Do I count this as AF or not?

[Cativari]

I think I'm having my first (pos. 2nd af) since my full term still birth in August (this is also my first post back). But I'm not positive if it's AF or something else.  So here's what's happening I had the normal afterbirth bleeding stuff for about 1.5 or so weeks then at 3.5 weeks I had light spotting bleeding for 3 or 4 days (which happens to be about 28 or so days ago, I didn't mark it down so not certin exactly which day) Then nothing until Tuesday (18th) night and I got some spotting that lasted til wednesday and proceeded into a light  flow most of Wednesday and Thurday, Friday I spotted light again this morning a little more spotting and now nothing. All the spotting and bleeding was red or pink.

I'm not pregnant (BFN when I tested) and I'm fairly sure it isn't ovulation spotting as it's too long and a bit too much.  I started to use OPK today and it was negative, although there was a tiny bit of the LH detected by the strip (very light almost not there).

I would like to know if this is AF (if you think it is) and which day would be counted as CD 1 as I'm going to start charting and am new at it.  Do i use the first day I see red blood or is it full on flow?  And what happens when it's light and there isn't alot of difference between spotting and light?

Thanks in advance

[JMJ]

First of all, I'm sorry to hear about your loss.

It's difficult to determine exactly if you have not been charting.  A true period is proceeded by ovulation, but it is common postpartum to experience both true periods that are unusual and bleeding that looks very much like a period but was not proceeded by ovulation.  The first day of a true period is usually accompanied by red blood (even if it is light or spotting) and a temperature drop.  Therefore, without knowing whether or not you ovulated, you can't be absolutely positive that it is a true period or not.

In lieu of knowing for sure if it is a true period, I would cautiously treat it as one.  I would count the first day of your cycle as the first day of any red blood, so last Tuesday if I understand you correctly.  If you are planning to chart to avoid, I would do the following:

-Assume that you are potentially fertile on any day of spotting or bleeding until you have charted a temp rise indicating ovulation and know for sure that you are experiencing a true period.

-If you are able, begin charting your CM immediately, even if you are still experiencing some spotting.

-If you have never charted before, it is recommended that you assume that you are potentially fertile for your whole first cycle until you have confirmed ovulation.

-If you wish, you could choose to assume that you are in pre-ovulation infertility until your "last dry day" after your spotting ends, before the start of CM.  This is not recommended until you have some experience.  Some women do not experience any dry days after their period before ovulation.  The "last dry day" rule is about 94% effective for STM users (99% effective for people specifically trained in Creighton), so make your own decision on the effectiveness you need.  There are other rules that you can use that would be more effective, though most require some cycle history before you try to use them.

-Do not count this cycle in your cycle history.  Since you are not certain that this is a true period, and the first day of your cycle is also difficult to spot, you can't use this to make a determination about how long your cycle is or when your first day of temperature rise is.

Good luck.  Check out the CTA thread if you need more support.

[Jaimee]

I am so sorry for your loss. 

I agree with JMJ and would count CD 1 as last Tuesday when the spotting/bleeding started.  Also, as JMJ said, if you're CTA then you'll want to use alternative birth control methods this cycle and just see what happens with your chart before relying on it as a safe method of birth control.  If you're TTC then take advantage of any fertile CF you get and DTD. Hopefully you'll catch an O spike.  If you need more assistance getting going with charting, please post!

[KirstenO]

I lost my Baby girl on 8/31/11 as well.  She was my first.  

How are you doing?