[EstrellaTTC]

Well I decided I might as well start keeping a journal to keep track of my cycles.

Well I've been with my husband for 6 years total, off and on, and we decided to get married on 12/13/2008. :-)
I'm 23, and he's 22 years old. I grew up having very strict parents, so I was very anal about ALWAYS using
protection cuz I knew they'd freak out if I got pregnant before marriage. I personally don't have a problem with it,
but I know my parents do. I got my first period when I was about 14, and they have always been very irregular.
There have been times when I get my period on time, every month and other times that I've gone well over 3-4 months
without a period. For the most part, they come maybe every 6-8 weeks. I now wish I had kept track of ALL my periods
so that I can figure my cycles out better, but I was always so preoccupied with NOT getting pregnant :-(

I knew that I would have a hard time getting pregnant due to my irregular periods/PCOS. When I was 18, I went on the
patch for about 2 years to regulate my periods. I stopped b/c I didn't like the side effects. So my (then boyfriend) and I just
used condoms, then we just did the good old pull out, and completely stopped all contraceptives when we got
engaged (september). But we haven't actually "tried" by keeping track of ovulation. We just BD'd a lot without
using protection and figured it would happen when it happened.

But now we've both been bitten by the baby bug, and it's a good time. We're in the process of looking for our own
place (we're staying with his parents while we look for an apertment), I graduated from college this summer, we got married this winter,
we both have full time jobs w/health insurance, we're slowly but surely getting rid of our debt, we've been
together 6 years, and we both feel ready.

So I finally went to the doctor today to talk about TTC. I picked a new ob/gyn because I felt like the one I've
always had never really listened to my concerns regarding my PCOS and irregular periods. I like my new doctor.
My number 1 concern was my pap smear, though, because I had a scary abnormal pap smear last summer, and my old
doctor had been monitoring my pap smears ever since, so I made sure I let my new doctor know about that. As for
my PCOS, irregular periods, TTC she advised me to focus on my health first. Eat healthy, exercise, don't smoke,
take prenatal vitamins. She said that should help regulate my period and make ttc easier. She also recommended
that I use OPK's to make sure I even ovulate, and track it when it does happen. If I don't get pregnant in a year,
she wants me and DH to come back for a complete infertility work up. Then she gave me a prescription for Provera,
to induce my period, since I haven't gotten one since the end of January. I also have to go back Sat morning to
check all my hormones. I was kind of hoping I was already pregnant when I went to the doc today, especially since
DH was sweet enough to drive me and wait patiently while I was with the doc, but I wasn't :-( But I guess it's ok
that I wasn't already preggo cuz I didn't want a December baby. My bday is Dec 9th, DH's is the 15th, our wedding
anniversary is the 13th, my parent's wedding anniversary is the 19th, my sister's bday is the 30th, my grandma's is
the 16th, and my mom's is Jan 1. Plus i have about 15 first cousins with Dec bdays. Also, we're still looking
for the perfect apartment and who knows how long that'll take. I definitely don't want to still be living with
the in laws when I have a baby. DH's bro and his girlfriend have been living here for 8 years and they have 2 kids
and they are planning their wedding. ::rolls eyes:: ...I think they should get their own place before planning a
wedding when they've been living in someone else's house for 8 years but that's them. I feel like if we have one kid here we'll stay
here a lot longer than we want/plan to.

so my plan of attack is to induce my period, get rid of all that old uterine lining, focus on my health by diet,
exercise, prenatal vitamins etc. Use OPK's and track my CM and BD a lot when i'm ovulating. If I don't get preggo
by the summer, I'm going to go ahead and send DH's semen to get independently analyzed cuz I don't want to wait a
whole year! She said if it doesn't happen in a year we'll do the infertility work up and put me on Clomid, but
I don't want to get that stage. I'm really into all natural, no medication (I refuse to even take aspirin or Midol
lol) let nature take it's course but I guess if I have to I'll take Clomid.

Well time to clean up our room (ughhhhh i want to move out so bad!!!), run to the grocery store, and make dinner and
lunch for tomorrow. Wish me luck with TTC!

[Cheryl_W]

Hi Estrella - thanks for posting in my journal! Good to see you here, and baby dust to you!

- Cheryl W.

[EstrellaTTC]

Well I couldn’t update yesterday cuz the internet on my laptop isn’t working  So here I am at work updating lol, though there’s really not much to update since I’m barely on Day 3 of my Provera pills, just waiting for AF to show so I can start keeping track of my ovulation. The doc said to take them for 10 days and then wait 2 weeks for it to show. ***!!! Last time I was on them I had got AF 3 days into actually TAKING the pills, but then again when I took them then I hadn’t got AF for well over 3 months, so maybe she was just on her way.

I saw Basal Thermometers for $10 at CVS yesterday and I was sooooooo tempted to buy one! But I’m so conflicted about TTC b/c I’m like 100% sure I have PCOS, but both my old and new doc were basically like “yea you probably have PCOS, but there’s really no way to know for sure and there’s really nothing you can do but treat the symptoms.” And my new doc is adamant that I can help my PCOS symptoms(weight gain, hirsutism, acne, irregular periods) w/diet and exercise, and that I first see if I ovulate, since I’ve never actually kept track of it. So I’m definitely buying an OPK, but I’m not sure if charting my temp is worth it. Also, I’ve read on these boards that OPK’s aren’t really reliable for women with PCOS since our cycles are so screwy. And also that I might get all the O symptoms, and even test positive with the OPKs and I still might not be ovulating. Arrrgh this is all so confusing!! But my doc is right, I’ve never TRIED to see if I ovulate, so I might as well check it.

So my new plan is to use OPKs and chart my CM after I get AF. That will be my “official” cycle 1. If I don’t get PG on cycle 1, then I will use the OPKs, CM, and BBT. If I’m not preg by June (cycle 3? Or 2?) then I’ll check with my doc again and send in DH’s swimmers to be independently analyzed. And I’m going back to the doc if I don’t pg by the end of the summer cuz that’ll be one year of BD without protection, and like 4-5 months of actually charting my O, and timing everything right.

On another note, yesterday I was at work thinking about how everyone and their momma is PG or just had a baby, when my friend and former co-worker called me to say she was stopping by my old office with her 7 week old baby and if I wanted to stop by and see her. Of course I did, so I went on my lunch break and OMG!!! What an adorable, cute baby. The one thing that really stood out to me was how healthy my friend and her baby looked. Even before she got pg (by the way, it was an OOPS!! Pg, ughhhh those really get to me cuz we’ve been trying so hard ) she was eating really healthy and exercising every day, and she really stepped up her health game even more after she got pg and it really, really shows on both her and the baby. The baby is calm and peaceful when she’s sleeping, and really happy and active when she’s up. And my friend just looks glowing, just like she did when she was pg. So I know I really need to be on it w/ my diet and exercise to make it easier to get pg, and then stay healthy throughout my pg and beyond.

Well that’s all from me for now…just waiting for AF to come so I can see if I O!!!

[EstrellaTTC]

Day 4 of Provera. I want stupid AF to show so I can start keeping track of my cycles! At first I said I wasn't going to get caught up in charting and all that, I was just gonna "go with the flow" But now I've purchased 60 OPK strips from Earlypregnancytest.com, Pre-Natal Vitamins, and I'm going to buy that BBT i saw at CVS on my lunch break :-). I also bought Luna Bars cuz they're delicious and I figure they can't hurt my chances. I started power walking during my lunch breaks, cut out caffeine and cigarettes, and I've been eating as healthy, wholly, and balanced as possible. I'm trying to do the low glycemic index diet to try and control my PCOS. I'm going to order pre-seed too. At first I was like, oh i don't need any extra moisture down there! But then I read that saliva is bad for sperm which is pretty much what we use. So i'm going to miss that (TMI, I know lol) but oh well.

I've been so emotional lately. Yesterday I went to go visit my mom and I was telling her how my dr appt went and I just started crying cuz I'm terrified I won't ever get pg. Then on my way home DH brought up an argument we had had earlier that day and I just completely blew up at him, screaming, crying, the works. Then this morning I was running downstairs to take a shower when I fell down the remaining steps. Instead of just moving on, I ran upstairs like a little girl into DH's arms, leaving all my crap scattered all over the stairs. He just held me and let me cry until I felt better. UGH! I hope this means I"m getting AF sooner than later. Well i'm super excited to go buy my BBT, and lose weight and get healthy for my future baby!

[Banned-ms.crystal]

Hi! I wish you well on your baby journey. I know how you feel. I was in your same boat a couple of months ago. I used OPK's, BBT and preseed and relaxed and finally got my BFP. Baby dust to you!

[hopeful3853]

hi estrella!

just wanted to say i'm keeping my fingers crossed you get AF really soon!!