I’m 39 (40 in March) and I’ve been doing a few things in preparation for / during TTC…
Eating well as much as possible, but mainly limiting junk/processed foods, and eating out, rather than trying to restrict calories or incorporate any specific foods. But hey, none of us are perfect!
No caffeine (well, coffees and Coke Zero anyway, I still drink caffeinated tea).
No alcohol except in moderation during AF (so I abstain in the week leading up to ovulation and also during the TWW).
Supplements. So. many. supplements.
A good prenatal - obviously, mainly for the folic acid.
Evening Primrose Oil - it’s supposed (but not proven) to help improve the quality of cervical mucus. But I only take this from CD1 up to OD.
LOTS of antioxidants - Ubiquinol, Vitamin C and Vitamin E.
I’m not currently taking Vitamin D because I’d rather know I have a deficiency before I start to supplement given the risk of taking too much.
Also, I’m using up some Zinc supplements I had in the cupboard, but Zinc is supposed to help sperm quality more than female fertility. Maybe I should give them to SO, but he’s 32 so surely he doesn’t need any help!
This is quite a good evidence-based article about some of the supplements that support fertility:
If I stripped the supplements right back, I’d say Folic Acid and Ubiquinol are the most important ones.
Sounds like a great plan there
I think you are right about vitamin D. I live in [name_f]England[/name_f] so we rarely get enough vitamin D from sunshine I think being low in [name_m]Vit[/name_m] D is actually one of the most common vitamin deficiencies I read somewhere.
Also you’re right, zinc and magnesium tend to be the biggies for guys and semen health.
Our partners are not far off in terms of age. Mine is 28, 29 in [name_f]May[/name_f].
Aww sounds like they have great little diets there.
I almost feel like I could be a vegetarian to be honest. I very rarely eat meat. I do feel like I get more iron intake from red meat however than say leafy greens. For a starters they are two different forms of iron too.
I think iron is one of the hardest to absorb from foods naturally
I suppose it is. I’ve never had any problems with my iron levels, but my husband has to take iron supplements regularly because his levels are often low.
I’ve been a vegetarian for about 15 years now. I’ve never enjoyed eating meat. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband used to be a vegan, but he started eating dairy and dairy again when we got together. The vegan diet wasn’t good for his physical and mental health. I’m not saying it’s unhealthy for everyone, of course, just that it wasn’t right for him. He’s much happier and healthier now.
[name_m]Hi[/name_m] [name_f]Tatiana[/name_f] ( lovely name by the way) welcome to the group. It sounds like you have given your TTC prep so much thought and consideration.
I think [name_u]June[/name_u]- [name_u]August[/name_u] sounds like a great time to concieve. I actually would be elated with this time frame, myself. Because with my second born I was heavily pregnant in the summer and I found it quite hard. ( He is a [name_u]July[/name_u] baby) And despite living in [name_f]England[/name_f], I know our summers are not exactly scorching, the summer of 2017 was a hot one and I just remember being so hot and cranky
So in an ideal world, I’d not want to carry over the summer months.
Wishing you all the very best with your TTC journey.
On the subject of ‘ideal month’ and less of an ideal month’, does anyone have an ideal month’?? For potential baby to be born?? Any months you would like to avoid for any reasons??
So I know it happens when it happens but if I could have a say on it.
I would love for third baby to be born in
[name_u]February[/name_u] and the ideal time frame would be Feb-June for me.
Months I’d like to avoid would be
[name_u]October[/name_u] (I am not sure my nerves would cope with another [name_m]Scorpio[/name_m] baby )
[name_u]July[/name_u]
[name_u]January[/name_u]
These months simply because my other children are born in these months and I always think it’s sweet for the child to have their own birthday month.
[name_u]January[/name_u] would not be a great month because my sister and my twin neice and nephew are all born on the same day in [name_u]January[/name_u], expensive
@anon25197097 I honestly don’t have an ideal month for the baby to be born, I honestly don’t really care. I agree that being highly pregnant in the summer isn’t ideal. [name_m]Barnabas[/name_m] was born in early [name_u]October[/name_u] (but was due in November), and it was a pretty difficult pregnancy. We had a heatwave the year he was born, and that wasn’t exactly fun. [name_u]October[/name_u] is mostly [name_f]Libra[/name_f], by the way I’d prefer for the baby to not be born in [name_u]October[/name_u] as well, but mostly we already have so many birthdays in that month: mine and my twin brother’s, and Barnabas’.
@anon25197097 I had a list of months I’d prefer not to give birth (June, [name_u]July[/name_u], December). Two of which would be my EDDs for this cycle and the next one. We have so many birthdays in June/July already.
Birthdays
6th - my niece
14th - SOs mum
16th - my mum
24th - my nana
25th - my nephew
28th - my dad
8th - SOs sister
13th - SOs dad
Putting aside the wish to conceive asap, the birth months I feel connected to for no rational reason are [name_u]October[/name_u] (Libra), [name_u]February[/name_u] (Aquarius) and [name_f]May[/name_f] (Taurus). I don’t hold much stock in star signs, so I’ve listed them out of interest more than being attracted to those signs specifically!
Hubby and I are set in wanting a [name_u]July[/name_u] baby. However we also want our baby’s close together so if it doesn’t happen this upcoming month for us we may hold off ttc a few months to then aim for a November/ [name_u]December[/name_u] 2022 baby. If still nothing likely holding off again as I really want to avoid a January-March delivery. [name_f]My[/name_f] last [name_u]March[/name_u] delivery had me on my toes as where I am there’s still so many opportunities for snowstorms. Those are just the ideals though we’ll be happy with however this ends up playi by out!
@anon25197097 [name_f]May[/name_f] is my birthday and also our wedding anniversary so I’d like to avoid that month (somewhat selfishly lol). Our daughter was due 4/30 but she decided to come a couple weeks early so [name_f]April[/name_f] is her birthday month.
I also wouldn’t want be due Dec-early [name_u]March[/name_u] because we have ice storms that can make driving treacherous! I’d honestly consider a scheduled induction for a winter baby!
And I was so hot and miserable carrying my daughter that I can’t imagine a summer pregnancy! But I still think [name_u]June[/name_u] through [name_u]October[/name_u] would be a nice window!
That is a lot of birthdays in [name_u]October[/name_u]!
[name_f]My[/name_f] brother is born in [name_u]October[/name_u] too. [name_f]My[/name_f] eldest is Oct 27th, he is most definitely a [name_m]Scorpio[/name_m] lol. He has all the [name_m]Scorpio[/name_m] traits. He is very intelligent but his moods are hard to fathom for sure. He also is a very sensitive little soul. I didn’t find my pregnancy too stressful, other than the fact I wish the midwife picked up on the fact that I was severely anemic, in my third trimester. When Z was born I lost a lot of blood, he also had really bad colic and it was just awful for the little chap. It later transpired he has dairy intolerance. So that’s something I have to watch/look out for when I have a baby. Thankfully A was fine.
@Alix2016 so interesting to understand how where we are in the world can bring on different types of weather that we definitely wish to avoid when it comes to birthing a baby. I can understand the avoidance of months which are renowned for rubbish weather. How far are you from a hospital. I am about 45-60 minutes.
@LaurenAlexis ice storms are not fun at all! I don’t have time to check your UC, to see where you are in the world?
In [name_f]England[/name_f], whilst the weather is awful in the winter months, I wouldn’t necessarily say it was intense. I am guessing you might therefore not be from the UK?
I totally echo your thoughts on carrying in the summer. I was miserable too I remember my eldest was only 2 when I was pregnant with my youngest and I’d just sit in his paddling pool with him in the summer. [name_f]My[/name_f] partner used to joke it could be my birthing pool
@minxtruck aww lots of Cancers/Leos in your family already then.
[name_f]My[/name_f] A, is a little [name_u]Leo[/name_u]. He is so full of sunshine. I am really drawn to [name_u]February[/name_u] too, but not so much [name_m]Aquarius[/name_m], but Pisces.
[name_f]My[/name_f] dad is a Pisces. If I remember rightly I think you share the same birthday? ( I think)
Also, for those who don’t know, I refer to my children’s names by initial for privacy reasons. I thought perhaps that may look a bit odd if I didn’t explain that one!
I know there is still sept-dec left of 21 but I have a good feeling about this 22 group. I think we will see a lot of BFP’s.
I wonder what chinese sign it is for 22 too. I guess it’s worth taking a look. I thought it may have been the rabbit.
I’m in the US, in Central Illinois. Not as much snow as [name_f]Chicago[/name_f] for sure, but ice has become more of a problem the last few years, which can cause power outages. And we’re in a rural area with a steep hilly, curvy driveway.
And then it’s about 40 minutes to my preferred hospital. We have one about 20 minutes away, but I don’t like either of the (male) OB’s who will deliver there. Much prefer my female midwife even though it’s a longer drive for appts and the hospital she has privileges at! Plus they have a NICU which of course one hopes they never need but it’s reassuring that it’s in the same building.
@anon25197097 Geminis/Cancers actually! Yes, I think we do… 6 March, right? I’d love to have a Pisces baby but we’ve got a long time before a Pisces due date rolls back around!
“2022 is a year of the Tiger, starting from February 1st, 2022” What a great year to be born!
Aww ok my dad is 7th [name_u]March[/name_u].
So more late [name_u]June[/name_u]- [name_u]July[/name_u] birthdays for [name_u]Gemini[/name_u] and cancer then
I have a few family birthdays in [name_f]May[/name_f], my partner, mother in law and best friend are all [name_f]May[/name_f] and [name_u]Gemini[/name_u].
Year of the Tiger/ year of the rabbit. I’ll take whatever
@tanushka I don’t cope well in the heat either. Not a lot of Aircon in British homes either, so when we do get a heatwave our houses are just not prepared for them.
I am really looking forward to fresh, frosty mornings here in the UK. We live in the countryside so autumn always looks really pretty I think.
I’d say the bonus to having a baby in the autumn/winter is when they wean or start to crawl you have the freshness of spring and heading into summer
[name_f]My[/name_f] eldest used to try and eat the grass in our garden when he was crawling and outside. He was like our little Highland cow.
From our preferred hospital about 45 minutes….I would say for weather from experience I’m not even thinking just hospital but the pediatric appointments that all occur after. [name_f]My[/name_f] [name_u]March[/name_u] born baby was delivered on a non exciting weather day in [name_u]March[/name_u] BUT her first pediatric appointment post delivery was pushed up by a day due to a nor’easter in the forecast. Although the weekend she did pick was also daylight savings- the one where you lose an hour of sleep only adding to the fun of adjustments with our 18 month old:joy:
This time around hubby and I are still clueless where we want to deliver. So if not the hospital our ideal birth cottage is just under an hour away.
I’m also still here! Looking forward to 2022 and having a fresh start with it. We’re currently at cycle day 2 so maybe if things go well we’ll be able to ring in the [name_u]New[/name_u] Year with good news in early [name_u]January[/name_u]. I won’t hold my breath, but hey, who knows?
[name_f]Hope[/name_f] 2022 brings sticky babies to you all
We’ve had some doubts about starting TTC in [name_u]January[/name_u], wondered if maybe we should wait for a bit. But in the end we decided we don’t want to put if off, so… The first few months we’ll probably have a more “we won’t take any precautions and see what happens” approach.
I won’t be TTC 2022 (or ever again in all likelihood), but I wanted to pop in and say @tanushka your pre-TTC work sounds so much like what I did. Great job making your and partner’s health such a priority. Good luck!
Best of luck to all those moving over from TTC 2021 (and years previous) thread. [name_f]May[/name_f] 2022 be everyone’s year here.
The last few months of 21 didn’t feel remotely optimistic or encouraging for me if I am honest. Getting over covid and then I actually had some long covid type symptoms going on late Nov/Dec which didn’t put me in the right frame of mind/mood for baby making at all!
Anyway, from late [name_u]January[/name_u] here in the UK I am eligible for fertility tests, just general ones to see if I’m actually ovulating. [name_f]My[/name_f] partner is able to have a semen check too, so I guess all that information will be really useful to determine if this TTC journey of ours is literally just a case of ‘its just not happening yet’ as opposed to there is significant reason for it not happening.
At the moment I do have plenty of distraction at home in the way of working from home and my two boys and [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] etc. (I am looking forward to Christmas)
Anyway, this may seem pessimistic and apologies if it is but does anyone actually have a cut off point for when they no longer wish to keep trying???
I was having a bit of a discouraging month last month and I feel like I wouldn’t want to personally try from my 35th birthday onwards. (I am 34 in March). That is nothing to do with age, just the longevity of trying for all that time.
I am really looking forward to hopefully hearing lots of pregnancy announcements in this thread and I wish everyone lots of luck and all the very best.
)
I’d prefer for the baby to not be born in [name_u]October[/name_u] as well, but mostly we already have so many birthdays in that month: mine and my twin brother’s, and Barnabas’.
We have so many birthdays in June/July already.
