will need a tampon or pad every few hours, while spotting kind of comes and then there's nothing for hours or even till the next day.

I know that some woman don't have consistent periods, which can really make their cycle days very difficult to track. I am not an expert on irregular periods, and if you do have an irregular period I'd highly recommend you speak with your gynecologist or primary care doctor before you even try to start trying because it could be an indication that you may have trouble conceiving. This is why it was so frustrating for me because I have a cycle that you can set a calendar by, always on time!

Ovulation day is different for each woman

So, the whole "you ovulate 12-15 days" from your day 1, so not consistent. For starters you have to know when your cycle day 1 really is to count the days, and every woman is different. It took me forever to finally even understand the best signs for determining if I was ovulating. I even used these fancy ovulation predictor kits daily and for some reason wouldn't even have them come up positive when I tracked for soooooooo many days. One cycle I tracked till well after and never got a smily face! They tell you to use your first morning pee, but sometimes it's your afternoon pee that will actually show a positive LH surge.

When I got my first positive LH surged on the OPK I was so excited I jumped up and down and had to take a picture. My sister had the same response when I had to pee on a stick in the afternoon since I found that I'd get more positives in the afternoon instead of the morning. Now when you get a blood test those are going to be much more accurate so just listen to your nurse and MD when you're being treated.

I've found that the Kindara app is the easiest also for keeping track of things, though I'm still awaiting my wink...

How do you know you're ovulating?

So, there are a lots of ways of tracking your cycle, some people just write down their day 1 and then guess that they are ovulating between the 12-15 days, others take their temp daily, and others just start using OPKs daily. How can you not stress so much and simplify things?

Well, what I recommend is get a super good OPK, and start POAS on your cycle day 10. I highly recommend getting the ClearBlue one with the digital indicator. I think trying to determine if the line is dark or not is a pain in the ass and a waste of my time. I know they are cheap, but they just stress me out, and the smiley face makes me much happier!

I have also found for myself that I could tell I was ovulating by my cervical mucus. When I had the nice clear and yokey mucus if I peed on a stick it was always positive! I highly recommend getting this kit, and only start using it on day 10, and especially when you start noticing your mucus getting thin and clear.

When do you baby dance?

There are so many sites that tell you to make love every other day during the week that you're ovulating, but honestly until you have your hubby/partner's jizz checked out, do it daily! Before, during, and after, most guys will have plenty of swimmers each day, and the more that there are for when the egg comes down the tube the better.

Now the day you have determined is your big ovulation day is really just telling you that your LH is surging and that an egg is about to come out of those ovaries. But usually it's really about 1-2 days after the surge that the egg has left the station. So, just have fun and sure go ahead and stay on your back with your pelvis elevated for 10-15 mins after you do the dirty, it doesn't hurt. (Awkward discussion I know...)

The dreaded 2 week wait (2WW)

So, after you've ovulated, your next cycle will start in about 10 days, and those are the longest days to wait and hope that it doesn't come! Now there is a recommendation that after ovulation you should eat brazil nuts and pineapple core for 5 days to help with implantation. Supposedly the Bromelian that is contained in the core and the nuts will help. I liked blending the core into a smoothy with some ice cream as a treat, especially when you're limiting your usual pina coladas. Take your pre-natal vitamins as well, folic acid, and limit caffeine and alcohol. Distract yourself with a busy schedule as well and for god's sakes don't search "pregnancy symptoms" every day! Also, try your best to not take a pregnancy test till your expected next cycle day 1, you'll just make yourself crazy. Also, I've heard that the cheap HCG tests are just as effective at detecting HCG as the expensive ones.

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Hope that any of this material can help, I'm sure I can write more in-depth posts on each of these topics since it's really rather abbreviated!

Best,

Natasha

#ivf #ttc #pineapple #opk #ovulation #cycle #babydance