When did I O? Why not CD 15? pls help me understand...

[naturallyspeaking]

This is my first chart and the chart shows that I Oed on CD 17 but I don't know why it is not CD 15.  Are these chart pretty accurate?

Can someone help me understand this?

TIA

<a href="http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/316570">My Ovulation Chart</a>

[SilaMarila]

The only way you can really truly confirm ovulation is by increase basal body temp. Sooooo your ovulation wasn't confirmed until CD 17 even though you had positive opk's and other signs of ovulation prior to that. Read through the charting course on FF to learn more about hormones and why this is  You chart looks great by the way and at least you are clearly Oing so you can conceive! Best of luck!

[Jaimee]

You've probably read that a jump of 0.2 degrees indicates ovulation, but that by itself is not at all a reliable indicator.  Many women experience temp fluctuates greater than 0.2 degrees prior to O and then a giant spike- just like yours- when they actually O.  As you get more used to charting you will get a good feel for what your temps are doing and be able to take into consideration your CF as well to make a good guess.  FF does the same thing, so the more charts you have entered into the site the better it gets at predicting and determining your O day.  Notice the dotted red cross hairs- this indicates that FF is not 100% sure of your O date b/c some of your information is conflicting.  But I have to say that I totally agree with FF and would put O on CD 17.  You have a very clear biphasic pattern and your OPK would not likely be positive after ovulation.  Only your CF was a bit confusing to FF otherwise you would have gotten a solid red line.  It likes to see EW the day before you temp spike and nothing or dry the day of the temp spike.

Your chart does look great- very clear.  8 DPO... you'll be able to test soon if you're TTC!  Good luck and keep asking questions if you've got them!

[naturallyspeaking]

Thank you all for replies and Jaimee, thank you so much for your advice on all my questions LOL...

Yes, with this cycle, I don't remember having distinct ewcm that's why I didn't put E on any of fertile days.  I'm on DPO 8 today and I had some interesting looking cm (or discharge).  I don't know if this is normal during post O.  Yes we are ttc, I hang out at Nursing Mamas TTC.

ETA:  On CD 16, I had two OPK done, one in the morning said positive but one in the evening said Negative, I didn't know which one to put on the chart so I put the positive one.

[vivica2]

i agree with the other ladies. 

also you always put your most fertile sign, so if you ave EWCM in the am, then its creamy by pm..you put EWCM.  if its neg in the am, and positive int he pm,....you put positive. :)

good luck, chart looks great!

[Sourire]

One rule that is sometimes used to determine when you ovulated is when your temperature is higher than the 5 previous temperatures. Your temperatures on CD 16 and 17 do not meet this criteria, which is why fertility friend put your ovulation on day 17 instead of day 15. In addition, its rare to have a + OPK after you O, so that also confirms that CD15 was not your ovulation date.

If you take OPKs twice a day in the few days leading up to ovulation, you will notice that they gradually get darker until they reach a peak, then they gradually fade (assuming you are taking the ones with the line instead of the ones with the smiley face). Normally if the line on the OPK is only half as dark as the test line, its considered to negative. As your OPKs get darker you know you are getting closer and closer to ovulation. Once they start getting lighter, you will usually O within 12-36 hours. So on CD16 your OPK was darker in the morning and lighter in the evening meaning your luteinizing hormone had already peaked and started going down. It is very common for people to ovulate the day after that (though sometimes people can ovulate the day that happens or 2 days later).

[Jaimee]

Originally Posted by naturallyspeaking 

I'm on DPO 8 today and I had some interesting looking cm (or discharge).  I don't know if this is normal during post O. 

Since you haven't been charting your CF for very long you don't know what your typical LP pattern is.  A lot of women are dry or sticky after O with the occasional C if the temp dips a bit.  My pattern is to go dry for for a few days after O and then I tend to get creamy off and on through my LP.  Now a lot of pregnant women will get quite a bit of CF during the 2ww, so it could definitely be a sign.  If you're new to FF they usually give you a free VIP trial... check out the chart galleries to get a feel for different kinds of charts/patterns.

Oh, and Heidi's explanation of OPK's is great.  If you don't get your BFP this cycle, you could experiment with taking them in such a way that you can clearly see the gradual darkening and lightening to get a better feel for how that works, too.

9 DPO... getting close!
 

[naturallyspeaking]

Just an update, my expected period is not until Tuesday but AF showed up just now.  This makes my cycle only 27 days and LP 10!  This is shorter than my regular cycle...

[Jaimee]

Sorry that AF arrived!  Since this is just your first chart, you don't know what your average LP is and they can vary by 1-2 days each cycle.  A 10 day LP is considered fertile.  Mine averages 10 days and I'm pg with my third.  You could add some vitamin B6 to your diet to see if it helps elongate your LP a bit.  And since it's your first chart you don't know when you tend to ovulate (barring stressors).  It's possible that you actually ovulated a bit early this cycle for you and/or had a slightly shorter LP than usual, which would make your overall cycle shorter.  You won't know your pattern until you get some more charts under your belt. 

But the good news is that you now know more about your cycle and can predict a few things:

*You had some wet and creamy CF leading up to O

*You probably ovulate later in your cycle- after 14 days

*You probably have a 9-11 day or 10-12 day LP

Keep us posted with your next cycle!

[naturallyspeaking]

HI Jaime,

How's your pregnancy going?

About the LP length, I thought I read it somewhere that below 10 days of LP is not long enough for implantation, that's why I thought longer than 10 days is better.  Obviously if no preggo in the cycle, having period sooner than later is better so the new cycle can begin earlier, am I understanding right?

:)

[Jaimee]

Pregnancy is going alright... I'm tired and tired of feeling sick, but so it goes!  Thanks for asking. 

I believe in TCOYF it says an 11 day LP is considered fertile, but I've read elsewhere that it's 10 days.  I think the reality is that since LP length can vary 1-2 days each cycle that women with an average of 10 days or even 9 days could have an 11 day or 12 day LP one cycle and conceive.  I have had 12 day LP's before, but again, I've logged over 30 cycles and my LP averages 10 days and I've been successfully pregnant three times (and 2 very early m/c's that I attribute to a short LP).  Another thing to consider is implantation timing.  You can have early or late implantation (I believe the timing is 6-12 DPO).  So if you implanted on 6 DPO then the embryo would have a good 4 days to produce hCG and convince the corpus luteum to stay intact.  If the embryo implants later, say 9 DPO, that would only be one day before the corpus luteum disintegrates.  And obviously if it was going to implant later than 10 days it wouldn't have a chance at all. 

So there are several factors affecting how fertile a 10 day average LP truly is.  Obviously a longer one would be better for TTC.  And you're right, a shorter overall cycle is nicer when TTC, but not at the expense of your LP.