TTC kick off on the Disney Fantasy

We are back from our amazing, wonderful cruise! We're now in the two week wait, and I'm about 5 DPO. I'm very unsure about how we did. At first, it went really well - the first three days, we managed to DTD twice a day. The day I O'ed, we only were able to do it once. The next day I was still finishing up O'ing, and we didn't get to do it at all as that day we woke up super early to go run the Disney 5K on their private island. We had activities to do all day that day until about 11:30, where I passed out immediately after coming back to the room.

So it's possible that it worked, but it's also very possible that we didn't hit it at the right times. Either way, it was definitely a fun factor to our cruise. It was still the kickstart of our TTC journey, and we did it in style.

We got the Romance Package, which was beautiful to walk into and so much fun. The robes we received (and I'm still wearing) were super soft and plush. The champagne was delicious, the chocolates paired perfectly with it, and the rose was beautiful.



I was tempted to buy a Disney Cruise Line onesie there, but decided against it, but it's definitely something I'll have to remember if we do get a BFP.

The whole time I wanted a pregnancy announcement picture (a picture with us as a family and me with my hands on my belly) and we didn't get it, so I'd have to figure out something else now. There was just so much to do on the cruise! We enjoyed every minute, but we already have a list of what we need to do next time that didn't happen this time.

Something I realized on our way home, was that November 18th is Mickey Mouse's birthday - that's the day I've been saying I'll be testing. So we'll know if we're expecting our Disney Souvenir on Mickey's birthday. A pretty cute touch if it does work out!

9 more days to see if we were successful.

We've Arrived!

Okay, it's now official - I'm CD1 on our very first TTC cycle for our next baby!

Two weeks from now, I'll be relaxing on beaches, meeting Disney family, eating amazingly well, and keeping our fingers crossed that we bring home an extra special Disney Souvenir!

In all probability, the chances are low that we'll succeed on our first try, but it's definitely fun to officially be TTC either way. We're both so eager to start on this new journey and bringing a new little person into our family.

This cycle was a day and a half late, which was really annoying and stressful. But next month, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that AF is really, really, really late - and not come at all!

9 Days until....

There's only about 9 days left to this cycle! That means next Wednesday or so we'll be in our first TTC cycle. It's so exciting to be on the edge of a new adventure!

I've been doing a lot to get ready. I've been working out and lifting weights to try to build some muscle and get into workout routines. I want this to be my best pregnancy yet, so I'm hoping to get everything set ahead of time.

I'm sticking more to a schedule now with housework and with the kids. Hopefully it'll make things a bit easier to keep up with once I'm exhausted and puking.

I'm drinking more water. While I never drank any caffeine while pregnant with Katie and small amounts with Will, I'm currently drinking more caffeine to keep up with them, the house, and out of house things than ever. I'm slowly weaning myself back off of it. I stopped buying coke, so I only drink it when Bill buys it. One gallon of tea is lasting me about a week and a half. I still drink morning coffee, that'll be the hardest to get rid of. It's basically sugar milk with caffeine as I don't drink "real" coffee, just the caramel macchiato that comes in half gallons, but it's not what I want to be relying on to wake up even before getting pregnant. Maybe the cruise, where I'll be without it for 9 days, will help break my need.

I have half of Christmas already bought and coming in the mail, so I have a head start on that as well.

Getting pregnant in October/November is what I know best already. I got pregnant with Katie in October and Elizabeth in November. This time, if I get pregnant, it would be between October 31st - November 4th.

I can't wait to be on the cruise, going to beautiful island beaches, and having a Romance Package of champagne, roses, and bathrobes in our room and start trying for a new little one. What a way to kick off a TTC session! We're getting better at this as we go! lol

Disney just released a new bedding set - Mickey Nautical! Absolutely perfect, of course, for this next baby. Trying very hard to resist getting anything that we don't need - even when it was 40% off! This baby will need very little, so I'll only be getting a few things here and there. I can't get too much anyway as we won't know what we're having, so gender neutral will have to fit it all.

Info for Next Month

To remind myself next month:

Yesterday semi worked, I spotted all day, but I don't think I can call it CD 1, so I'm labeling today, the 23rd, as Day 1. 

That means that October 21st I'll be due for my next period so hopefully I'll be finished by October 27th, and then I'll ovulate around November 4th.

If all goes along those lines, November 18th I'll either be getting my period again or I'll be looking at a BFP! <3

Two Days Late

My cycles were like clockwork for months now. So of course, it would throw me a curveball the very month before I need it to be exactly on time!

Today is two days after I was supposed to get my period. I've been dying of severe cramps the whole time, but nothing to show for it. Now I'm off my perfect schedule! I absolutely refused to go another day off my schedule, so I figured the way you go into labor would be similar to how to go about getting a period since it deals with all the same parts.

Luckily, it looks like I succeeded. Still keeping my fingers crossed. Today should be Day One of my cycle, which means I'd now be due for my next cycle on the 20th. If I'm on time next month, I'll ovulate for our first TTC cycle on November 3rd - which is when we'll be on the cruise. Still good, still means no period for our vacation (like last time!) and we'll be in a position to bring home our extra Disney souvenir.

Just still praying that today is truly day #1!

Luckily we didn't slip up at all last month to make me paranoid or I'd be a mess right now. 8 weeks pregnant on the cruise would equal nonstop puking time for me!

Getting Closer

It's now mid-September, and on the cusp of cycle #9. That means that there's just ONE more cycle left to go until we're officially TTC!

I spent half of the year wondering if I'd be ready, because Will was such a handful as a baby that it left me a bit traumatized! However, I'm so ready now. I'm very eager to have another.

We had to make a tough and important decision the other day, balancing what's best for our current family and our future family. We were given the opportunity to move down South in November. To do that though, we had a chance of me being without insurance (unless I wanted to go on medicaid and find a good OBGYN that would accept it, and probably never see a midwife) which meant it would be really stressful and we'd have to hold off getting pregnant for another year. That would result in a 3.5 year age gap between Will and the new baby, and a 6 year age gap for Katie. I never wanted my kids to be spaced so far, and that would mean we'd have to have fewer kids in the long run too, as I don't want to go past 34 years old being pregnant.

So we had to decide if we wanted to move to our dream destination, or stay stuck in the same place, wasting money, for at least another year and have a baby while we still have good insurance and a more stable place. We chose to have a baby. Family comes first, before changing jobs, before moving to better locations, before changing homes just because we'd rather a bigger, nicer place.

The move will still happen, but it's put on hold for a year while we have our baby and gather more money into savings. It'll be a more stable move, so it's wise all around, but it's also disappointing as we were hoping to be out before Christmas. However, this means that Katie gets to finish her year out in ballet, which she's absolutely crazy over, we get to have one more Christmas in our starter home, and we can gradually sell and pack and have things less stressful.

In the meanwhile, I'm focusing on all the fun we're about to have. We are going to Will's first Day out with Thomas on Sunday. Two weeks later we'll be heading out of state so Katie and Bill can be in a wedding (Katie's second time being a flower girl). A week after that is Bill's birthday, after that is Trick or Treating,  our cruise and when we get to start TTC. Once we come back from the cruise, we'll be fully thrown into the holiday season and hopefully we'll be lucky enough to start the new year with a new little bundle on the way to make 2016 off to a bright, exciting new start!

Cycle 7 already!

Cycle 7 started a few days ago, on Saturday July 25th. It wasn't due until today, the 27th. So far the cycles have always been at least 29-30 days long, so it's interesting that this one cut so short.

When we were planning on trying in June, I knew that I'd get pregnant in July. For over a year, I just knew it would happen. Then my July cycle comes, and I know I would have gotten pregnant if we had been trying. My body hyper-ovulated like crazy, which is why I think I got my period a bit early too. I actually got really sick right before AF happened, I laid in bed super nauseous and feeling like I was going to throw up any second. I felt exhausted and sick...usually my first signs. I was definitely nervous that my body had gone ahead and gotten pregnant even when we were being as careful as usual. So even though it was inconvenient to get AF early, it was a big relief!

If my cycles stay on this track, we should be set to start trying to the first week of November. Hoping it stays it's course!