Omi

I have to agree with the other girlies. Its not because we're mental.. that happens as you go along , sorry! What i mean is this.

If you're one of those lucky people who gets pg by smelling a man, all the power to you. Happy days, keep on doing what you're doing!

However, the old days of people just getting pg left right and center seems to be behind us due to several reasons, i.e. Birthcontrol can wreck havoc with your cycle, infertility is on the rise, possibly due to environmental issues..who knows? .. and many women are starting to have children later in life when it can take longer..and/ or you dont wanna wait a single nano second later than you have to as you're ready.

Seriously-I think the main reason women get into charting their fertility is due to the fact that the longer you try to do it the au natural way and its not working (after all, you have about 25% chance each month- 12 times a year- not a helluva lot, is it?) us modern, go-get types decide to be pro-active and not just lie there hoping its just gonna happen but use simple but effective ways to get to know our bodies. After all, that's what's this is all about..oh, and getting pregnant!

Farie

Because 'the natural approach' can be kinda haphazard and to an extent unless you know when you O you can BD for all your worth but if its at the wrong time of the month those aren't going to find a egg to meet!

A good example is a friend of mine who was BDing like a mad thing around CD13-16 ... only after using a CBFM did she realise she O's around CD20!

I think for many of us its about giving ourselves the best possible chance at a
Not all of us BD daily/every other day due to general life, I know I get tired, so does DF, we are busy, we can go for days (if not weeks sometimes) without BDing - we still have a lovely intimate relationship, but life can get in the way.
By knowing when I O we can make sure that we 'make' time for each other, to BD etc.

I hope this helps explain it a little

Shifter

Thanks for all the replies :-D

I think I understand the drive to chart better now. You never know, it might well happen to me too if I don't get my in the first couple of months!

How reliable do you think the visible natural signs are then? Things like checking cm and noticing cramping etc. Are those signs not enough to give you a good estimate?

Hubby and I haven't always had the most sexual relationship, due to one thing or another, but the desire to start a family has given us both real motivation to increase our "activity"! I can't see us maintaining our current level throughout the month, we're just not like that. We have only just started ttc though and seem to have judged my O just right without me paying particular attention to any signs beforehand. We'll see how it goes from here.

Good luck to everyone ttc, whatever tools you use to get there

NikiJJones

We TTC without any of it for a while, but, when you've been together for 13 years, and both work ridiculous days/ nights and hours it just wasn't going to get us that BFP. Also, my cycles are all over the place so guessing when I was going to OV was impossible and just trying to BD every other night "in case" was a joke for a pair of old marrieds like us. Yes we just should have had kids years ago, but the body clock didn't decide to tick until 3 years ago.
Good Luck and I hope you do manage it naturally. All the OPK stuff is so expensive and then expecting DH to perform on demand doesn't go down too well either to be honest. Lets hope you get your BFP before the desire to start indulging in too many tests!!!
xxxx

Omi

I just wanted to chip in and say good luck too.. however, i dont agree it has to be expensive. Charting your temps barely costs anything at all but i admit its not for everyone, no matter how reliable- and i agree it is

if you use opk's yes, it can be as those little suckers are a bit finnicky lol, i.e. depends when you tests and on your cycles, whether or not you'll get a positive...but you can get a sack full for as little as £4 on ebay.

I use the cbfm and at £10 a month its not too bad. You can get cheap prenatals from tesco's etc at £ 3.99 a month..not exactly gonna break the bank either

Having learnt (over more years than i care to mention) how to read it I still find ewcm to be a great aid. That coupled with the cbfm has already got me pg once. And may i mention we cannot (not want not) do the sex marathon, god bless them, some people engage in, it still works so dont get worked up about that

id say, learn how your body works and you're half way there..enjoy the journey of ttc and if you still have questions...well, you know where we are, hun...

Good luck!
, Omi xxx

miel

you are the best Omi

Farie

Omi - perfectly explained

Shifter

Thanks for more great replies.

This is all a learning experience for me and it's so interesting to get other people's perspective on things.

DH and I have been together nine years, married for four. We're both still in our twenties but yes, life does get in the way. Jobs, families, and all that jazz can leave little time for the "marathon"!

Last night I couldn't sleep for thinking about how much I want that and to bring a LO into our lives. It's all so new and exciting still! I don't want ttc to utterly take over our lives, but it is the one thing we both most want right now.

HAYS

to be fair when you've been trying for as long as some of us on here,with no result, you will try anything

porkpie1981

My 1st was unplanned and happened after a few bds(my 1st few with my oh). The 2nd time i think i wanted to know when i ovulated both as i wanted a quick and to join in the fun with other people on forums etc. I also got a the 1st month even tho i never got a postive on the ovulation tests. That ended in a blighted ovum and a d & C at 12 wks. So now we are not ttc (not supposed to) until september but we hae been bding without proctection. If i dont get a i think i will get some ovulation tests as other have said there is only a 25% chance of getting preggers and if anything can help that i will use it
Good luck ttc