Thursday, September 29, 2011

Cup Time... again...

Last month I POAS, OPK that is, using first morning urine (FMU) and got a positive 3 days in a row. This month I tried doing it throughout the day to see what the result would be. I have been POAS for the last 3 days, O is expected in the next day or two. I tested positive this morning around 8 am, then a little lighter at 10 am, and for sure negative at 7 pm. I told DH I thought it was "Cup Time" again. So here I sit with my hopes that these little swimmers will do their duty and find the golden egg.

I was asked how I used my OPK tests. Well last month, like I said I only used FMU and got a positive result 3 days in a row. I thought that maybe my LH was too concentrated in FMU and decided to not use that method this month. I have just been testing at random times during the day. (But not after having too much fluid intake as the test said this can dilute the hormones.) I was hoping to test every 12 or so hrs, but that hasn't really worked for me.

My one concern is I have been trying to keep an eye on my CM to catch that super fertile EWCM and have yet to see it. Not sure what that means exactly. I have had months were I have had an abundance of EWCM and wish we were using this method back then. Oh well.

I have also decided this month to not do back to back days of "Cup Time". Given that our factor is MF I think DH's swimmers need a little break. We will try again Saturday to see if that makes any difference at all.

Please feel free to ask me any questions you have. If you would prefer to email them to me, click here.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Not this time

I really didn't think I would get pregnant the first month of trying our "new method", so when AF showed up on Wednesday I wasn't surprised. The good news is that means I ovulated when my OPT was positive, so I guess I kind of did it right. I think this month around my ovulation time I will test every 10 or so hours to see if I can catch it and just have one positive reading. (I won't use my first morning urine again.) I decided against buying the Clea.r Bl.ue fertility monitor, since I was able to detect ovulation with just the regular OPT. I may change my mind if I can find one for cheap on eb.ay or something like that.

I was right in that failing with the method really didn't upset me at all. I didn't shed one tear or feel any grief. I know for us it is such a long-shot, so it now working is no surprise. But it does give me something to feel like we are at least making some kind of effort. Which is healing for the soul.

I was asked if we had considered using donor sperm with this new method. DH is fine with that idea, mainly because it would be a whole lot cheaper than IVF, but I am not. I just feel its too complicated for me. Too many "what it's" roll around in my mind about the future for me to go down that path right now. I am so happy for the women and their husbands that have conceived their children via this method! (and there are many of you!)

So now we try again and hope for a different outcome next time.


Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Something new...

Well I gave up on making babies the "old-fashioned" way about 5 years ago when we learned about DH's diagnosis... that was until I took a cake decorating class from a lady that said her daughter and her husband had our same issue and she tried a new method (at home) and got pregnant on her very first try! Now, my fellow IF sisters, I know there is a very good chance that this "method" won't work for us. This couple was able to do IUI, I believe, where we had to skip that step since DH's numbers were so low. But I feel a little twinge of hope again. I will be sad if it doesn't work, but since I really think it would be beyond a miracle if it did, I don't think it will set me into a tailspin like our BFN's after our FET's did. After all, this method costs all of $25 for 2 months worth of trying, were we sunk $15k+ into IVF and FET's.

So what is this new method you ask?? I'm sure many of you have seen the "cups" you can insert while on your period. They are called In.stead Sof.tcups. I have seen them many times and always wondered who would buy these things. Well now I can add myself to the list. Basically what you do is put your husbands swimmers in the cup and insert it for 24 hrs around ovulation time. Yes, it says you can only wear it for 12 hrs, but that is when you are menstruating. The cups only cost me $10 for 14 cups and I used 3 this cycle. I also purchased OPK's so I could be sure of my LH surge. (more on this later) The lady said her daughter did this and is expecting a baby boy in 3 months. Maybe it won't work for, but since we aren't going to pursue any kind of treatment for a bit I need to feel like I am doing something. Siting around doing nothing is much worse than a BFN from a cheap endeavor. 

A little side note, I haven't used OPK's in YEARS, so I may not be doing it right, but I got a positive result 3 mornings in a row. Is that normal? I used the cup all three days to be safe, but I wasn't sure what was going on. My pack I got said to use your first morning urine, I didn't do that since I get up a few times a night to pee, but I did use the restroom as soon as I got up to start the day and tested then. I'm wondering if maybe the hormone was too concentrated at this time. Ladies weigh in. I would love to buy a Cle.ar Bl.ue Ea.sy Fertili.ty Monitor to use, but not sure if I will. That way I would really know what was going on with all my crazy hormones.

It is fun to have some hope again without injecting my body with 10 different hormones a day!