Help me figure out what's going on

[eveningstarmom]

I would love some ideas/advice from all you wise ladies about what's happening in my cycle.  This may be long, so thank you all in advance to those of you have the patience to read and respond.

So, we officially started TTC number 2 this month.  Our first is two and a half, and I haven't charted or kept careful track of my cycle since we were TTC him, which was also right after I went off of BC.  My period came back before he turned 1, but I can't remember exactly when, and we have been using condoms since his birth.  Generally my cycle is on the short side -- between 24 and 26 days, though I have had some months with 21 day or 28 day cycles thrown in.  When I was charting before, I had a shortish LP, of around 11 days, and I had a lot of spotting early in my first pregnancy.

Anyway, after some long negotiations in our house we agreed to try for number 2 this fall, sometime after November.  Then, out of the blue DH decides not to prevent last month, but I wasn't keeping track of my cycle because I thought he wasn't ready, and then he went out of town for a week, so we didn't catch an egg.  This month I planned to go back to charting and trying in earnest, but when I went to start temping I found that DS had used my thermometer to play doctor and had run the batteries down (along with the only other non-rectal thermometer in the house).  And when I went to the Walgreens near work I was shocked to find they did not carry thermometers, or OPK or pregnancy tests (most useless trip to Walgreens I've ever had).  So, I have been winging it this month based on other signs.  Last Sunday I started having copious amounts of eggwhite CM and my cervix was really low, soft and open.  This continued on Monday and Tuesday.  On Tuesday afternoon I had what felt like ovulation cramps, but can't be sure. On wednesday, I still had lots of eggwhite CM but the cervix was a bit higher and less spongy.  On Thursday, I had one smallish batch of yellowish eggwhite CM (usually mine is clear) in the morning, and was dry the rest of the day. And my cervix was really high and firm.  Based on this I assumed I O'd either late Tuesday or sometime on Wednesday.  On Friday and most of the day Saturday I only had sparse CM and it was mostly creamy/sticky and the cervix was high and firm.  Than last night (Saturday evening), I saw some shiny, eggwhite CM on the tissue when I wiped.  Not as much as normal, but stretchy not sticky, and when I checked my cervix it was lower and a bit softer (not as much as Sunday, Monday, Tuesday -- but definitely softer than it had been earlier in the day when I checked).  And again today, the cervix is in a medium position.  Today, I had another smallish batch of eggwhite CM and then some creamy/sticky stuff.  (Here is my chart if it is easier to follow all this visually:

<a href="http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/213a92/">My Ovulation Chart</a> )

So now I'm wondering if I didn't O the first time and my body is getting ready to O again?  I don't think I have ever had this happen before, usually I have several days of very noticeable eggwhite CM and then it is creamy or sticky the rest of the time.  I haven't monitored my cervix since before I was pregnant, but it seems odd to me that it would be clearly high and firm and then become less so if I had already O'd.  Since my cycle is generally short, if I haven't O'd yet, then I am concerned for how short my LP will be.  I started taking B6 this month to help the LP along since I'm assuming it's still relatively short given my cycle is shorter and it was pretty consistently short before.  Could that affect any of these signs?  

Anyway, thank you for any thoughts or suggestions you have.  I just brought a new thermometer today, so if we don't catch an egg this month I'll at least have some more data to obsess about.

[Jaimee]

Welcome to MDC!! 

Well, this is a difficult situation to interpret without the temps (as you can see!).  As you mentioned in your post you might have O'd on CD 14, which would line up with the shorter cycle and LP length you suspect.  And it is certainly possible that you did not succeed then and are gearing up again.  Even if this has not happened before (that you know of!) it doesn't mean it couldn't happen now.  We'll need to wait out the next few days to see if that was an isolated day of EWCF or a while new patch of it.  While it is not common to have EW so soon again after O, it's possible and may have been accompanied by a dip in temp as well, had you been temping.  It's not uncommon to have EW again just prior to AF, but it's too soon for that.  Your CP is pointing to O around CD 14 as well, but you stopped logging open vs. closed right after that so it's hard to say.  CP can change a lot during your LP, so generally I advise not to bother with it once you have confirmed O, but that's the tricky part here since we cannot confirm O with your temps. 

But the real question is if you're ovulating at all- you haven't yet confirmed that with temps- and if your LP is long enough to sustain a pregnancy.  Are you still breastfeeding?  Breastfeeding can definitely affect the fertility of your cycles.  The B6 should not cause excess fertile CF. 

All this being said, I would probably assume you O'd around CD 14 and expect AF accordingly.  But if AF is late and you're getting BFN's past 14 DPO, then I would assume that you did not O when you thought you did.  And now that you have the new thermometer, I would definitely start temping and see what you get.  If your temps are currently in the 98's then I'd say that's a great sign that you did O.  If they are in the low 97's that's a sign you did not.  If they are in between, we still won't know for now unless you spike after another patch of EW.  Good luck!

[eveningstarmom]

Thanks Jaimee,

I was on MDC before, but my computer lost my login :(  and I can't seem to recall it, so I had to create a new account.  I am still nursing, but usually only once a day in the morning.  Unfortunately, today I gotten woken up at 5:00 am by a feverish toddler and what with getting up and getting him medicine and then having a hot restless body next to me trying to go back to sleep, I never did get a temp this morning.  I was dry all day yesterday though, and have been today, so I'm wondering if Sunday was a fluke.  

I think the cervix is confusing me more than helping.  I haven't checked it really since before conceiving #1, so I don't really remember exactly what it felt like during the different parts of my cycle.  RIght now it is firm and medium high.  As for open, when I marked it as open it was REALLY open (it felt a good 2 cm open), now it is more closed but I still feel a distinct opening.  I feel like before I gave birth, when it was closed I barely could even feel the dimple of the opening, but I don't know if I will ever be that "closed" again.  

I think I may just need to keep my fingers crossed for some type of miracle this cycle and be glad that I have generally short cycles so I can try again next month.  I definitely need to start temping again though so I know what's going on.  I'll keep lurking around here while I wait to see what's going on.  

Thanks again for you help.

[Jaimee]

Originally Posted by eveningstarmom 
As for open, when I marked it as open it was REALLY open (it felt a good 2 cm open), now it is more closed but I still feel a distinct opening.  I feel like before I gave birth, when it was closed I barely could even feel the dimple of the opening, but I don't know if I will ever be that "closed" again.  

Women that have not given birth vaginally have a dimple when closed, but women who have given birth vaginally will have more of a slit that can feel a bit open at all times.  So you're totally right with what you're feeling. 

As for temping, I always temp no matter how disturbed the sleep is.  You wouldn't be able to tell anything from today's one temp, but it may have fit in just fine to the overall pattern that you will start to get as you temp from now on.  You never know how much these disturbances will affect you until you've been temping for a while again.  I tend to not be that affected by wakings or environmental changes (like a feverish child next to me).

[gozal]

eveningstarmom, I can tell you that my CP is all over the place after o, even when I check it at the same time each day. So much so that I've determined that for me it's meaningless and I've stopped checking it after o. We're talking sometimes high and soft, sometimes low and firm, sometimes medium-medium, and sometimes just in super weird positions (pointing inwards, way off to one side). Since I started charting I've had one (failed) pregnancy and there were no clues to be had via CP. OTOH, my CP is almost always HS at the time of ovulation as confirmed by temps (and in my case sometimes u/s) - it's probably open too but it's so high I can't tell. Now, this could be totally different for you, but I don't think it necessarily follows that you didn't ovulate and are gearing up again based on HSO position and some EWCM. So really and truly, I would not worry a whole lot about CP. I think you'll find it much more informative when you have temps to guide you in interpreting it. But hopefully you won't need to!

[eveningstarmom]

Thank you for the advice!  I'm still not sure what day I O'd, but I must have since I got to BFPs today!!  I'm super excited and hoping everything sticks.  I tested yesterday and thought maybe I saw a ghost of a line, but couldn't be sure so tested again this morning and there was a faint but clear line.  After a stressful day at work I treated myself to a digital test which confirmed what I saw this morning.  Nice way to end the day.

[gozal]

Yay! Congratulations! 

[Jaimee]

Yay!!!!  Congrats!!!!!!!    I guess CD 14 it was!  HH9!!  Join your due date club social group for intimate support during the next 9 months!