My story- 14 months TTC, dodgy cycles and our plan of action

Hi all

I am new here but thought I would share my TTC journey with you if you would like to read.

My husband is 31 and I am 29. We had been trying to get pregnant for a year. I wasn't using OPK's but I did start charting my temperatures. I had been on the pill previously and had notoriously long cycles- some as long as 39 days- the shortest 31.

We aren't massively overweight but a little higher BMI than we would like. (both in the "overweight" category!). We tried to go with the flow and just have regular sex, in the hope something would happen.

Charting my temperatures was something I did for a couple of months, but it didn't work. I get really hot in bed and each morning my temperature was different, there was no pattern or trend, so I stopped doing it. Also, hubby was on medication for anxiety, so he stopped taking it as he read that some antidepressant medications can make the swimmers "lazy". Obviously this was a difficult decision and his mental health took a nosedive for the short term, but we felt it was worth a try.

We decided after a year to book a doctor's appointment. It was a terrifying step to take, however we wanted to get the ball rolling in the event we needed extra help.

The doctor was lovely, she spoke to us both about our diets, exercise, daily routines, my cycles etc. She booked me a variety of blood tests and requested an ultrasound scan to check my bits out. Hubby was given a pot with some instructions!

We got home and started living healthily. We did exercise DVD's together every single day, we both lost about 1.5 stone each!

About 2 weeks later, my ultrasound scan date came through. It was for the week after a holiday we had booked in Devon, so hubby decided to put off his tests and we would do all the tests on the same day- bloods, ultrasound, the dreaded pot- and support each other.

We had a lovely weekend in Devon. All week it felt like my period was coming on. I was bloated and had mild cramping, you know that "coming on" yucky feeling in your stomach!

But it never came... I hit day 39 of my cycle. I really thought it should have been here by now- none of my cycles have been longer than 39 days. So- I took a test.

Almost instantly, the line came up.... and it was a STRONG line!!! I was absolutely terrified! Something we had wanted for over a year and were already losing hope over!

Anyway, I am now nearly 14 weeks pregnant, and I am fine! Baby is cooking nicely. Hubby is being totally amazing and very supportive

I genuinely believe it was this change in our lifestyle that played a big part in our TTC journey. We ate healthily, didn't drink any alcohol (which in turn meant that hubby didn't smoke, as he always used to have a cigarette when on the beer!), did exercise daily, and combined with regular sessions between the sheets, it all worked!

Wishing you all the very best,

Lou xxxx