good luck :) 


its mostly worth the effort.

Just don't try so hard it's no fun any more.  Self-defeating, that.

Avoid all the TTC web sites - world's most annoying acronym.

I hope so.  I know it's time because I get all melty when I see babies and small children, which has never happened to me before.

Ward, do you have experience with ttc websites?

Experience: no, I stumbled across a couple, but we didn't need them - I'm a _real_ man.  :)

Although I know there's a real need for them, the acronym annoys me.

> "Avoid all the TTC web sites"

+1

Nobody, ever, got pregnant visiting websites.

My advice: Have sex. Lots of it. Have lots of unsafe sex. Preferrably with the intended father figure.

The value of the ttc websites is that I can discuss the intimate details of my cycle with people who care.  I'm sure you guys don't care in the least.

Although the plan for lots of sex is a good one, and one I intend to follow. :-)

I still give a friend a hard time about the "warnings" she gave us - about how long it usually takes people our age to conceive.  Warnings that turned out to be meaningless in our case...

My wife and I kind of doubted that it would work. And lo, it did-- it turns out that it can be very easy to get pregnant.

Remember not to tell many people until the second trimester. Miscarriages are quite common for the first few months.

In my experience, warnings that "it might take a while" usually don't fall into the category of self fullfilling prophecies, on the contrary. :)

My advice (again): Don't try to get pregnant. Try to have sex.

I think the average is, what, six months?  So I guess check back in December.  And odds of miscarriage are also very high - I think something like 20% or some other ridiculously high number of pregnancies end in miscarriage.

The journey is probably harder on the woman; as you near the end of your cycle you start imagining all sorts of pregnancy symptoms, and then your period shows and you are all disappointed.  I think the warnings are mostly a defense against that emotional rollercoaster.

The beauty of message boards with like-minded people is that you know you're not alone in what you're going through.  You get a feel for the range of "normal" out there.  And for me, nobody in real life wants to talk about all the various TMI involved in trying for a baby.  Certainly this board doesn't fill that need.

I know this sounds like me being all defensive, and that's not really what I'm trying to do.  I don't need to defend myself, but I do think it could be insightful to explain what those websites are for, and what need they fill.  It's not just for people with fertility issues.

Amendment to "dont' tell anyone for three months":  only tell people whose support you would want in case of a miscarriage.  Yes, I know.  And I'll probably tell you guys b/c (crazy as it is) I think you're safe.

Plenty of dads around here. So we have some experience in the matter ;)

Is there any way I can help out?

When it comes to miscarriages, be sure to ask your doctor about it can be like.  It's better to be prepared for what can happen than to be surprised.