TTC - but know nothing about my cycle

[phoeberosemoores]

Hi guys,

So it happened and today me and my partner decided to start trying. I've been looking into my cycle for weeks and trying to understand it but just no luck..

I've been on the pill since I was 15. I came off it about 4 months ago, since then I've had a period once a month for 3 months. Came on different dates each month and for different durations, no pattern, I put it down to just settling in after coming off the pill after so long. However September came and went and no period came.. waiting to see if Octobers does. I've done a pregnancy test and it was negative, I hadn't had unprotected sex so it was guaranteed to be but did one in case a condom had snapped or something without us noticing.
It's just, now we've decided to try, I am trying to figure out the best times of the month and figure out when I'm due and when I'm ovulating but I'm just too irregular for it..
I'm only just turning 22 in a few weeks, so we're hoping if we just have lots of it it'll likely just happen as I should be at peak fertility really.

How can I come to grips with how it all works? We know we love each other and we both are so excited at the thought of having kids, we've worked out our finances, we're in a good position to start trying.. I just don't understand how to figure all that technical side of it out.. sorry if I sound stupid.

Any advice or experiences of your own would be lovely :)

Thanks

Download an app to help you track your cycle. I use P tracker. Input your period start and end dates and it'll tell you when your fertile period is, when you're most likely to ovulate and when to have sex. Good luck.

You may not be fertile or able to reliably track your cycle for a while until it settles down post Pill. In the meantime, note when you come on and see if a pattern does emerge. You may also want to start learning about signs of ovulation e.g. how to track your cervical mucus as this is a good way of starting to understand your cycle better.

In the meantime? Just have fun and have a lot of sex. You may conceive quickly, you may not, but I'm personally a fan of the It's Just Shagging approach where you have plenty of fun sex and let the rest take care of itself, especially when you are young and don't have time pressure to worry about. Most people conceived just fine even in the days when we didn't have OPKs and digital BBT thermometers and there is something to be said for not over-complicating things right out of the gate.

I can recommend Natural Cycles app. Helped me get pregnant and I now use it as contraception.good luck x
There’s also a book called “taking charge of your fertility” you might find useful.

Yep. BBT tracking will tell you what’s going on.

Apps are not great for predicting (about 40% accurate) but they are good for telling you what’s going on