HELP! did i ovulate yesterday, so would it have been too late to DTD today?

[dirtyface]

am new to all this ttc

and its a bit embarassing and TMI so i hope people don't mind i had the stringy, clear egg white discharge yesterday but didn't get to DTD as was rowing with dh

but we DTD this morning

so have we shagged too late to possibly catch the egg? iyswim?

i don't think i do no :(

bugger

but thank you. and whats "swi" - sorry, as i said am new to all this :o

You have a decent chance though as you DTD in the morning and you can't exactly be sure when the egg popped out. Fingers crossed for you.

The egg white cervical mucus (ewcm) is not always a good indication of ovulation. Some women have several patches of ewcm during their cycle. Usually you would also have several days of ewcm leading up to ovulation. Are there any signs you could look out for that can indicate when you ovulate? Or perhaps just stick to dtd every other day? That way you have a good chance of catching the right time.

As amber said, EWCM does not just appear on the day of ovulation, can appear a few days before. So as you don't know you have ovulated then keep shagging. If you want to be able to pinpoint ovulation suggest using a combination of temps and OPKs

aww thanks all

got pregnant really quick with my other 2 dcs like without even trying

but this time its been harder, been ttc since january and got pg with twins in feb but lost them in april, was gutting

so had to have a break from ttc but my cycles are all over the place still so its hard to know when to do it. i guess we should just shag as regularly as poss but tbh i havent got the energy ......

And also, to answer the specific question, an egg 'lives' up to 24 hours post ovulation and some studies suggest sperm can reach the egg within minutes of ejaculation (others suggest it can take a few hours) so sex within 24 hours after ovulation can still result in pregnancy

This month I guesstimated that I was going to be ovulating on the 8th and I got one piece of EWCM on the 7th.

We had done DTD the night before (the 6th) and then did it again on the 8th.

We got a BFP from those times

Good luck x x

oh thats brilliant writer, lucky you

well confusingly, i worked out that the day i possibly ovulated (had the EWCM) was day 13 of my cycle

which means we DTD on day 14 which is the day you are meant to do it right...

so today is day 15, might jump on DH later, am sure he won't mind :o

Okay, I have a very, VERY stupid question re: ovulation and predictor kits.

So, my periods are slightly irregular, varying from 24-28 days, ish.

So the first day of my cycle is the day I start bleeding, right?

So, then, when I used the OPK and it shows a positive, that is because there is an LH surge, and that means I will ovulate soon? So I should have been DTD right before then and also right when I get that surge to maximise chances?

Right????

Not stupid question at all. Yes the OPK shows a LH surge. The length of an LH surge varies from woman to woman. Imagine the LH levels start to rise, then after a certain time they reach their peak level, then they start to drop again. You will ovulate between 12 and 36 hours after the peak of LH and the egg will 'live' for up to 24 hours after ovulation.
So... From your peak it could be (longest time) 36 hours until you ovulate and another 24 hours while that egg is still able to be fertilised, so in this example you could still get pregnant from sex 60 hours after your peak LH.
At the other end of the scale some sperm can live for 5 days so theoretically you could get pregnant from sex 3 to 4 days before your LH peak.
They are the most extreme (outside)
timings. However all of this relies on you accurately pinpointing when your peak LH is. This is harder than it seems as you may get a positive OPK while levels are still rising pre the peak or after the peak when levels are falling but still high.
I'd recommend using OPKs three times a day for your first few cycles to try to determine how long your surge (from when levels first start rising to when they have finished dropping) is. You can then estimate your peak as being around the middle of this time.

Hi, not sure if it will help but I read a post on another forum from a natural fertility expert on how to tell when you are fertile, it was all about recognising your bodies signs leading up to fertility. It was quite interesting and does talk about mucus etc, the link to the post is forum.prideangel.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=537 Hope this helps and good luck!! xxx

Ooh thanks merkin ! Yeah I have just been doing the opk and getting a positive around day 11 or 12 normally, which I guess means I am probably ovulating on day 12 or 13, which is about right for a 24 to 27 day cycle...

Yeah I will use them more often then!

Wrighty, the thing is, I get what I think is EWCM at other times in the month so not sure I can rely on that, though I think it probably does work for some women.

I don't think one method is singularly better than another as it differs for everyone. So beat the odds and use as many methods as you can at once! FF lets you chart EWCM (and cervix if you're interested) alongside your temps and OPKs

If you aren't sure do temping as well. There is an app or you can use the fertility friend app. Really helpful in plotting your cycles and getting to know how your cycles work.

On my charts I plotted temps and then other associated signs. However I am a bit of a geek and love a system!

DTD last night as well just in case

sorry for tmi ;)

and thanks for all the other ideas x

Okay I may also try basal body temp stuff then. Interesting!!

Just as a warning for anybody taking up BBT's for the first time...

You need a month worth of temps done before you can make much sense of it. Even during the first month when the temps look odd and your chart looks crazy, stick at it!

You need to be quite disciplined about taking your temp at the same time each day.... set an alarm (for before you normally / naturally wake up) and stick the thermometer in your mouth before you even move. Record your temp. Repeat the next day. After a month your pattern will become clearer (and it's easier once you're into a routine of doing it).

The most important temps to take are the three immediately pre O and the 3 post O (as this is how FF calculates your 'crosshairs'). So try to be extra disciplined the week before and after O.