What do you trust more, EWCM or ovulation sticks?

[MrsTumbletap]

So I thought your EWCM was how you could tell you were ovulating, at least that's what I thought with my first.

But had EWCM last week and dtd then, but ovulation sticks say I'm ovulating today. I thought they would match up, symptom wise?

Do yours match?

Which do you trust more?

EWCM is caused by a rise in oestrogen. Positive OPKs tell you you have a high level of LH. Your LH surge is triggered by the rise in oestrogen, but lags behind a few days, then ovulation is normally 12-24 hours after that surge.

Sperm can live several days, so the best odds of conception are actually to have sex BEFORE you ovulate. Generally it’s best to dtd when you have EWCM as sperm can live for longer when this mucus is present - as much as a week, but commonly 4 or 5 days. By the time you have an LH peak, you are often towards the end of your fertile window.

The only way to really know how your hormones work in terms of timing is to monitor EWCM, LH and temperature chart for when you actually ovulate. E.g. I usually have EWCM about 5 days pre-ovulation, and a positive OPK 1 or 2 days before. So my best chance for conception is actually between the two!

That is really helpful, thank you. I thought they happened at the same time 🤦🏽‍♀️

So I'm guessing from these my surge was this morning.

So I may have actually missed it.

Looks like this morning was probably your surge. So I assume you’ll ovulate sometime between tonight and tomorrow night, and the egg lives for up for 24 hours after ovulation. Get cracking!