O-O-Ooooo-Ovulation

 

***There’s a new poll up on the side bar. I’d love to see what your votes are!

Someone asked on my last post if I’d ever let you know where I was in my “cycle”.

It’s a simple question that I’m gonna give a loooong complicated answer to ;)

and you know, when we’re talking about cycles, we’re always gonna run into a little bit of this:

 

 

For those not in the know: T.M.I. stands for Too Much Information, i.e. over sharing. Which I am guilty of more often than I care to admit, though never on the “cycle” topic… until now.

I’ll do my best to throw this up whenever we’re about to talk about the many sticky situations of conceiving. {“Sticky” isn’t the best word for me to be using here, is it? Or maybe it’s a little too appropriate…} If your stomach can’t handle it, or you didn’t want to go this in depth into our story, just the nice sweet emotions and facts for you – don’t read on past this sign. Like, ever.

Okay – the low-down.

The title is definitely a little word and one very important event I am constantly contemplating these days. You could also throw in there the terms cervical position, cervical fluid, basal body temperature – but that would have made for one long, odd blog post title wouldn’t it?

I always knew my obsession would take on a life of it’s own once the birth control went out the window. I knew it wasn’t possible for me to do this let’s make a baby thing nonchalantly. I knew I couldn’t passively try, only doing the “baby dance” when the moment felt right, not wondering whether I was ovulating or worrying whether his spermies Googled the right directions on MapQuest to get to my precious little egg’s address. {Because we all know men would rather drive around lost for hours than ask someone for directions – why would I expect his sperm to be any different?!}

I’m compulsive, inpatient, have an incessant need to plan, and I love science. This conception game we’re playing peaks absolutely every last one of my interests and annoying character traits to boot.

Obsession for me leads to a constant need to speak of my obsession out loud. {As I did for a full year in 5th grade until my parents finally gave in to my constant chatter about dogs and got me my very own =)}  I’m waiting for my husband to snap with one more mention of anything related to ovulation/birth/baby names/nursery/breast feeding… but he is one extremely tolerant, patient man. He swares he doesn’t mind when I ask him if he’d rather me stay mum on the subject until there is an actual baby to speak of. This sweet guy, he is NOTHING like me – thank God!

**Side note: If you’ve never heard of the book I have on my sidebar, TCOYF is the ultimate education in conception AND natural birth control. Don’t be deceived. This most definitely is not the “Rhythm Method”. {More on this book later – it most definitely deserves a full post to itself!}

Back to the obsession:

It is this TCOYF book that has peaked my compulsive nature to chart temperatures, to plan days that would be optimum for “baby dancing” and that most definitely grabs my scientific side with analyzing cervical fluid and the cervix position. {Is it possible to become an honorary OBGYN after you’ve gone through the conception process? No? How about honorary mid-wife?}

So now, after careful temperature taking first thing in the morning, nasty cervical fluid {or “mucous”} observation, and the random checking of the cervix… I HAVE NO IDEA WHETHER I HAVE OVULATED YET OR IF IT MAY STILL HAPPEN??!!?!

How did this happen? I threw out my birth control {Nuvaring – which I LOVED} on July 20 and Aunt Flo visited on July 23rd. Based on this information and the {probably wrong} assumption of a 28 day cycle, I would have ovulated last Thursday on the 14th day, on which there was absolutely no signs of ovulation… I am, reasonably so, completely in the dark when it comes to the actual length of my cycle and just exactly when ovulation may occur.

I went without birth control for almost an entire year in 2009. {We were not “trying” and actually used other means of birth control during that time. Which, since I’m still without child, seems they worked pretty well!} My cycles were running around 31 days back then – except the time it was 36 days and I spent an unheard of amount of money on pregnancy tests and even made an appointment with the doctor thinking the pee sticks were mistaken since my period had never been so far behind. Thankfully Aunt Flo came before I showed up to that foolish appointment.

I really loved my longer 31 day cycles – thought I was super special that I was treated with more time in between periods – until now. Now I’d rather have a 28 day cycle so after each failed month I have less time to wait for the big “O” – that’s ovulation, not Oprah.

So here I am Day 20 of my cycle. Wondering if I already ovulated. Suspecting that I haven’t based on “the signs”. Wondering if I will, or ever will, at all…

To add to the equation, I’ve also been using this little doodad:

The Fertility Scope. The science nerd inside of me is having a field-day with this thing! I spit on it every morning and have yet to see any of the blessed “ferning” telling me ovulation time is here. I continue to hope I didn’t just waste 40 bucks and that ovulation just hasn’t happened yet AND that I’m not learning that I’m ovulationally challenged.

But the biggest TMI of all is – I *believe* that today, I am finally starting to see the “egg white” cervical fluid I’ve been looking for… it’s not full out, wonderfully fertile stretchy yet – but it seems it’s beginning to ‘stretch’ as if ovulation may be on the horizon. {I’ll give you a moment to throw-up in the trash can of your choice now. Let me know when you’re ready for more… Oh, back so soon? I’ll continue on then.}

Other symptoms I’ve had recently: cramps/shooting groin or upper pubic area pain, sometimes to one side {*hopeful* ovulation??} and itchy evolving to sore nipples. Not full on sore breasts – just the nips. No clue what this may mean except that I am most definitely feeling the effects of being sans birth control these days.

As for the baby-dancing, which is a term I’m also sick of and believe I will no longer type anymore, we’ve just been aiming for every other day. I never want to schedule baby-dancing sex unless we find out we have some obstacles to overcome in this journey. So for now, even if it is “the day” and neither of us have that particularly lusty look in our eyes, we are perfectly fine with just hitting the sack with the goal of trying to feel more well rested and hopefully a little more randy tomorrow.

 

 

That is, unless I see that wonderful “egg-white” cervical gold. In that case, I’ll be in one of those lovely little negligees that the hubs says collects dust in the closet in under 10 seconds flat =) 

 

**Any advice for the baby-making dummy? Should I break down and buy the pee-sticks (urine ovulation tests)? Did you have any ovulation signs? Ever use the fertility scope? Do you ovulate late in your cycle? No comment will every be TMI here! The more information I can gather – the better!!