Another baby thread: are you a Fertile Myrtle?

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

I was when I was younger. My daughter was conceived the very first time I became active and while taking precautions.

My appendix ruptured not long after she was born and while I can't say for sure (I haven't had testing or anything) I think that has decreased my fertility.

 

[FredinFL]

Apparently a tilted uterus makes it much harder to get pregnant unless you use certain positions. Who knew?

 

[skuttle]

Nope! Although our 1st DS was a surprise, it took us 4 years TTC for #2. Did various tests, procedures, meds and nothing worked. Had two early miscarriage, but that was it. We decided to give up and 6 months later found out I was pregnant! While I was going through a clomid/IUI cycle, the nurse that gave me my trigger shot told me how she was a "fertile myrtle" and gets pregnant if her DH looks at her. I could have slapped her! Not what you say to an IF patient!

I hope all you fertile myrtles know how luck you are.

 

[Colleen27]

I hope all you fertile myrtles know how luck you are.

Eh, this is one of those things where too much is almost as bad as too little. It is very stressful and can put a big strain on a marriage to be uncomfortable with having a normal sex life because of a constant fear of getting pregnant. It is kind of like the weather - when you're in Florida struggling to breathe because of the wildfire smoke you envy those who have rain, but you still don't want to end up like Minot.

 

[bdcp]

Apparently a tilted uterus makes it much harder to get pregnant unless you use certain positions. Who knew?

LOL, not for me and my mom. We both have tilted uteruses and I was told by two different ob's that it really makes no difference. I got pregnant in the first two months we tried (both times). Both my sisters and my mom also only took about 2-3 months with all ours kids. We were all in our 20's when we had our first and I had both in my 20's. It's so much easier to conceive in your 20's than your 30's.

 

[SDFgirl]

Yes, I am. With our older DD, we had been off birth control for 2 months. With younger DD, we got pregnant our first month off birth control.

 

[cabanafrau]

It's hard to say.

First time I ever tried to make a baby, I/we was/were successful. (maybe the first, maybe the second or third, not sure, all I know is that a week after our wedding it was extremely obvious that something had changed, LOL)

But it seems that I am extremely sensitive to hormones. So with that conception, I was extremely sensitive to the hormones of ovulation, and all I needed was hubby's help.

But then with nursing, extended nursing, and extended nursing with a voracious kid, I was extremely sensitive to nursing hormones as well, and it seems obvious *in retrospect* that even though I was *apparently* cycling (from when DS was 4 months old, which is NOT fair with the 20 hours/day nursing I was doing) I probably wasn't actually prepared, body-wise, to make more babies.

And then there was the problem of hubby slowly developing a pituitary tumor, which went undiagnosed for probably 2, maybe 3, years. Despite his asking all health care providers to test his hormone levels. Despite his developing a cyst in his "breast" area and having a mammogram (and all the shame that goes along with it for a man in a woman's pink, female-centric-intake-forms, world). Without ANYONE saying "hey, let's check your hormones shall we?" Finally probably 3 years after it started to develop (going by symptoms that were mysterious and embarrassing at the time) he had his hormone levels checked, and, as the endocrinologist put it, found he had the prolactin of a pregnant woman and the testosterone of a teenaged girl. (editing to mention...he regales people with that quote ALL the time, even last night, he finds it to be hilarious.)

So that'll put a crimp in a couple's fertility, that's for sure!

Now he's all back to normal. So glad we have such high levels of meaningful communication and also healthy doses of humor about the whole thing...how else could we have gotten through his initial sperm analysis report where *everything* was wrong with those little swimmers? If we hadn't been able to laugh about it, how could we have dealt with that?

And all of that took time (thanks, so much, health"care" people who refused to check DH's hormone levels) and now I'm 41 and doing acupuncture and drinking vile-tasting "tree bark" tea to enhance the workings of my bod.



What I'm saying is...you can be as fertile as you can possibly be, but if something's going on with the other person, it doesn't really matter. (and if your husband is losing weight but gaining chest mass...have his hormones checked b/c that was one of the most obvious signs, along with the fluid-filled cyst, that doctors kept missing, before he was diagnosed with that prolactinoma!)

I'm not understanding the sensitivity to hormones link equating to "just needing DH's help". Isn't that a given for anyone?

We were very lucky to conceive the 1st month of attempting for each of our 2 children. I exclusively breastfed both & my cycle came back w/ a vengeance precisely 21 days after delivery, both times.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

We tried twice, we have 3 kids (twins for the second pregnancy). Yes, fertile Myrtle.

Yes...DH and I decided to try for a baby...3 weeks later I was pregnant...with TWINS