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Good morning ladies......

Liz that's crazy about your health insurance......and Shelob you are very fortunate to have health insurance provided by the state...

We also have health insurance with DHs work, I don't think we have ever paid in any access. We took a health care plan that covers 120% of all health issues. I think the only thing I have to pay out of my pocket would be for a 4D scan for the baby, but that would be round about 75 dollars. Which is not bad at all.

Shelob 60 hours a week it's a bit hectic, you really need to take some time for yourself and relax.....how sweet of your DH took cook for you...my DH is exactly the same, he loves to cook......

Liz good luck with your tww that has started today....I'm sure it's going to be your last month tww....

Shelob good luck with the test I'm really excited for you and is also sure that good news is around the corner for you!

I'm cd14 today I haven't used Opk as yet waiting till after 11 this morning, also waiting for saliva to dry so I can check my ferning......

The weirdest things started happening to me last week Thursday.....I have this
longing and burning desire for twin babies...so difficult to explain what I'm feeling in my heart, I have not even told DH about this.......and since Saturday the craziest hype in my sex drive.....when ever I think of DH not even having sexy thoughts just thinking of him, I have this urge and shockwaves of desire rushing threw my body for him......tmi sorry ladies, my mind and body is acting very weird, not that I'm complaining, and neither is DH.....

Julia how you doing?

Good luck ladies and sticky beans for all.....

Wow dixieheart that is great insurance. We don't have anything like that where I am. There was only one insurance plan higher than ours and it only covered 80%. Ours will cover anything preventative 100% Which is good for me because of all the cancer that runs in my family, I just wish they covered infertility in case we end up having to take that route. And I wouldnt worry too much about feeling that way, its a good thing! I go through periods when I feel that way too. I guess it just depends how our hormones are working from month to month. Thanks for the kind words, I hope this is all of our month too!

We didnt bd last night but im not too worried since we were able to the day before o. Like you said befre shelob sperm lats for several days. This will be a busy tww for me I hope. Dh and I are going with some of our friends to the county fair this weekend. There will be carnival rides and food and bands playing. It should be lots of fun. I also started making a blanket which will hel take up some of my free time. I am also going to start babysitting our friends son while she is at work which I am sure will help keep me busy throughout the days. Dh and I are also going to have a special date night this weekend just the two of us that I am looking forward to.

Im excited for you shelob and dixieheart to join me on the tww! And I hope your tww is going well Julia!

Dixie - I'm heartbroken for your friend. It's terrible that this guy left her, and so close to the wedding! If he wasn't committed to her, I'm glad he didn't drag her through a few years of marriage first, but never the less he had absolutely insensitive timing!

Shelob - A cruise sounds wonderful! DH and I went on a Caribbean cruise for our (belated) honeymoon last January, and it was absolutely awesome. The off-shore excursions were my favourite part (we were in Honduras, Belize, and Mexico), but I loved being on the boat too. So much delicious food! Also, I don't think DH and I have ever BD'd as much in our lives! We're not regularly every-day-ers, but that trip was an exception!

Liz - I work in health insurance, and unfortunately all the healthcare reform changes and added benefits for women's health and maternity still aren't expected to include coverage for infertility, since it's still considered "not medically necessary". I think they cover the diagnosis, but not the treatment.

I used to live in Canada, which has a system similar to New Zeeland with regard to universal coverage, but I don't know how they consider infertility there. I know prescriptions are not covered by the government; you need insurance through work for that.

As for me, I'm having a crappy day, although it might just seem crappy because I'm hangry. (If you haven't heard of it, it's when you get angry because you're hungry.)

My temp has still not stayed up! Anything above 97.5 is up for me, and I keep bumping back down to 97.2. I can't say I've noticed any ovulation paid or anything else symptomy either.

My day today was wasted in meetings about the American healthcare reform law. Pretty much knew everything they presented already. At the end of the meeting by boss was complaining that my coworker and I didn't go out and network during the breaks. If I'd known that was the real reason we were going, I wouldn't have volunteered to go. I really dislike networking events; I'm a total introvert and don't just strike up a conversation easily.

Then one of my coworkers announced she's pregnant with Baby #3. Due in March. Somehow she's got it down that next baby is born a month before prior baby turns 2.

Then DH announces he wants to move to MT. In March. When I just committed to teach Sunday School 'til May.

Now this pregnant coworker and I are the only ones who know anything about health insurance. She taught me before she went on her last mat leave. So it feels like if I get pregnant (or move!), I'm the one putting the company in a tough position. My dad would say, "It's not your responsibility to worry about what the business would do without you," but I just can't help it.

Hi Julia:] Yeah we had Cigna before and the covered up to about 20k in a lifetime for infertility. Now be have Blue Cross Blue Shield and unfortunately they don't. So I think we might try a little longer and if we are still unsuccessful we will pursue that route. I'm sorry for some reason I was under the impression that you already ovulated. I'm sure it will come soon for you, you just have to stay positive :] And if you have already o-ed I hope you caught that egg :]

Today I am 2dpo. I'm having some cramps but that is nothing abnormal for me around this time. I quit taking the fertility vitamins this cycle to see if maybe they were the reason I had such an insane cycle last month with the spotting and bad backaches. I'm taking a one-a-day vitamin (that you actually have to take twice...whats up with that? haha) but it has folic acid in it, instead of the prenatals that make me so sick with all of the iron. I figured since it had folic acid in it and with ttc I will know very early on when (if it ever happens haha) I conceive and I can switch to prenatals then. How are you ladies doing? Any signs of o yet for either of you?

Good afternoon ladies....

Well just after 11 this morning I had my 1st positive Opk right on schedule like last month. If it is the same I should have positives today and tomorrow.....and will go negative on cd 17.....which should be the day I O.

Thanks for all the kind words for my friend, it very sad they have been dating for 6 years, of which they got engaged 2 and a half years ago....and since then they where planning the wedding that never took place......I would have strangled him.....

Julia sorry to hear about your horrible day at work....I'm sure it will get better......I'm sure O will be around the corner for you.....when we visited my in laws in June of this year we also visited Mexico.....but the Cozumel Island in the Caribbean...we stayed at the Cozumel palace what an experience....like you said on these type of trips couples usually have sex more often must be the air.....lol

Shelob how awesome is a boat cruise......DH and I would love to take the Alaska cruise.....something we planning ongoing in the near future.....I'm sure it will be awesome.

Liz good luck on your tww. I was also wondering if all these prenatal etc. sometime do have a effect on a women's hormones.....

You ladies know we had a sperm count done.....Liz if I not mistaken you did one that you ordered over the internet? Well we went to see the doctor yesterday about the result...and was shocked how many things could actually go wrong with a man's sperm......the doctor told us even if you get a high sperm count does not mean all is okay with the little swimmers.....it can happen sometimes that of the 25mil count only a few percent could be viable. So they check for viability, how fast the sperm swim and abnormalities....

My DHs count is 24mil which is normal, with normal colour, but only 80% is viable with 70% mobility, that is a 3 (the count should be between 2-4) 20% of his sperm is abnormal they have 2 heads.....like my doctor said it takes only 1 to do the trick.....but I'm trusting God for a miracle for my husband.....

The reason why I'm telling you ladies this especially you Liz although you had the home test done, start by doing a sperm count test at the doctor.....just to make sure all your Dhs swimmers are in good condition and then when his test come back all positive then you can start with yourself.......

Babydust and sticky beans ladies.....

Hi girls!

CD 9 today, and based on my temperature pattern it looks like this month could follow the same as last month. If that is the case then I will ovulate CD 17 again. Of course, the blood tests will give me more evidence to back it up. So in about a week's time I might ovulate... That would be fantastic!

Dixieheart, I am sorry to hear about the not so good sperm analysis :( We had one about a year ago and we were so worried, but fortunately everything was "spectacular" except motility. The motility they said could have been due to "clumping" so my husband has been taking vitamin C since then as the research I have read indicates this vitamin in supplement is most likely to have a positive effect on motility (among other things). He loves them and calls them his vitamin c lollies :)

lizhaley the folic acid is the most important supplement. I talked to my doctor about taking other supplements but she is adamant they are a waste of money! She is a firm believer in eat healthy and you should be getting all you need. I occasionally need iron supplements as have had low iron a few times in my life, but I don't take them all the time. When I do I only take one every 2-3 days (as suggested by my doctor) to avoid all the side-effects they cause. Eat LOTS of fruit and veges I say :) At dinner half our plate is veges. I didn't used to like them much but now I crave them if I don't have them!

julia07 we went on a short cruise this time last year to test it out, and my goodness I remember the food well!! Now I don't have to cook, my husband does it. And he cooks great meals. But after that cruise I wanted the 3 course meal every night! I missed it! We loved all the activities - dancing especially. This one is longer and I am so looking forward to the shore excursions!!! Last time AF came the day I stepped onboard which was SO frustrating! This time if I am not pregnant and my cycles follow exactly the same pattern it is likely that I will be ovulating on the last day of the cruise. So definitely will enjoy plenty of BDing whille on it :) Hope I am pregnant though!

Sorry about your bad day too. I understand fully about the "hangry" thing. I discovered that phenomenon about 10 years ago. I was SOOO mad at my (then) boyfriend one evening. He wanted me to decide what I wanted for dinner. I couldn't keep my temper. Eventually he fed me something, and the world became clearer. I knew immediately what had been wrong with me! Since then I have never allowed myself to get into that state, and refuse to make meal decisions if I am hungry as I will get grumpy!

With the work thing my advice is: don't worry about things that haven't happened yet. You are not pregnant and haven't moved so no point even concerning yourself until either happens! And in my experience employers fully understand that people's lives change and take it in their stride. They will have strategies in place to deal with whatever happens. Don't worry :)

With your temperatures, do you want to share your chart with me? I love trying to interpret them. Remember the actual temperature itself doesn't matter, it is the trend that is important. I overlay all my charts in my excel spreadsheet and pin them at ovulation. From this I can see I have over 1 degree of difference between even the temperatures I ovulate at. But, in every chart within itself I can see a distinct temperature shift. I really would love to look at your chart if you would like me to :)

Well, today I am not feeling great. I think I overdid it with all the extra working in the weekend and am taking the day off today. I have a sore throat and am sneezing. Hopefully it doesn't develop further. But hence I am able to write such a long post and so late in the morning (9am now!) Hope you are all having a good day/night.

Julia07 I just realised I CAN see your chart! Firstly, it looks like you are using a 1dp thermometer, is that correct? I would strongly suggest you but a BBT thermometer as your temps will appear to jump around a lot and be difficult to interpret otherwise. I see you also don't temp every day. If you don't temp regularly then it is also very difficult to see a proper trend. I can have about 3 hours difference in the time I take my temp depending on whether I wake up too early. Despite this I can still see good trends and interpret my charts relatively easily, so I don't stress about what time I take it anyone, I just take it as soon as I wake up each morning whether 3am or 6am. I record the time, of course, as that helps with interpretation of blips in the chart. thirdly, based on your chart there I don't think you have ovulated yet either. However, as I said it is hard to interpret full with an accuracy of only 1dp. Also I can't see what times your temps were taken. But, looks like you are BDing regularly enough anyway :)

My 2 dp thermometer should be here by the 5th! I'm excited. I know you're not supposed to switch thermometers mid-cycle, but I probably will anyway and take the results with a (second) grain of salt.

I do notice abnormal temps when I sleep in. In my first cycle post-BCP, I would get around 97.3 during the week and closer to 97.8 on the weekends. Next cycle I think I'll just set a Saturday alarm for 6:30 a.m. and apologize to DH in advance.

Liz, my prenatal vitamin also doesn't have iron. I take VitaFusion's gummy vitamin with DHA and folic acid. It's like eating candy. Not sure how it compares cost-wise to One-a-Day, but you should check it out :)

Dixie, did the doctor give your DH any recommendations for improving his sperm's viability? And did you guys get a sense of where you DH is at vs. the average male (who, I assume, has less than perfect sperm)?

Shelob, when do you have your next blood test? I hope you feel better soon. Does being unwell affect the test results at all?

I'm glad you are all having promising-sounding cycles! Get busy :)

DH isn't home tonight; he's out trucking in Montana. He'll be home in a day and a half, and then he heads back out. So I guess the only "busy" I'll be getting is busy picking beans from the garden. But that's ok, because fresh-picked beans are delicious!

Good morning ladies....

The doctor said that abnormality is caused due to stress on the sperm....stress caused by tight underwear, taking hot baths, warm working conditions......not getting enough exercise.....but DH never baths, he always showers, he only wears boxer underwear.....the thing that I think as an impact is the fact he sits in meetings all day, and this winter was very cold so we used electric blanket ever so often.....all these things plays a big role on the sperm.....so know we go for walks in the afternoon, we haven't used the electric blanket in 2 weeks, we are also taking staminagrowth prescribed by our docter.......when we go see the specialist on the 17th he will do anothersperm count test......

I'm not worried or stressed.......my faith is in God and he has never let me down......

My doctor also said I'm getting to technical and should stop anaylising every little thing this also puts stress on both of us.......he also said my DH is above average the norm for these types of test is between 15 - 20 mil, with mobility of 50% which is 2.......and with more than 80% abnormalities .....

So yesterday I used my last Opk.......I will still check my saliva and know that O is on cd 17.......I haven't bought pregnancy test either, not sure how long that would last.......we haven't bd the previous 2 night's DH worked late, I was asleep by the time he got home both nights.......we will see what today holds......furthermore I really feel like we should take a breather for 1 month and sort out what ever needs to be sorted, if I don't get pregnant this cycle.......

I need this our ttc journey to be normal, and feels like my ttc craziness is having a bad effect subconsciously on my DH.......and I suppose on me 2......

Goodluck ladies and lost of Babydust.....

Hi iulia07. I had to switch thermometers mid-cycle a few months into TTC as I accidentally broke my old one. It made a HUGE difference so I couldn't use any data from the first part of the cycle. Unfortunately it was right around the time of ovulation so I didn't know what day I ovulated. If I was you I would use both for a few days just to be sure you don't accidentally miss a temperature shift.

I am feeling worse this afternoon despite having rested all day so far. I am about to do some work as I need to be prepared for tomorrow.

My blood test is on Friday and being sick shouldn't affect it at all.

My temperature is rather up and down even if I do wake up at the same times in the morning. the cycle I got pregnant I had temps in my luteal phase which dipped to the coverline, which worried me, but then I turned out to be pregnant after all so now that kind of thing doesn't phase me a bit! I figure as long as there is a clear temperature shift then the rest of the temps don't bother me. This last cycle on clomid my temps became very stable around this point in my cycle, so it will be interesting to see if that happens again. Of course, my being sick might muck that up as I took my temperature this afternoon and it is slightly high! Oh well, not expecting to ovulate for a a week or so anyway so I should be better by then!