Teach me your ways

[regal]

I intro'd a while ago and have been lurking.  I need some help.  I read the newbie blog, several times, so be gentle with me!

SPOILER: Click to show

{History-Trigger warning}
DS1- surprise baby

early miscarriage (conceived while nursing 6-8x per day, with night nursing)

DS2- (conceived while nursing 4-6x per day, with night nursing)

I'm just starting my 6th cycle of TTC.  I'm charting as best as I can since I'm still nursing (20mo) and am up all night trying to wean him.  I'm tracking CM (barely anything) and cervical position and I have very obvious ovulation pains.  My LP is 14 days from my ovulation pains.  O Pains are on CD 14-16.  I know temping would confirm ovulation but it's just not possible right now.

The first four cycles I had very little CM and practically no fertile CM. This last one I had none, I was actually surprised when I had ovulation pains because there was no CM at all warning me that it was coming.  I found it really odd since I started robitussin about 2X daily right after my period ended.  Any tips on the timing of cough syrup?  I'm using the right one, with just guaifenesin and no other ingredients.

This past cycle we also used pre-seed. I'm wondering how effective the stuff can be though if I appear to be completely dry.  I also upped my water intake and had green tea 1-2X a day.

TIA!

[anonymouseliza]

Are you checking internally or externally for cm?

[apunicorn]

I had no EWCM at all until last cycle when I really upped my water intake, stopped drinking alcohol, and also drank grapefruit juice and evening primrose every day. I kind of did it all at once so I can't say which one of those worked but as a result I had a TON of EWCM for the first time in my life. I wish I could narrow it down to one product but you could try all of it to see if it works for you!

Oh also large amounts of caffeine always dry me out so green tea never did the trick for me despite it being a supposed "fertility booster"

[rooskie]

My advise on cough syrup is not to take it unless you have a cold. Up your water and use preseed or coconut oil as needed.

[regal]

Feb 21, 2015 21:39:26 GMT -5 anonymouseliza said:

Are you checking internally or externally for cm?

Both.  I got nothing.

[cabgirl]

Were you on hormonal birth control before beginning TTC? I was, and after going off, I had no EWCM at all for the first 5 cycles (only 4 of which I was ttc). On the 6th cycle, it finally showed up, but was pretty minimal - but that was the cycle I got pregnant. Honestly, I attribute it to waiting long enough for my body to regulate after going off BC. (Minimal CM is a known problem when going off hormonal BC.) I also think drinking tons of water helped in my case.

I personally don't recommend guafenesin. It's taking unnecessary medicine, which is never a great idea. I did it for my first 3 months TTC, and it did nothing for me except make my CM slightly more watery. I think it's best to trust your body to produce CM of the right consistency when it's ready to. You might be producing EWCM and not realizing it, because it's minimal or not making its way outside your body. (When I finally saw EWCM, I had to go out of my way to detect it, and it wasn't much. But I still got pregnant, and I didn't use guafenesin that cycle.) If you're taking something to thin your CM, you might be hindering it from functioning the way it should. That's just me, though, and other people might have different opinions.

As far as PreSeed goes, it's nothing more than a sperm friendly lube. It isn't a substitute for CM, and won't help you get pregnant - it just won't kill sperm the way some of the others do.

[regal]

Thanks for the replies. I did the cough syrup as a last ditch effort. I was really hoping it would be the magic bullet; a friend of mine used it successfully twice after a few months of TTC and it improved her CM.

I know 5 months of TTC is not long and completely normal. The complete lack of CM is starting to worry me though.

[anonymouseliza]

Gotcha.

Some of it may be due to the fact that you are still nursing. I would increase your water intake as much as possible - hyrdation is the basic element that seems to be universally effective. But some women just don't produce much, though I'd suspect this is probably nursing related than just a big change post-pregnancy.

It sounds like you've got some pretty decent guidelines to go by, even if they aren't as ideal as bbt and fertile cm. Your dates may not be exact, but you've got something to plan by to optimize your timing, so that's good. Plenty of women get pregnant without ever having heard of charting, so no huge worries there (ideal isn't always obtainable). The deal with pre-seed is that it doesn't kill sperm the way other lubes do - but it doesn't protect and nourish sperm the same way fertile cm does. Really, your odds aren't dead without fertile cm - sperm move quickly and can be through the cervix in a matter of minutes, but it's more likely you need to time it so that the sperm don't need to wait around for the egg (that's the best function of ewcm).

[regal]

anonymouseliza

Thanks! More sex and more water it is! Our timing wasn't great last cycle because I had no warning. -2, 0 and +2 was the best we could do. I've dropped the nursing sessions down to 2 a day and they are as short as I can make them. I'm hoping he weans on his own but I'm not holding my breath.

Thanks again for the help ladies!

[regal]

Feb 21, 2015 22:04:25 GMT -5 cabgirl said:

Were you on hormonal birth control before beginning TTC? I was, and after going off, I had no EWCM at all for the first 5 cycles (only 4 of which I was ttc). On the 6th cycle, it finally showed up, but was pretty minimal - but that was the cycle I got pregnant. Honestly, I attribute it to waiting long enough for my body to regulate after going off BC. (Minimal CM is a known problem when going off hormonal BC.) I also think drinking tons of water helped in my case.

I personally don't recommend guafenesin. It's taking unnecessary medicine, which is never a great idea. I did it for my first 3 months TTC, and it did nothing for me except make my CM slightly more watery. I think it's best to trust your body to produce CM of the right consistency when it's ready to. You might be producing EWCM and not realizing it, because it's minimal or not making its way outside your body. (When I finally saw EWCM, I had to go out of my way to detect it, and it wasn't much. But I still got pregnant, and I didn't use guafenesin that cycle.) If you're taking something to thin your CM, you might be hindering it from functioning the way it should. That's just me, though, and other people might have different opinions.

As far as PreSeed goes, it's nothing more than a sperm friendly lube. It isn't a substitute for CM, and won't help you get pregnant - it just won't kill sperm the way some of the others do.

No BC for several years now so it's not a factor.  

Thanks though!

[anonymouseliza]

The one benefit to exclusive pumping - I decided when we were done and that was that. No input from the kiddo because while she preferred bm to coconut milk, she really didn't care that much, and we used up the rest of the stash and mixed it up throughout the day for about six weeks or so.

[regal]

Feb 21, 2015 22:22:51 GMT -5 anonymouseliza said:

The one benefit to exclusive pumping - I decided when we were done and that was that. No input from the kiddo because while she preferred bm to coconut milk, she really didn't care that much, and we used up the rest of the stash and mixed it up throughout the day for about six weeks or so.

At this point it's more about the cuddles than the milk.  He barely drinks and I'm pretty sure my left boob isn't even producing anything since I rarely hear him swallow. I'm two months shy of four straight years of nursing and I'm over it.  I need my body to myself for a little bit before we have a third.  I can't do 6+ years straight.

Also, I bow to EP'ers.  That is an incredibly difficult thing to do.  I lasted one month pumping at work when my first was 8mo.

[anonymouseliza]

I pumped for 13 months, starting when she was 3 days old. She simply would.not.latch. I'm sad we missed out on feeding at the breast, but it worked out ok in the end - lots of people enjoyed feeding her, I enjoyed seeing how much she was eating and not worrying over what I couldn't see. I'm incredibly impressed that you've nursed for so long! That's pretty amazing.

[Sparkly]

Hi! I'm also TTC while still nursing (DD is 14 months). Major props to you for how long you have been at it! I can totally understand wanting a break before a third.

My best advice would be to cut the Robitussin and green tea. Guaifenesin only thins out, doesn't produce more mucus, so I feel like if you truly have nothing, it's not going to do much for you there. I'm also in the camp of not taking unnecessary medications. Green tea has caffeine and is actually going to dehydrate you. I think it's ability to increase fertile CM is anecdotal, at best, and I think people are drinking large quantities over a period of months before seeing results. I would simply continue to up your water intake and avoid anything that could potentially dry up what little CM you have. (e.g. allergy meds like Zyrtec)

The other thing I wanted to mention was that without temping, you don't know exactly when you O. Your O pains could be a few days before, and you might have a shorter LP than you think. I mention it because a short LP is common while BFing. I was told that when I first came here a few months ago, and once I got my period back, mine has only been 8 days. That's an issue for TTC, obviously, so I'm hoping it will lengthen over time, naturally. I added B6 as a supplement this month to see if that might have any effect. I'll know in a day or two if it did.

I think preseed could potentially help (a little) if you have little to no CM. It's obviously not a miracle cure, but worth giving it a shot. Just don't use too much unless you want it to be like a slip 'n slide.

Hope some of this helps. Good luck!

[peanutmuse]

Feb 21, 2015 21:33:46 GMT -5 regal said:

This past cycle we also used pre-seed. I'm wondering how effective the stuff can be though if I appear to be completely dry. 

I had a question about this -- do you mean you were still dry while using it/having sex or that you were dry in general? Because it won't really create CM, it's just meant to be a sperm friendly lube.

I will reiterate/agree with what others have said. (Nursing is the likely culprit for lack of CM. Drink more water. Skip the cough syrup unless you're sick. Temp to confirm ovulation, etc.)

Good luck!

[regal]

I know preseed won't make CM, I figured it may help since it's perm friendly and mimics CM.

I have considered my LP being too short but I'm pretty confident I'm o'ing when I have the pains. The last time we ttc'd and charted I watched my LP go from 8days up to 11 when when we miscarried and then up to to 14. Each month it got a day longer.

[Sparkly]

Feb 22, 2015 9:12:02 GMT -5 regal said:

I know preseed won't make CM, I figured it may help since it's perm friendly and mimics CM.

I have considered my LP being too short but I'm pretty confident I'm o'ing when I have the pains. The last time we ttc'd and charted I watched my LP go from 8days up to 11 when when we miscarried and then up to to 14. Each month it got a day longer.

If you've been having pp cycles for awhile, it's probably fine, just something I thought of.

I don't think preseed will hurt anything, though I mainly recommend it because I assumed without any CM, sex might be a little dry/uncomfortable at times. I got it around the beginning of starting TFAS, but we only used it sparingly and I get tons of CM now, so don't really need it anymore. My H prefers without.