What are /r/waiting_to_try's favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Taking Charge of your fertility is the holy grail of fertility books. I learned so much about my body it was amazing! https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062326031/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabt1_aW7SFbAGKZ8WX?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Yes! I totally get this. In many cultures it is/used to be expected that childrearing should be a community effort - meaning friends, neighbors, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and younger siblings would all be involved in caretaking. One major benefit of this setup was that those who wanted to have children one day would accumulate quite a bit of knowledge before actually becoming parents themselves. (Great book that goes into this here.)

In my situation, my cousins are all in that stage of life right now but unfortunately I don't live near them anymore. I miss it so much and really wish we all lived closer!

Enjoy those cuddles. <3

It's a little bit on the pre-pregnancy and baby side, but Taking Charge of Your Fertility was very eye-opening for me! I read it all the way through and literally got up early(ish) on a few Saturdays to read until I got through it. It's all about the amazing things that women's bodies can do regarding fertility and taught me more in the first chapter than all of my school health classes put together.

1. Exercising daily
2. Tweaking my diet now so that when pregnancy hits, I don't also have to screw around with my diet while dealing with hormones/sickness
3. Pre-conception visit with the doctor. Make sure you go soon so you can get updated on your vaccines and get all your test results in before it's time to start trying! I just had mine, and it all went smoothly.
4. My doctor recommended &quot;The Healthy Pregnancy Book&quot;. She said it's "a little crunchy," but mostly very good. She advised me NOT to read "What to Expect When You're Expecting" because it's kind of gross and scary, and she thought it would make my anxiety worse. The book she recommended to me has been very good so far, and it's thoroughly informative without being scary.
5. Making an Amazon list of gender-neutral things that look good for the baby-to-be. I read a great piece of advice that said not to reveal the gender of your baby until AFTER the baby shower. That way people will get you practical things instead of frilly dresses or football onesies. So I've been comparing car seats, wraps, cribs/bassinets, etc.
6. Crying every time I see a baby because I'm sick to death of waiting and there is only a little over a month left of waiting for me. It's like when you really have to go to the bathroom, and when you finally get there and you see the toilet, you almost feel like you're going to pee your pants because of the relief/anticipation of seeing the toilet. That's what it's like for me, TTC-wise, right now.

Yep! This is what I have heard too. Mayo Clinic's article on the subject. Also that you pretty much pee out the things that don't build up so it is pointless and expensive if you are not planning on trying soon.

I want to give out lottery tickets! My in-laws love scratch offs. Something like this.

To reveal to my husband, I have a baby book called Guess How Much I Love You with a matching onesie and rattle. 😍 This book is one that he often quotes to me. I have cherished memories of my Da reading this to me as a wee one. So it's meaningful to both of us.

I hope to use the book during my pregnancy photoshoot as well.

Does anyone have advice about cutting back on caffeine? I was never a coffee drinker until the pandemic. Now I drink ~2 big cups per day and wake up with a headache if I don't start drinking it fast enough 😬 I've tried switching to black tea and even going cold turkey, but the withdrawal headache is awful and I normally cave before lunchtime.

Updated wisdom says it's fine to continue drinking moderate amounts of coffee during TTC and pregnancy, but in my situation I think it's time to cut back. My nervous system does not do well with it, and overall I think I felt before I became a coffee drinker.

My husband and I went out to an antique/thrift shop where I found a hardback copy of <strong>I Want My Hat Back</strong> by <em>Jon Klassen</em> for 25 cents in MINT condition. I excitedly showed it to him. My husband loves hats (He likes a Straw Panama Style Hat in Summer and a Felt Hat in Winter) but had never heard of this book. He read through the book and LOVED it (he even giggled) and said, "We have to buy this book...you know, for the mini hat wearers that may come into our lives at one point or another."

LADIES (AND GENTS?) THIS IS A MONUMENTALLY MASSIVE HUGELY BIG MOMENT FOR ME.

He's been a fence sitter since forever and seeing him come over to the baby side is heartwarming for me. I kept it cool. I didn't say anything (For when the tiger stalks the gazelle... it is silent.)

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In reality, I just wanted to cackle out loud, "I'LL GET YOU MY PRETTY!"

Whoops sorry I meant to make that a link.

Konmari {link} is a method of tidying and organizing your home that was written about in the book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo. The goal is to declutter and simplify your life by discarding any object that doesn't "spark joy". And the process is basically to go through every single object in your home, categorize it, and then go through each category in a specific order, hold each object in your hands and ask yourself "does this spark joy in my heart?". If so, she has guidelines for organizing your things. If not, you donate it or throw it out.

It sounded really superficial and ridiculous to me at first...and I still cringe at the "first world problems" idea of it all, but I really like the idea of being surrounded only by things that make you happy. It's not just about having a tidy house, it's also about cherishing what you do have and taking good care of your things, and not acquiring shit you don't need. You're even supposed to talk to your things to show appreciation - like when you take your shoes off you put them neatly to the side to "rest" and thank them for protecting your feet all day. Which...sounds insane, but it's just a way of helping you appreciate what you have and treat it with respect (so you won't buy 10 pairs of cheap, shitty shoes, treat them like garbage and then have to replace them with more cheap, shitty shoes).

It's worth a read if you're interested. I got it from the library and finished it in a couple days.

They're the Scholastic First Discovery books. They're so neat! My mom kept all of mine (thanks, Mom) but my collection wasn't complete. They're really some of the coolest books, I enjoy looking at them still. And they hold up really well to aging and rough use since pages are made out of some sort of plastic-ey material.

I can't find the written list but here is the episode...

https://player.fm/series/the-longest-shortest-time-1425896/ep-165-the-36-questions-to-ask-your-partner-before-having-kids

I'm personally not going to start prenatals until I'm pregnant (I do take a daily folate pill though). This article from the Mayo Clinic website says that the amounts of certain vitamins differ in prenatals in a way that isn't necessarily great for you if you are not pregnant. Moreover, I find this study interesting: they found that women who take prenatal vitamins (not including only folic acid supplements) have an increased risk of early miscarriage.

Okay, here goes:

You place an order for a kit on https://www.23andme.com/ - the kit arrives, you spit into the tube they give you, and you mail it back. Once it gets to the lab, they sequence your DNA on a special chip they made that analyzes genetic variations. Then they give you a couple of things:

1. Your raw genetic data - all of the genetic variations that make you, you. This is really useless unless you use a 3rd party (promethease) to analyze and make sense of it for you. Even Promethease should be taken with a grain of salt - except for obvious disease-causing mutations (Tay-Sachs carriers, etc), most of it is just "risk factors" based on studies.

2. Your ancestry. They analyze the genetic variations and link it to genetic variations across the globe. This tells you pretty much where you came from.

3. Anyone who might have taken the test already who shares your DNA. This can be a LOT of people. I have over 1000 "cousins" because I'm Ashkenazi. But the closest person to me only shares 1.44% of my DNA (that makes him a 2-3rd cousin - he's the great-grandchild of my grandfather's brother).

I take the solimo (amazon) brand gummies which don't include iron, but most gummies typically don't have iron. I alternate them occasionally with a grocery store brand prenatal that does have iron, but I can't handle them every day.

https://www.amazon.com/Mama-Koala-Washable-Microfiber-Wandering/dp/B07PHSBWQF

Floral is fun! I tried to stick to more gender neutral options, which is kind of silly, since flowers are awesome and shouldn't be gendered!

I'm reading this book because it's available for free on Kindle Unlimited: https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Sign-Language-Made-Easy/dp/1641520779

It's good so far, and it looks like the author also does video demonstrations on her website! Sorry to hear about your husband thinking that. :( I work with students with developmental delays, and it makes a difference for those with speech delays. Maybe find some videos of 1-2 year olds signing to help? I haven't brought it up to my husband yet, but since he's interested in different languages, I think he'll be on board?

My plan is to ask the newish moms I know for recommendations, and then hopefully they'll just be like "oh, you can take my old stuff!"

I do have this crib on my Amazon wishlist though - just because I thought it was pretty and not too pricey.

Do you want to be able to skip your periods? Unless you're having some debilitating cramping or really heavy flow that would make your life easier without a period, I wouldn't worry about it since it causes such anxiety for you.

If you do want to try skipping, would taking a cheapie pregnancy test every month help you feel more at peace about it? Amazon has a pack of cheap tests that are 25 for $8.

Hello!

I'm TTC #1 this month! I went off the pill in April (March was my last full month), and I had been on HBC for about 6 years. I tracked all my cycles since then on the Glow app, and tracked with OPKs during May to see if I was regular (I was) and to test it against the accuracy of the app (pretty close)!

I bought a bundle of cheapies on Amazon and have had good results (nothing faulty that I've noticed).

So long story short, YES! -- get some cheapies (testing is addicting and could be expensive). Use an app to track your cycle, and I'd start OPKs from about cycle day 8/9, in case you ovulate early and keep at it until you get those positives (which is a line as dark or darker than the test, see r/tfablineporn for examples and guidance).

Good luck!

I have a u-shaped on just like this thankfully we’re have a king size bed! Because with the pillow my husband and a dog we needed the space! Lol

The whole rationale behind mindfulness is that our minds do wander, they do judge, and they do criticize. It's just the way they're wired. However, if you practice bringing your attention to the present (even if it's a thousand times), you get better at keeping it in the present. My favorite book is Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn. The one I'm reading right now is The Mindfulness Based Eating Solution by Dr. Lynn Rossy, which in theory should help you enjoy your food more, respect your body more, and be more aware of eating in response to physical cues rather than emotional or cultural ones. I'll update how I found it :)

Do you keep track of where you spend now? If not, start doing that (whether it's via Mint, or a notebook, or something like YNAB). Read Your Money or Your Life if you haven't already. If you have two cars, figure out if you actually need two cars.

And then start living a frugal life as soon as you can -- getting used to living on one salary before you have to live on one salary gives you time to make mistakes without freaking out and feeling like the ship is sinking.

1. Finish my first 10k on Jan 7th, and then train and finish the marathon I signed up for in June!

2. Journal each week. I used to keep a journal, and would love to have something to look back on (or for future kids to read) once I'm older.

3. Work on organizing and cleaning the house better. I requested and got two books about organizing The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing and the "illustrated master class" sequel called Spark Joy. Fiance and I really want to get rid of the clutter in our apartment and get a fewer amount of nicer quality items instead.

4. Save $10,000 towards a house down-payment, and add $2000 to the baby fund. This might be a bit of a stretch since we're paying for our wedding ourselves (08/19/17!!), but I think if we cut frivolous spending we can totally do it!

I'll second this! I'm pretty active on r/personalfinance on my normal, not baby crazy account. Great place to go if you want some financial advice.

Offhand, I can tell you that one of the best things you can do is have a written budget. Know where every dollar is going. As you move toward your financial goals, you'll start seeing the room in your budget for your future baby expenses, which is super encouraging!!

Set some short and long term financial goals. I think Dave Ramsey has one of the best beginning financial plans around. I don't agree with everything he says (I'm not religious, so I kind of ignore those parts of his teachings) but he lays a really solid foundation of personal finance. Take a look at his book The Total Money Makeover. It's a good place to start.

Because of our age and the fact that my birth control is nearing it's expiration date, our TTC date is more of a date than a goal now. We're starting to try in June, as my Mirena will have to be out at my next annual. However, we do have some things we'd like to get accomplished by then. If we don't, we're still starting anyway.

• Health: I'd like to lose a little weight to try to minimize my risk for preeclampsia.

• Finances: We will likely have our debt paid off by then, so we'll start piling up money for an emergency fund and then a downpayment on a home (we follow Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover plan).

• Career: We are waiting until my 6 months probation is up at my new job, as I'm not eligible to take any time off, even for appointments, and I need to be eligible for FMLA by the time a baby would be here. My 6 months is in April and my one year is in October. Also my DH lost his job, so we are just on my income. He'll need something, especially considering maternity leave is unpaid here in the states.

TW:mention of previous labor/birth

Everyone is different, but for me, labor pain felt more like a super intense workout than just straight pain. If you could imagine the difference, labor felt kind of like running a long race. I decided to forgo the epidural for a few different reasons but one of them was because I was afraid of it. So, I can't speak to what having it placed feels like, but hopefully it's comforting to hear that I was able to prepare myself with practice breathing and other pain management techniques. It was really helpful for me because then I went in with the mindset of "I can do this. I've prepared for this!"

If you're interested, this book was my favorite resource. Not too crunchy! Haha

Regardless of what you choose, you can totally do it and it'll all be worth it when you're holding your little baby.

I use this one Mary Ruth Organics or this one Floradix

I like the Mary Ruth one better but the Floradix is easier for me to get. I have also used some iron gummies which I like too.

I’m incredibly lucky to have a great family, we’re all really open with each other and while I can see it’s not for everyone, it works for us. :)

Oh good I already have those Oster books on my list!! I actually am an education student rn, I had a whole paper and presentation on Maria Montessori herself lol I love her! I don’t love how preachy some Montessori educators are but I agree, take what you want from it and ignore the rest!

I’m actually about to order this book as it looks really interesting and I saw it recommended on another sub. I want to start with pre-pregnancy/pregnancy books first before I get overwhelmed on parenting books!

I saw someone recommendthis book in either this sub or the ttc over 30 sub. It seems like an interesting read.

I’d also like to get pregnant around September/October, my fiancé is a teacher and so he’d be able to use parental leave in June, and then have July and August off if things go easily. I read starting prenatals early can help with that so here goes nothing!

I am so sorry. I worry about my future child being able to meet my grandpa as well. I can’t imagine the devastation you’re feeling right now. Regardless of how long we have our loved ones, it is never long enough. You’re dealing with a lot right now, try to let yourself off the hook for any guilt you’re feeling.

If you feel emotionally up to it, there are all sorts of books for grandparents to fill out for their grandchildren. Their life story, advice for the grandkids, etc. Maybe you could sit down with your grandpa and work through filling one of those out together for your future little one? Based on what you say about him, I suspect he’d be thrilled to have this connection with both you and your future baby. Example

Sending you many, many hugs. ❤️

Taking Charge of Your Fertility

Sure! We did the health and ancestry package which also tests for underlying conditions and statistical chances of developing nongenetic issues like celiac disease (we put much less emphasis on that since it's not as simple as "carrier vs not", but it's good to know). It's no replacement for a genetic counselor, but if you're only a bit concerned like us it's nice to know.

There's a list of reports here. Scroll down a bit for carrier status reports.

Fun bonus: it includes traits. We know we probably cant expect a ginger baby, but we can expect a few with blue eyes!

I have struggled with this feeling for a while. I’ve been bouncing around on different projects at work because I’ve never felt like any of the really clicked. I would complain quite a bit to my husband that I just can’t find my passion and he sent me this article. I found that it really helped me reframe the problem in my head. What I do for my job will never be my “passion,” that’s just not in the cards for me. But I have great management who are very flexible and I make decent money, so I’m sticking with it. Personally, I’m not willing to sacrifice any of my lifestyle right now so I’ll be staying in my job for the foreseeable future and the extra money will help if we’re able to have a child. I know it’s not a popular way to think about this since everyone always says to follow your dreams, but it’s definitely some give and take. If your family can afford you not working then I say you should do what makes you happy! If not, then I accept that I can’t change that, try to make work as tolerable as possible, and make sure that I really enjoy my free time to make the working worth it.

There's no such thing as TMI here! 😂

My understanding is that it's important to mark the first day of your cycle as the first day with actual, red flow that you need to *do* something about—i.e. you can't just ignore it or only see it when you wipe, you actually need to use a pad, tampon, cup, etc. This is apparently because light spotting (often brown or pink in color) before your new cycle belongs to the old cycle and needs to be counted as part of your luteal phase (previous cycle).

But as far as I'm aware, it's up to personal preference deciding when to count your period as totally + officially over. My advice would be to pick a method that makes sense to you and then stick to it. That way, you can look back on your previous cycles and know if things have changed in any major way. For me, I like to count super light pantyliner days at the end of my period as "spotting" on my app, just out of personal preference. Other people on those days might select "light flow" or something along those lines and that would be fine.

Also, if you're just getting into tracking, I recommend Taking Charge of Your Fertility! It's awesome.

I've been having anxiety over my husband's lifestyle choices (due to his weight and drinking), and he agreed to using an at-home sperm count test kit: https://www.amazon.com/SpermCheck-Fertility-Indicates-Convenient-Accurate/dp/B007N8FWB4

Hopefully everything comes back fine so I can chill out. 🤞

I'm thinking that aside from being more consistent about yoga, I've made enough positive changes to my health that what I need to do is avoid thinking about pregnancy and babies and get back into my hobbies. Do you ever take a break from this and other related subs/social media related to pregnancies/babies?

I too have mirena placed however I take evening primrose soft gels. I swear by them!

these

I just started reading It Starts with the Egg this past weekend and so far I'm really enjoying it. I really love knowing there are practical ways I can help my chances of a successful pregnancy and since I'm getting close to TTC I actually wish I had read this a little earlier on and started making changes a few months ago.

Another book I'd highly recommend is Real Food for Pregnancy. The author does seem to touch on similar themes as ISWTE, but goes in depth into nutritional science as well. I think those two books are going to be my guiding lights through preconception and pregnancy.

Also, great choice about TCoYF. I recommend that book for every woman, regardless of their plans on getting pregnant. It is just such a wealth of information on how our reproductive system works. I wish I had read it as a teenager, honestly!

So I already take a prenatal that has 45mg mag, 11mg zinc, and 1000iu vitamin d, but I bought this supplement that has another 225mg mag, 7.5mg zinc, and 1000iu vitamin d. I was basing my numbers off of the recommendations in the period repair manual which is 300mg mag, 30mg zinc, and 2000iu vitamin d. I'm still a little shy of the mag and zinc so I'll bump them up if I don't notice a difference but I wanted to get all 3 in one pill if possible and thought this looked close enough to give it a shot.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R87J5T3?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Last year’s uppababy vista is on sale for way cheaper. The uppababy cruz is even cheaper than that. That’s how I got my cruz

2018 UPPAbaby VISTA Stroller, Jordan (Charcoal Melange/Silver/Black Leather) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077JSM3VJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_Zp10FbXG4197G?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1

I started taking the Best Nest Wellness One Fish, Two Fish DHA pills. I chose it because I’m taking the Best Nest Wellness Mama Bird prenatal. Not the cheapest, but I like it based on the research I did. I haven’t had any fishy burps from it thankfully. Link to the DHA pills on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Triglyceride-Supplement-Best-Nest-Wellness/dp/B075SMXD7Q/ref=pd_aw_fbt_121_img_2/132-6311502-1176503?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_i=B075SMXD7Q&amp;pd_rd_r=540850ee-4a79-11e9-accb-f1fa22a3ddc9&amp;pd_rd_w=5nWfn&amp;pd_rd_wg=CqmZt...

I maybe sort of purchased the first thing for my future children today? I was looking at Grimm's peg dolls the other day on Amazon because they're so cute, they remind me of these little wooden peg dolls I played with at my grandparents house as a child and it just gave me the fuzzies. Then in the recommended products thing, I saw these: https://www.amazon.com/Koalabu-Natural-Unfinished-Wooden-Bodies/dp/B0189Y8W44/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?keywords=peg+dolls+unfinished&amp;qid=1562985142&amp;s=gateway&amp;sprefix=peg+do&amp;sr=8-5 and thought they were boring until I saw how people had painted them. I haven't stopped thinking about how I wanted to do that so today I bought them. I'm going to paint them and then save them for my future kids. And maybe one day my kids will think back on them and have the fuzzies, too.

Here's the link for the book on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Decision-Make-Important-Choice-ebook/dp/B01FSZ51J6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

I've been using the Actif brand for a few weeks and I'm really liking it! It's a 3 month supply for $40 and only one pill a day. Organic and contains folate, choline, and DHA along with digestive enzymes! https://www.amazon.com/Actif-Organic-Prenatal-Vitamin-Vitamins/dp/B01LVYT5RL

When I got my IUD out, my doctor recommended I take a prenatal just in case. We're over a year out but I've been using the Actif brand prenatal for a few weeks and I'm really liking it! It's a 3 month supply for $40 and only one pill a day. Organic and contains folate, choline, and DHA along with digestive enzymes! https://www.amazon.com/Actif-Organic-Prenatal-Vitamin-Vitamins/dp/B01LVYT5RL

I've been using the Actif brand for a few weeks and I'm really liking it! It's a 3 month supply for $40 and only one pill a day. Organic and contains folate, choline, and DHA along with digestive enzymes! https://www.amazon.com/Actif-Organic-Prenatal-Vitamin-Vitamins/dp/B01LVYT5RL

I bought these nature made with dha, they were $15 when I got them but now looks like it's up to $25. I take them at night and haven't had any nausea issues or anything. I also have slightly low iron to begin with so it's possible that the iron/nausea issue won't affect me with any prenatal since I kinda need the iron anyway. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BXVFC32/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_2wVFFbRJ1TAHR

This was the one expensive thing I would really like. Even if nobody buys it I can at least get a registry completion discount.

Doona Infant Car Seat & Latch Base – Car Seat to Stroller – Flame Red – US Version https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J6HM2C3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_cqfpFbNZKC6Z1

And besides the usual sheets, baby shampoo, etc. I added a couple of cute things like this...

Bumkins Nintendo Silicone Teether, Textured, Soft, Flexible, Bacteria Resistant - NES Controller https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M5IW4EO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_rufpFbSGNWP1X

Taking Charge Of Your Fertility! I wish I had read this book years ago! It has been empowering to learn more about my natural cycle. I checked out the book at the library, but it's also available on amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Taking-Charge-Your-Fertility-Anniversary/dp/0062326031

I take two of these a day:

Webber Naturals Triple Strength Omega-3, Value Size, 900 Mg (Epa · Dha) Bonus 20-Percent More, 120-Count https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00L3WS0Y2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_K-tKCb7HW96WT

Hey! Vegans unite!

My sister told me about Ritual so I looked at the nutrients included -- it doesn't look to have that much compared to other prenatals and I couldn't figure out why. This is the prenatal I'm thinking about purchasing. It doesn't have choline like Ritual, but Ritual doesn't include the RDA of choline anyway (per NIH recommendations). For this reason, I decided to buy a separate choline supplement.

Right now, I'm planning to take a prenatal, choline pill, and Omega-3 (2 capsules/serving). That'll be 4 pills/day, but I'm more concerned about my intake than the number of pills.

My normal multivitamin had decent levels of folic acid in it - maybe check out just a regular women's vitamin? I agree that taking prenatals for a year would mess with my brain too!

Maybe look into this book I've seen it recommended on Reddit before. I downloaded a sample so I haven't been through the whole book, but it seems like different self directed therapy exercises without the need for an actual therapist so you can work through your reasoning for becoming a mother or not.

Try "And Baby Makes Three"! I've seen it recommended many times.

Babyproofing Your Marriage talks about how to maintain a good relationship with your partner after a baby. It does assume some gender roles that don't apply in our relationship, but still has a lot of good advice.

The Conscious Parent is the next book I plan to read. The description is really intriguing. It challenges the common assumption that parents know it all and must impart their wisdom upon their children and suggests that parents and children learn together. People enter parenthood with a lot of baggage and dysfunction and they often pass that along to their children. The premise of this book is that children serve as windows to our inner child and help parents grow and develop.

I ordered this BBT off of Amazon and so far am liking it! I do think you can also pick them up at your local pharmacy/CVS/RiteAid for fairly cheap.

In terms of getting my SO on board, I had let him know that as of my 30th birthday I wanted to get off HBC. I ended up doing it before that because frankly I was AWFUL about taking it -- I was taking it at various times of day, sometimes skipping days, etc. -- and I told him that I wanted to see how my body regulated itself after being on it for 15 years. That was the big point I stressed and sole reason I quit, and it wasn't until after I had already quit HBC that I found FAM. I'm not sure if my SO was just not as worried about getting pregnant before we talked about FAM, but I've since shared with him some of the more interesting aspects of it (for example - I had NO idea how narrow of a window you actually have to get pregnant each month) and he seems to be totally on board.

It's so worth it!! I use these.

I think if you are planning on trying in only a year or so, you should at least consider not being on any hormonal birth control (the pill, Nuvaring, the shot, the implant, etc.) before then. Some women come off of it and ovulate and are regular right away, but many others take a long time and are frustrated that they aren't capable of conceiving when they want to be. It seems about 50/50. Doctors will almost always tell you to not go off HBC until you're ready to get pregnant because they will always err on the side of avoiding unwanted pregnancy over conceiving quickly when you want to, but check out TFAB's post about experiences coming off HBC.

My husband and I are going to start trying early 2019, and I came off HBC at the start of the year. We're just using the sympto-thermal fertility awareness method (I take my temperature every morning and check my cervical fluid every day) combined with withdrawal during the ~9 days of my cycle that might be fertile. I highly recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility and at least considering it, or combining it with a barrier method. Otherwise, I'd think about a copper IUD - it's not hormonal and so you wouldn't have to worry about your cycles being screwed up after getting it out.

Oh definitely!

Next step: resisting the in-laws attempts to fob off furniture on us! (My lovely FIL enjoys not throwing stuff away ... and he offered us a dining table the other day. Which is nice and all except a) we already have two, b) my parents are separately trying to give us one, c) the one FIL wants to give us has been sitting in their attic for the last 30+ yrs - since it was his father's - and is now badly stained / needs work which we're not inclined to do, d) that clearly it's not something they've wanted/needed/used in 30yrs so why are we meant to want it?) They mean well. But I refuse to fill our home with a pile of stuff!

(I'm dreaming about making this fabric into curtains!) Maybe a single yellow accent wall? That fabric curtains? Red sofa? ... decisions!!)

Been using this one for months and love it https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MFFBT8Y/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1

It saves your temps, is easy to use and is actually back lit which is a feature a ton are using.

Also LPT take your temp vaginally, it's just as accurate (actually more so since you can't accidentally mouth breath around it) and less of a pain in the ass then having to hold a thermometer in mouth

Vitafusion Prenatal, Gummy Vitamins, 90 Count (Packaging May Vary) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003IP8BC8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_zLvHzb1XH9JH2

These taste pretty good! No fishy taste they're raspberry lemon ( almost lemon zest). And they're gummy! I got them on sale at cvs with a coupon but the 10$ a bottle price seems competitive.

Also no iron :) what does the iron do that's bothering you?

Iron deficiency anemia solution, The Lucky Iron Fish, Natural alternative to iron supplements for anemia with NO adverse side effects; iron supplement that is Organic, Gluten free and Vegan friendly https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LX5S5FP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_AoXHzbFEG3FTT

I'd also recommend these plastic adjusters! I was worried about my fingers swelling during pregnancy so I didn't want to do anything permanent, and these stay on really well.

Thermometer Has a backlight when a bunch don't though it is gigantic, also saves last few days of temping.

For OPK's I use Easy at Home brand mostly because they are stupid cheap.

We use this in conjunction with the pull out method on fertile days.

Here is the link sorry on mobile not sure how to make it better. $12 for 2 on Amazon. Very easy. I can't tell if I'm O- or A- but I can have the doctor test me. Doesn't really matter. He is RH negative and that's what is important.
https://www.amazon.com/Eldoncard-Blood-Type-Test-Complete/dp/B00JFTSPMW

Oh yeah, and buying all the things.

Lucie's List (I think that's how it's spelled) is a great site where they review baby products. It's great because she will have a line up of six car seats that are similar, or three strollers, and you really get an idea of how they compare.

Also we bought our diaper bag already (going to be using it for a trip) and it's awesome. The Dad Gear backpack is super great and I can't recommend it enough. I already love it and I don't have any kids, so if you don't want one of the cute purse types, I say go for it. It's made in the US, has a great design, and I feel like it's more versatile and will last a long time. I'm like the least fashionable person ever though, so carrying around a plain backpack doesn't bother me. https://www.amazon.com/DadGear-Backpack-Diaper-Bag-Solid/dp/B000O1SLSI the last picture is a video, and shows off it's features better.

You should try using Softcups if you do get AF on your honeymoon and want to have sexy times. You can acutally have sex with it in place. I've done it before and my husband has had NO idea that it was in place :D I've seen them in drugstores too

Pretty much everyone should take a supplement from my research.

Give me a second and I'll find what I take for you.

This is what I take

They only cost like 40c each. You could use one every day from 8 dpo and still have enough for several cycles.

Just to add on, This is what I take.

The one that I take is a b12 and folic acid supplement. It's sublingual so it's super easy to take too.

http://www.amazon.com/Deva-Vegan-Vitamins-Sublingual-Tablets/dp/B001GAOHTS/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1457978693&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=vegan+folic+acid+b12

There are also some bug repellent soaps that may be worth a try. Here's a link to one on Amazon. I've never used them so I can't vouch for them (sorry), but maybe someone else on here has tried them? Just another option to think about.

I'd suggest Be Prepared. There are excerpts of it on Google Books so you can check it out and see if it was what you were looking for, but I showed it to my husband and he found it both informative and hilarious.

ETA: Nevermind. Apparently they've disappeared off Google Books. Grr...

Welcome to the sub!

If you're not on hormonal birth control, start temping now! Read Taking Charge of Your Fertility - link and use Fertility Friend to track everything, then you'll be ready to go.

And if you are on hormonal birth control, consider coming off it now and using condoms etc until you're ready. Your cycle needs time to get back to normal.

I came off the pill in January and am temping until we start TTC in April :)

I tried a few different ones, but FertilityFriend is the best.

Yep, came off the pill in January and almost to the end of my first cycle.

If you're thinking of temping yourself, I highly recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility. I'm 34-years-old and I had NO IDEA about most of this stuff!

I think that should be okay - it's the consistency that's important.

I highly recommend the Taking Charge of Your Fertility book.

I keep seeing that recommended! I don't have any reason so far to be concerned about my fertility, but you're thinking it still might be useful if I just wanna know what's up? I've been working through the Whole Pregnancy Handbook.