Day 3.

Here I am, watching a clock tick by, one measly stupid smug second at a time, wishing it would just move it's butt faster to day 14.  I have made no bones about the fact that I hate waiting.. and this is quite simply no exception!  Instead of whining about the TWW today, though, I'm going to write a little bit of a message to anyone trying to conceive...

I literally stalk to TWW forums every day and so so so many women (no one that I know) don't have a clue about the cycle and how it works, as well as the work it takes to fully understand it.  I certainly don't think any less of these women just because they don't know, but I feel that if I can educate just a couple of people on the baby making basics that I've learned, then my work here is complete! ;)

Here's what you will need to do/know if you're trying to conceive (or simply want to understand what's going on..):

1.  Just because you have a generally regular cycle doesn't mean it will forever and always be that way!  Your cycle is not a carbon copy each month, so saying you always get your period on day X isn't foolproof.  Your body goes through amazing and incredible things each month to ripen an egg, release it from the Ovary and produce different symptoms in your cervix and mucus patterns to facilitate fertility.  If there is stress, an immature egg, illness etc, this may interrupt the delicate balance required to go through the whole process.  This WILL make your cycles varied.. your period is not "late".

2.  The luteal phase (the part after ovulation) is a set amount of days (usually 12-16). It doesn't tend to change. ** In some cases women have a short LP, others have long, but mostly this part of the cycle IS regular.  If you feel that you are certain of your ovulation date and your period hasn't turned up by 16 days past, you are either pregnant, or something else is going on.  Before posting on forums (or yahoo questions.. "Could I be pregnant??") perhaps take into account that you may have again miscalculated your ovulation date.  There is NO way of being certain, even if you chart/temp/observe physical signs/use OPK's.. so just breathe, relax and wait it out.  Pee on a few hundred sticks if you want while you wait? ;)

3.  False negative HPT's are RARE!!!!  It's possible that you are a late HCG metaboliser, but more than likely, at 13/14DPO a negative is a negative.  Have a cuppa, down some tim tams and start again once your period shows her face.  It's true what they say, it's not over till the Witch shows her face, but most of the ladies I've spoken to who have negatives by the time it's due, are in fact not pregnant.

4.  Charting is the best way to know where you are and what's going on in your cycle.  Take your BBT (basal body temperature) the same time each morning before getting up.  This will show you a clear pattern of temperatures which change after ovulation from generally low to generally high(er).  Doing this takes a lot (but not all) of the guess work out of your cycle.  For instance, this last cycle I charted temps, mucus findings and CP (cervical position).  I did all of that because I want to conceive.. duh.. ;)  If I hadn't taken my temperatures, and solely relied on one of the above symptoms to determine my most fertile window, I would have stuffed it completely.  You see, my body geared up to ovulate about 5-7 days prior to successfully releasing an egg.  If I hadn't been temping, I would have assumed that I'd ovulated and then when my period didn't arrive 14 days later, I'd be peeing like crazy on anything with a window and wondering why on earth I wasn't getting positives... YOU SEE?????  This saves your sanity in my honest opinion!

If you've done everything you can to determine these things on your own and you're still confused, jump onto the TwoWeekWait.com forums and ask someone to look at your charts, or just commiserate about symptoms you think you're having that are perhaps driving you crazy with wonder while you wait to test.  There are loads of awesome women in the same boat just dying to talk about everything conception related.  (I'm one of them -- YAY!) "

No need to be confused about your body, unless of course, your body isn't working correctly and you need the help of medical pros.  There are many many women going through a lot of heartache due to factors out of their control, and this post is not for those women.  To the rest of us, good luck and happy baby making!!

A. xo

BFLON

BFLON? Yes, big fat lot of nothing.  That's what last month's cycle turned out to be.  It's ok, it was an incredibly long shot.  To fall pregnant, you need to have done the baby dance at the very latest 2 or 3 days prior to ovulation.  Last cycle, I think it was about 5 days.  That's too long, no matter which way you cut it.  I mean, don't get me wrong, sometimes strange things happen.. but in my opinion, if you've "conceived" by "dancing" 4 or 5 days prior to ovulation, you've got the ovulation dates wrong (more than likely..).

Anyway, pressing on to a new cycle, which happened to fall conveniently over my man's holidays! Yay for baby making to a less ridiculous schedule!! For those that don't already know, my husband is away all week and home on the weekends due to work.  So to have him home for almost a week was pure bliss, and honestly, very convenient! ;o) It just so happened that I ovulated much earlier than I anticipated, so the timing could not have possibly been any more perfect!  Keep in mind, we are trying for a girl, so it's a little more finicky than going for a boy.  You can google that... I don't have the energy to break it down right now. :o)

So here I am, at the very beginning of yet another 2WW, which may or may not drive me crazy this time.  I feel so optimistic about this cycle that I feel like I can just forget about it for a week or so and then scrutinise every little twinge for pregnancy signs.  I'll let you know how I'm going though (unlike last month.. sorry about that..)

Good luck and babydust to all those TTCers out there!

A. xo

Two Week Wait

Ohhh how I loathe the TWW.. Most mummies, or mummies to be, or even wanna be mummies will agree that the tww is the WORST two weeks of your LIFE! (maybe I'm dramatic, but I'm sure some people would agree with me).  The tww consists of scrutinising everything your body does, and praying with every fibre of your being that it's doing what you think it's doing.  Then there's the convenience of the HPT (home pregnancy test).. which is oh so easy to overuse!  Most pregnant women don't have detectable amounts of the needed hormone - HCG - until a day or more after they've missed their period, which produces painfully negative tests from about 7 days past ovulation.  Every test is like a punch in the face.  Trust me on that one.

So I want to hear from those in their two week wait.. because I too am there.  Yes, hubby and I are actively trying, and now I'm going to drive myself insane with every little sign and symptom until the day I get my dear old friend (whom I hate very much) Aunt Flow.

On the bright side, it's only about 6 days til I can test... 6 whole long torturous days... Wish me luck!! :o)

A. xo