bbt spike

my bbt spiked this morning from a steady post-o temp of 97.7 to 98.2.  of course, i immediately google what that could mean.  seems that sometimes a post-o spike at or around 7 dpo (which is where i am today) could mean implantation.  if the temps stay high like that, it's considered a triphasic cycle.  i haven't had a spike like that before.  last month i had kind of a steady climb before it plummeted back down right before af.  this time it's held pretty steady at 97.7, with that big shot up today.  i'm anxious to see what happens over the next few days! 

we leave for our vacation on thursday 5/3.  af is due on 5/4.  i'm going to try to hold out until after af is due, but i may cave and poas on thursday before we leave for our trip.  we're staying with one of my high school besties, who knows that we've been ttc (she and her hubby struggled with it for about a year), so it would be so exciting to share good news with them! 

trying not to get my hopes up, but feeling good this cycle! 

doing more

we're in our 7th cycle now of ttc.  i seriously never ever thought it would take this long.  i've decided to take some additional measures to aid in our attempts to get pregnant.

as of yesterday, i've stopped drinking.  i know initially i said after my birthday weekend, but then we decided to go to the fell's point brew fest with my sister and anthony.  as of friday i was still spotting from my period, and hadn't yet entered my fertile phase, so i figured one last hurrah would be fine.  and boy, i hurrah'd it up!  anyway, that was it for me and i'm laying off the booze now.  i've read that drinking can inhibit fertilization and especially implantation, so it's no more alcohol for me! 

in a previous post i mentioned that i was going to pick up a bottle of vitex.  but after doing some more research, i realized that vitex isn't really for me.  vitex is supposed to aide in making ovulation more regular and timely.  since i started charting, i've ovulated on cd17 every cycle.  so irregularity doesn't seem to be an issue.  but i am picking up a bottle of fertile cm.

source: fertilecm

this is supposed to promote that elusive egg-white cervical mucus that a woman's body produces when she's most fertile.  i have yet to actually see ewcm, so i'm hoping that by helping it along, we will have more luck in conceiving.  it also decreases the acidity of cm, which helps sperm survive longer.  my o date is supposedly sunday, so starting on friday i shoudl be in the "fertile window."  so i ordered this on amazon with one-day shipping so i'll get it tomorrow and get production started!

i am also considering taking some omega-3 fatty acids with dha (fish oil).  my sister works for a nutraceutical company (nutrition and pharmaceutical) that makes an omega-3 so i need to ask her if she can get some for me.  their company specializes in making a fish oil that has a pleasant minty smell and doesn't make you burp fish (gross).

elsewhere i'm trying to take better care of myself.  i'm eating better.  drinking more water.  and i started the couch to 5k program.  i'm going in to week 3 now.  so far, it's going really well, although i've just completed the week where i run 90 seconds, walk 2 minutes.  and it was pretty cool out last week.  we'll see how it goes doubling my running time this week in 80+-degree heat.  starting this week, the schedule is: jog 90 seconds, walk 90 seconds, jog 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes.  repeat that for 20 minutes.  we'll see!  i'm really hoping to complete this.  i'm trying to find a 5k to run in june, but so far i'm not really having much luck. 

i'm waiting!

anyone else hear this in your head when you read my title?


I'm Waiting.... Princess Bride

just me?  ah, well.

according to all my trackers and bbts and everything else, i o'd on friday 3/23.  af is due 3/6, so if it doesn't arrive by then, i'll poas on 3/10. so we're in yet another 2ww!  i don't know, but i feel good about this month.  i just checked, and if this is our lucky month, my edd is 12/12/12 - ha!  wouldn't that be crazy!

and we're off

***disclaimer - lots of talk about cycles and sex in here!  if this makes you uncomfortable, stop reading!***

we're in the thick of cycle 4 now.  i'm on cd12 and - according to ovuview - i'm 4 days away from o-day.  my bbt is pretty steady, ranging from 97.0-97.3.  one morning it was 97.6, but i think it's because i hadn't slept well that night and had basically been awake for hours before i took it, tossing and turning and getting up to get a drink.  i think that was an inaccurate temp that day.  if ovuview is correct, i should see a spike in my bbt on tuesday. 

everything i've read says to bd every other day from cd8 until cd22 or so.  i've also read that the day before o-day is an excellent day to bd.  so we started on cd9 and have gone every other day.  that'll have us bd'ing on the day before o. 

i'm really hoping that ramping up our efforts will give us some results!  i never really understood why people say they're "trying" to have a baby.  now i do.  cuz it does take work, and timing, and effort.  it's a lot to keep track of!  but hey, at least it's fun work!

***if you have any questions about any of the abbreviations in this post, please refer to my cheat sheet on the sidebar***

so...i'm not

i woke up this morning, around 5:30am, with horrible cramps.  i thought it was something i'd eaten last night at the super bowl party.  after a few minutes lying in bed, waiting for it to pass, i got up and went to the bathroom.

much to my dismay, af showed up, unexpected and -frankly - uninvited.  so rude of her.  i went back to bed and continued to have awful cramps.  like, the worst cramps i've had in years.  probably since before i went on the pill.  that's why i went on the pill in the first place in high school - my cramps were so bad i could barely function.  that's what these feel like.

i'm super confused.  this officially makes my january cycle 38 days long.  my december cycle was 27 days long.  november was 29 days long.  i have to admit, i had a feeling this would happen.  with the super bowl being this weekend, i had plenty of distractions from my previous obsessing about my missed period.  i couldn't help but wonder if, with all the cooking, cleaning, planning, entertaining, etc, my body would finally right itself.  looks like i was right.

needless to say, even though part of  me expected it, i am enormously disappointed.  i'm not even sure i have the words to describe it.  i thought for sure this was it.  this was our turn.  i want to cry but for some reason i just can't. i'm sitting downstairs watching zookeeper on-demand while matt's sleeping upstairs.  i haven't told him yet.  i know he'll be disappointed, and that makes me sad.

so this week i'll get through my period, and then we'll jump back on the ttc train.


*af - aunt flo, aka my period