We're not really TTC I guess since I haven't charted or read any book or anything, we're just going to pull the goalie and hope it's easy. (Maybe I'm naive with that hope). But I've read a bunch on WeddingBee about how people started to exercise, cut out coffee, etc.. the cutting out coffee really stands out to me... cause I still drink 2-3 cups a day!! Is it really that bad? What did you do to prep that you felt was a must prior to getting pregnant.
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I just tried to cut down on caffeine because I read that it can impair fertility. But I was consuming A LOT. It was coffee in the morning, lots of diet soda, tea, etc. all day long. Once you are pregnant you have to cut down on caffeine anyway, so I figured I'd give myself a good head start so I wouldn't have to just go cold turkey once I was knocked up.
I was already exercising so I just kept up with that.
I did a pre-conception appointment, but that was mostly so I could establish a relationship with an OBGYN since my regular physician had always done my pap smears until that point. I also had them do a full round of blood work just to make sure everything was hunky dory there.
I never charted or used OPKs. I did plug my cycles into a very basic tracker online/on my phone and it would give me a window of time every month that we should be BDing. And that worked well enough. I'm almost 28 weeks along now.
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I did not cut out coffee until I was pregnant. The baby did it for me then! We "prepped" by talking about having a baby, starting some financial planning, discussing what our plans/goals for the first year were. For instance, for us, it was important that one of us stay home with LO for the first year. So we discussed how we'd do that, given that I didn't want to be home for the whole year.
I did start taking prenatal vitamins when we "pulled the goalie". I was not much of a drinker, so that wasn't an issue. I was in reasonably good shape, and I would recommend staying that way - active, at the very least, to ward of too much weight gain.
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I didn't really do anything. I just stopped my bc and we decided to see what happened!! I already drink decaf coffee by choice so I didn't need to limit that and usually exercised about 3 times a week!
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@JennyD: Oh yeah, I started prenatal vitamins too, because you want to make sure you have a good supply of folic acid in your system BEFORE you are pregnant, because you will need that instantly during those first, very important, weeks after conception where the brain and organs are first starting to grow.
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i started prenatals several months beforehand and i was charting so i was really in tune with what my body was doing. i have a pretty active lifestyle and eat well, so i just kept up that. i was only drinking maybe 1-2 cups of coffee a day anyway with no soda, so i haven't cut that out.
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Once we had all the important conversations about finances, etc to determine that we were ready I went ahead and start pre natal vitamins. We were still about 5 months away from actually trying at the point because I wanted to time my maternity leave with the holidays if possible. I then had a pre-conception appt with my OBGYN. And I used an iphone app to track my cycles. I didn't temp. I tried it for one month and hated it so I never did it again. Once we started actually trying I used OPKs. I didn't change my eating or drinking habits until I got a BFP (which was what my doctor suggested I do)
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@highwire: What did they do for the preconception appointment. My general physician also does my pap smears and I dont have a specific obgyn. I told my general we were going to try to get pregnant soon, and all she said was, ok, I'll give you a prescription for prenatals, good luck. They did the regular blood work for annual physicals, but nothing special.
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The biggest thing I did was start taking prenatal vitamins. I also had a pre-conception visit, but it was really just my normal physical that I get every year.
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I didn't do anthing aside from stopping birthcontrol. Well to be fair I stopped using tobacco products, just so my system would be clean. Working out and losing weight to try and get pregnant always seemed silly to me..why work so hard to get a rockin' bod so that you can gain 40lbs back when I get pregnant? I didn't change my life because what if it takes a year to get pregnant? I don't want to go without soda/energy drinks/coffee/etc for a year!
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My husband and I sat down to talk about budgeting and future financial goals (we were going to do this anyways, but we included plans for a baby in this time). We didn't change anything else though.
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Nothing! I just lived my life as usual!
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@PurplePumps: Most of it was sort of spearheaded by my requests: I wanted a full round of blood work as well as genetic screening since I am Jewish and we have genetic disorders that run in our blood lines. I asked him to look at my specific bottle of prenatals to make sure he thought they were a good choice. I practiced hot yoga and wanted his opinion on whether or not to continue to practice during the TWW/pregnancy. DH also had some health concerns we wanted to discuss with him. So, that was the kind of things we went over during our appointment.
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The only thing we did to prep was talk, a lot, mostly to make sure that we were both really and willing to take on this journey. We also had been considering our finances for a while before we began so that we felt on stable ground.
Good luck!
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Thanks everyone! I feel a lot better. I thought I was such a misfit for not really trying to do anything different to help prep
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The biggest thing I did was pick up some prenatal vitamins. I didn't start charting until I had been ttc for a couple months.
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I quit smoking 2 months before TTC, I started taking prenatals, kinda started charting, used FF, read TCOYF
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I started taking a multivitamin, with folic acid, way ahead of TTC-- I figured it's good for you anyway-- and I just started prenatals a month before TTC. I went off the pill about 4 months ahead to give my cycles time to regulate, and I charted to avoid during that time, so I'm still charting now that we are TTC. It's not necessary, yet, but I like the peace of mind I get from knowing what is happening. It makes me feel like I have control in a situation that I have no control over.
I cut out coffee this week actually-- I was addicted and would get a bad headache without, so I figured I would rather deal with that now than when I'm also nauseas and can't take pain killers. Again, not necessary, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something.
And I am trying to get into better shape, more through exercise than diet. I have back problems and I figure, the stronger I am going into the pregnancy, the less chance of hurting my back, and the better chance of staying in shape while pregnant. Plus you need some endurance to get through labor!
The only one that is really necessary is prenatals or a multivitamin with folic acid. I did ask my gyn about it at my annual visit, but she didn't have a whole lot to say. -
All I really did was start taking a pre-natal! I did lose 20 pounds in the 6 months leading up to TTC, but that was for a variety of reasons. I thought getting a routine of healthier eating + walking every day would be good once I got pregnant, but TTC wasn't the sole factor. I have not and will not give up caffeine until I get a BFP
Same with booze. It's already taken 2 months, who knows how long the journey will be? I might as well enjoy it! 
Good luck to you!
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I started taking prenatals, and we just stopped bc and had sex. Some people seem to want to define that as NTNP, but IMO if you are having unprotected sex, youre TTC. I asked my gyn about a preconception appointment, but she sort of snorted and told me 1. Stop bc 2. Have sex. 3. Take a prenatal that doesn't upset your stomach 4. Good luck! Lol
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I started charting so I was use to it by the time we wanted to TTC and began taking prenatals and a folic acid. My dr recommended the extra folic acid, just to make sure you're getting enough since it's SUPER important at the beginning of a pregnancy. Good luck
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We JUST started trying this week, so I am new to all of this! But I also had a preconception appointment--it was really just a normal pap visit and I told her we were thinking about it and she said we got the go-ahead. I also finally went to a dental appointment I had been putting off for a while. I am a big wine drinker (well--one glass a night and more on the weekends) and so I decided to completely cut out alcohol for a while (the past two months) just to get it out of my system and get in better habits. I still drink 1-2 cups of coffee and have replaced my afternoon drink with green tea. I just started taking a prenatal this week. And I decided to try to the couch to 5k program (in my 6th week) to get moving. I'm in pretty good shape, but I wanted to start being more regular about working out.
Besides the health stuff, DH and I had along talk about longterm career goals, savings goals, personal goals to make sure we were ready for this next chapter.
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Started taking prenatals and was in good shape. I also did genetic testing prior to TTC, like @highwire. And I made sure I was up to date on immunizations.
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@hilsy85: Oh yeah, DH and I both got the tDap vaccine.
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@highwire: Oh, just got that too! That was a b*tch. Arm hurt for days! Maybe I'm just a wimp!
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Just started taking regular one a day vitamins plus an extra folic acid supplement - I sort of tried charting but was too lazy!
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My doctor told me during my annual that I can't drink green tea while pregnant. So I changed my mornings cups to decaf, so then when I got pregnant it wouldn't be so hard to deal without the caffeine in the am. I also started taking prenatals about 4 months before we started. I didn't change anything else, still worked out and drank as much as I did before.
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I just asked my doctor earlier this month... She ran through my current prescriptions. I have ADHD and some doctors/specialists will work with individuals who require stimulants while pregnant. She is not one of those so she basically told me to be off of it by the time we're ready to start. Didn't address coffee or caffeine or anything. Since I already take a multi-vitamin and fish oil, she told me to add folic acid and vitamin D/calcium to it instead of pre-natals.
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@Smurfette: no green tea?? did she say why? I've never heard of that one
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@PurplePumps: She said because you never know what is in each bag, or how much caffeine is in it. I am not really sure how much of that is true. She told me that she would prefer I drink a Diet Coke instead. Since I am limiting my caffeine to one drink a day, I will choose Diet Coke over the Green Tea anyway!
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@Smurfette: Really (about the green tea)? I mean, if you are buying the Lipton one or some major brand, I'd think you know what's in it, and it definitely has less caffeine than a cup of coffee, which is fine. I have been drinking green tea this week as my stepping stone down from my daily coffee, though I'm not pregnant yet so it's not a big deal. That just sounds weird to me.
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@Foodnerd81: I thought it was weird too. You would think brand name tea bags are controled. I have several friends who heard it too. The internet says both too. But like I said I would rather give it up, then my Diet Coke a day. Once you get pregnant, I would just ask your doctor.
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Well, my doctor says 1-2 cups of coffee a day are fine, so I continued to drink that. Tea doesn't have much caffeine in it at all--green tea's about 50%, I thought. I still drank iced tea, too. I picked up some cheap OPKS, too.
All i did was start taking a prenatal vitamin. I already ate right and exercised, so I kept doing them. My doc thought I was crazy for scheduling a preconception appointment.
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Zilch...we weren't planning on LO! Thankfully I was already very healthy. I think a nutritious diet and physical fitness are ultimately the best things you can do for yourself and baby. If you have that foundation, indulging in the "bad" things a little (coffee, wine, sweets) is going to be fine.
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Working out more, quit drinking sodas, at my last annual which was a month after getting married, my doctor said she wanted me on a pre-natal as my daily multi-vitamin as I was child-bearing age and married for just in case
Other than that, just frequent the boards, save some money, find a job, and see what happens. We go back and forth about actively TTC by a certain point, or just wait until March, and then NTNT.
Same with booze. It's already taken 2 months, who knows how long the journey will be? I might as well enjoy it! 
Good luck to you!
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