Quick question...

[PeppaTwig]

Forgive my ignorance but with DC1 we didn't think about this too much so its a bit of a mystery now we're trying for another.

Does OV always happen 14 days before AF is due? Only my cycle has been anything from 28-33 days and I used the app to tell me when to dtd which bases the right time on the average cycle length.

I'm not making much sense... What I'm wondering is, if this month is going to be a 33 day cycle, the aveage of 29 days isnt ging to have given me a very accurate window is it?

Can you tell I'm on a 2ww and driving myself mad!

Any help would be awesome thanks!

Hi PeppaTwig - you can ovulate 10-16 days before AF arrives but that this part of your cycle (the luteal phase) should be consistent to you as an individual (and is usually 14 days for the majority). If the LP is shorter than 10 days it's considered a problem for conception. But I don't imagine that you have this problem if you never have a shorter cycle than 28 days.

The only real way to know when you've ov'd is to take your temperature after AF every day at exactly the same time in the morning (after a minimum of 3 hours asleep in bed). Your temp rises on the day of ov and stays high either until AF or for longer if you are pg. Pre-ov temps should be consistently lower.

There's a lot on FertilityFriend re' temping.

You could try ov sticks to know when's the best time to have sex - they measure the hormone that triggers ov so gives you a 48-hour window to have lots of SWI.

Or just have sex every other day from around cd10 until at least cd20. Some people argue that trying to predict ov is not the ideal way to get pg because the day can vary from month to month etc so just cover your bases by having regular sex...

HTH.

Btw the follicular phase of your cycle - leading up to ov - varies from month to month for the majority which is why your dates go from cd29 to cd34 for AF arrival. Only the LP is meant to be consistently the same for each woman.

Sex every other day is meant to do the trick if you haven't got any fertility issues.

Good luck.

No, ovulation does not always happen 14 days before the next period!!!. Ovulation is not an exact science and it can occur earlier, later or not at all in any given cycle (it is also quite possible to have periods without ovulating). Even normally fertile women have the occasional anovulatory cycle.

Phone apps are pretty much useless in such cases. Make love too when you both feel like it, not just when you think its ovulation time as that is far too easy to get wrong.

A "normal" cycle is a cycle length of between 21 and 35 days or with less than 4 days of variation from month to month.

Blood tests would give a far more accurate picture as to whether ovulation is occuring or not. Also day 21 is only part of the story; there needs to be a day 2 test done as well to see if LH and FSH levels are within normal limits as if they are not, ovulation can be affected.

Thank you so much for replying beangrower. I'll keep my fingers crossed anyway for this month if not then at least I'll be better equipped next month!

Yeah - just take it easy and don't stress too much.

Oh and you could read up about fertile cervical mucus - a sign that your body is about to ov.

If you are healthy and conceived ok last time it shouldn't take you too long. 1:4 chance each month...

Having said that I've been ttc2 for over a year (and DS came cycle 2, easy-peasy when I was 37.5) but I'm 40 now so...

I'm def not an expert on this - but can you to 'listen' to your body. I realised that there were days when I just felt good, attractive and really horny! As I've started to monitor my cycles I've realised they are coinciding with the part of my cycle when I 'should' be ovulating.
Boyfriend thinks it is quite amusing and if we've had a particularly hot/long/raunchy session will ask me if 'I'm on heat'.

Thanks everyone!
StuckIn, very interesting that you said that cos I definitely felt that way around the time that we were going for it (as it were!) Hopefully thats a good sign then!
Fingers crossed!