Tell me all the things I should do before TTC

[shostakovich]

Our goal is to start TTC in June. Which I'm really excited about, and I'm also like, capital Y yikes.

There are a lot of kick-ass moms on this board, so give me all of your wisdom. What should I do before June? Practical stuff, like take prenatals, read some books, etc., but also fun stuff? 

For example, I'm hemming and hawing about possibly joining H at the end of his tour in Europe in May, and spending about five days in Denmark and Sweden together. One last trip before I'm hopefully knocked up.  Should I do it, or save the money?

[smock]

Get really drunk. Ride a lot of roller coasters. Go on a fabulous international vacation.

[knx9211]

DO THE TRIP! We did one last big trip this summer hopeful that we'd be pregnant soon. We'd be trying for a year, so we mostly needed the trip to take ours minds off of it.

I took prenatals for a long time until I got frustrated that I wasn't getting KU'd. I never read any books prior to getting pregnant.

[cuccaro]

I would go on the trip. We went to Europe before getting pregnant and I'm so glad. Now that we have an 18 month old it's not impossible to travel without her, but it definitely complicates things. You still have the whole almost ten months of pregnancy to save money!

[underwaterrhymes]

Sleep

[Bernadine]

Drink so much alcohol. And definitely go on the trip.

[intentionalsnarkshark]

[thebreakfastclub]

If you don't have a king sized bed and one will fit in your bedroom, consider upgrading now!

[tacosforlife]

IANAP, but I would DEFINITELY go on the trip.

[lauren170]

Buy life insurance before you gain any weight!

[cayl]

Get all of your money out of the bank, lay it on your bed, and take a nap on it. Then have a party to say goodbye to both the money and the sleep for a long time

But seriously, I wish I had enjoyed quiet time before I had kids. Definitely go on the trip. Don't read too many parenting books. Have ideas about what kind of things you want to do as a parent, but realize none of it is set in stone, and so much of it will depend on your child.

[BAMFMrsB]

Feb 17, 2016 10:42:54 GMT -5 thebreakfastclub said:

If you don't have a king sized bed and one will fit in your bedroom, consider upgrading now!

I cannot BEGIN to stress the importance of this advice. We have a queen sized bed. The Mr is just FINE with the queen size . Our 3.5YO has slept in our bed, by some capacity, albeit ALL night or just to fall asleep or to get back in our bed at 0-dark-30 because he had a bad dream, like 5 nights a week. I DREAM of a king sized bed, but cost and blahblahblah we don't have one. He takes up SO MUCH ROOM and he's only 36#!!! 

Also, travel. I loathe how much I miss my kid while I'm away, and we can only do about 4 nights apart before I'm all "I MISS MUH BAYBAY." and it sucks. I wish I could do an AI or another week long cruise but 7 nights away is rough on me. Stupid biology. 

Do not save $$ now. Spend it with wild abandon because you cannot get the childfree days back. 

[cabbagecabbage]

Fun stuff: vacation, wear a bikini if you are so inclined, go out to great restaurants, bars, buy nice things just because.

Practical: make sure your insurance, disability if offered, and savings are set up for maximum efficiency. Know your company's leave policy, your medical deductible and oop max, etc.

Unfun: know it's normal to take a year to conceive for a healthy couple and be ready. TTC can be a breeze or a huge mindfuck but many friends have freaked out at month 4 and that's a recipe for misery. You need to continue to live and have fun during TTC.

[laladypoet]

use a trampoline. smoke crack.

[BaliHai]

Enjoy every time you stop by a convenience store and run in to grab food or money from the ATM.
Start taking prenatals, or folic acid - that's really the important one.
Definitely go on that trip you're planning.
Sleep A LOT.
If frequent dates with your H isn't really a thing, try to go on some dates.
Enjoy peeing in peace.

[Tacocat]

Go on a nice vacation, sleep, eat good food and drink.

If you are on a birth control now, I would consider going off of it soon. I stopped taking the pill about 2 months before we started trying. I was knocked up shortly after that. Also, there's lots of apps you can use on your phone to help figure out your cycle and which days you are most fertile. I got pregnant the first month after I started using one of those apps.

So have fun now and worry about getting pregnant later!

[trafficgirl]

This is mostly a repeat of what others have said, but

- drink
- sleep in
- eat taboo foods (soft cheeses, sushi, deli meat, etc)
- take that trip!
- spend lots of time with your girlfriends
- eat out at any (specifically non kid friendly) places you've been wanting to try
- get a king size bed
- beef up on your insurance policies so you know what you're in for w/ copays, hospital visit, etc.

[speckledfrog]

Do the trip. DO IT.

[shostakovich]

Feb 17, 2016 10:57:13 GMT -5 JayhawkGirl said:

Start prenatals now. Random side note, green tea inhibits absorption of folic acid, so if you're a big green tea drinker explore other options.

I did not know this, and I am a big green tea drinker - thanks for this tip!

[Jalapeñomel]

Do whatever you've been doing, but enjoy how easy it is to do.

[jane6672]

GO ON THE TRIP.

Start taking a prenatal vitamin.

[meowmaps]

I'm hoping to start around the same time!

I think you should definitely take the trip.

A practical recommendation, if you've never had chickenpox then you might want to get the varicella vaccine. It's something my OBGYN recommended for me. I did it about a year ago to get it over with.

[Deleted]

Feb 17, 2016 10:40:02 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

Sleep

Yes.  Go on the trip.  And drink!

[Waffles]

No kids yet but 100% take the trip!

And I hear cocktails, fancy dinners, adult only holidays and late nights out will be on the back burner for a bit so enjoy them now!

[badtzmaru22]

Feb 17, 2016 10:40:02 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

Sleep

Yes. You should probably just stop whatever you are doing right now, and go take a nap. Go to bed early. Sleep in as long as you want. Go take a nap on the weekends. My kids are decent sleepers, for the most part, and I still miss just being able to sleep whenever I want. With no one touching me.

[smock]

Feb 17, 2016 11:06:06 GMT -5 meowmaps said:

A practical recommendation, if you've never had chickenpox then you might want to get the varicella vaccine. It's something my OBGYN recommended for me. I did it about a year ago to get it over with.

That's a good point--you might want to schedule a "pre-conception" appointment with your OBGYN a few months before you actually want to start TTC. Mine checked my immunity to chicken pox as well as rubella, and I needed a booster MMR shot (rubella during pregnancy can cause major problems). She also told me to wait at least a month after the booster to TTC, and at that point I was annoyed because I had already waited to schedule the appt until we were ready. I'm not the most patient. 

[sapphireblue]

Start taking prenatals, I also stopped smoking pot over a month before the procedure (IVF) so it would be completely out of my system. I did acupuncture too, there is a guy here everyone calls the baby doctor because so many women have gotten pregnant after acupuncture with him.

[macmars45]

Start taking a prenatal

Eat all the pregnancy forbidden foods

Enjoy your sleep.... the interrupted sleep starts long before the baby is actually born (a good night of sleep for my exhausted pregnant self is 7 hours... usually I max out at 6 hours and it's not straight through the night sleep, it's broken up by multiple trips to the bathroom)  

Go on the trip!

Enjoy date nights with your H!

Figure out all the work stuff beforehand if possible (how maternity leave works at your work etc)

[shostakovich]

Feb 17, 2016 11:14:03 GMT -5 smock said:

Feb 17, 2016 11:06:06 GMT -5 meowmaps said:

A practical recommendation, if you've never had chickenpox then you might want to get the varicella vaccine. It's something my OBGYN recommended for me. I did it about a year ago to get it over with.

That's a good point--you might want to schedule a "pre-conception" appointment with your OBGYN a few months before you actually want to start TTC. Mine checked my immunity to chicken pox as well as rubella, and I needed a booster MMR shot (rubella during pregnancy can cause major problems). She also told me to wait at least a month after the booster to TTC, and at that point I was annoyed because I had already waited to schedule the appt until we were ready. I'm not the most patient. 

I am also an impatient person, and am annoyed that I have to wait until next month to see my PCP - she's an internist, and does my annual pelvic exams.  So I don't have an OBGYN. BUT, in order to work with the midwife group that I want in my current medical group, I have to have an OBGYN, and my PCP doesn't qualify. So, I have to meet with my PCP next month to get a referral for an OBGYN, then go see the OBGYN, then start working with her plus the midwife group once I'm pregnant.

Phew.

[fryjack2]

Even if you decide not to ttc, go on the trip!!


Get life insurance.

Write each other love notes with all the reasons you love each other right now. Read them again when the baby is here and you want to kill each other.