The Two Week Wait

On Day 7 of my cycle (CD7), I decided to start using my OPKs.  Now I know it was still very early, but I was anxious and didn't want to miss anything.  At this point we were also baby dancing 😉 every other day.  Finally, on CD15, my OPK was positive, which meant I'd be ovulating within the next 24 hours.  I also noticed slight cramping that day, followed by a spike in my temperature the next day, both signs of ovulation.

With that being said, it is time to commence the dreaded two week wait.  If you want to know more about the two week wait or want some support while you wait, check out twoweekwait.com.

Day 1

I started cramping yesterday, so I knew that my new cycle would be starting soon.  I woke up this morning and took my BBT (basal body temperature) and recorded in my app.  Less than an hour later, Aunt Flow arrived, which means time to chart!

A few tips that I've read about charting to share with you:

• The first day of your period is Day 1 of your  cycle.  This does not include spotting.  Start Day 1 on the first day that you need a pad or a tampon.  

• Be sure to take your BBT at the same time every day.  I plan to keep my thermometer under my pillow and take my temperature as soon as my alarm goes off every morning.  

• Drinking, a lack a sleep, and other variables, my give you an inaccurate BBT reading.  If you think that this is a possibility, you should mark you temperature for that day as "Questionable"

• You ovulate about 2 weeks before your period.  This won't be helpful until you've charted for a few months and have a general idea of how long your cycle is.  

• You can easily check your cervical mucus by taking a look at your toilet paper after you've wiped.  This is definitely one of those extras that you don't have to track, but the more information you track the better you can predict you're fertility.  If you're interested, read more about cervical mucus and fertility here.

• OPKs (ovulation prediction kits) are another extra.  They are little strips that you can test your urine with and they look for a hormone surge which occurs roughly 36 hours before you ovulate.  If you're interested, this is the set that I ordered.

• Timing is everything!  Sperm can live for three to five days, but your egg only hangs around for 12 to 24 hours.  This means that there are only 4 to 6 days every cycle that you can get pregnant.  To cover your bases, they recommend having sex every other day starting 5 days before you ovulate through 2 days after you ovulate.  

Charting

I officially stopped by birth control last week.  With an upcoming girls weekend and a bachelorette weekend, we do not plan on trying to get pregnant this cycle and will be using protection when necessary.  I had decided that I wanted to come off the pill a month before trying in order to let everything regulate, so that I would be able to chart my cycles.

If you're not familiar with the term charting (which I wasn't until only a few months ago), it is a method used by women to track when they are ovulating.  Some actually use this as a natural method of birth control and many use it to help them become pregnant.

After researching various apps, I decided to use Kindara.  This completely FREE app allows you to track you BBT (basal body temperature), your cervical fluid (because who doesn't check that on a daily basis?), your sexual intercourse, menstruation, and results of any OPKs (ovulation tests) and pregnancy tests.  I know that it seems extremely overwhelming, but you can opt to track as little or as much of this information as you'd like.  Obviously, the more information you include, the easier it is to track when you're ovulating. If you decide to use this app, I'd recommend checking out "How to Read a Kindara Chart" here.

Just another couple of weeks until I go off the pill, so I'm making sure I'm ready to chart.  If you plan to track your BBT (basal body temperature) you'll want a thermometer that is accurate to the nearest hundredth of a degree.  I've purchased the MABIS Basal Thermometer.  It was reasonably priced and had decent reviews.