Welcome Newbies!
Making the decision to start a family is exciting and scary all at the same time; we are so happy that you are here to share your journey with us! Our community is made up of smart, caring women who support each other in our quest to become mothers. You can find lots of useful information just by reading the messages that others post, but it's more fun if you join in! No question is stupid and NOTHING is TMI (too much information).
The following “newbie info” was compiled in large part by former CL’s from this board, so many thanks to browneyedgirl05 (now mommy of a healthy baby girl, btw) and ophelia_revived, queenalby and tifwalk. Please let us know if there is anything you'd like to see added! Also, if you have any questions about the message board or iVillage in general, you can always ask one me! Feel free to page me in the Member to Member section or shoot me an email through my profiles.
This thread is divided into the following topics:
- Where to Post
- Posting Guidelines
- Links
- Acronyms
- Siggies, Blinkies and Tickers - Oh, My!
Without further ado...
Where to Post
Here's a quick breakdown of how the message board is organized:
Newbies / Introductions - This is where all newcomers to the board should introduce themselves and ask questions pertaining to TTC.
Look at my Chart / TTC Issues – If you have a direct charting question or a TTC related problem – post it here!
Hosting AF - Whenever AF stops in for a visit, post here and gripe with the rest of us!
Waiting to O and BD Fest - After AF leaves, hop over here and say hello while you wait to get your freak on!
Two Week Wait - After you've O'd, move on over to the 2WW section and wait it out with your cycle buddies!
One Week Wait/AF is Late - One week before AF is due, go nuts with IPS in this section!
Appt. Updates - Post updates about your Dr. visits here!
Medications & Procedures - thinking of taking a particular vitamin? Have a question about Clomid, IUI or IVF – post it here!
Buddy Groups/Member to Member - If you'd like to post a message directly to one of the other members on the board, post here and let them know! If you're taking a TTC break, looking to lose weight, start exercising, ect. and want to start a buddy group within our boards, post here!
Hugs, Prayers Vents & Support - Need a hug? Want to vent/rant? Requesting prayers? Post here!
TTC 8 Months + - If you've been TTC for 8 months and over, stop in here and get to know the other longtimers.
Polls, Games, Fun Stuff - Want to post a wacky survey about what color crayon best fits your personality? Post it here! Want to poll everyone on how long they've been TTC? Post here! Looking to challenge someone in a competitive game of online checkers? Post here!
BFPs (Big Fat Positives) - Once you see those two lines appear on your peestick, post here and let us know! (This section is solely reserved for posting BFPs. Please do not post anything other than your BFP announcement in this section. Questions about BFPs can be asked in the Grad Garden and Baby Dust section.)
Grad Garden and Baby Dust - If you're a grad and you'd like to check in and give us an update, please post here! If you'd like to ask some grads a question or take a poll (especially those pertaining to BFPs), please post here!
Posting Guidelines
These are in addition to iVillage's rules and regulations which can be found here and here. Please read these if you haven't already.
1) You may find that if you reply more to other people posts, you will often get more responses. Even if you don't know the answer to a question, an encouraging note is often just as helpful!
2) Some of the women here have been TTC for a very long time, so please be sensitive to that fact. You probably won't get a lot of responses if you never post here, but then just post a BFP in the BFP section.
3) Please only post BFP's in the BFP section. You can post faint lines or questionable pregnancy tests in the 1ww.
4) Introduce yourself! We love hearing about new people, so post a note in the first section labeled "Newbie Intros".
5) TTC can be a very stressful time, but please never personally attack another member. If you find someone is saying something out of line click the "Report a violation" link on that post.
6) Keep us posted after you get your BFP! We love to hear about our graduates so please feel free to come back and post in the "Grad Garden and Baby Dust" section.
7) Feel free to "bump" this thread if it looks like we have lots of new people and the thread disappears - you can just type "bump" in a reply to this message and it will send it right up to the top again!
Links
Early Pregnancy Tests: www.early-pregnancy-tests.com OPKS, pregnancy tests, Pre-Seed, FertileAid, Instead Cups, etc. They are VERY affordable.
Fertility Friend: www.fertilityfriend.com. A GREAT website that has a lot of information as well as a place for charting.
Peeonastick: www.peeonastick.com A website that has pictures of pee sticks as well as great info.
Eating for Fertility: http://parenting.ivillage.com/ttc/ttcprep/0,,9v75,00.html
IVillage TTC: http://parenting.ivillage.com/ttc/topics/0,,4rwd,00.html
Abbreviations
Taken from http://parenting.ivillage.com/ttc/0,,435c,00.html
1WW - 1 Week Wait (when you only have 1 more week until either AF shows or you take a HPT)
2WW - 2 Week Wait (the two weeks after you O when you're waiting either for AF to show or to take a HPT)
AF - Aunt Flo (your period or menstruation)
BF - Boyfriend, Best Friend, or Breastfeed
BIL - Brother-In-Law
BBT - Basal Body Temperature (or Thermometer)
BCP - Birth Control Pills
BD - Baby Dance (this is referring to having intercourse in an effort to produce a baby)
BFN - Big Fat Negative (negative result on a pregnancy test)
BFP - Big Fat Positive (positive result on a pregnancy test)
BTW - By The Way
CB - Cycle Buddy (A girl on the board close to the same cycle day as you. You might choose her as a "buddy" and be supportive of each other as you go through your cycles together.
CBEFM - Clearblue Easy Fertility Monitor
CD - Cycle Day (This is usually followed by a number and signifies which day of your cycle that you're on. CD1 is the first day of your period and (if you have a 28-day cycle) CD14 would be the day you O.)
CM - Cervical Mucus
CP - Cervical Position
D&C - Dilation & Curettage
DD - Dear Daughter
DE - Donor Egg(s)
DH - Dear Husband
DI - Donor Insemination
DPO - Days Past Ovulation
DS - Dear Son
DSD - Dear Step-Daughter
DSS - Dear Step-Son
Dx - Diagnosis
ED - Every Day (usually refers to how often the couple is BD'ing)
Endo - Endocrinologist or Endometriosis I've seen it used both ways.
EOD - Every Other Day (usually refers to how often the couple is BD'ing)
EPO - Evening Primrose Oil (click on "BD'ing" under the FAQ page for an explanation)
EPT - Early Pregnancy Test (a pregnancy test that can detect pregnancy before AF is even due)
EW - Eggwhite (refers to a type of CM. Some ladies may type EWCM.)
FET - Frozen Embryo Transfer
FF - Fertility Friend
FIL - Father-In-Law
FMU - First Morning Urine
FRER - First Response Early Response (a popular brand of EPT)
FSH - Follicle Stimulating Hormone
GnRH - Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone
HCG - Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (pregnancy hormone)
HPT - Home Pregnancy Test
HSG - Hysterosalpingogram
Hx - History
IF - Infertility
IM - Intra-Muscular (injections)
IMO - In My Opinion
IPS - Imaginary Pregnancy Symptoms
IUI - Intra-Uterine Insemination
IVF - In Vetro Fertilization
IVFP - iVillage Fertility Planner
JMO - Just My Opinion
LAP - Laparoscopy
LH - Luteinizing Hormone (A huge peak of this causes O. This is the hormone that OPKs detect)
LMP - Last Menstrual Period (the first day of your last period)
LPD - Luteal Phase Defect
MC or M/C - Miscarriage
MIL - Mother-In-Law
MS - Morning Sickness
NP - Nurse Practitioner
O - Ovulate or Ovulation
OB/GYN - Obstetritian/Gynecologist
OPK - Ovulation Predictor Kit (ovulation test)
PCOS - Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
PCP - Primary Care Physician (regular doctor)
PCT - Post-Coital Test
SI - Secondary Infertility
SIL - Sister-In-Law
T3 or T4 - Thyroxin (these are also thyroid hormones)
TCOYF - Taking Charge of Your Fertility (by Toni Weschler)
TIA - Thanks In Advance
TORCH - Toxoplasmosis, Other, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus and Herpes test
TRH - Thyroid Releasing Hormone
TSH - Thyroid Stimulating Hormone
TTC - Trying To Conceive
Tx - Treatment
US or U/S - Ultrasound
UTI - Urinary Tract Infection
WBC - White Blood Cells
WTH - What The Heck?
Siggies, Blinkies and Tickers - Oh, My!
Siggies and Blinkies
Notice how many of us have cute signatures that display our names with a picture creatively bordered with maybe a saying, a flower, or something else fabulous? You can get one, too! You can submit a request for a siggy at Signature Showcase. Attach a picture to your request if you want, or even just tell them your name if you'd rather not be seen. You can ask that a certain color be used or a specific phrase, verse, saying, etc.
You can also request a blinkie - a little flashy graphic with a cute saying or a sub-group that applies to you (Military Wives, Proud Cat Owner, "It's not a race, it's a Marathon," etc.). There are several threads that can also tell you where to find free blinkies that have already been made and are okay for you to "snag."
Before submitting your request, please read the Requesting Etiquette Guidelines as well as the Signature Restrictions, which you will find on the Signature Showcase board. You can get to the Signature Showcase by visiting the following link:
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/listsf.asp?webtag=iv-pssigshow&nav=start
Just be sure that when you get a siggie or a blinkie, you host it on your own virtual "space" - the people who make these things don't have unlimited bandwidth, usually. Probably the most popular way to do this is to sign up for a free account at www.photobucket.com. You can upload your siggies, blinkies and photos to Photobucket and then link to them from your signature (more on that later).
This is very important - When posting your siggie/blinkies on iVillage, you need to use the HTML code (Photobucket will provide you with several options).
Tickers
Want to be "chart-stalked" by your iVillage buddies? Put a link (called a "ticker") to your FF or IVFP chart in your signature!
To customize your FF ticker:
- Go to www.fertilityfriend.com and log in.
- On the left-hand side, click on Sharing > Tickers
- Click on the Customize your Charting Ticker button and create your ticker!
- When you have finished creating your ticker, you will be provided with code for posting on message boards.
This is very important - When posting your ticker on iVillage, you need to use the HTML code (middle block on the page).
Putting it all Together
You have your siggie, your blinkies (posted to your account on Photobucket or similar site), and the code for your ticker. Now what?
- Log in to the iVillage message boards.
- Find and click on the board settings link (on the right-hand side of the page).
- Scroll down the window until you get to the section called Personal Signature.
- Select the Use Your Own HTML Tags option.
- In the order in which you want them to appear, paste the HTML code for your siggie, blinkies and/or ticker (provided to you by Photobucket and/or Fertility Friend). I've included an example of how this should look below (don't copy-and-paste the following, though, or you'll wind up with my sig):
(Ticker code)
<A href="http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/1644ad"><IMG src="http://www.fertilityfriend.com/ticker/1644ad/ttc.png" border=0></A>
(Siggie code)
<a href="http://s279.photobucket.com/albums/kk128/queenalby/?action=view¤t=sigtest.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk128/queenalby/sigtest.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
(Blinkie code)
<a href="http://s279.photobucket.com/albums/kk128/queenalby/?action=view¤t=pcos.gif" target="_blank"><img src="http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk128/queenalby/pcos.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s279.photobucket.com/albums/kk128/queenalby/?action=view¤t=thS-Women-Messy-Kitchens.gif" target="_blank"><img src="http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk128/queenalby/thS-Women-Messy-Kitchens.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s279.photobucket.com/albums/kk128/queenalby/?action=view¤t=thilovemycat.gif" target="_blank"><img src="http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk128/queenalby/thilovemycat.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
- Select the Use Formatting Tools (WYSIWYG) option and center, justify or re-arrange the elements in your signature.
- When you're satisfied with the way it looks, click the Submit button and test out your sig on the boards! You can always come back and change things later.
