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Trying to Conceive
Im not sure about my cycle time whetheer its 28ds or 30ds. I've nvr had a regular cycle until I reached my 40's. Now a month from my 47th birthday, they are monthly, but not pinpointed to a date. It may be the first week one month and the second week the next month. I need a way of calculating when I'm ovulating.
And lastly, how to use them to predict ovulation.
As mentioned above, charting your basal body temperature and cervical mucus can help you look back on your cycle and see when ovulation happened (typically it's two or three days before a sustained rise in temperature and right on or after the last day of egg white cervical mucus).
Once you do this for a few months in a row, you may be able to discern a pattern that will help you predict ovulation in the next cycle. Some women will have an easy time finding a pattern and others won't. If, after charting for a few months, you see that you regularly ovulate on a certain cycle day (for example, cycle day 15), you're in luck. This is an easy pattern to recognize, and you can be pretty confident that you'll ovulate on day 15 of your next cycle, too.
If you've been charting for a few months and you find that you ovulate on a different cycle day each month (for example, cycle day 14, then 17, then 12), things aren't as straightforward. Your best bet is to see whether your charts reveal any predictable pattern in your body's ovulation signals.
For example, you may see that when you're about to ovulate, you're usually on your second or third day of egg white cervical mucus and your temperature takes a little dip before rising the next day. This combination of signs can help you predict when you're about to ovulate during your next cycle, so you can time sex accordingly. (If you keep taking your temperature each day that cycle, you can find out whether you were right – your BBT should go up two or three days after ovulation)
Hope this helps!
As mentioned above, charting your basal body temperature and cervical mucus can help you look back on your cycle and see when ovulation happened (typically it's two or three days before a sustained rise in temperature and right on or after the last day of egg white cervical mucus).
Once you do this for a few months in a row, you may be able to discern a pattern that will help you predict ovulation in the next cycle. Some women will have an easy time finding a pattern and others won't. If, after charting for a few months, you see that you regularly ovulate on a certain cycle day (for example, cycle day 15), you're in luck. This is an easy pattern to recognize, and you can be pretty confident that you'll ovulate on day 15 of your next cycle, too.
If you've been charting for a few months and you find that you ovulate on a different cycle day each month (for example, cycle day 14, then 17, then 12), things aren't as straightforward. Your best bet is to see whether your charts reveal any predictable pattern in your body's ovulation signals.
For example, you may see that when you're about to ovulate, you're usually on your second or third day of egg white cervical mucus and your temperature takes a little dip before rising the next day. This combination of signs can help you predict when you're about to ovulate during your next cycle, so you can time sex accordingly. (If you keep taking your temperature each day that cycle, you can find out whether you were right – your BBT should go up two or three days after ovulation)
Hope this helps!
Here is some more in depth explanations.
What is basal body temperature?
Your basal body temperature (BBT) is your lowest body temperature in a 24-hour period. The best time to take it is when you first wake up in the morning. Before you even get out of bed to brush your teeth or start your day, pop a basal thermometer into your mouth. (This kind of thermometer shows the very tiny degree changes that a regular one can't.) It's important to try to wake up and take this reading at about the same time each morning.
Basal thermometers are available at most drugstores and usually come with a chart for recording your temperature each day so that you can start to see your body's patterns. We have a blank chart you can print out, along with step-by-step instructions on how to use it and a prefilled sample chart. You'll probably want a few copies of the blank chart because it will take at least a cycle or two to figure out your ovulation pattern.
Before ovulation, your BBT probably ranges from 97.2 to about 97.7 degrees Fahrenheit. But two or three days after you ovulate, hormonal changes cause a rise of 0.4 to 1.0 degree in your BBT, which lasts at least until your next period. (You may notice your temperature spiking on other days here and there, but unless it stays up, you probably haven't yet ovulated.) If you become pregnant, your temperature will stay elevated throughout your pregnancy.
Of course, since a BBT chart will only tell you that you've already ovulated, the first month of recording your temperature won't necessarily be very fruitful. But by charting your BBT for a few months, you'll be able to see whether there's a pattern to your cycle, which will enable you to predict ovulation the next time around – and the best days to have sex if you want to get pregnant.
Keep in mind that if you're sick or don't take your temperature immediately after waking up, any pattern that you find may be inaccurate.
In addition to helping you predict the day of ovulation, BBT charts can also shed some light on infertility issues. If certain phases of your cycle are short, you may have a hormonal imbalance, for example.
What is cervical mucus?
There are many different types of vaginal discharge, one of which is cervical mucus. Over the course of your menstrual cycle, the amount, color, and texture of your cervical mucus will change, thanks to fluctuating hormone levels. Checking your cervical mucus and keeping track of these changes can help you figure out when you're ovulating.
Here's what to expect throughout your cycle. Beginning with your period, you'll of course have menstrual blood. When your period is over, you'll most likely be dry for several days. After that, you'll start to have cloudy-colored mucus that's roughly the consistency of sticky rice. You're not very likely to conceive on any of these days.
As you approach ovulation (typically a few days beforehand), the mucus will become clear and slippery, very much like raw egg white, and you'll have more of it. (You can remember that this type of mucus means it's baby-making time if you think of how its clear, slippery quality makes it easier for the sperm to travel to the egg.) The last day you see this egg-white consistency is the day that you're most fertile – usually the day before or the day of ovulation.
A good time to check your cervical mucus is when you first go to the bathroom in the morning. (If you're also taking your basal body temperature, be sure to do that first, before you get out of bed.)
Some women have enough cervical mucus discharge that they can check it by looking at the toilet paper after they wipe. Others need to collect some mucus with their finger. While sitting on the toilet, simply insert a clean index or middle finger into your vagina and reach toward your cervix. Get some of the liquid on your finger, if you can, so you can examine it.
What is basal body temperature?
Your basal body temperature (BBT) is your lowest body temperature in a 24-hour period. The best time to take it is when you first wake up in the morning. Before you even get out of bed to brush your teeth or start your day, pop a basal thermometer into your mouth. (This kind of thermometer shows the very tiny degree changes that a regular one can't.) It's important to try to wake up and take this reading at about the same time each morning.
Basal thermometers are available at most drugstores and usually come with a chart for recording your temperature each day so that you can start to see your body's patterns. We have a blank chart you can print out, along with step-by-step instructions on how to use it and a prefilled sample chart. You'll probably want a few copies of the blank chart because it will take at least a cycle or two to figure out your ovulation pattern.
Before ovulation, your BBT probably ranges from 97.2 to about 97.7 degrees Fahrenheit. But two or three days after you ovulate, hormonal changes cause a rise of 0.4 to 1.0 degree in your BBT, which lasts at least until your next period. (You may notice your temperature spiking on other days here and there, but unless it stays up, you probably haven't yet ovulated.) If you become pregnant, your temperature will stay elevated throughout your pregnancy.
Of course, since a BBT chart will only tell you that you've already ovulated, the first month of recording your temperature won't necessarily be very fruitful. But by charting your BBT for a few months, you'll be able to see whether there's a pattern to your cycle, which will enable you to predict ovulation the next time around – and the best days to have sex if you want to get pregnant.
Keep in mind that if you're sick or don't take your temperature immediately after waking up, any pattern that you find may be inaccurate.
In addition to helping you predict the day of ovulation, BBT charts can also shed some light on infertility issues. If certain phases of your cycle are short, you may have a hormonal imbalance, for example.
What is cervical mucus?
There are many different types of vaginal discharge, one of which is cervical mucus. Over the course of your menstrual cycle, the amount, color, and texture of your cervical mucus will change, thanks to fluctuating hormone levels. Checking your cervical mucus and keeping track of these changes can help you figure out when you're ovulating.
Here's what to expect throughout your cycle. Beginning with your period, you'll of course have menstrual blood. When your period is over, you'll most likely be dry for several days. After that, you'll start to have cloudy-colored mucus that's roughly the consistency of sticky rice. You're not very likely to conceive on any of these days.
As you approach ovulation (typically a few days beforehand), the mucus will become clear and slippery, very much like raw egg white, and you'll have more of it. (You can remember that this type of mucus means it's baby-making time if you think of how its clear, slippery quality makes it easier for the sperm to travel to the egg.) The last day you see this egg-white consistency is the day that you're most fertile – usually the day before or the day of ovulation.
A good time to check your cervical mucus is when you first go to the bathroom in the morning. (If you're also taking your basal body temperature, be sure to do that first, before you get out of bed.)
Some women have enough cervical mucus discharge that they can check it by looking at the toilet paper after they wipe. Others need to collect some mucus with their finger. While sitting on the toilet, simply insert a clean index or middle finger into your vagina and reach toward your cervix. Get some of the liquid on your finger, if you can, so you can examine it.
BBT - your Basal Body Temperature. You get the specific thermometer, leave it at your bed side. Take your temp the same time every morning (before you get out of bed) you can take it within an hour of the day before. So, if you took it at 6:30am one day the next you can take it at 6:00am - 7:00am and make sure you have had 5 hrs sleep as your are checking your resting temp. A great website to track on is either here on MH or on ovagraph . Com
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