CLOMID YEAR 2 • ROUND 2 {04.30.2015}

Cycle Day: 1 (4/24)

Medication: Prenatals

Symptoms: None, I feel great! I was actually so excited to see AF!!!

OPK or HPT: Neither

Next Dr. Appt.: Not scheduled 

Milestones: Clomid starts tomorrow

Cycle Day: 2 (4/25)
Medication: Prenatals and day 1 of 100mg Clomid
Symptoms: Feeling pretty good today, no hot flashes or mood swings
OPK or HPT: Neither
Next Dr. Appt.: Not scheduled
Milestones: Clomid Day 1 has begun and went down this morning with a prenatal

Cycle Day: 3 (4/26)
Medication: Prenatals and day 2 of 100mg Clomid
Symptoms: Very sleepy, a little moody, cramping
OPK or HPT: Not yet
Next Dr. Appt.: Not scheduled
Milestones: Temps have been pretty regular, not sure if basal body thermometer is right or not

Cycle Day: 4 (4/27)
Medication: Prenatals and day 3 of 100mg Clomid
Symptoms: Still pretty tired even after an early bedtime, hot flashes here and there
OPK or HPT: Not yet
Next Dr. Appt.: Not scheduled
Milestones: Managed to get in workouts everyday including this morning at 3am - no AF is going to hold me back

Cycle Day: 5 (4/28)
Medication: Prenatals and day 4 of 100mg Clomid
Symptoms: Hot flashes are starting to flare up but it's not unbearable
OPK or HPT: Not yet
Next Dr. Appt.: Not scheduled
Milestones: Did another workout this morning even though every part of me wanted to stay in bed and deal with these cramps but we are in week 8 of our 12 week workout program so I can't give in yet

Cycle Day: 6 (4/29)
Medication: Prenatals and day 5 of 100mg Clomid
Symptoms: None! I feel really good, very happy and ready to kick off this journey
OPK or HPT: Not yet
Next Dr. Appt.: Not scheduled
Milestones: LAST DAY OF CLOMID! Fingers Crossed we can catch that eggie

Cycle Day: 7 (4/30)
Medication: Prenatals
Symptoms: None - hooray!
OPK or HPT: Not yet
Next Dr. Appt.: Not scheduled
Milestones: OPKs start tomorrow (Cycle Day 8); I will be taking them (3) times a day at 8a, 2p, and 6p, this gives me a wide range to work with daily and see the full possibility of ovulation

*side note: you'll see below that my temps have been surprisingly level*

Also, I will finally be taking Progesterone after ovulation! I have been hearing so many good things about this drug and how it works wonders to help prevent miscarriage. Of course, there is no telling why our first two miscarriages ended, but I can only hope that it was due to low Progesterone and that this will help.

***********************************************************
Fertility Chart (current from Cycle Day 7)

Ovia Fertility Monitor (current from Cycle Day 7)

Sperm Meets Egg Plan

•{Clomid}
Cycle days 2 thru 6:
4/25, 4/26, 4/27, 4/28, 4/29

•{Baby Dance}
Cycle days 8 thru 22:
5/1, 5/3, 5/5, 5/7, 5/9, 5/11, 5/13, 5/15

•{OPKs}
Cycle day 8 thru 23:
5/1 thru 5/16

•{Two Week Wait}
Cycle day 20 thru 30
5/13 thru 5/23

•{HPT}
Cycle day 30 thru 35
5/23 thru 5/28

•{Progesterone}
After Ovulation

 

WHAT WE DID DIFFERENT YEAR 2 ROUND 1 THAT WORKED!!! {04.15.2015}

I wanted to share our "changes" that took place last cycle and helped us get pregnant so quickly. Let me just say that I have absolutely no idea which of these helped boost our chances, but I can tell you that God was the main source, the rest of the things were just a little "assistance," or so I like to say. It's so important to both E and I, to acknowledge God plays and played a HUGE part in our fertility journey. Do I think God wanted or planned for us to have miscarriages? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I believe God wants us to do as we are told, "go forth, be fruitful, and multiple," and that is why He continues to bless us with babies. So, without further ado, here is our TTC year 2 round 1 list of things we did to succeed.

1. I tracked everything!!! I'm so serious y'all. I tracked my temperature on two different fertility apps.
• a) Fertility Friend
• b) Ovia Fertility
2. I took daily OPKs starting on CD 8. I did use off-brand OPKs because I couldn't find the ClearBlue Digital sticks.
3. I attended weekly acupuncture appointments. I attended one appointment before starting Provera, one after Provera ended while still taking Clomid, one after Clomid ended near Ovulation, and one final appointment after Ovulation was registered.
4. I took prenatal vitamins. I have heard countless times that prenatal vitamins are sooo important, but I never really thought about it until after our first miscarriage in 2013. After taking the break during all of 2014, I decided that I would start taking prenatal vitamins at the start of my cycles. So for my year 2 round 2, I have decided to start taking those pills two days before the start of Provera (vitamins started on Monday, April 13).
5. Clomid was moved from CDs 3-7 to CDs 2-6. I don't really think this made a HUGE difference since I did get pregnant the first time taking Clomid on CDs 3-7. I will admit that I appreciate the change, I just seem to like the CD 2-6 better.
6. Pre-seed was used every time we BD. I've talked about it before, but pre-seed is amazing! Mostly because it is the ONLY sperm-friendly lubricant that I would trust.
7. I tracked my CM daily. Sure, it may not be the most amazing thing in the world, but I learned so much about my cycle just by paying attention to my body's signals.
8. We followed the SMEP, with a few adjustments to work with our schedules. Click to see the full SMEP!
9. Last but not least, I lost weight!!! I believe this was a real help in our TTC journey. I lost close to 30lbs at the start of the year and at my appointment on January 5, my doctor said that he was impressed and just knew that getting pregnant would be easier now...he was right!!! We got pregnant immediately! Obviously, I know this is not easy for everyone, but even just a weight adjustment of 5-10lbs can drastically increase chances of pregnancy.

My goal for this upcoming cycle is to follow the same pattern. I do want to try to eat Chia Seeds regularly throughout this upcoming cycle so that my body is healthy and for all of the health benefits. Click to read all about the health benefits of Chia Seeds. I have faith that we will have no problem getting pregnant this cycle, and with my doctor now considering us "high risk," I believe we will have a much better chance at keeping the next baby.

As always, thank you so much for reading and keeping up with our journey.

God Bless and Baby Dust!!!