Ok girls.. this is a suggestion for those of us (i.e. me in particular), less knowledged in the art of TTC .. can we start from the basics??? :oops:

Ok, no i'm not THAT stupid :oops: in that i know the essential deed that needs to be done.. but for those of us (again i.e. ME!!) starting to official TTC for the first time.. I'd like to know what is involved in charting, temping all that stuff that can help us know when is the BEST time to do the deed, etc. etc...

Don't know what ye all think of me for suggesting this, but i'm hoping that i'm speaking for more than just myself, as i'm completely clueless... :oops: :oops:

Thanks in advance girls!!

MTW
xxo

Hi Mums the Word

I got a book recently called Taking Charge of Your Fertility and its excellent albeit complicated enough. However, if you are interested in charting your temps etc., its very good. I havent a clue either and need to get reading the book myself but from what I've read, it covers everything and you should be able to track when you're most fertile from following the instructions they give.

I bought a digital thermometer in Boots recently to start tracking my temp but I havent used it yet! It was €20.

HTH
Nic

How basic or complex should this be? I'm no expert but this is what I know - please someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Basically your body releases an egg, or sometimes two, once a month. On the odd month it mighn't release an egg at all. The egg only lives for max 24 hours so you need to time intercourse for the optimum time. Before ovulation you will notice that the quality of your cervical mucus changes - it should become slippery and stretchy. Sperm love this mucus and can swim better in it. They can also live for up to five days in it. So if you do the deed on Monday but don't ovulate until Thursday, you could still get pregnant, if you had fertile quality cm. The ideal day to have intercourse is the last day of slippery cm - very close to ovulation.
Your temperature goes up after you have ovulated. If your temp stays elevated for 18 days, then you are pregnant. If your temp drops then you're going to get your AF or possibly miscarry. So you shouldn't have to do a pregnancy test until your temps are high for 18 days - unless you can't resist.
Taking your temp can also help you diagnose any problems - if your temperature doesn't have a thermal shift (what happens when you ovulate) then you didn't ovulate. If this happens regularly then you should consult your doctor. If you have consistenly low or consistenly high temps you could have a problem with your tyhroid function.
In the book there was a case of a woman who had her period but still had high temps. She did a test and was in fact pregnant. Doctors put the period down to her being pregnant with twins but loosing one.
A common misconception is that you ovluate on day 14 - which isn't the case for everyone. So, if your cycles were typically say 35 days, chances are that you ovulate much later than day 14. So you could do the deed all you want around day 14 but you're not going to get pregnant.
Hope this helps. Again, I'm no expert and not pregnant but this is what I've taken from the book.

Hey- Good thread... here's my tuppenceworth....
I had one of those all over the place cycles. Lasted 28-40+days. 3 clear signs that you are about to ovulate are:
1. Temp as mentioned before if you track you will get to know your patterns and therefore when it's happening.
2. EWCM Egg White Cervical Mucus (egg white before it's cooked i.e. clear not creamy. For months I was looking for the whote stuff :oops: ).
3. Position of the cervix.... eh least friendly way unless you are sherlock holmes and are very apt to using a mirror in those positions.....

Even if you ovulate and do the deed at the right time... it does not guarantee pregnany e.g. your "environment" might be hostile due to say infection or the use of lubes TMI I KNOW.
Also the quality and duration of time your "friendly" EWCM lasts decreases over time (age) so this may explain why young wans get preggers more easily (they can hold onto swimmers for longer so when the egg arrives- hey presto!)
You would just wonder how accidents happen with all of this going on.
Sorry for info overload got carried away there
GOOD LUCK!

Good idea MTW! I know i didn't know where to start when I started ttc and it's taken a while for me to understand what's what! We could make this a sticky, then refer people to it when they need info? People could add their tips and tricks to it?

Here's my two cents anyway:



- You don't always ovulate on cycle day 14 - everyone's cycle is different! The first thing to do is establish the length of your cycle (from first day of period to day before next period starts). Once you know the length, you can either use OPK's (give you up to 36 hours notice of ovulation) or charting to pinpoint when you ovulate. If you don't want to go down this route, you can assume that you ovulated anywhere from 10-16 days before your period (e.g. if your cycle length is 32 days, you could have ovulated between days 16-22 -> not very precise but gives you an idea at least)

-One of the key things to monitor, even if you don't bother charting, is your cervical mucus. You are considered fertile every day you have wet cm and most fertile when you have eggwhite cm. You will be dry after your period, then notice the gradual change from crumbly cm -> cream cm -> eggwhite cm (note - not everyone experiences all of these in sequence, the key is to know your own signs). A lof of people dont think they have much until they take notice! (lubricants kill sperm, so they can't be used - Pre-Seed is sperm friendly and eggwhites themselves!)


-You Peak Day is your last day of eggwhite cm, that is the day you are most likely to conceive and the day usually closest to ovulation.

-You can conceive by doing the deed up to 4-5 days before ovulation, as the sperm can survive that long in fertile cm - but you are most likely to conceive by timing it as close as possible to ovulation.

-Usually by the time you've ovulated it's too late to do the deed -> the sperm needs to be there ready and waiting for the egg

-The egg only lasts for 6-12 hours

-Charting your cm will tell you when you are about to ovulate, charting temps will confirm that you have ovulated by your temp rise. This is a whole other topic and you'd need to read about this separately to really understand it but it's very useful to let you know exactly what's happening with your cycle (especially if you're off the pill, have had a m/c)

-It is important to have regular sex throughout your cycle - studies prove that sperm quality actually decreases if not expended regularly! 3 times a week is recommended, then every day of your fertile window (up to 4-5 days before ovulation and the day of ovulation itself), so long as your partner doesn't have sperm issues (count/motility). If he does have issues, every second day is best.

-The time after you ovulate (called the luteal phase - from the day after ovulation to day before your next period) has to be at least 10 days in length (usually 10-16) otherwise there may be problems conceiving/implanting etc. - something to watch out for

-Stress/worry can't delay your period - once you ovulate, there is a finite time between then and when ur period will arrive but stress can affect when ovulation will take place.

-You don't necessary ovulate at the same time every month either - something to watch out for.

I think that's it for now! Basically, if you're not charting, look out for your mucus and you are most fertile when you have eggwhite. You can go into a lot more detail with temps etc. which will let you get to know your cycle better but as I say, I'd recommend you read up on this, then come back to ask any specifics to all the charters here. Aim to do the deed at least 3 times a week and more around the fertile time.

Remember - there's only a 25% chance of conceiving each month if you time it right, so we have to remember to be realistic about how long it takes! As a rule, they say anyone under 35 should consult their doc within a year of trying and anyone over 35 to consult their doc within 6 months. But if you know your cycle well and are timing it right and still haven't managed to conceive within 6 months, I'd start the ball rolling just in case.

BE PATIENT!

Hope that helps - don't forget to have fun trying!

Hi,
can't add anything to that just wanted to say thanks for all the information.
great thread!

Hi girls, thanks all so much for the info.. I have to admit I hate reading books that are too technical and this first hand information from your own experiences is much easier to understand...

Thanks for the compliments too.. I'm glad its of help to you all.

Baby Dust Baby Dust

Hi MTW,

Here's a good site aswell - not so much techincal but gives you an idea of ovulation and when is your most fertile time, based on your last period:

http://www.cyclespage.com

You have to create an account and then each month you can go in and the calendar will show you your most fertile dates.

Hope this helps,
SoExcited.

Brilliant thread. Thanks for starting it up MTW and thanks also for your very informative replies fellow wollies!!

Most of the above is really great advice, but I'd just like to recommend if you can to get your hands on the TCOYF book, I had heard about it a while ago and put off getting it, but it really should be required reading for every woman, TTC or not.

I wish I had read it back when I was a teenager, could have saved years of ignorance and worry!

Brilliant info given in this thread!

Most of the above is really great advice, but I'd just like to recommend if you can to get your hands on the TCOYF book, I had heard about it a while ago and put off getting it, but it really should be required reading for every woman, TTC or not.

I wish I had read it back when I was a teenager, could have saved years of ignorance and worry!

I totally agree! My book arrived last week and I literally coulnt leave it down. It should be part of the school sex education programme.

Goodluck to us all!

If we got a few more on board girlies.. perhaps Fiona will make it a sticky.. it it will be of help to yous???

What do you think???

Definitely MTW - how do we get this made a sticky? (I'm clueless!)

Mrs. Peg.. I'm not sure how to get this made a sticky.. perhaps we should have a vote...

What do you think girls if ye want this made a sticky perhaps ye should all post a reply and then maybe Fiona will do it?

So I'll start...

I vote to make this thread a sticky!!!

:lol:

I second that!