our little secret language

I'm TTC, currently on my 2WW, hoping I don't get a BFN on my HPT or visit from AF. I haven't been charting my CM or BBT, but I'm pretty sure we did the BD a couple times around my O. What the heck?

If you are new to ttc (trying to conceive) discussions, all those acronyms can be confusing! You read through blogs and message boards, and only catch half of what is being said! So here's a little cheat sheet for you:

2WW: two-week wait (until you can take a pregnancy test)
AF: Aunt Flo (aka your period)
BBT: Basal Body Temperature
BC: Birth Control
BD: Baby Dance (aka sex)
BFN: Big Fat Negative (as in negative pregnancy test)
BFP: Big Fat Positive (yay!)
CD: Cycle Day
CF: Cervical Fluid
CM: Cervical Mucus
CY: Cycle
DH: Dear Husband
DP: Dancing Partner (aka hubby)
DPO: Days Past Ovulation
HPT: Home Pregnancy Test
IF: Infertility
LMP: Last Menstrual Period
LP: Luteal Phase
O or OV: Ovulation
OPK: Ovulation Predictor Kit
POAS: Pee on a Stick
PG: Pregnant
PNV: Prenatal Vitamins
SAHM: Stay at Home Mom
SOC: Sex on Command
TMI: Too Much Information
TTC: Trying to Conceive

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baby making adventures: buying hpt

So AF is suppose to come in five days, and I am SO hoping to be stood up! In the meantime, I went to the pharmacy yesterday to buy a hpt for the first time. I think this ranks up there with going to buy condoms (something I have never had to do!) ... a little awkward to say the least!

First I had to figure out where the heck they even put them in the store. They are oh so discretely titled 'family planning' on the large banner over head. So it took me a while to find!

When I finally found them, I was warmly greeted by an entire wall of options! Ok. Maybe not an ENTIRE wall, but it sure seemed like it. I had absolutely no idea what I was suppose to buy. Are name brands better than generic? Are early predictors as reliable? Should I buy a single test or a three pack? Did anyone else know how expensive these things were! Because I sure didn't!

So I decided to go with a First Response Early Results test. Why? Because I'd heard of it, and because it was on sale. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a good deal.

So then I had to walk around the store getting my other items, with a bright pink box in my hand. Nothing discreet about it! I was just praying that I wouldn't run into anyone I knew, which was a high probability considering I was only three blocks from home!

Then there was no clerk at the check out, so I had to wait some more ... while the sweet old lady trying to figure out the photo machine nonchalantly eyed me and my purchases. I can only imagine what she was thinking!

Finally it was tucked away in my bag and I ran out of the store. Safe.

Sure hope I don't have to do that again soon! Now I just have to wait until tomorrow to actually TAKE the test!

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my new favorite app

Having just started ttc, I haven't gotten into charting my bbt, checking my cm, taking fertility tests, or anything else. I've only been off 'the pill' for two months. So I figured I'd give my body some time to adjust, and just see what happens! Thankfully, my period seems to be as regular as ever! The first month off bc, it came just as if I was still ON bc!

But even though I'm not doing all that charting, I wanted a way to know roughly when I had better chances of getting knocked up. So I went searching once again.

In the category of "things I love," I discovered the coolest iphone app that does just that! I have to share it with you! (FYI I'm not getting anything for saying this, I just LOVE the app that much and hope you do too!) It's called the Period Tracker.

This is a really simple app that helps you keep track of your period, pms symptoms and moods. What's more, if you're trying to get pregnant like I am, you can also keep track of your bbt, weight and sexual activity. And the really fun part? Little pink flowers show up on the home page during your 8 day fertile window!

The Period Tracker app costs $2, or you can just get the Lite version for FREE! (The Lite version does not include bbt & weight charting.) You simple hit the big pink button on the home page the day your period starts, and it charts your cycle for you. Then you can pop over to the calendar to add your own details. Little hearts and flowers denote important days (aka sex and ovulation!)

 

 

In case you were wondering, those are not my notes!

The really cool part is that you can export your period dates and notes to your email, so you can easily share them with your doctor! AND there is a Period Tracker Companion for Men too. (I haven't tried this yet.) It will wirelessly sync your period dates so hubs knows when to be extra nice to you! But don't worry, your notes and symptoms won't sync.

I highly recommend checking this app out! Whether you just like to be organized, are NOT organized and don't want a surprise visit from Aunt Flo, or you're trying to get pregnant - it's a great little app!

Don't have an iPhone or iPod Touch? Don't despair! You can still use the period tracker online at Mon.thly for free.

Want more recommendations?

Check out Things I Love Thursday over at The Diaper Diaries!

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anonymous blogger

When hubs and I decided to start trying for a baby I was so SO excited. I just wanted to tell the world! But that's not what you do. You don't tell the world. You keep it private. And that makes sense.

But I was just bursting. I had so many questions, but no one to ask. So I'd go online to search. Then I'd come across good ideas, and want to share them with someone! Or I'd want someone's advice on something I read.

Thus the impetus to start this blog. I wanted a safe place that I could share my thoughts on trying to conceive, and hopefully get some ideas back.

But like I said, trying to get pregnant is a private thing. That's why it's hard to find other pre-pregnancy bloggers! (If you know any, please share!) Anyway, that is why I decided to keep my identity anonymous.

Perhaps once I am pregnant (and to the point it is safe to share), I will make my identity known. But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

In the mean time, I hope you can get over the fact that you don't know who I am - and can come with me on this journey. :)

Sincerely,
The Pink Blogger

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round two and some surprising tips

The window of opportunity for round two has come and gone. Now we wait again! We have only just begun trying, and the suspense is killing me already!

In an attempt to keep my mind preoccupied, I'm busy researching things - anything. There is so much that the we women can do to increase the odds of getting pregnant, but it's easy to forget that the men play a role in this whole process too! Here are some surprising tips I've discovered about trying to conceive:

• Give Him a Multi-vitamin. We all know the importance of taking prenatal vitamins ourselves, but vitamins are important for your man as well. A daily vitamin can help provide selenium, zinc and folic acid - all are important for sperm production and function.

• Feed Him Fruits & Veggies. The antioxidants found in these help improve sperm health. Ok, so far not too surprising. But check out this next one.

• Skip the Hot Tub. Who would have thought? Apparently, spending more than 30 minutes in water above 102 F can lower a guys' sperm count!

• Keep Him Cool. This is similar to the hot tub thing. I guess hot work environments, tight undies, and having a laptop on his lap for a long time can also hurt sperm production.

• Try in the Winter. At least there's one good thing about winter! Sperm counts are higher in the winter and lower in the summer.

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curiosity got the best of me

Remember that expired pregnancy test? The one I couldn't throw away? It was just sitting there in the drawer, staring up at me. Try me. Try me. Try me. Try me.

But Aunt Flo is already here, no point in even wasting my time ... But curiosity got the best of me, and I just had to try it anyway. There's no harm in a test run, right? The result ... (drum roll please)

Not Pregnant

Oh well, nothing I didn't already know. Now I guess I won't be so nervous to take one when the time actually comes. Right?

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no beginners luck here

Well I guess the question of the expired pregnancy test is a mute point. Aunt Flo came to visit today. Am I disappointed? Am I relieved? I have no idea. Part of me just wanted it to happen right away. The other part of me was terrified that it might happen right away.

I certainly did not expect it to work on the first try, and I didn’t feel pregnant … not in the least, but part of me still felt like it could be true. Well I guess that means I can drink all the coffee and diet coke I want! For the next two weeks at least, until round two.

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expired

After my niece was born a year and a half ago, I inherited a leftover pregnancy test from my sister-in-law. Many times since then I’ve been tempted to use it, but never mustered the gumption to go through with it. What if hubs found it? What would he think? I wasn’t ready at the time to have THAT conversation.

So once we decided to try for a baby, I tore apart the bathroom looking for the little tool. (Well not really, I’m too much of an organized perfectionist to tear anything apart, but you get the point.) Upon finding it I realized two problems: 1) there were no instructions; and 2) it expired 9 months ago.

The first problem was nothing that Google couldn’t fix. It didn’t take me long to find out that I could take that particular test as soon as three days before my period – great that meant Valentine’s Day!

The second problem Google could most likely answer, but not solve. I found it hard to get any real expert advice, but the general feeling in the online community was it’s better to just buy a new test and save yourself the anxiety. However, some did say that you are more likely to get a false-negative than a false-positive.

Well, I didn't FEEL pregnant - so it seemed like such a waste of time and money to go buy a new test. But I couldn't seem to throw the little thing away, so I stashed it back in my drawer ...

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by the way ...

I turned 25 last week. Twenty-five. That’s a quarter of a century! It’s kind of strange. I feel old, but still so young all at the same time. Since I was a little girl I kind of always had this idea that I would get married shortly after graduating college, and have my first baby at 25. Well, the first part somehow came true … we’ll see about the second!

I am a planner, to the very core of my being. No matter what stage of life I’m at, I’m always planning the next. In college when my husband and I were dating, I was so enamored with weddings that I was convinced I wanted to be a wedding planner. Then I planned my own wedding. And suddenly my interest in weddings vanished.

So it only makes sense that I have been planning my pregnancy since the first day we got home from our honeymoon. My dear husband on the other hand, has not. Most likely he has only thought about it three times during the last 2 ½ years we’ve been married – and that’s because I brought it up. (Actually that’s probably not true, he’s just as excited to have kids someday as I am – emphasis on ‘someday.’) He just hasn’t spent the time thinking about it that I have.

We absolutely adore being married. We love living life together, traveling, spontaneous planning, sleeping in on Saturdays … You get the picture – we’re fully enjoying being in our mid-twenties and not being responsible for anyone other than ourselves.

So the question for the last few months has been, “Do we or do we not end our perfectly, self-centered lives by adding a sweet bundle of joy to the mix?”

Just before Christmas I finished my current 3-month supply of ‘the pill’, and since we had a romantic getaway planned to Phoenix over New Years, I mentioned to my dear husband that this would be a perfect time to ‘remove the goalie.’ He wasn’t as convinced as I was, so we agreed that I would pick up a 1-month supply of ‘the pill’ and we would talk more about it over the next four weeks.

Well life is busy and the next four weeks come and go and, you guessed it, we didn’t talk about IT. So on January 16th I take my last pill of the pack and summon the courage to bring it up again. Still he is hesitant. And the LAST thing I want is to jump into something so monumental if we BOTH aren’t ready. So I wait a few more days. Then Sunday comes, the day I should start a new pack. The one that is still sitting at the pharmacy. But our favorite NFL team is in the Division Championship game! This hasn’t happened for like 10 years. Yup, no baby talk today.

Monday night, at 11:02 pm, we’re lying in bed and I suddenly turn to him with a goofy smile – not wanting to push the subject, but also needing direction. But he can read me like a book, so of course he knows exactly what I’m thinking about. He’s not thrilled with my ‘timing’ of bringing it up, but then again when would be a good time? But it’s just too much of a decision to make at this time of night. So we talk about it again, pray about it together, and decide to sleep on it and make a decision tomorrow.

Tuesday comes and goes.

Wednesday comes and goes.

What can I say. We have busy lives.

Thursday we have dinner plans with friends at their new house. They have been married four years, and have a 20 month old little girl. I walk in the door and she immediately asks me, “Up? Ok.” and starts playing with my necklace the minute she’s in my arms. My heart melts.

She stays in my arms throughout the entire house tour. She eventually goes to bed and we eat dinner. The conversation briefly turns to baby talk, and just as quickly turns to other topics. We talk and laugh the night away. Suddenly its past midnight, and we need to get going home – we all have to go to work in the morning.

On the way home we talk about how fun it was to reconnect with our friends, and how adorable their ‘new’ 1920’s German style house is. Then he does it. He quietly says that little sentence I’ve been waiting months to hear.

“By the way, let’s have kids.”

And all I can do is smile.

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