Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 16
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Posts
    7,253

    Default Talk to me about TTC if you are irregular

    If you are irregular, what did you do to TTC (besides the obvious , I understand where babies come from...at least I think I do)?

    To get preggo with DD, DH and I just DTD every other night until I got PG (it took 10 months of trying...DH was secretly happy every time we had a negative test). Since DD was born, I've only had 2 cycles and they are very irregular, much worse than before. I saw my OB and she did a bunch of blood tests and said everything was fine and it was just my body settling down from all the pregnancy and nursing hormones and that things would regulate in a few months. DD is 11 months and I haven't nursed her since she was 6 months. DH and I are TTC, but only in that we don't use any form of protection. We aren't up to DTD every other night yet, and with an active 11 mo in my life, I don't really see that as a possibility this time around. Any advice or BTDT? TIA!
    Mommy to my little bear cubs DD1 and DD2- 4/2010 and 4/2012

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    RDU NC
    Posts
    2,930

    Default

    We did BBT charting and used a clearblue easy fertility monitor, the fertility monitor made all the difference in the world I think. I know of 4 people who got pregnant using it, 3 of us with irregular cycles due to PCOS (me) or other issues. You do not have to buy it new since its the test strips that are disposable, not the monitor and you can resell it when done. I got mine on craigslist for $30.
    DS 1/10 "boo-boo"

  3. #3
    alirebco's Avatar
    alirebco is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    .
    Posts
    1,752

    Default

    Have you ever looked at the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility? She goes over charting your basal body temperature and other fertility signs. I have very irregular cycles both before having DS and after and it did help me. I also did acupuncture after having a miscarriage last year and completely changed my diet and that helped regulate my cycles as well.
    A, mom to Ethan age 5.5 and L age 2

  4. #4
    brittone2 is offline Blue Diamond level (20,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Nov 1999
    Location
    back to where we started
    Posts
    23,590

    Default

    PCOS here. I used BBT when ttc DS1 and tried the clear blue fertility monitor, but I wasn't cycling at all once I went off bcp, so it was expensive to go through all of those sticks with "high" fertility but no peak (I wasn't ovulating). I didn't ovulate until I did injectables/IUI.

    DD was a surprise.

    DS2 I used opks and looked for fertile CM, gave up for a while, and then took an opk mid cycle that was very, very positive. Which made me wonder as I had heard opks can be + when you are pg. I was pg.

    I cycle/ovulate best on lower carb and with the use of metformin XR.
    Mama to DS-2004
    DD-2006
    and a new addition-ds born march 2010

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Posts
    7,253

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by WolfpackMom View Post
    We did BBT charting and used a clearblue easy fertility monitor, the fertility monitor made all the difference in the world I think. I know of 4 people who got pregnant using it, 3 of us with irregular cycles due to PCOS (me) or other issues. You do not have to buy it new since its the test strips that are disposable, not the monitor and you can resell it when done. I got mine on craigslist for $30.
    Can you tell me more about how this works? Do you pee on it somehow? Sorry to be so naive and I hope I'm not prying for TMI. I am very intrigued by this.
    Mommy to my little bear cubs DD1 and DD2- 4/2010 and 4/2012

  6. #6
    gobadgers is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    .
    Posts
    1,684

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by alirebco View Post
    Have you ever looked at the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility? She goes over charting your basal body temperature and other fertility signs. I have very irregular cycles both before having DS and after and it did help me.
    This book was a big eye-opener for me, I think it was really helpful. I read it before TTC and it at least gave me confidence that we didn't miss any windows, KWIM?
    Last edited by gobadgers; 03-11-2011 at 03:49 PM.
    -Christine

    DD, 9/07
    DS, 5/09
    and a very tolerant pup

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Posts
    7,253

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by alirebco View Post
    Have you ever looked at the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility? She goes over charting your basal body temperature and other fertility signs. I have very irregular cycles both before having DS and after and it did help me. I also did acupuncture after having a miscarriage last year and completely changed my diet and that helped regulate my cycles as well.
    What kind of dietary changes did you make? I'm on WW right now and eat a really healthy diet (lots of fruit and veggies, lean meats, whole grains almost exclusively) and was hoping that would help. Is there something special I should be eating/avoiding?

    I tried charting my BBT when we were trying to get PG with DD and it was all over the place. I literally got pregnant the month before my doctor was going to start me on Clomid.
    Mommy to my little bear cubs DD1 and DD2- 4/2010 and 4/2012

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    RDU NC
    Posts
    2,930

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by BabyBearsMom View Post
    Can you tell me more about how this works? Do you pee on it somehow? Sorry to be so naive and I hope I'm not prying for TMI. I am very intrigued by this.
    You're not prying. Its just test strips (think like a diabetes glucose meter) that you pee on and then stick the little cover back on and snap into the machine (very sanitary hence not being weird to reuse with others). For the first month or two you test every morning and it measures as your hormone levels fluctuate so it can tell you your most fertile days and the levels change. Then in subsequent months you test for like 10 or 15 days I think, I didnt get that far in having to test. If there is an issue where you aren't ovulating this is also a good way to tell because your hormone levels wont fluctuate and the machine will show that. Its shows low, med, high, and ovulation levels to indicate when you should start dtd.
    DS 1/10 "boo-boo"

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    East Coast
    Posts
    6,754

    Default

    I have always been irregular and didn't understand ovulation predictor kits either, especially since it seemed I'd have to take them for 2, 3 or even 4 months straight before I'd ovulate. Then again, despite the predictions of every obgyn I've seen, I've gotten pregnant pretty easily. DD1 was a surprise while using pretty unreliable birth control. DD2 was conceived after about 3 months of sex 3ish times a week. DS was conceived similarly, but I think it took 4 or maybe 5 months.

    For DS, we had a shrinking window to get pregnant. I had read in "Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom" that daylight directly striking the retina (no contacts or eyeglasses) helped spur ovulation, and I figured it certainly couldn't hurt. So for 1-2 months until I got pregnant, I started walking outside with bare eyes for 15ish minutes every morning. If DH had to leave and the kids were asleep, I took a baby monitor and walked laps around and around my short cul de sac. I figured if it helped me lose any weight, that in and of itself might help with ovulation.

    But what I wish I'd done was think things through a little. In retrospect, I was due for a period since I hadn't had one in pushing 3 months. I could have stepped up the TTCing just on the assumption that I was due to ovulate after that amount of time, and that probably would have worked.

    Also, DH stopped biking around that time, which may have improved his sperm count. I dont think he changed his laptop use, but I am suspicious that men holding warm laptops in their laps decreases sperm counts, so think if that might be an issue in your relationship. Maybe use a lapdesk or put the laptop on a table.
    Advice and commentary on living overseas

    DD1 15, DD2 12, and DS 9

  10. #10
    malphy is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    1,206

    Default

    ov watch worked for me and others I know. check it out
    Maggie
    dd 12/06

Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •