Trying for a baby

er1983

Hi everyone, congrats to all the mums and mums to be on here all very exciting. Myself & the husband are going to start trying for a baby at the beginning of may. Just wondering if anyone has any advice on what to do from here on in I.e vitamins, diet etc for our best chances of conceiving ..... We are very excited but scared at the same time :-)

Thanks

Er1983

kitten_k

Hope all goes well.

There is a sub forum in the parenting forum call Trying To Conceive which may help you.

January

Moved to Trying to Conceive subforum.

Happy baby making!

Neyite

Firstly start taking folic acid. You dont need expensive vitamins according to my specialist, just that. If he has a poor diet then get a good multivitamin for him.

Dont go to mad extremes - eat a little more fruit and veg, a little less junk. A little more exercise, a little less alcohol. If either of you smoke, you need to quit asap - firstly because smoking does hinder your chances, and secondly, quitting when pregnant might be too hard on top of all the other symptoms and anyway when you have that gorgeous little baby around you wont want smoke anywhere near them.

Mostly, have fun. Dont get too bogged down in tracking/monitoring, but keep a note of your cycles and maybe cervical mucus consistency in a little diary. Aim to give yourself a year of fun trying before you get pregnant, that way you wont start to get stressed.

And to save you a fortune, buy your ovulation predictor and pregnancy tests online, such as this site. I've ordered from them since I started TTC and find them very helpful. Tests from the chemist are stupid money.

er1983

Neyite wrote: »

Firstly start taking folic acid. You dont need expensive vitamins according to my specialist, just that. If he has a poor diet then get a good multivitamin for him.

Dont go to mad extremes - eat a little more fruit and veg, a little less junk. A little more exercise, a little less alcohol. If either of you smoke, you need to quit asap - firstly because smoking does hinder your chances, and secondly, quitting when pregnant might be too hard on top of all the other symptoms and anyway when you have that gorgeous little baby around you wont want smoke anywhere near them.

Mostly, have fun. Dont get too bogged down in tracking/monitoring, but keep a note of your cycles and maybe cervical mucus consistency in a little diary. Aim to give yourself a year of fun trying before you get pregnant, that way you wont start to get stressed.

And to save you a fortune, buy your ovulation predictor and pregnancy tests online, such as this site. I've ordered from them since I started TTC and find them very helpful. Tests from the chemist are stupid money.

Thank you so much for all the advice.
My friend told me about pregnacare range ones for trying and ones for when your pregnant, do I need to take these or is folic acid enough

Neyite

er1983 wrote: »

Thank you so much for all the advice.
My friend told me about pregnacare range ones for trying and ones for when your pregnant, do I need to take these or is folic acid enough

My fertility specialist says you don't need them- no harm to take them if you want but they are not absolutely necessary. If you feel like a general multivitamin is something you should take, then no harm to take the pregnacare ones as you might as well, but they can be pricey so if you have a good varied diet, then all you need is the folic acid. Or see the cost difference between folic acid+ a generic multivitamin and the conception ones and decide from there.

I did put my partner on the mans version of the conception ones, but that's because he would not eat near as much fruit, veg and salads as I did. He ate a lot of crap outside of the healthy dinner I made so he probably needed the extra zinc and whatever.

How Strange

I'd say getting to know your cycle is the most important thing. I used to take my basel body temperature every morning and chart it on my fertility friend website. I also watched for changes in my cervical mucus. Taking your body temperature and charting it will only show after the fact if you've ovulated but combined with monitoring your cevucal mucus will give you lots of information about your cycle, when you ovulate, if it's the same every month etc.

I'd suggest holding off on the ovulation predictor kits or pee on a stick kits for a few months as I found it to be another level of stress. They were effective for us in the end, on both pregnancies, but I'm a few years older than you and didn't want to lose too much time ttcing.

Then get busy Once you're aware of your cycle you should be having sex every 2nd day from around day 8 in your cycle until after you've ovulated which is usually around day 16 and perhaps doing it every day in your peak fertility window.

I wouldn't worry about vitamins either except for folio acid. If you're carrying extra weight then try and lose it by making a few changes to your diet and taking extra exercise. Of course if you smoke then seriously consider quitting. Apart from that just keep living your life as you are!

er1983

Great thanks a mill to everyone. In the end I ended up getting seven seas b vitamins with folic acid was half the price of the pregnacare. I eat quiet good but might need to exercise a little bit surely going for a walk each day is sufficient. The hubby is fit, plays football twice a week and also goes for a run twice a week too, he has a good diet. My only vice is smoking which I will be trying to give up fairly soon.
Any other advice is very welcome ;-)

Neyite

er1983 wrote: »

Great thanks a mill to everyone. In the end I ended up getting seven seas b vitamins with folic acid was half the price of the pregnacare. I eat quiet good but might need to exercise a little bit surely going for a walk each day is sufficient. The hubby is fit, plays football twice a week and also goes for a run twice a week too, he has a good diet. My only vice is smoking which I will be trying to give up fairly soon.
Any other advice is very welcome ;-)

I found I kicked the habit for good with the Paul McKenna hypnosis. Off them since 2007 and prior to that had tried the gum, patches, inhaler, cold turkey, Alan Carr etc. There is also a giving up smoking forum here on boards for moral support when you are ready to quit.

I think you are doing all the right things. Also if you could switch to a non-hormonal contraception method until you are ready to try, it gives your body a bit more time to regulate your cycles and hormone levels, assuming you are on hormonal contraception. Aside from that, try not to over think it, try not to expect immediate results and keep it intimate and fun for as long as you can. TTC can get very perfunctory if you let it, so keep the romance side of it up as much as you can.

lollpop

Folic acid and make sure your smear test is up to date.

MurdyWurdy

This might sound a bit mad but I also recommend going to the dentist and getting a check up. Pregnancy can be very hard on your teeth so if you have anything wrong (e.g a small cavity) being pregnant can make it a lot worse and it becomes a huge cavity in no time. I had to have quite a lot of work done on my teeth recently and while anaesthetic etc is ok when you are pregnant, imo it's a good idea to get anything sorted beforehand, if possible.

I had hyperemesis which also contributed to the dodgy teeth so I wish I'd had them checked beforehand and then the work might not have been so extensive!

Bid08

can I ask the importance of cervical mucus - and what is a good sign and whats a not so good sign?

lazygal

You should also get your immunity for rubella checked, a GP's blood test will check this. It's dangerous to get it during pregnancy. I was on iron for all of my last pregnancy and again this time, I took iron for a few months before we started trying second time around and it made a massive difference to how I felt the first few weeks. So I'd recommend an iron supplement as well as folic acid.

I would say hold off on temping, checking cervical mucus etc until you're a few months in because it can make things very technical and medical and take a lot of the fun out of it. We were far more relaxed second time around and it really helped when TTC.

eustie5

great advice from everyone just logged into this, great!

polly27

Hi all

i am new to this sight and im looing for some advice, i am recently engaged to the love of my life and we are not getting married until 2015 so we both want to start trying for a baby in december of this year, i have the implant in since 2010 and due to get in out in april next year but going to get it out at the start of december this year. how long does it usually take to concieve once the implant is removed? also are you best to try before you have it out or after, i am not sure how to track my periods as they have been all over the place since i got the implant, i could have it for 2 to 3 weeks at a time sometimes and its nearly every 4 to 5 weeks. also i am about 17 stone have lost 2 this year and hoping to loose one to two stone before xmas so i am wondering am i too big to concieve and if i was blessed to concieve in dec i would be nearly 5 months pregant by may next year which is worrying me as i am bridesmaid for my best friend and i fear with having extra wieght that i will be really big for the wedding, what month do you start to really show and how much weight do you usually put on in pregnany, i know ive a lot of questions but id be so greatful for your help

many thanks everyone in advance xx

QueenBee1

polly27 wrote: »

Hi all

i am new to this sight and im looing for some advice, i am recently engaged to the love of my life and we are not getting married until 2015 so we both want to start trying for a baby in december of this year, i have the implant in since 2010 and due to get in out in april next year but going to get it out at the start of december this year. how long does it usually take to concieve once the implant is removed? also are you best to try before you have it out or after, i am not sure how to track my periods as they have been all over the place since i got the implant, i could have it for 2 to 3 weeks at a time sometimes and its nearly every 4 to 5 weeks. also i am about 17 stone have lost 2 this year and hoping to loose one to two stone before xmas so i am wondering am i too big to concieve and if i was blessed to concieve in dec i would be nearly 5 months pregant by may next year which is worrying me as i am bridesmaid for my best friend and i fear with having extra wieght that i will be really big for the wedding, what month do you start to really show and how much weight do you usually put on in pregnany, i know ive a lot of questions but id be so greatful for your help

many thanks everyone in advance xx

Hi Polly I would recommend charting 2-3 cycles before trying adter the implant has been removal. Once you get settled into a rhythm it may become easier to track. Other than that I would recommend OPK since you are irregular and make sure you start taking folic acid and eating healthy. Cutting out all salt and sugar and increasing greens and healthy carbs ir brown pasta brown rice etc and exercise for 30 mins each day for 6/7 days of the week. Just a brisk walk, even 15 minutes in the morning and 15 in the evening can help. And if you smoke get rid of it asap !!! All the best to you and your partner