Huge glob of EWCM on day 24, what the bejaysus is that?!

[ZolaBuddleia]

Small dot of red, next time I wiped, a huge glob of jelly, some clear, some opaque. What is it?
Cycle is 30 days, this happened on day 24, surely it can't be ovulation? Never seen it before.

A belated TMI apology...

What day did you ovulate? Are you ttc? When did you last have sex?

Well if you are ttc you should definitely assume that you are fertile today and tomorrow. However regular your cycle usually is it's a bit like investments - past performance is no guide to the future! You can always have a weird one, especially if you've been more than usually stressed/busy/unwell.

I think I ovulated on day 15, so was rather taken aback by the ectoplasm! Have had EWCM in the past, but not every cycle, and never so late and in such quantity!

Yes, TTC.

Also, if I've ovulated so late, surely there won't be enough time for implantation anyway?

Grr, baffing lady bits.

If you ovulate late your period will just be late too, so no worries about implantation (unless you have a short luteal phase, but that would be true of most or all cycles so not a problem specific to this cycle).

What made you think you ovulated on day 15? was it cf, cervix position etc or are you temping?

In any case, lots of cf is a sign of high fertility so definitely go for it. The other possibility of course is that an embryo is implanting now as the timing is about right if you did ovulate on day 15 - spot of blood might be consistent with that, as might a change in cf, though seeing ewcf is not usually what is reported I don't think. Better to assume you are still fertile though I think!

I'm watching EWCM, not temping or using OPKs (heard they're not great if you're a PCOS sufferer).

Oh lord, the mucus was yesterday and didn't DTD last night. Will have to get to it later.

Sorry, what's cf?

CF is cervical fluid. I just think that's a nicer expression than 'cervical mucus' which makes us all sound like mildly revolting snails . . . !

Peak cf (so the last day of ewcf or watery or whatever is most fertile for you) is usually 24-48 hours before ovulation (because it helps the sperm survive to be there for the egg) so still worth giving it a go tonight. Got to go now but will check in later and add a bit more. I did FAM (fertility awareness method) for years and years as contraception so know all this stuff inside out.

Me again. Did you see any more cf of any kind today?

Also, you're right that the OPKs are particularly unreliable if you have PCOS but in my opinion they are a bit of a waste of time anyway. All they will tell you, if they work for you at all, is that your body was gearing up for ovulation, not that you have actually ovulated. It is perfectly possible for your body to 'get ready' to ovulate and then not do so for some reason (perhaps you are stressed or unwell). And they don't give you much warning whereas if you get to know your own patterns in terms of cf, cervical position, even mood and energy etc you should get a good few days' warning of when you are likely to ovulate. The only way to confirm ovulation has taken place is to take temps. (Or have a scan or blood test, but these are not v. practical.)

The only other thing I would say is that if you DTD the night before last, sometimes (sorry for explicit detail) the remnants of the seminal fluid can re-emerge quite a bit later and it is easy to mistake that for fertile cf. Good luck with it!

OK, final comment I promise. So basically if you saw increasingly wet cf on, say, days 11-14 and then it dried up on day 15 you were not unreasonable to think that you probably ovulated on that day, especially if your normal cycle is around 30 days. But if you haven't been temping then you can't actually be sure. It's possible that your body took a break for some reason and is getting round to ovulating for real now. When I was charting carefully I regularly saw cycles with two 'peaks' like that and once or twice even three (making for v. long cycles), usually when things were very unsettled or my boyfriend was away! My cycles were always very irregular, but in fact I always ovulated and conceive v. easily so even if your ovulation is wandering around a bit it doesn't mean you are any less fertile than usual.

Morning! Nope, nothing yesterday. It was just one big glob out of the blue, v slimy and stringy.

Yes, had noticed increased slimyness around day 16 (not on the scale of Monday) followed by a couple of days of v thin watery discharge like I had when I was pregnant.

I don't temp because I've been trying not to get obsessive, and also I don't get 3 hours sleep before waking in the morning.

Yes fair enough I can see how the temping might get a bit much if you are ttc. (The sleep thing doesn't necessarily matter - it makes a big difference for some women but not for others.)

With the cf it's worth making sure you are ttc at the right time - ovulation is generally 24-48 hours after your "peak" day, which is the last day that you see fertile quality cf (so for most women ewcf or watery). Obviously it is sensible to start trying actively as soon as you see any cf but you should make sure you are continuing for at least a couple of days after it dries up. So if you had noticeable fertile cf on days 16, 17 and 18 (thin and watery counts as fertile) then you should keep trying on days 19 and 20 as well to be on the safe side. Sorry if this is all really obvious but I have read some very misleading things even in reputable books. The bible if you don't have it is the book 'Taking Charge of Your Fertility' which explains all this stuff very clearly and will teach you a lot even if you don't want to go down the temping route, or perhaps just temp for a month or so to be sure that you are ovulating.

Bloody Nora, didn't realise the watery stuff was as good as the slimy stuff, should have kept going. You'll be delighted to hear we DTD last night.

Have had hormone tests, they're fine, so I'm hoping I'm ovulating.

oh yes I'm sure you are, especially if you have regular periods. For some people with quite irregular cycles/PCOS it can be useful to chart just for a bit to check. It can also tell you if your luteal phase is a bit on the short side which can be an obstacle.

Yes, I do have regular periods, although they were out of whack for a few cycles a few months ago.

I've no idea what a cervix is supposed to feel like and how I can tell what its position is!

Well the book I mentioned above explains this in enormous detail but basically it feels a bit like the tip of your nose - firm but slightly squashy. Both the softness and the position changes depending on where you are in the cycle. So just after your period it will be low and relatively hard and fully closed (but if you have had a baby already your cervix will always be a bit open compared to a woman who hasn't, which I guess is why second labours are quicker!); as you approach ovulation it gradually gets higher up, softer and more open (i.e. more hospitable to sperm). Then once you have ovulated it quite quickly gets firmer and lower again. Personally I have never checked it religiously because as soon as I am anywhere near fertile I can't reach the wretched thing at all but some women find it a really useful indicator. Obviously you have to check it daily for a while before you have a sense of what these different stages feel like. Anyway the moving cervix is why some women find some positions for sex uncomfortable at some times of the month (i.e .when the cervix is hard and low) and not others.

I really would recommend the book. I learnt such a lot from it and found it all quite empowering really - helped make sense of variations in mood/libido etc as well. I have v. irregular cycles so a huge advantage for me is that if I know when I've ovulated I know when my period will turn up (as that interval is pretty fixed) whereas otherwise I would be "expecting" it for weeks at a time.

Bless you, your posts are so helpful! I feel like I've had a consultation!

I get a bit squeamish around that area and the idea of poking about trying to feel something makes my knees go a bit wobbly, but I'll have a go in the interests of research!

No problem, I did FAM for so many years that I know this stuff backwards. If you feel worried about feeling for your cervix but want to give it a try, I would wait until the beginning of your next cycle (i.e. just after your period, assuming you are not in fact pregnant!). It should be relatively accessible at that point and it will also be a point at which you can be sure that it's in its 'non-fertile' state which gives you a benchmark to measure against. Good luck!