Help!

[TicketToHull]

Today was the last day of my period and DP and I have (rather unexpectedly!) decided to start trying for our second. I always meant to chart temperatures and things after DS was born in preparation for the next one but time 3 years seem to have flown by and I have nary a temperature recorded.

Does anybody know the easiest/most reliable way to check for ovulation so we roughly know when to bump knees?

[HaveALittleFaith]

Do you mean aside from charting? Look for egg white cervical fluid. Keep a track of your cycles but honestly the best thing to do is have sex three times a week every week of your cycle do you're likely to hit the window of opportunity without too much pressure.

[TicketToHull]

I wouldn't be averse to charting but I

1. have no idea what I should be doing
   
2. don't know if I've left it too late to chart for this cycle (and now that we've made up our minds, would like a baby as soon as possible!)
   
   Sex three times a week What do you think I am, some kind of Olympic athlete?!

[FrankelSaysRelax]

Charting your temperatures cannot tell you when you will ovulate, it can only tell you after it has happened. The theory is that you can build up a picture of your normal cycle pattern and then use that information to predict ovulation in future cycles.

Having sex every other day is the best advice, and if you know when you are fertile try every day for this 3-4 day period.

You could try ovulation prediction tests, but this can a) be expensive and b) drive you insane with TTC madness!

[HaveALittleFaith]

To be fair, we dtd twice this cycle and I got a bfp!! But yes, if you can well I have two tips - one is to think about buying taking charge of your fertility which is brilliant and also look at fertility friend which is a website you can do a charting course and also input your data and it will create your chart for you. Honestly though, while charting can be useful - I started when I wasn't convinced I was ovulating - it is quite involved and I would go for a natural approach initially!

[HaveALittleFaith]

Every other day Frank?! Are you mad woman?!

[TicketToHull]

Ah, had a suspicion it was one of those things that needed a pattern to be established!

Sex every other day it is although if there was actual gulping involved, it's probably being done wrong

[TicketToHull]

HaveALittleFaith thank goodness you said that, I posted in bewildered optimism but you've made me see the light. People can't really find the time to do it that often, surely? I haven't noticed the vast population walking bow -leggedly so my highly scientific experiement concludes that it's simply Not True.

[FrankelSaysRelax]

Every other day is what "they" say Faith m'dear. Never managed it myself though

[HaveALittleFaith]

We managed 7 days in 8 once. Our personal record. Twas fun!

It might be worth trying OPKs first ticket.

[TicketToHull]

[TicketToHull]

Ah, google tells me it's an ovulation prediction kit. Any recommendations for good value for money ones? Also, help yourself to a gold medal HALF, that is an impressive and valiant attempt!

[HaveALittleFaith]

Ovulation predictor kits. You wee on them and when you get two lines it's likely you'll ovulate within 48 hours (not 100%). Cheaper one's are about £7 in Tesco. Personally I found the ones that give you a :) when you're fertile a. More accurate and b. ridiculously fun! But they are about £20 for 7. The boxes give you guidelines on when to use them (ie what days).

[TicketToHull]

I'll be getting myself to Boots tomorrow then! Thanks for the info, I feel much better prepared now

[Pipbin]

You can get cheap OPKs on Amazon. They are about £5 for 30. However they can be tricky to use and interpret.
I have been using a Clear Blue Fertility Monitor that I bought second hand. However because I have been charting also I know that it got my ovulation day wrong.

Charting can only tell you after the event, but it means that you can build up a picture and try to catch the right day.
OPKs are good but they don't work for everyone and they take some getting used to. Some women never get a positive but do ovulate.
Observing your cervical mucus is good too but it an be tricky if you don't get much.

My honest opinion is that given you already have a DC and know that you can conceive I would just got for it for a month or two, trying to have sex a couple of times a week.
I have been TTC for over a year now and have fallen into the grips of obsession. As I have never been pregnant I was concerned for my fertility and therefore charting has helped me to feel that after 6 months I could go to the doctor armed.

I think that recording sex on Fertility Friend,here are my charts so you can see how it works, if you don't get any joy after a couple of months then start taking your temperature.

[TicketToHull]

Thanks Pipbin! I'm not generally averse to charts and data analysis but I wasn't expecting ovulation charts to be so busy. My inherent laziness will probably mean that we'll try to do the deed every 3-ish days and if there's no success with that, then start with the OPKs. DS was a complete accident surprise so I've never been in the position of actively trying for a baby before, have always tried to prevent it.

Gosh, even typing the words "trying for a baby" has given me butterflies! Obviously don't know how long it will take (am trying to not pay attention to the fear of secondary infertility which I sometimes convince myself will happen ever since I read about it on here) but it's quite exciting to think that there's a remote chance that this time next month, I could be pregnant.

[freelancescientist]

I'd agree to go with the laid back approach for a few months. Do you have regular cycles? Reading the boards you will see it is not universally true but MOST women DO ovulate about 14 days before a period, so if your cycle is 28 days you most likely ovulate about day 14, 26 days about day 12 etc etc
So concentrate your efforts from the end of your period to a day or two past when you most likely ovulate - every 2 to 3 days. Then the rest of the month is just for fun.
How old are you? If things haven't happened in 3-4 months think about charts/OPKs or if your cycle is irregular (1-2 days variation is OK), or if you are pushing 40 then go to see the GP sooner rather than later if the usual ways of getting pg aren't working.
Good luck.

[TicketToHull]

I have to admit to not knowing how long my cycle is, but I think it's a bit longer than 28 days.

Am 25, and never thought that at this age I'd be posting on a parenting forum about conceiving a first child let alone a second but since DS, it seemed to make sense to have them closer together now and then really focus on career after. I'm studying and working, but will finish the course in December so might as well start another project!

How much do people adhere to not drinking alcohol when ttc?

[Pipbin]

Just noticed your user name. Are you a b3tard? If not, that will make no sense, just move along, best not to ask.

Drinking, well some women don't drink in the two week wait, hereafter know as the TWW, because there is a chance that they might be pregnant. Also the government advice is not to drink if you are TTC. However, the baby doesn't share your blood stream right from the start so you are going to be ok to have a glass of wine until the date when your period is due. If you want to be on the safe side cut it out between ovulation and your period.

I suggest that you start charting your period and sex at fertility friend so you can get an idea of how long your cycles are.

[TicketToHull]

Haha, I've lurked on b3ta for years but have never actually posted.

Right, have got an account set up. Now on to the tutorials!

(Cheers)

[Pipbin]

Ticket I used to spend most of my time of OT, mainly a couple of years ago when I was unemployed.

I find FF easy to use, especially with the phone app so you can log sexytiem easily.

[TicketToHull]

Right, I've finally plucked up the courage to post again so this might be a bit lengthy.

It's been over a month since I last posted, and that's partly down to it being an extraordinarily busy month and also partly down to working myself up into "not wanting to jinx things".

I know the advice was to have sex every 3 days if possible but such was the afore mentioned busyness (that doesn't look like it should be a word) that we managed doing the deed twice. In the whole of the last month. Despite trying to conceive.

I assumed this month was a write off, added "must try harder" to the list of next month's things to do but secretly was counting off the days til AF was due to arrive so I could POAS anyway and got on with things.

28 days after the beginning of my last period, I POAS and it came up negative. This was disappointing but to be expected, and I waited for AF to show up.

Except that every morning and afternoon and night when I obsessively checked there was no sign of my period beginning. I put this down to my not really knowing how long my cycles are and waited. And waited. AND NOW IT'S BEEN TWO WHOLE WEEKS SINCE DAY 28 AND THERE'S STILL NOTHING!

I've worked my way through 8 pregnancy tests, of varying brands (although none of them clearblue) and they're all sodding negative! It's been 6 weeks since the beginning of my last period so what's going on?! Have I psyched myself up into clinging onto my uterine lining in a futile effort to convince myself I'm pregnant? 8 pregnancy tests (including on this morning) can't be wrong can they?

Someone Mulder and Scully perhaps please come along and tell me what's happening!

[QuietNinjaTardis]

What contraception were you using? If it was hormonal then your cycles may take a while to settle down. If not, then you could be stressing about it a bit and that's delayed your period? I had 38 day cycle last month and I think I was getting a bit stressed with ttc malarkey. Am trying really hard to chill!
If af doesn't turn up soon then trip to docs for blood test might be an idea.

[TicketToHull]

Just condoms, not anything hormonal. I didn't think I was that stressed about it as it was literally the first month of us trying, so all the checking and POAS was really done for the novelty/fun of it all (DS was a complete accident and the early pregnancy was a stressful, soul searching time of whether to keep him or not with family members threatening to disown me etc).

I probably have worked myself up though, which is even more frustrating because we can't even continue trying until AF arrives although we'll probably put it a few hours of practice to make up for last month's shocking attempt!

[Christelle2207]

remember that you said you werent very aware of your cycle. im usually 26 days but have had a couple of 40+ day shockers.

[TicketToHull]

Ok. I know it's highly unlikely that I'm pregnant but there has been a small part of me that is clinging onto the fact that I might be.

Have to just accept that it's just not happening this time and kick stubborn brain/uterus into action thinks flowing and gushing thoughts