Creating a New Approach to TTC for the New Year

Stress reduction is essential when you are TTC (trying to conceive). These new approaches will help you relax and enjoy planning a family in the upcoming year.

The new year tends to serve as a marking point for parents who have spent the past year trying to conceive. While you might be feeling frustrated by the process at this point, it doesn’t help to dwell on the negative. Instead, cultivating a positive perspective about your attempts at conception helps you relieve stress so that your body can prepare for conception. This year, make the decision to take a new approach with your TTC strategies that includes taking the pressure off of yourself and your partner.

Don’t Play the Blame Game

Seeing yet another negative pregnancy test might leave you trying to figure out where things went wrong. Couples often blame themselves or each other for failing to get pregnant. You might also blame your past decisions for affecting your fertility, or you might wonder if your partner has been doing everything he or she can to help you conceive. The truth is that there are many reasons why it might take time to get pregnant. Turning on each other won’t do any good. Instead, resolve to focus only on what you can change for improving your chances at conception.

Focus On What You Can Control

TTC can leave you feeling like you are waiting for your body to perform some special kind of magic to make a pregnancy happen. While you might not be able to make that fertilized egg stick, you can do other things to improve your chances of seeing a positive pregnancy test. Instead of stressing out over your monthly cycle, focus on doing things such as eating right. Even choosing to flirt with your partner rather than snap at him or her can help you feel more in control over your ability to have a baby.

Refuse to Steep in Resentment

Is your sister-in-law’s social media page filled with pictures of her precious newborn? Or did you just get invited to yet another baby shower at the office? These types of situations might cause you to want to scream in frustration. However, choosing to celebrate other people’s successes can send signals to your body that the time has arrived to get pregnant. Choosing not to be resentful leaves more room in your body for generating those important feel-good hormones that can affect your fertility.

Practice Self-Care

Your fertile window might only last a few days out of each month, but what you do each day affects how things go during your ovulation time. Make a plan to take care of your body every day of the month. Exercising, sticking to your diet and getting enough rest all work together to ensure that your body senses that it is safe to get pregnant. Self-care also means taking it easy on days that you don’t feel your best. Try doing a few yoga poses or journal out your feelings. Finding relaxing activities helps you de-stress.

Keep TTC Talk Out of the Bedroom

Sure, you might be timing your bedroom sessions with your ovulation patterns, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun. Too often, sex begins to feel like a chore for couples who are focused on conception. Instead of talking about charts and fertility, play some romantic music or give each other a massage. Making your time in the bedroom more fun relieves stress and makes TTC more of an exciting journey.

Plan a Sexy Vacation During Your Fertile Window

Once you have a baby, vacations will never be the same. Now is the time to have the time of your life with your partner. After you’ve tracked your cycles for a while, you should have a good idea of when you’ll ovulate next. Book a hotel room, make a dinner reservation and turn making a baby into an amazing memory. You don’t even have to go far. Just getting you and your partner out of the stress of your daily routine is all it takes to improve your odds of conception this year.

Too much stress can cause your body to release hormones that prevent conception. When you and your partner make it a goal to find ways to relax each day, your body can focus on doing what it needs to do to make your dreams of having a baby come true. As the new year takes hold, remember to take a step back, relax and breathe. Being physically and mentally healthy helps you improve your fertility.