So, we’re going to make a little RumMunkey! :eek:
I’d like to read your stories of conception. How long did it take. What did you do right? What did you do wrong? What would you do differently?
Tips and tricks are also welcome 
I don’t have any tips or tricks (I’ve never “tried”)–but an anecdote I’ll share on behalf of my best friend who, after a couple of months of “trying” in vain, decreed that she and her husband should have sex EVERY DAY for a MONTH, just to make sure they didn’t miss the “magical moment”.
I don’t think she’d recommend that approach.
Also on behalf of her, I’ll add that she and her husband actually stopped trying for awhile, because she didn’t want her child to have to suffer the fate of the Christmas Birthday (her birthday is Dec. 23, and she’s never been thrilled about that). So you might want to keep that in mind.
That’s all I’ve got.
Good Luck! 
Well, this probably isn’t going to help you much…but in the span of two years, I got pregnant three times. Once on the Pill, once using foam and condoms TOGETHER, and once with an IUD in place. I had two miscarriages and one live birth. After the second miscarriage, I had the IUD pulled out and then went to abstinance until I could get my tubes tied. My husband was absolutely certain that he didn’t want to get the Snip.
What I’m saying here is, some people are more fertile than others, but most people CAN make babies…if they haven’t left it too late.
The female partner should ask her doctor what vitamins and supplements she should start taking BEFORE she gets pregnant, and both partners should live a healthy lifestyle in regards to what they eat, getting enough exercise, and abstaining from using recreational drugs, including alcohol and nicotine.
Other than Lady Chance going on some pre-natal vitamins we didn’t do anything special for the first one. We decided we wanted kids and she went off the pill. Nothing for 3 years then after a completely drunken week in New Orleans she came up positive.
So maybe relaxation has something to do with it.
After you are done doing the deed, chant “swim spermies, swim” It worked for me everytime.
Just kidding. The only baby we actually tried for was kid #3, and it happened with out a lot of trying. Lynn gave great advice.
My wife and I wanted to wait until we had a house before we had a child. We bought a house and moved in and my wife mentioned that it was time to go off of birth control pills. About two weeks after stopping the pills, she said “I think I’m pregnant”. I went to the pharamacy and bought an at home test and she came up positive. There wasn’t much trying to it. As far as I can tell, we hit it on the first go. Now we have a beautiful two year old daughter.
First kid: We just stopped using contraceptives; a month & a half later, she was pregnant.
Second kid, born 14 months after the first one: Kind of an accident… wanted but not planned…
I was coming up on my 35th birthday and we figured we would never be readier. I got pregnant after about two months the first time, but had an early miscarriage. The second time we had been trying for 6 months and had gone to the doctor to see if he had any suggestions. He gave me a chart to start recording temps to see if I was ovulating, but I never got a chance to use it. I was pregnant by the next month.
The last time we had been trying again for about 6 months. Then I had a “period” that wouldn’t seem to quit and went to the doctor to find out what was going on. She poked me in the tummy a few times and said “Could you be pregnant?” Well I sure didn’t think so under the circumstances, but the test came up positive and there was his little 6-week heartbeat on the ultrasound. They put me on progesterone to stop the bleeding and everything went fine after that.
Oh, you asked for suggestions, too. We just went with the sex every day plan. I also took evening primrose, which is supposed to help make a better environment for the little swimmers. Who knows.
Just a note of caution - I googled “evening primrose oil” + conception and there are specific instructions to use the oil only from menstruation to ovulation. After ovulation it says to switch to Flaxseed oil.
Primrose oil causes contractions so you wouldn’t want to take it after ovulation in case conception occurred.
With all “natural” remedies, I would recommend using caution and running it past your doctor beforehand.
YMMV.
S.
Well, I highly recommend reunion sex. Preferably if one of you leaves to visit a sister.
I went off the pill in July of 97. We didn’t really try, we just stopped trying to not get pregnant. I went to London to visit my sister. When I got back we had awesome sex…and I got pregnant.
My best firend was off the pill around the same time. She went to visit her sister in Utah. When she got back she and her hubby had great sex and she got pregnant as well.
Our babies were due on the same day…but born three weeks apart. Totally weird coincidence, but it certainly speaks to the effectiveness of reunion sex.
Insert tab “A” into slot “B”. Repeat. Lather. Rinse.
I neither had nor received any complaints.
About thirty minutes to an hour per session, on average.
Oh! You meant from the time we started trying for real until pregnancy! Not long in any of our three “trials”. We were apparently blessed with extreme fertility. I know for a fact that kiddie #2 was a one time shot, so to speak.
Nothing comes to mind. We were married three years when the first born made the scene, so that gave us some alone time to enjoy each other. Their current ages are 13, 11, and 8. That spacing seems pretty ideal to us. They’re close enough in age to share interests but we had no more than 2 in diapers at any one time.
Good luck!
Wow, almost exactly what my wife and I did, and with almost the exact same timeframes!
Seriously, stop trying - you’ll drive yourself nuts. The secret is to stop preventing, then just have fun and don’t obsess over possible results. Never, ever try to “make a baby”, just have sex and see what happens when it happens.
Relaxation has a lot to do with it, in my very limited experience.
My brother and sister-in-law have been trying for five years. They went to fertility docs who told her she was infertile since she stopped having periods even after going off of Depo.
They were set to adopt (trip to Brazil all set) and she started feeling sick in the morning. She went to the doc, he took one look and had her take a pregnancy test.
They’re due any day now.
We planned both children.
On try number one: boy
Try number two: girl
Domenic is 4 1/2
Angelina is 2 1/2
We are about as lucky as it gets.
According to my wife’s calculations, we could have had sex twice and had two children. I don’t know if she has a hidden message in there for me, but without birth control, I’d have a army.
Seems like a good approach to me.
I was only 21 when I got knocked up, so all it took was being stupid with the birth control and getting drunk on St. Patty’s day. That about did it. 
Been irregular for years and on and off of the pill for years.
It was obvious I wasn’t cycling, so I started the Provera/Clomid route. Both drugs drove me nucking futs, so after several cycles of fiddling with the doses and timing I just decided to keep charting but dump the Provera (think of it as a forced cycle boot).
Waited until my body booted naturally, tried the Clomid again, ended up getting an egg (my cycle notes indicated I got a super late one before the end of the previous cycle) and catching it. Technically our “second” cycle though it took the better part of a year.
Finding a dual distraction helped; I went on Weight Watchers at the same time (taking it off to put it on!) and a support group after I realized it just wasn’t in the cards for it to “just happen” for us.
I do suggest charting, even if she is regular. It’s kinda cool and gives you something to do: alarm clock rings, take your temp, record it, roll over, have sex or cuddle time.
Also gives you data to take in if it takes a while. Read Taking Charge or Your Fertility or just skim the stuff on Fertility Friend dot com.
If you are a planner, get your wife Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. I recommend it every time a preconception thread comes up because it is the bible of preconception. It got me pregnant first month trying both times.
Hummm…
Got married in October, started trying six months later.
Tried for a year. Read “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” Great book, if you are fertile. It has problems if you are subfertile. In her simplistic world, everyone who has sex when their mucus is right gets knocked up - if not this month, next or the one after.
Saw the doctor. Tried for a few more months.
Went on fertility treatments. Tried clomid, had surgery, tried fertinex. Next stop was IVF, but I didn’t do well on fertility meds and we got off that rollar coaster and decided to adopt.
We went to the adoption seminar in May (this would be about two years after we started trying). Didn’t qualify to adopt until we’d been married three years - which was that June. Put off filing until September. Got a referral for our son in November. He came home in March. We then discovered we were three months pregnant, having gotten knocked up in January after two and a half years of trying hard, and almost another year of forgetting about it.
And before anyone says it - NO, it doesn’t always happen that way. There are several Dopers on this board with adopted kids and no bio kids. It happens about 8% of the time that couples who adopt eventually get pregnant. Don’t even go there, don’t imply it, don’t tell me about your friend (or I’ll sic Cartooniverse on you).
My advice, don’t make plans based on “but we think we might be pregnant by then” Book your vacations, have your fun. If you get knocked up, then cancel your plans or make accomodations. Prenatal vitamins made me ill - if I’d have been on them for three years I’d have gone nuts! Live a healthy lifestyle assuming you “could” be pregnant, but don’t go overboard and stress over it.
Our daughter was born in September (early, she was due in mid-October).
Also, if it doesn’t happen right away, think about how far you are willing to go. My sister tried for six years and her baby is due in October - after IVF, rounds of surgery, years of drugs. A girlfriend never even bothered with Clomid before giving a call to the adoption agency. A cousin has chosen to remain childless. There isn’t a right way, but the fertility roller coaster can be quite stressful - and expensive - and its worth putting some thought in before its an emotional crisis.
This is the best book ever! It should be mandatory reading. I can’t believe I forgot to mention it. I didn’t use it because I didn’t know about it until after having my son. It’s not only a great tool for helping one get pregnant, it’s awesome at explaining Natural Family Planning (NOT the rhythm method). I used it for 3 years to keep from getting pregnant.
Oh, but don’t just get it for your wife…you should read it as well.