Best (and easiest) ways of tracking your most fertile days

[SometimesIWonderWhy]

I am starting to TTC.
I over 40 - so not necessarily too optimistic, but we will see what happens because I would love to have a baby, but unfortunately met the right guy a bit late!

I am going to start taking conception vitamins and was thinking of tracking my cycle with Natural cycles or Clearblue fertility monitor etc.

It's really important to me that this doesn't take over my life as I know my chances aren't great and I'm not interested to going to my Docs or a fertility clinic/specialist etc.
I just want to give it a fairly good shot, and I know I tried if that makes sense?

Can anyone recommend the best way of working out my fertile days with an app etc?

Many thanks

I used period diary app ( loads of other ones that u can pick from) and then used ovulation test strips ( just the cheap ones from eBay) fell within 3 months first baby and on 2nd cycle this time. Even if you just test for a month or so could give u a better idea of the time of month when u do normally ovulate so you don't miss the window. Try and dtd every couple of days of you can

If you can spare £90 I would give ovusense a go, people swear by it. I unfortunately found this out after using a £250 ava bracelet which tells me fertile days anyway but apparently ovusense pinpoints it better and reads hormones to confirm ovulation.

I conceived at 40 using a combination of the Ava bracelet and clear blue ovulation sticks. I had been tracking with natural cycles without much luck but fell pregnant within 3 months with Ava. It really was priceless for me and I still use the app for period tracking.

I use the Flo app for tracking ovulation but also use ovulation strips 2 days before the date shown in the app as the app is not always spot on for me. There is a free version of the app and a paid one. x

@Chica1990 - ovasense the one you have to insert something in your vagina when you sleep? Every night?

@SometimesIWonderWhy the very one! Someone posted on here she got pregnant first time using it. My friend said the same and the same about another girl she knew who was about to go for ivf. If you have irregular cycles or pcos it does look like the better option out of that and ava. I’m on my second cycle using ava now so I’ll see how I go with it.

Without a doubt clearblue ovulation kit. I’d buy shares if I could. Apps didn’t work for me. All they are, are diaries and calculators. They tell you nothing about what your body is doing.

You pee on them and you’ll get low days (no chance), high days (mid chance) and peak days (beat chance). About £20 a month, and totally worth it. You just need to know when you expect to ovulate, so that you aren’t wasting too many sticks. Instructions are very clear

Best of luck

The best thing to do is look for changes in your cervical fluids. This can be observed when wiping or on your underwear. The cervical fluid at your most fertile time is called egg white cervical mucous ewcm. It is clear to look at and if you touch it it will stretch between 2 fingers. This is the stuff that helps the sperm find its way to the egg. You will notice ewcm around the time of your ovulation.

I don't think I have irregular periods, but I've been on the pill most of my adult life.
I have very 'normal' periods since coming off the pill, a good amount of blood, but not too much. Does this make a difference to how fertile I might be?

I've just turned 40 and ttc no 4.

I used CBFM for first 3 (and continue to use it) and it's great. I got it secondhand from eBay and sticks are £30. I confirmed accuracy of it using CB digital sticks and easy@home and they all correlate.

I also bought an Ava secondhand from eBay and again it correlates with the CBFM as have a toddler who doesn't sleep and can't measure bbt on own as interrupted sleep.

It's easy to wear and tells me high fertility days and ovulation and when temp drops I know I'm not pregnant.

However CM is a really good indicator too. I don't have much and take preseed. I took evening primrose oil last month to help and it did but knocked ovulation off so binned it this month.

Good luck!

Thanks @whatever1980 - what does CM mean?
I've been on MN for a very long time - but never the conception board - it's a very confusing place!

Hi @SometimesIWonderWhy sorry it's cervical mucus

Ovia app.

And then really watching your cycle - vaginal mucus, how you feel, etc.

If your mucus is sticky and stretches between your fingers it's time to get busy ☺