Just how long does my fertility last??

[cappuccinosmom]

I've been "sort of" following my fertility, and this last month I paid better attention (and also got my first pp af). Pre-baby, my cycles were fairly regularly 26 days long, so I'm due to get my period any day now. But I had infertile mucus until late last week, then possibly fertile cm, and then clearly fertile cm, and it only finished today. So that means about 8-9 days of possibly fertile cm. The last 5 days have been obviously fertile. Is it normal for fertility to last such a long time, and to come immediately before your period? I was under the impresson that there was an infertile period immediately before and immediately after af.

Any ideas? I'm not concerned. Just curious.

[TurboClaudia]

I haven't personally experienced fertility returning after pregnancy yet (awaiting baby's birth anyday now!), but I do recall reading and hearing that it can take a few months for a new pattern to emerge. You may go back to having 26-day cycles, or they may be longer now. Contrary to popular belief, cycles of 25-40 days are quite normal. Some women have shorter ones, some have longer ones.

Also, you didn't mention if you are breastfeeding, which would add another hormone into the mix that might mask certain fertility signs. Also, even if your babe is young, you might consider taking your temperature to confirm a shift due to progesterone release following ovulation.

If you haven't already, I highly recommending reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler for guidelines for avoiding/achieving pregnancy and becoming familiar with your own personal fertility signs.

If you just finished noticing your fertile quality cervical fluid, you probably have at least a week if not longer before your bleeding starts. The typical luteal phase (the time between ovulation and menstruation) is around 10-15 days.

Hope that helps!

warmly,
claudia

[Kabes]

Oh yea. . . you can be fertile that close to your cycle. I had four cycles after DD #2 and was expecting my fifth to start any day. Well it never did start cause guess what. . . yep-preggo again!!! I checked my calendar and since it had been an extremely slow month it either happened 2 days after AF or 5 days before I was expecting to start again. All my other cycles had been regular at 30 days. I was still BF. Ultrasound DD would indicate that I conceived at the END of my cycle. HTH

[cappuccinosmom]

I guess y'all were rights. Af hasn't returned yet. I guess I'm too naiive. I thought everything would go back to normal after I got my first pp af.

Now I wonder if I'm pregnant.