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When we started fertility treatments, then I changed my lifestyle a little. But when we were just NTNT I didn't change much. I still wanted to enjoy everything!

@ Ginger - when you ovulate varies for every woman. Some women ovulate on day 12, others on day 14, others on day 17, etc etc. In fact, many women don't even ovulate on the same day every month (I never did)! The one thing that typically remains constant is the number of days between your ovulation date and your period (also known as your luteal phase).

There are ways that you can track your ovulation (by checking your cervical mucus - ie, discharge, taking temps, checking your cervical position, or by using ovulation predictor kits), or monitoring any ovulation pains or cramps. I personally used ovulation predictor kits (called OPKs) to figure out when I was ovulating...but we were also REALLY TTC, not NTNT.

Good luck!

The pregnancy guidelines like alcohol and caffeine are for issues that would affect a developing fetus. If there is no fetus, obviously you don’t need to avoid those things. Additionally, you can safety consume quite a bit of caffeine while pregnant, so outside of the concern for caffeine withdrawal and your own personal comfort, it’s not something I worried about while TTC.

It takes approximately 4 weeks for the fetus to implant and form any sort of blood-blood connection, so drinking during the TWW is not dangerous to the fetus – according to my OB, unless you are drinking to levels that would simply create a toxic environment inside your body in general (which isn’t normal drinking behavior), and even then, it’s just toxic in general for you, not specifically for the fetus. She suggests women stop drinking completely once you got a positive pregnancy test, which is what I did, but said there is no medical reason to stop before then.

If your lifestyle is fairly healthy to begin with, this is not something to stress out over and beat yourself up about.

@Ginger, mine used to be like clockwork while on BC too. Then in April, it completely disappeared (while still on BC)! My doctor said this was OK, and I'd regulate once I got off BC. This is my first month off it, and it's a little wonky (got mine 2 wks earlier than what _would have been_ the placebo pill week), so we'll see!

I started taking the prenatal vitamin and reduced alcohol. I also increased my fruit and vegetables too!

I've started taking prenatal vitamins and I am trying to cut back on caffeine (oh...diet coke is my vice!!). I don't drink or smoke, so that isn't a biggie. I've lost about 15 lbs so far pre-TTC by eating more veggies and less candy, and by starting an exercise program. I was shocked to hear that you can't have soft serve ice cream or fro-yo when pregnant, though! Eeks!! I'll have to find a new favorite dessert for those 9 months...

I've been taking a pre-natal for a few months. I'd cut the alcohol to no more than 2 units per day (and not drinking every day), and caffeine down to, say, two cups of coffee per day. Otherwise, eat healthy. Getting proper nutrition increases your chances.