First steps in trying to concieve

[Anonymous]

My husband and I decided we are ready to try for our first. I saw an gyn a few months ago and she ran a few tests to make sure I had certain vaccines. She said I am all clear on that front.

She told me to start taking some multivitamins that contain folic acid which I am starting to take.

Obviously sex.

What else? I have really irregular periods. I am concerned there could be some problems getting pregnant. I also have some weight to lose - I have lost about 25 lbs since I saw the gyno but ideally should lose more. I don't want to wait forever though so we are going to try to start conceiving while I continue to work on the diet and exercise.

Any recommendations? Books or websites? General advice?

[Anonymous]

Taking Charge of Your Fertility is a great book to get started!

[Anonymous]

May not be a "first step," but one to try --- charting your periods and trying to understand the small window (1-3 days) when you could become pregnant.

[Anonymous]

It depends on how much time you have to wait at our disposal. If you are fine waiting for 2-3 years, that's one thing... You said you have really irregular periods; that's a big flag and something that could just make it difficult to get pregnant for at least that long. I would suggest visiting an RE (reproductive endocrinologist) in the meantime, while you are reading up and working on losing weight, to have the diagnostic testing done. It's covered by almost all insurance, though you may have to get a referral from your doctor. If your hormone levels are really out of whack, that's something they can help you with and normalize things. The whole try for 18 months if you are under 35 and THEN go see a fertility doctor only applies to people with normal, regular cycles.

[Anonymous]

Purchase and Read the book: Taking Charge of Your Fertility

It has 900+ reviews on Amazon. It averages a 5 star review. Need I say more?

Here is a link:
http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Charge-Fertility-Anniversary-Edition/dp/0060881909/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351608054&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=taking+harge+of+your+fertility

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You said you have really irregular periods; that's a big flag and something that could just make it difficult to get pregnant for at least that long.

This. How irregular are they? Do your cycles vary by 3-5 days in length? Or do they vary by a week or two. I think that technically the former is within the bounds of normal, but the latter definitely is not. High variability in cycle length could suggest that you are not ovulating every cycle...which would obviously make it difficult to conceive. Have you been on BCP in the past? If you're just coming off of them, that could be a reason for variability. but it's surprising that your GYN didn't pick up on irregular cycles as a sign of a potential concern. NB, needing to lose weight can contribute to cycle irregularity, though presumably a blood test would have picked up on hormonal imbalances (that's the main problem with extra weight, estrogen levels can be correlated with extra fat cells). If you only need to lose in the ball park of 20-30 lbs, though, my guess is weight isn't a huge factor.

I agree with 10:01, though. If you're cycles aren't regular or you have other reasons to think you may have difficulty conceiving, there's no reason to wait 18 mos - 2 yrs to see a doctor (especially if you are in your 30s). If I had waited 2 yrs to see an RE, I would have been 35 when the recommendation is to wait only 6 mos. At this point, I'm almost 35, but we know we have MF...which no amount of waiting would have mitigated.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for "Taking Charge of Your Fertility."

[Anonymous]

Try using A fertility monitor. They are pricey but you get deals on amazon. I just never found regular charting all the helpful. Also, don't wait too long before seeing an RE esp if you are already over 30. If you are over 35 I would go to RE immediately. And make sure you have your husband tested when you are tested. I think 50% of infertility is on the male side. Also get your vitamin D levels tested. Low levels can affect implantation and quality of uterine lining.

[Anonymous]

RoundBelly Wellness & Yoga in Alexandria, VA does fertility yoga, gentle yoga (hatha, restorative, and yin) and meditation classes.
I think these sorts of classes do a wonderful job of supporting women through the transition into getting pregnant and sustaining pregnancy.

[Anonymous]

Take Charge of Your Fertility. You'll need a basal body thermometer (can get online or in any drugstore) for charting. It's not totally recommended by the book's method, but I liked supplementing the basic charting data with ovulation strips to "confirm" that I ovulated when the other signs predicted. You can buy them in bunches online for super cheap; same with pregnancy test strips. Wondfo seems to be a pretty respected brand.

How irregular are your periods?

[Anonymous]

Before everyone scares you with the irregular periods, mine are really irregular ( can be off by at least a week or two), but with the help of charting and a fertility monitor it took 6 months to get pregnant the first time, 1 month the second time and 2 months the third time ( had one miscarriage) so irregular periods do not always mean you will have trouble just need to chart. Good luck!!

[Anonymous]

According to some RE's cycles between 23-44 days are considered normal:
http://www.naturalcycleivf.com/candidates/

[Anonymous]

Start using Fertility Friend website / iphone app. It makes it really easy to record your temps, periods, OPK and pregnancy tests. It also makes it easy to print the data for DRs if you end up going to an RE. It helps me see what is "normal" from month to month instead of guessing that something seems off. It has helped me a lot once we got past 3-4 cycles of trying it all became a blur.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Start using Fertility Friend website / iphone app. It makes it really easy to record your temps, periods, OPK and pregnancy tests. It also makes it easy to print the data for DRs if you end up going to an RE. It helps me see what is "normal" from month to month instead of guessing that something seems off. It has helped me a lot once we got past 3-4 cycles of trying it all became a blur.

+1

This in combination with Taking Charge of Your Fertility is w hat you should do to start. Once you have a general idea of when you're ovulating, start using ovulation predictor kits (buy the cheap ones from Amazon) to help identify your most fertile days or buy the Clearblue fertility monitor to do the same.

[Anonymous]

Especially if you had irregular periods, you should use ovulation predicting kits. These will help with finding your fertile days.