Lost in abbreviation?

This is what I look like when trying to read baby/pregnancy/infertility message boards.

Step One - Find an interesting board

Step Two - Try desperately to determine what BFP, OPK, CD mean

Step Three - Give up in a fit of rage

If you are anything like me, you know how difficult navigating your way through baby/pregnancy/infertility message boards can be. When I first started frequenting the boards, I could barely understand what these women were saying.
Why you might ask?

Let me give you an example:

"Hey, I'm joining the TWW. I got my first "smiley" on my Clear Blue digital OPK this afternoon. I'm right on time - CD 16. I will O tomorrow, CD 17. I have a 13-day LP, so my next period will be due 2/17.

I'm fresh off early MC #2 in 5 cycles. My OB ran a series of tests, did an internal exam, and ultrasound - nothing, nadda, I'm normal. The ultrasound did, however, show over 20 follicles in my ovaries getting ready (that was a week ago). So I'm really hoping that at least 1 of those little guys does me right this cycle! We shall see.

I'm planning on testing first on Valentine's (my due date with my twins) which will be 11 DPO. I've always gotten BFPs at 9 DPO anyway. It'd be a nice way to celebrate that day :)

GL to all!!"

Via

What the what?

Ok here’s the translation: 

 

 

"Hey, I’m joining the Two Week Wait. I got my first “smiley” (meaning positive) on my Clear Blue digital ovulation predictor kit this afternoon. I’m right on time – cycle day 16. I will ovulate tomorrow, cycle day 17. I have a 13-day luteal phase, so my next period will be due 2/17. 

 

I’m fresh off early miscarriage #2 in 5 cycles. My obstetrician ran a series of tests, did an internal exam, and ultrasound – nothing, nadda, I’m normal. The ultrasound did, however, show over 20 follicles in my ovaries getting ready (that was a week ago). So I'm really hoping that at least 1 of those little guys does me right this cycle! We shall see.

I'm planning on testing first on Valentine's (my due date with my twins) which will be 11 days past ovulation. I've always gotten big fat positives at 9 days past ovulation anyway. It'd be a nice way to celebrate that day :)

Good luck to all!!"

 

Make sense now?

To make things easy for anyone who finds themselves lost in translation, here is a quick list of commonly used abbreviations in the land of baby/pregnancy/infertility message boards:

 

Acronyms	What they mean
AF	Aunt Flo — menstruation/period
AP	attachment parenting
BB or BBS	Internet bulletin board
BBC	BabyCenter
BBL	be back later
BBT	basal body temperature
BC	because, or birth control, or before children
BCPS	birth control pills
BD	baby dance (sex)
BF	breastfeed, or boyfriend
BFN	big fat negative (pregnancy test)
BFP	big fat positive (pregnancy test)
BIL	brother-in-law
BM	breast milk, or bowel movement
BRB	be right back
BTDT	been there, done that
BTW	by the way
CD	cycle day
CF	cervical fluid
CIO	cry it out
Circ.	circumcise
CM	cervical mucus
CWIM	see what I mean
CS or C/S	cesarean section
DC	daycare, dear child
DD	dear daughter
DF	dear fiancee
DH	dear husband
DP	dear partner
DPO	days past ovulation
DS	dear son
DSD	dear stepdaughter
DSS	dear stepson
DTD	do the deed
DW	dear wife
EBF	extended breastfeeding, exclusively breastfeeding
EBM	expressed breast milk
EDD	estimated due date, or expected date of delivery
EWCM	egg white cervical mucus
FF	formula feeding
FIL	father-in-law
FT	full time
FTM	first time mom
FTR	for the record
FWIW	for what it's worth
FYI	for your information
HPT	home pregnancy test
HTH	hope this helps
IC	incompetent cervix
IMHO	in my humble opinion
IMO	in my opinion
IRL	in real life
ITA	I totally agree
IUI	intrauterine insemination
IVF	in vitro fertilization
JJ or J/J	just joking
JK or J/K	just kidding
JMHO	just my humble opinion, or just my honest opinion
KWIM	know what I mean
L&D	labor and delivery
LO	little one
LOL	laughing out loud
LP	luteal phase
MC or M/C	miscarriage
MIL	mother-in-law
ML	maternity leave
MM	mother's milk
MYOB	mind your own business
NMS	not my style
NMSAA	not my style at all
NP	no problem
O	ovulation
O'd	ovulated
OMG	oh my gosh, or oh my god
OP	original poster
OPK	ovulation predictor kit
OT	off topic
PG	pregnant, or pregnancy
POAS	pee on a stick (i.e. pregnancy test)
PP	previous poster
PPD	postpartum depression
RE	reproductive endocrinologist
ROFL	rolling on floor laughing
SAHD	stay-at-home dad
SAHM	stay-at-home mom
SAHP	stay-at-home parent
SD	sperm donor
SIL	sister-in-law
SO	significant other
TCOYF	Taking Charge of Your Fertility, by Toni Weschler
TIA	thanks in advance
TMI	too much information
TTC	trying to conceive
US or U/S	ultrasound
VBAC	vaginal birth after cesarean section
WAH	work at home
WOH	work out of the home

Hope this helps anyone lost in the jungle of baby message board abbreviations!

xo, Vicky

 

RPL

I would like to start by first thanking our friends and family who have been so outrageously supportive and generous with their well-wishes over the past few weeks.

Knowing we have people in our corner rooting us on helps so much.

From the bottom of our hearts we thank you and love you all so dearly.

 

We have an appointment at the Ottawa Fertility Clinic on March 5th.

I read some reviews of the doctor we've been referred to and the comments are less than stellar. He's been described as cold, abrasive, unempathetic, always late and unprepared for appointments. Great... I suppose we'll be the judges of that when we meet him next month.

 

Pop quiz kids!

 

RPL stands for:

 

a) Ridiculously Perfect Lips

b) Rocket Plane Liftoff

c) Recurrent Pregnancy Loss

 

If you guessed a) Ridiculously Perfect Lips you are correct!

 

If only.

Unfortunately as most of you might have guessed, it stands for recurrent pregnancy loss.

Never in my life did I imagine this acronym would be part of my story, but there it is.

 

Recurrent pregnancy loss is defined as "the miscarriage of two or three consecutive pregnancies in the first or early second trimester."

 

Here are some stats: 

 

- 25% of all recognized pregnancies result in miscarriage

- Less than 5% of women will experience two consecutive miscarriages

- 1% will experience three or more

 

According to the patient fact sheet on recurrent miscarriage provided by the fertility center, here are the known causes of RPL:

 

1) Genetic/chromosonal causes

 

60% of early miscarriages are due to random chromosonal abnormality of the embryo. The odds of having three in a row is very rare.

 

Translocation is an inherited chromosonal abnormality that causes embryos to receive too much or too little genetic material.

 

The suggested treatment is pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and in vitro fertilization.

 

2) Hormonal abnormalities

 

Progesterone is a hormone that is essential for a healthy pregnancy. Low progesterone levels sometimes called a lutein phase defect, is a known cause of repeated miscarriages.

 

Treatments include ovulation induction, progesterone supplements or injections of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).

 

3) Metabolic abnormalities

 

Women with uncontrolled diabetes or polycystic ovarian syndrome have higher rates of miscarriage.

 

Treatment includes controlling blood sugars before conception

 

4) Uterine abnormalities

 

Approximately 10 - 15% of women with recurrent pregnancy losses have some form of uterine distortion.

Congenital uterine abnormalities include a double uterus, uterine septum and a uterus in which only on side is formed.

Asherman's syndrome (scar tissue in the uterine cavity), uterine fibroids and uterine polyps also can cause recurrent miscarriages.

Diagnostic screening tests include hysterosalpingogram, sonohysterography, ultrasound or hysteroscopy. Some of the conditions listed above can be surgically corrected.

5) Antiphospholipid Syndrome

3%-15% of recurrent miscarriages can be linked to antiphospholipid syndrome.

Antiphospholipid syndrome causes tiny blood clots to block the blood supply to the placenta and/or may interfere with the fertilized egg’s ability to implant in the lining of the uterus.

Treatment includes low dose aspirin and heparin.

6) Male factor

Abnormal integrity of sperm DNA can affect embryo development and increase miscarriage risk.

7) The scariest of all. Unexplained

No explanation is found in 50% - 75% of couples with recurrent pregnancy losses.

 

 

That last point is pretty scary. More like terrifying. I've read stories of women who have spent years miscarrying and are still without a baby in their arms. My heart aches for them. While my experience has been sad the biggest emotion I feel is frustration. I know I can have babies so why won't my body just cooperate and make another one?!

 

My hope is that further investigation and testing will find a reason and we'll be able to grow our little family. My fingers and toes are crossed!

 

"In all things it is better to hope than to despair"

- Goethe

 

Until my appointment in March my plan is to enjoy as much wine and other alcoholic beverages as I can. Any volunteers who wish to join me in my quest are welcome!

 

xo, Vicky

 

Little tease

One of Quinn's favourite things to do is tease the dogs. Every day she walks over to the pantry, pulls down a box of crackers and brings it to me for a cracker. She then shows the dogs her treat and runs away. Last night she discovered the dining room curtains make a great hiding spot. Dogs can't see behind curtains right?

Oh and in case you were wondering, Quinn demanded I put on her coat, shoes AND tutu. I guess I missed the memo about dress-up night. 

xo, Vicky