Cycle #11

It's official. I have started cycle #11. Yay for me. 

What am I going to do different this month?

Nothing, really. 

I will start temping after Auntie Flo decides to leave.

I will start taking the soy isoflavones on cd 3 or 4, for 5 days.

I will use the opk's and the ovulation scope.

I will take Mucinex on the first day of ferning/+ opk.

I think that's it for me. 

I will also take my baby aspirin and prenatal vitamins.

Bring on the baby dust and the BFP!!!

Cycle #10..TWW...still waiting.

I'm 6 days away from cycle #11. Yesterday, I let my hopes get the best of me. I tested. It was 7 days before my next cycle date. Too early. But, I did it anyway. I used a FRER. Can you guess what my answer was?

Big.Fat.Negative.

Yep. Exactly what I expected. But, I was still hoping that maybe, just maybe, it would be a squinter.

 A ghost line. 

But, it was negative as always.

According to the package instructions and claims, I could test today. Day 6, before my cycle date. But, I think I'll just wait. Pretty sure I'm not pregnant. So, why rush the inevitable. I always hope that I'm wrong. There's always a chance that I'm wrong. I'll test on Saturday. That would put me at the day before my cycle starts. 

Wish me luck!

Cycle #10..TWW

It's official. I am in the two week wait. 

Monday's opk (cd14)

Tuesday's opk (cd15)

I decided to try and temp this cycle. Here are my temps so far...

cd11: 97.9

cd12: 97.7

cd13: no temp

cd14: 97.5

cd15: 97.6

cd16: 97.9

cd17/dpo1: 98.3

As of cd 14, I had a very positive opk, and a nice fern effect on the ovulation scope. I wish I could get a picture of that. I tried but it's REALLY hard.

 

Here's what my scope looks like. 

I bought mine at Walmart 7 years ago for maybe $20. They no longer sell anything like this =(  Dumb if you ask me.

I can't find this exact one anywhere for sale, but there are several different brands, and they all do the same exact thing, magnify your dried spit.

 I think the Fertile Focus is definitely the prettiest one out there right now! 

Scopes are definitely my favorite ovulation predictors. Not too messy, and totally reusable! Go green! No chemicals involved!

LOVE it! Just wish mine was prettier, like the Fertile Focus :) If they would like to send me one to try, I would give them lots and lots of praise on my lil ole blog! And of course tell all my friends! Who would probably tell their friends....:)

 

Here are what the results will look like:

 Cd15 was an even better opk line, and the fern was perfect. My temps were slowly rising. I fully expected that they would start to rise significantly  this morning. They did! I hope they continue to rise a bit, and then stay at the higher temp. That would indicate a pregnancy!

I am not expecting a pregnancy. But,I am still hoping. My hopes have been dashed, month after month. But, I just can't give up the hope that it will happen. I'm hoping to win the Ovacue from LLAOTWM! If this cycle ends, and starts a new one, that could really come in handy! I'm also considering starting fertility herbs. Not sure where to start with that though, so I'm asking special friends to help me out on that front. 

Thanks Girls! You know who you are!! =)

Once again...Here's to hope and faith!

Poem for Loss Moms

Do not judge the bereaved mother. 
She comes in many forms.

She is breathing, but she is dying. 
She may look young, but inside she has become ancient. 
She smiles, but her heart sobs.
She walks, she talks, she cooks,
she cleans, she works, she IS,
but she IS NOT, all at once.
She is here, but part of her is elsewhere for eternity.

Do not dismiss us: we have shaped more than just the future generation.
We have released all the tiny angels who are watching over you.

Open your eyes to US, and you just might see THEM.

- Author Unknown - 

Cycle # 10

It's been 10 months. 10 Looooong months. I can't believe that much time has passed.

That's long enough to have carried a pregnancy to term. I didn't actually try the first cycle, so technically this is the 9th cycle of trying. *sigh* I just keep waiting. 

I was given a supply of opk's  (thank you Maria!) I have two left. I was hoping to be pregnant before I needed to buy any. I don't know how my husband would feel about that. I do have my Ovulation Scope (see here for a similar item). But I don't always remember to spit on it before I brush my teeth, and that could give me false readings. My sweet friends Maria and Jayme are hosting a giveaway for an OvaCue Fertility Monitor. Now, that would be a sweet win! 

It's actually a double win!

There will be two winners!!!!

If you read this and decide to enter the giveaway, put my email (toribeardatattdotnet) as your referral and then we could both win!

Go here to see how the OvaCue works.

This little baby will keep track of all your fertility information.

Did I say ALL? I mean ALL! How cool is that?

Here is the description from early-pregnancy-tests.com

The OvaCue Bundle - The Ultimate in Ovulation Prediction

The OvaCue Bundle contains the OvaCue Fertility Monitor (w/ Oral Sensor) and the Vaginal Sensor — it's the ultimate in ovulation prediction. Order the OvaCue Bundle and save $20 off the purchase price of the separate products!

The OvaCue is a saliva-based monitor that detects changes in the electrolyte levels in saliva. These levels shift as levels of the hormone estrogen rise and fall. Simply place the oral sensor on your tongue daily and the OvaCue will track and record your fertility for that day. It looks for trends in your electrolytes to mark the beginning of your fertile window — this is the selection of your dominant follicle. With 5-7 days advance notice of ovulation, you are able to identify the time when you are most likely to conceive. This FDA approved monitor is over 98% accurate in predicting ovulation. The OvaCue keeps track of your current cycle day and current fertility status and also stores up to 4 months of readings.

The Vaginal Sensor increases the accuracy of the OvaCue and is able to confirm that ovulation has occurred. When using the vaginal sensor the monitor is able cross-reference additional data points from the electrolyte level trends it observes in your cervical mucus. This will allow the monitor to detect when your estrogen levels are decreasing and your progesterone levels are increasing (indicating ovulation). It is extremely beneficial for women with irregular cycles to use the vaginal sensor. Irregular cycles are commonly caused by hormonal imbalances. For women with a hormonal imbalance, ovulation may occur before or after the predicted time frame the oral sensor provided. If you happen to ovulate earlier then the oral sensor predicted, the vaginal sensor will be able to notify you 1 or 2 days in advance and ovulation is actually occurring sooner. This is also the case if ovulation is occurring later than the oral reading had originally predicted. It will extend your 'fertile' window until the progesterone dominance has been detected.

You will also receive free, unlimited access to OvaGraph.com a full-featured fertility charting tool that allows you to store, graph, and print your OvaCue readings.