TTC Journals

emerphire · Nov 19th, 2007, 22:51 PM

wishing & waiting....

About Us:
DH & I have been happily married since 2005. We wanted to travel and enjoy each other as husband and wife before we became "mommy" & "daddy". We have a 2-year old furbaby who fills our lives with so much joy and laughter.

Our TTC Journey
Traveling the world and becoming furparents has given us many wonderful memories. We're now ready and excited to move on to the next chapter in our lives together - creating new memories by starting our family. Our TTC journey began in August 2007. Now, we're just waiting & wishing to meet our future little bean

emerphire · Nov 19th, 2007, 22:52 PM

i have an irregular period and i'm not currently charting or temping, so i was wondering when i would be Oing next.

My cycles starting in July:
7/22/07 - 8/19/07 (28 days)
8/19/07- 9/16?/07 (28 days)
9/16/07 - 10/12/07 (26 days)
10/12/07 - 11/12/07 (31 days)

I looked up how to calculate my fertile window and this is what I got:

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from knowing your cycle - calculating your fertility
The calendar calculation method is a simple, though not very reliable, way to estimate when you are likely to be most fertile. To use this method, count the days of your cycle for at least 6 months. Subtract 20 from the length of your shortest cycle to estimate the first day of your fertile window. Then subtract 10 from your longest cycle to estimate the last day of your fertile window.
Example: If over 6 cycles, a woman’s shortest cycle was 26 days and her longest was 29 days, her calculation would look like this:

(shortest cycle) 26 – 20 = 6
(longest cycle) 29 – 10 = 19

This suggests her fertile window may be between days 6 and 19 of her next cycle.

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i know i don't have 6 cycles, but according to this then,

26-20=6
31-10=21

My fertile window is between Day 6 and 21. (Isn't that too early? I *just* ended AF.)If I do a ovulation prediction with a 28 day cycle, it says I'm most fertile on days 11-15.

this is all so confusing. i'm going to try to use the Clearblue Easy Digital Ovulation Test this cycle. But I'm wondering when I should start? If I went with the online calculator, I'd be fertile Nov 23-Nov 28.

Well, I went and bought the OPK and will be using it on the 21st to be sure. Is this right? Hopefully I am! Don't wanna miss an opportunity!

emerphire · Nov 19th, 2007, 23:00 PM

a list of TTC websites I've saved to help me on my journey:

FertilityFriend
MyMonthlyCycles
The Mommy Playbook
TTC FAQ
TTC FAQ Index

will edit and add as I go along...

emerphire · Nov 19th, 2007, 23:03 PM

having sex daily improves a man's fertility
who knew! i was just thinking about this... i thought if we "saved" the little by saving sex only during fertile window, it would make stronger sperm. i thought that if he kept "releasing" then it would decrease the number of viable sperm. hmm, guess i was wrong! now to think of creative ways to spice up the baby dancing. i'd really hate for it to be routine. that would just make me think about it too much and DH too.....

emerphire · Nov 19th, 2007, 23:04 PM

i'm finding that i am having a hard time trying to go to sleep lately since my mind is all racing with possibilities of conceiving. i'm hoping i'm not stressing myself out with all this new information. anyway, i looked up the "sperm meets egg" plan this morning after seeing suzan's first post in her journal.

sperm meets egg: short version
BD every other night starting with day 8.
Buy 10 OPKs
Begin ovulation testing on Day 10
When test is positive, BD that night plus two additional nights in a row.
If ovulation test never goes positive, BD every other night until CD35, then do a PG test if AF doesn't show up.

turns out i inadvertently was following this plan last night! usually our doggie sleeps with us (talk about major birth control, eh?) but for some reason last night, he wanted to sleep on his bed on the floor. so we took advantage. BOW-CHICKA-BOW BOW. (and interestingly enough, when we try to BD with him in the room, he's always trying to get up on the bed. but last night, he slept right through it. he must know that mommy and daddy are trying to give him a skin sister/brother. ) ok, tmi, but right after, i totally was oozing out semen/vagina fluid. didn't help that DH was cracking jokes and making me laugh, so it squirted out more. . i re-read the TTC Frequently Asked Questions (see above post). Here's the deal:

If everything spills out after intercourse, is conception possible?
This is the "most frequently asked question" so here's the scoop:
If you stay prone (lying down) for 20 minutes after intercourse, the only thing that "spills out" is seminal fluid and abnormal sperm. Normal sperm is ejaculated into the vagina and immediately travels into the cervix (safe haven from the acidic environment of the vagina). (vagina - cervix - uterus "VCU") Seminal fluid is the medium that carries the sperm out of the body. Abnormal/malformed sperm are not able to advance through the net-like mucus (ferning) which we know as Egg White Cervical Mucus EWCM).

Now, I know I'm not "O"ing right now, but good info for me to know so I don't freak out if some of the seminal fluid gets away.

i also bought the OPKs yesterday, so will start testing on CD10, which is 11/21 for me. I wonder though if it's too early to start tomorrow? I don't want to miss a day.