A little bummed

Well, I am now on CD 47. That is crazy long and I am going crazy just waiting. I'm a little bummed at a few recent events, this being one of them. I have yet to have a normal cycle since the miscarriages, so Spencer and I have decided it is not a good idea to try until I have atleast 2 normal ones out of the way. Another turn of events is we lost our health insurance due to a stupid office error and we have to reapply of sorts for it. That could be a few weeks anyways, not to mention if they have me wait for the waiting period again. So, needless to say we are out of the TTC game for a couple months... I would say till atleast the end of March. Looks like there will be no Morris baby born in 2010. Oh well, there's a time and a place for everything.

But I will continue to blog and help all you TTCers out. I feel like even though I can't be actively doing these things, I can use my powers for good ;)
I'll start the blogging up again tomorrow, for now its out to dinner with the hubby!!

Fertility site

Ok, just a quick little blog here, I came across this website and I have to say it's just fascinating! Not that I'm looking into these measures, but I just stumbled upon it. It covers all kinds of fertility treatments including IUI, IVF, ICI, and egg donation. It is very detailed and informative, and also gives costs of such treatments. It's all good to know if you are considering fertility procedures.

Click here to see it

Sorry about the lack of bloggage lately. I have had quite a busy week. For starters, I'll update you and tell you that I am on CD 35. I've never in my life had this long of a cycle. However, I did see my doctor on Tuesday and my hCG levels were at zero, so I will not be getting a 2nd D&C. Yay! Our plan was to start TTC in February, but these events might have pushed that possibility back, who knows.

I have a list of topics I want to blog about, but some things need just a little more research so you'll just have to wait. In the meantime, please stay tuned and check out some of my "suggested sites" located on the righthand side of the page.

hCG After a D&C

Just a little suggestion for all you TTCers who are TTC after a pregnancy loss. Before you start TTC again, be sure to get your hCG levels checked before peeing on a stick.

This is the latest development in my long drawn out roller coaster miscarriage. Ever since I miscarried on December 3rd, I've had my blood tested to monitor my hCG levels and see that they go back down to zero. As of yet they still haven't. What does that mean? It means that there might be some remnants of the pregnancy remaining, and until it's 100% removed my body is thinking it's pregnant. Even more so... this has got me thinking, since I was 4 months pregnant when I miscarried in September... my hCG levels would have been sky high up until the loss. What if they missed something on my D&C and ever since September when I thought I was ovulating regularly and TTC that I actually wasn't... and that the BFP I got in November was just because my hCG levels hadn't gone down enough to zero yet??

This would be good news and bad news. It would mean that I didn't actually loose #4... that I just got a false positive. The bad news, well not bad, but the annoying news is that it put me through all this stress and worry over what is wrong with me, and that if that is the case and since my levels aren't down to zero yet, I would most likely need ANOTHER D&C.

So, to research my theory I discovered that if tissue was left after my D&C, it would still cause my body to produce hCG, make my body think it's pregnant, go through all the motions it would if I were (i.e., building up the uterine lining, giving me symptoms) But after about 20 days my body would realize it's not pregnant, and flush everything out and start again. Since my D&C I have only gone a max of 21 days b/t "cycles" so that just makes me believe my theory even more. I am so tired of all this run around, it's ridiculous.

I go in to the doctor again on Monday to have my levels checked, so I will know by Tuesday at the latest if they've gone down or not. I am hoping and praying they have gone back down.

UPDATE: I am now on CD26...the longest one yet, so let's hope it's out of my system???

Pre-Seed

Today I wanted to blog about a product I would recommend to anyone TTC. It is a little thing called Pre-Seed.

It took 12 months to conceive my son. The next time I got pregnant, it took 5 months. The last time, we conceived the first month we tried! What did we do differently? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Pre-Seed.
During ovulation, due to all the hormones running through your body, the stress of TTC, or other factors leave you feeling a little dry down there. There are oodles of products out there to assist in those kinds of situations, but did you know that almost ALL lubricants, regardless of them having a spermicide or not actually are bad for TTC? According to the website www.storknet.com, after many years and all kinds of studies on the effect of lubricants on sperm, here are some of their findings with the most popular, KY brand, Astroglide, and Replens:

• A spermicidal or sperm killing activity of the leading three brands of lubricants as being equivalent to contraceptive jellies such as Gynol. In these studies, sperm had ZERO motility after 30 minutes of contact with the top three selling lubricant products.
• These effects are concentration dependent and were seen even with low concentrations (1-6%) depending on the lubricant product.
• Critically, the negative effect of lubricants on sperm includes decreasing sperm penetration into the cervix in vivo, as determined by the post-coital test (PCT).

Now I don't know about you, but I would think you'd want the sperm to still be moving after 30 minutes, seeing that it can sometimes take days for the sperm to meet your egg. And it decreases it's ability to enter the cervix... that's pretty much their destiniation isn't it?

Once the sperm enters the cervix, it needs as much strength as possible to swim through cervical fluid and up to where it will meet the egg. The best condition for conception is for the fluid to be clear and eggwhite-ish, and stretchy. What if you don't produce that on your own? Are you doomed?

There is a wonderful product that has been on the market just about a decade. It's called Pre-Seed. The ingredients of Pre-Seed are natural, and create a pH that mimics that of natural cervical fluid. Not only does it give you a TTC safe alternative to a little dryness, but it gives you more sperm friendly fluid to help keep the swimmers strong and give them a little bit easier journey to it's destination.

It is applied Internally, about 15 minutes before baby dancing. Most come with a few applicators that you fill yourself. They look similiar to the applicators that you use to apply yeast infection medicine. The box recommend using 3ml of the product, but EVERYONE I've talked to suggest using 1.5-2ml is plenty. After about 15 minutes the Pre-seed has moisturized everything, and softened everything to create the optimal environment for baby making. I would advise you use it during your fertile stage of your cycle, that is when it is most effective, but some women I have spoken to use it throughout their cycle.

I HIGHLY recommend this product. Some friends of mine have told me their doctors aren't too sure about it since there isn't a lot of "literature" out there on it. If you google "Pre-Seed" you will find tons on it. I have used it and conceived right away. It is one lubricant out there that is clean, does not burn, and actually is condsive to TTC. The ingredients are natural, so why not give it a shot?

To know more about this fabulous product, visit www.preseed.com. There is a TON of info on that site, along with dozens of testimonials. It really brings some hope and excitement for TTCers who are looking for a little extra help.

Pre-Seed is sold at www.babyhopes.com, www.early-pregnancy-tests.com, and there's a link for local retailers in your state. I bought mine locally for $16.50 for an 8 time use tube...but since I don't use the recommended does, it would last longer.

Anyways, just wanted to share this with you guys!
Happy Baby Dancing!

Baby Psychics- Are they for real??

Some women out there are claiming themselves to be "Baby Psychics" specifically dealing with women TTC or are newly pregnant. Are they for real or is this just a way to expolit desperate desires to have a baby?


A while back there was an explosion of "baby psychic" talk on one of the message boards I was on. Several women jumped at the chance to pay $10-$50 to find out when they would conceive, the gender of their baby, their due date, or their baby's past life. I was actually quite surprised how many women paid to get these done. But are they for real?

First of all, my personal beliefs about "psychics" are about much as I believe the sky to be green. I do however believe that some people are given special gifts in this life, like some take to speaking other languages well and other things like that. I think some people have the ability to heal faster. I believe in God of course, and that he speaks to us through the Holy Ghost. I believe some people are more sensitive to those whisperings than others are. Here are some incidences that make me think that people have the "gift" of foreseeing. I have a dear friend who worked with me. She was showing something to a customer and she looked up at my friend and asked her when her little girl was due. My friend, had no clue she was pregnant and thought this lady was just some wacko, or thought she looked pregnant. She shook it off, and only a few weeks later she found out she was pregnant (total surprise to her) and then eventually found out it was a girl. Another scenario... my husband works installing security systems in people's homes. While in a customers house this past summer, the customer told him to enjoy playing with his 2 sons. My husband was a little taken back by that comment, this customer had no knowledge that we had any kids at all. I was pregnant at the time however, and when I lost my baby, we could see it was a boy. Our second son that they were referring to maybe? So I think people may be sensitive to those kind of things, but to be able to predict their conception month, due date, and past life? I'm a little iffy on that one.

While in a discussion about this, one lady claiming to be a baby psychic challenged me on my denial that they were really psychic. She said she would give me a reading for free to prove that she was psychic. She said I would get pregnant that current month (November) and that I'd be due August 7th, but have a planned C-section on the 27th of July, and that it would be a girl. I took her challenge and was very skeptical. November 3oth rolled around and I got a BFP. I was getting a little spooked by what she said. However I miscarried later and there goes the rest of the prediction. But who is to say if I hadn't miscarried that it would have come true? I don't know, but if someone could tell me EXACTLY what was going to happen, they would have seen that wouldn't they? I think that is more proof that we have a hand in our own destiny more than anything. If a "Psychic" predicts us to get pregnant in the month of January and we don't touch our husband's that whole month, what are the chances of that happening? Don't waste your money on a baby psychic predicton that may or may not come true. Your money is best spent elsewhere on something that will benefit you in the long run. I think more than anything God has his own timing for things and if you have concerns about timing, you should take it up with Him. Not to get all religious on you, but when the topic of psychics come up, religion always ends up in there somewhere. But if you are just too curious about a baby psychic, here are a few I've heard of:
Cheri22 - I've heard her readings are very indepth sometimes even going into the baby's personality, past life, and the baby's futere family. She does offer free readings in her slower times, and they just tell you the gender and EDD.

JennyRenny - Hers seem very specific, conception month, due date, gender and info about the delivery.

Ruby - Hers are very indepth it looks like as well. I have heard some negative things about how long it takes her to get the reading back to you, but I don't know by experience.

I'd advise you as my frugal thrifty self to not pay for a reading. If it does not come true, you are out money, and if it does come true, it would have happened anyway right? If your prediction doesn't come true, it is only going to make the arrival of your period that much worse when you get it on the month she told you would would get a BFP.

If you are looking for some fun, and instant answers, you could always try this. I think it's just as accurate :)

Fun TTC things

So, here are some fun things for you TTCers.
If you are part of a message board community or are openly TTC, these are some fun little things you can display on your websites, profile, signature, etc..

1. Blinkies







These blinkies and MANY more are found here. Just find the one you want, right click it, save target as (remember where you save it), and then add it like you would a picture. These are kinda fun and let other people in your forum know a little bit more about you.

2. Tickers

Make an ovulation ticker

Above: Ovulation Ticker. Helpful not only for others to see and give you support at whatever stage you are at, but I find it helpful to keep track of where you are in your cycle. You need to know the date of your LMP, how long your luteal phase is, and how long your periods usually last. This one is from www.pregnology.com

Make a pregnancy ticker

Out of all the pregnancy tickers out there, I find this one to be the coolest. It shows week-by-week pictures of what your baby should look like each week. Very cool, and also from www.pregnology.com. You can change the colors if you want. All you need for this one is your due date.

TTC ticker. This one is small and cute and counts down to ovulation. Again, you'll need to know details of your cycle, but this one you can choose a small or large ticker (this is the small one) and pick your background and your marker (I chose the couple...seemed appropriate).

3. Banners
Want to make your own blinkie or poster for your signature/website? You see the cute little things like this on people's posts?

Make your own here! Just pick your size, colors, cute saying, and special effect and save it. It's completely free!

4. Photos
To add photos to a site that required html, upload them to photobucket.com first, then get the "embedded" code below the picture.

5. Delivery Day Predictions- For entertainment purposes of course...
I just took the test, and here's my "prediction" from Madame Zaritska.

"The day you deliver, outside will be windy. Your baby will arrive in the late night. After a labor lasting approximately 44 hours, your child, a girl, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and will be 22-1/2 inches long. This child will have dark green eyes and a lot of black hair."

Just a little fun prediction, but this one is kinda funny since there's no green eyes in my family and not a trace of black hair on mine of my husband's hair. Click on the link highlighted above to take your test, it's free and really just for kicks.

6. Glitter Text
Type your name, baby's name, or a cute saying in glitter from "giggaglitter"


7. TTC Graphics from Mommy Grapics

8. Or cute graphics from My Sun Will Shine

There are lot of cute things out there, and these are just a few. Just something to occupy yourselves and have some fun with TTC, other than the baby dancing part!! :)