My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

Conception

Can someone pls explain to me how cycle length works again? Since finishing bfing dd1 periods are further spaced and I have completely forgotten how to work out how long my cycle is.

7 replies

DamnTheManSaveTheEmpire · 29/09/2012 14:10

Thank you for your help.

OP posts:
Report
DamnTheManSaveTheEmpire · 29/09/2012 14:11

By further spaced I mean it's ages between periods.

OP posts:
Report
NimChimpsky · 29/09/2012 14:22

Day 1 of your cycle is the day you wake up bleeding red blood. So if you start in the afternoon or spot brown blood for a few days, they don't necessarily count. Your cycle obviously runs until the next period.

What is it you're trying to work out? Do you want to ttc? Are you interested in pinpointing ovulation?

It's normal for your cycles to be a bit weird after bfing. A doctor once explained it to me as bfing being similar to somebody throwing all of your hormones up in the air. Afterwards it takes them a while to come back down and settle in the right place. I have bf both dc and found with both- as is normal -while my cycle returned, I wasn't fertile straightaway. My luteal phase (time between ovulation and bleeding) was very short. I'm on period number 3 since they returned with ds and I'm still not fertile. I've also had two very light, almost ghost periods. This one is a bit more 'normal'. It's just taking time.

Report
DamnTheManSaveTheEmpire · 29/09/2012 14:25

Thank you. We're ttc #2 in jan using condoms so no hormones etc, but nice finishing bfing #1 my cycle length has increased and would ileyo work out how long it is so i can use those ov calculators ready for actively ttc in jan.

OP posts:
Report
DamnTheManSaveTheEmpire · 29/09/2012 14:26

I have had 4 periods since finishing bfing. Is jan enough time for them to settle do you think?

OP posts:
Report
NimChimpsky · 30/09/2012 09:07

I'm no expert but there's certainly no reason why your cycle can't be back to normal by then and even if it's still settling down, there's no reason why you wouldn't conceive. Of course there are women who ovulate while still bfing without ever having a period and conceive. It only takes one egg. My periods came back while still bfing dd and they went straight into a 28 day cycle, but I wasn't fertile for at least 5 or 6 months. I was still bfing though which interfered with things somewhat.

Just a word of caution. Knowing how long your cycle is won't tell you when you ovulate. You can have a range of women with a 28 day cycle and one will ovulate on day 10, another on day 14 and another on day 19. That's a pretty big window but all of these women could potentially conceive ovulating on those days. An ovulation calculator would tell you that the day 14 woman is the average but this won't account for the massive variables woman to woman. Particularly if your cycle is still settling down and you've ovulating but your cycle is still varying in length by a notable margin.

The best way to go about ttc is by having sex every few days throughout your cycle, perhaps paying most attention to the middle weeks. There's no reason why a normally fertile couple wouldn't conceive doing it this way and you can expect, all things being well, that it wouldn't take more than a year to conceive, probably less than this. But if you need to know when you are fertile for whatever reason, there are some simple, non-invasive ways to go about it. The fertility friend website is v often recommended on here though I've never seen it. I have a book called Taking Charge Of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. It's really very interesting just in general terms but if you want to understand how your body changes throughout your cycle and how to 'chart' your cycle, then it's brilliant. Just taking your temperature each day can give you quite an insight into what's happening over a few months. Between now and January you could build up a bit of a picture of what's happening.

I still think regular, enjoyable sex is the best way to bring a child into the world. But if you want to know more, there's lots of info out there.

Report
wrighty2010 · 30/09/2012 12:47

Hi, not sure if this will help but I read a post on another site from a natural fertility expert on how to tell when you are fertile, it was about recognising your bodies signs. I thought it might be useful if you are trying to work your cycles out. i will put the link at the end of mssage for you.Hoe this helps anyway and you get lucky soon!! Good luck xxx
forum.prideangel.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=537

Report
DamnTheManSaveTheEmpire · 01/10/2012 19:03

Thank you esp nim

OP posts:
Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.