How do I prepare myself? Advice please?

whatdoicare

Myself and the hubby have decided that we're gonna dive in and start trying for a baby next July (after the last of immediate family weddings) but I always have it in the back of my mind that I'm supposed to do stuff to prepare my body for it all but I just realised I have no idea what -
I'm not talking medicine or anything but like what (if you knew then what you know now situation) exercises, vitamins, foods, creams, gadgets should I be getting into to make it all go a bit smoother? What works and what's all gimmick?

Obviously I'll be paying my family planning/gynae doctor a visit to make sure I'm healthy before I even think of doing anything but it'd be handy to have a head start on the stuff that will help me with avoidable minor things I'll never think of?

crazy cat lady

Start taking folic acid now. The more you have on board before you get preggers the better. It will reduce the risk of neural tube defects in the baby.

Improve your diet. Just eat well and get a varied diet. If you do this you really shouldn't need to take prenatal viatmins. If you do decide to take vitamins once you start ttc, make sure that they are prenatal ones. Regular multivitamins contain vitamin A which should really be avoided as much as possible in pregnancy as it is a teratogenic (will harm the developing baby)

If you are carrying excess weight, try and lose a little if you can.

If you smoke, stop smoking.

There is no need to stop drinking. However if you drink alot, it would do no harm to cut down. Even when you start ttc there is no need to exclude alcohol from your life, but be sensible about how much you drink. You'll be off the stuff long enough while you are pregnant and maybe breastfeeding, and ttc can be stressful so a few drinks here and there can actually help the process!

Get some exercise. Try to get your body into a good state of fitness. Pregnancy is hard on the body and the better prepared you are physically, the easier it will be. I'm not saying you need to be super fit or anything, but just as healthy as you can be. If you don't already exercise, maybe try and develop a regime that will be suitable to continue once you are pregnant - swimming, walking, yoga

Start charting your cycle now and get familiar with it. Start to recognise your fertile days. www.fertilityfriend.com will be useful for this. If you are familiar with your cycle, hopefully it will eliminate the need to go down the 'ovulation predictor kit' (OPK) route, which can be expensive and not always reliable. OPK's can lead to unnecessary worry aswell. I would recommend ttc for at least 6 months before using anything other than the tools nature gave you!

If himself wants to take a supplement, he could take a zinc supplement to help improve the quality of his little swimmers. And since this is a journey you're going on together, he can also improve his diet, cut down alcohol, exercise with you etc...

Hope this helps and good luck

How Strange

Pretty much what crazy cat lady said:

For both of you - maintain a healthy weight, take regular exercise, adopt a sensible diet (cut back on sugar, fats etc), keep alcohol intake to recommended limits, give up smoking if you do, folic acid supplements for you and zinc for your oh.

Fertility Friend is useful as it can give you an idea of when you're ovulating each month. Having said that the month I got pregnant FF got the ovulation dates wrong, I knew what to look out for and did an OPK that day to confirm and 8 days later I was pregnant. FF was good for temperature readings as I'd a fair idea that I was pregnant when my body temp didn't drop 2 days before my period was due but you should also read up on what signs to look out for when ovulating.

Most importantly, try to keep it in perspective. TTcing can be all consuming and it's so disappointing when you get your period so try not to let it take over your life or your relationship.

Good luck!

whatdoicare

Thanks guys for all the info - I never knew that about vitamin A!:eek: I take a multivitamin everyday so that could have been a disaster!
I don't smoke or really drink (very boring like that, haha) and neither does the husband and I exercise regular (swimming and jogging/cycling) could lose a few pounds though so will get on that.
Will definitely switch to the prenatal vitamins, folic acid and up the healthy food intake!
Also, the website looks very handy - have the period app on my iphone aswell that tracks ovulation based on period but website is far more detailed!

Very helpful answers, thanks so much!

Neyite

My fertility doc said that if we wanted to spend the money on prenatal His & Hers Vitamins, they would do us no harm, but that they were not necessary, only Folic Acid was.

Good diet, cutting out smoking, and reducing alcohol are more important than a vitamin supplement.

Fertility can sometimes take a couple of months to return if you are on the pill, so maybe discuss with your fella and GP a non-hormonal method to use until you are ready to try for a baby.

cram1971

Start in June relax and enjoy don't expect and immediate Positive pregnancy tests most GP's won't even talk to you until at least 6 months of trying so just enjoy trying and good luck

crazy cat lady

cram1971 wrote: »

Start in June relax and enjoy don't expect and immediate BFP most GP's won't even talk to you until at least 6 months of trying so just enjoy trying and good luck

Its still a good idea to see your GP before TTC for a health check. Like i've said before, you'd have your car checked before going on a long journey...

I forgot to say in my previous post that you should have a smear done if you are not up to date. Could be a while before you get to have it done!