Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
so wasteful
DH and I are TTC, and I ran out of my cheap internet opks this month, and they wouldn't be shipped in time, so I had to go buy tests at the store. I ended up buying the digital tests, and I seriously cannot believe how wasteful they are. The internet tests I buy are just little strips, without any plastic covers, and they work perfectly well. The digital box came with 7 tests, in plastic with plastic caps (who needs a cap?), that plug into the digital part. They are all of course individually wrapped too, and the worst part is that you cannot buy refill sticks so after 7 tests (which lasts, what, a month?) you have to throw the entire thing out and buy a whole new $30 box, even though the digital part still works perfectly well. Compare that to the little strips I get on Amazon, 50 for $8 and so much less wasteful.
I'm glad I caught the LH surge, but I feel so guilty for buying these things!
Re: so wasteful
I'm glad you usually have a better alternative!
I'm not trying to be rude--just frank...if you really think through it..from before conception through the lifespan..a LOT of things kid related are wasteful.
Even the kid itself contributes to massive overpopulation problems...That little box of your ovulation strips is just the beginning.
Yes, yes, you will cloth diaper and make your own organic baby food and wittle wooden toys from reclaimed barn wood...Your own little "no impact baby..."
Dude...is that really necessary given the topic of TTC?
ETA: OP glad there are other alternatives out there!
Well FMLA then you just don't have a baby okay? Sheesh.
OP, I'm glad you normally have an alternative! I wish DH would be okay with OPKs, he doesn't want me to track when I'm ovulating b/c he thinks that will "turn sex into a project." Alright then DH, I'll just have to jump your bones daily so there!
When I think about it, babies are one of the most ungreen things around...the whole industry of raising a child is wasteful in many ways (and it is an industry)...I actually don't see why it's wrong to point out that reproduction from start to finish--is a business that produces a ton of waste.
It's great the OP is trying to reduce in the quest for a LO, but it won't stop once a tiny tot is welcomed to the planet.
OP - can you share the site you ordered them off of? We're not ready to TTC yet, but I want to add it to my list of resources for when we are.
TIA and good luck
Miles (6 year old Maine C00n mix), Boots (5 year old Lab mix), Darla (4 year old GSD/Collie mix), Frankie (1.5 year old DSH mix), Peanut (15 months old - 09/11), and Bean (arriving Feb 2013).
Oh geez. I love how some things are sacred. If it's a baby it's "She's trying to have a baaayyybeee..be nice to her!" As long as the poster as an alternative, no one is really willing to look at the long term impacts...and if someone (okay me) does say something they (me) is a meanie.
But if guests are taking up too many paper tissues at your home---watch out! The eco-nazi--I mean..the host is standing in the background gritting their teeth, counting how many trees have been cut down.
The problem isn't your opinion, it's your venue and approach to presenting it: "Great, i'm glad your reducing your waste, but really, why bother, when you're just trying to create a waste-monster anyway?"
And i do understand where you are coming from; we are adopting for that very reason. However, it doesn't make it appropriate, tactful or respectful to include my opinion or choices in every conversation about people's children, and i would have those same expectations of others.
Best sound ever: baby's heartbeat! (Heard @ 10w1d)
Guh...it's just an observation. Of course it is impossible to argue the "point" of having or not having children. I won't even touch that one, and I'm not attacking the OP...I'm really not. The post just got me thinking that overall--the process of children is a wasteful process--from those little stick thingies--to diapers to food to clothes--it's wasteful. I guess it just spurred a thought in my own head about how those sticks are just the beginning.
The opinion is not the concern, but by voicing it in that thread, you made your opinion into a pointed criticism of the OP and her choice to reproduce.
Best sound ever: baby's heartbeat! (Heard @ 10w1d)
Woah, I didn't mean for this thread to get so heated.
I know that bringing another child into this world uses more resources, and I plan on minimizing our baby's impact as much as possible by buying used items, etc, but I don't think that means I should be criticized for try to have one child (and yes, I will probably only have one child, considering my fertility issues). What is wrong with wanting to experience pregnancy and be a mother?
I was just making an observation, an example of one thing that I thought was unnecessarily wasteful and I was upset by because I didn't get to use the "greener" alternative this month. I tend to be very conscious about buying the least amount of un-recycleable plastic that I can, and I hate just throwing them all away.
For those interested in the tests, I get them from Amazon (just search for ovulation test strips). They are individually wrapped but at least don't each come in a big plastic case.
Unfortunately, DH and I don't have a choice in the matter, because I don't ovulate without medication. Not only does DH know when I'm ovulating, he also knows how big my follicle is and what side it's on! It can be stressful at times, but we're trying to make it fun too.
That only tells you when you have already ovulated, not that you are about to ovulate, which is what I need to know.
After your first cycle you have a base chart. (I did it for two kids.)
You have a dip then a spike, so you look for the dip to know you are about to ovulate. Check out fertilityfriend.com for more info.
This thread is really getting off-topic, but here goes....
That may work sometimes for women with regular cycles, but for women like me who do not (I do not even ovulate without meds), you often need to use the opks. And also, most people don't even get a dip first, it's the exception not the rule (and fertilityfriend says this in their FAQ). My reproductive endocrinologist tells me to use the opks as soon as I have a growing follicle on my ultrasounds. I ovulated this month even earlier than the doctors thought I would after my last ultrasound...if it wasn't for the tests, I might not have known and we might not have timed it right. I'm sure the ladies on the TTGP or infertility board could educate you more on it.
This. It would take a miracle for me to tell when (if) I'm ovulating by charting. I have PCOS, and ovarian disease and charting simply does't work for everyone.
^This. I've been charting for a year, with regular cycles, and I definitely don't have a temperature drop prior to it rising. It's great that it worked for you, but please understand that not all women have that option.