Actually this is a bit weird. I was chatting with DH the other day about the cats that are currently shagging in our garden (we have a billion stray cats). We were saying isn't it strange that in the wild male animals seem to be pretty good at detecting ov in their lady friends - they must be able to smell it. DH said he thought humans could probably have sussed out ov by smell thousands of years ago, but that we have lost the ability (he's just guessing tho!) Got me thinking - are we doing this all wrong? Forget OPKs BBTing and obsessing about charts - just get DH to sniff your fanny every morning and see if he can detect ov by the smell!!

Im obsessed with my CP so ask me!
After ovulation, the CP is meant to lower back down into a lower, harder position.
In early pregnancy the CP is meant to be high. Apparantly!!
But my period is more than 2 weeks late, i have an unreachable CP and im getting BFN, so i dont think its that reliable to check 2bh.

Thanks for that Alice! God you must be beside yourself! Have a sprinkle of from me! xxx

oK had a wee poke to see what all the fuss is...

OK sides of my canal are ribbed so that's not it...then there was this squodgey thing at the very back...could just about reach it (I have small fingers!!) it was very soft...squodgey..I think that was it...mind you I've been told my is retroverted so not sure I would be able to feel it right anyway?

It should feel like the end of your nose (when your not fertile) and soft like your lips (when you are fertile)
Have a feel about for the next few days and note down it's position, you may start to see a pattern!

Definitely a lot softer than the end of my nose...felt more likelips deffo...but I am supposed to be 8DPO

Thats why CP checking isn't recommened! At the height of my CP madness (i was checking 20 times a day literally) my cervix would go up, then down, then up, then down, hard, soft etc, it's supposed to change throughout the day .. it drove me mad! I try not to chart it much anymore xx

I think it's better to just check once a day at the same time to avoid RSI if nothing else!
I am 4DPO and I can only just about feel mine (and I have long fingers), but a couple of days ago I couldn't feel it at all so I suppose it's on it's way down again now.

Great info ladies!

CP is very reliable as it is a PRIMARY indicator of fertility along with cervical mucous. But as women have indicated it takes a while of charting and checking (once a day - same time every day) to understand your particular cycle. Even BBT is a secondary indicator of fertility as you cannot anticipate ovulation with it, you can only determine when it has happened (3 days later).

I made it a point to check mine with cervical mucous since they are both so interconnected. It seemed foolish to check one and not the other. Non fertile parts of the cycle your position can change... After AF and prior to OV mine is usually low, but stays high after OV till AF.

Cervix should always be closed unless you are ovulating or having a period. If it's open and you aren't bleeding (AF) consider yourself fertile! ESPECIALLY when fertile CM is present.

Tone of the cervix is normally firm during non-fertile times. It is smooth and firm like someone said - the end of your nose. The cervix is soft during the fertile period and may be hard to find since it will feel very similar to the walls of the vagina (or a relaxed bottom lip).

The cervix itself produces fluid seperate from the vagina. The molecular structure of this fluid (depending on the stage of your fertility) will inhibit sperm motility or enhance it. In non-fertile, creamy and/or sticky CM the structure is like mini roadblocks for sperm. It's pH is corrosive to sperm and it is not condusive to sperm motility. The sperm get caught up in it.

In fertile wet, clear, eggwhite CM, the pH helps sperm live a long time, the molecular structure is like that of an open highway with long open strands where sperm can ride to the waiting egg. The more of this fertile CM you have the better! (This is why preseed is such a good thing for women who seem not to have much CM).

If you are internally checking for CP, you might as well check CM too while you are there.

Good luck!