11.18.12- Cycle Day 12

CD 12

Temperature: 97.3 (adjusted from 97.5 at 7)

Taking: EPO
Vit B6
Multivitamin

Cervix is beginning to open up.

Very low.

Cervical Fluid: watery / eggwhite

Starting OPK testing tomorrow.

11.18.12- Cycle Day 11

CD 11

Temperature 97.0

Taking: EPO
Vit B6
Multivitamin

Note please that the picture is taken at an awkward angle and that the speculum looks lopsided. That's because it is broken. I just bought 10 more; hopefully that shipment gets here FAST. It's hard to take a picture.

Cervical Fluid: Watery

My ovaries hurt.
Tomorrow or CD 13 I start OPK testing. I have 6 and don't really want to buy more. :x

11.18.12- Cycle Day 10

CD 10

Temperature 97.4 (sleep deprived, evil loin fruit up again)

Taking: EPO
Vit B6
Multivitamin


Cervix is a bit more open today.

Oh hey, see that patchy redness to the right of the picture (my left)? Yeah. Take note of that. That is what happens when you don't have enough lubrication during sex. You are looking at tiny micro tears that STILL BURN. Hope it doesn't last long.

Cervical fluid: watery/creamy. Getting near fertile.

11.18.12- Cycle Day 9

CD 9

Temperature 97.6

Taking: EPO
Vit. B6
Multivitamin

Cervix is very low and closed. Ovary feels enlarged.


Cervical fluid very creamy.

11.18.12- Cycle Day 8

CD 8

Temperature 98.3 (Sleep Deprived- Kids were up all night)

Taking: Vit B6
Multivitamin
EPO

Cervical Fluid: Creamy

Last night was awful. I had a spitting headache all day and got NO sleep last night because I had really bad hot flashes (probably from the soy) and my children were up from 3-6am (devil spawn that they are). I'm cranky and irritable. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Edit: so I lied when I said I ordered one reading. I actually ordered two. Ruby just got back to me. She says:
"I am hearing a find out with a positive test JAN OF 2013 or conceive jan of 2013 or give birth/expected due date of Jan
of 2014 and a boy." Let's see. :)

11.18.12- Cycle Day 7

CD 7

Temperature: 97.2

Taking Vit B6
Multivitamin

The spotting is due to, I think, cervical irritation from the speculum.

Cervical Fluid: Creamy

So I was having a bad day today. Major pity party and "waaah, I'll never get pregnant". Three people in my due date group from my last child announced their pregnancies over the weekend. It's a tough spot to be in. I'm happy for them but I'm throwing sorrow balloons all over the house for myself.
Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge anyone for being able to get pregnant easier than I. I just feel bad for myself for not being able to maintain a pregnancy. :/

So what did I do? I wasted 14 dollars on a pregnancy prediction reading for myself. On one hand I feel foolish, and on the other hand I know I will be obsessing over what the results are and will wallow in more self pity if I don't get pregnant by the time she predicts.

Of course I'll update you when I get the results. :)

11.18.12- Cycle Day 6

CD6

Temperature: Not taken

Taking: Vit B6
Multivitamin
Soy Isoflavones

Cervix is back to closed and firm

Cervical Fluid: Creamy

11.18.12- Cycle Day 5

Happy Thanksgiving!

CD 5

Temperature: Not Taken

Taking: Vit B6
Multivitamin
Soy Isoflavones

I didn't take any pictures today. I spent thanksgiving at my mother's house and, well, didn't bring my speculum. My mother has trauma and PTSD from anything gynecology-related due to trauma from giving birth to me in a craptastic hospital. So I didn't bring any potential triggers to her house.

I'm sure you understand. :)

Scant tinged cervical fluid today. 

11.18.12- Cycle Day 4

CD 4

Temperature: Not taken (cup)

Taking:
Vit B6
Multivitamin
Soy Isoflavones (2x)

To make up for yesterdays missed dose (and since I take my pills at night this cycle) I took one dose in the morning and one dose in the evening. That should do interesting things to my body. I did not double up on Vit. B6 or the multivitamin because I like pooping normally and B6 causes nerve damage in high doses. No thank you, sir.

Little bit of spotting seen at the OS. Period completely stopped the night before, so I took the cup out today. This was taken in the morning RIGHT after I took the cup out.

Isn't that interesting? Look at what it does to the cervix. Mine is normally not that fat or swollen but the cup seems to have increased vascularization because of the suction. It doesn't hurt, it just looks and feels funny.

Okay, so I'm going to look at my period. I started late on CD 1, went heavy on CD 2, and lightened up CD 3. By CD 4 I had completely stopped. So, my period lasted... a total of 48 hours!? That's... weird.

And yes, I took a pregnancy test. It was not implantation bleeding, it was just weird.
Tinged CM today and slight spotting.

11.18.12- Cycle Day 3

CD 3

Temperature: Not taken

Taking: Forgot to take everything

I really just missed today. I put in my cup, my flow is much lighter on CD 3, lighter than normal for day 2-3 of a period. I probably only got about 15ml from 12am-11:59pm.

11.18.12- Cycle Day 2

CD 2

Temperature: Not taken (period)

Taking Vit. B6
Multivitamin
Soy Isoflavones

Full on red flow. Usually, a period is less watery and more
"goopy". Today was a "heavy:" flow, and because I was taking aspirin in the LP, it's much more "watery" than it is "goopy".

Cervical Fluid: Endometrium-y

11.18.12- Cycle Day 1

Firstly, Sorry that these updates are so late! It's the holidays and blah blah blah.

CD1

Temperature 98.0 (Normal Waking Time)
Taking Vit B6
Multivitamin
Soy Isoflavones

Picture taken in the morning at what was believed to be CD 28/12DPO.

Later that evening, I saw some spotting, so I took another picture. by nightfall I had a light "flow".

Cervical Fluid: Eggwhite
When I get a period, my cervical fluid becomes fertile again. This is due to the rise in estrogen at the end of my cycle. It brings on my period.
I did not take a picture today because I didn't manage to before the blood started, and, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not try and take a picture of that. It's messier than I like.

10.22.12-11.17.12 Completed Cycle

Cycle Stats:

27 Day Cycle
Ovulation: Cycle Day 16 (ish)
Luteal Phase 11 Days (ish)
Fertile Days: CD 13-CD 18 (6 Days)

Completed Chart

Things to note: I did not manage to get pregnant this cycle, so this is what would be mediated "normal" for me. The soy seemed to work well in conjunction with the B6, and the EPO did it's job very tactfully.

In a way, I'm pleased that I didn't manage to get pregnant this cycle because a) I don't want a baby due two days after my youngest child's birthday and b) I like that I have a cycle to compare others to. Of course, this means I will be obsessively referencing this one. Yay, TTC.

On to next cycle!

10.22.12- Cycle Day 27

CD 27
11 Days Past Ovulation (10/12)

Temperature 98.1
Taking Aspirin
Vit B6
Multvitamin

Cervix seems to be tilted up more than usual.

Cervical Fluid Eggwhite/Creamy

10.22.12- Cycle Day 26

CD 26
10 Days Past Ovulation (9/11)

Temperature 98.1
Taking Aspirin
Vit. B6
Multivitamin

 Cervical Fluid Creamy/Watery

10.22.12- Cycle Day 25

CD 25
9 Days Past Ovulation (8/10)

Temperature: 98.4
Taking Aspirin
Vit B6
Multivitamin

Closed and softer than yesterday

Cervical Fluid: Sticky

Even at 9 DPO (8/10) I feel like if I haven't gotten a decent positive than I'm out by now. I know it's irrational.

I went to bed very late last night, so I figured my urine hold wouldn't be long enough for a pregnancy test in the morning. So I just held it all day while in class until I got home from school. This was the result:

Top is a Babi, middle is a Wondfo, bottom is a Wallyworld generic.

I feel like my body is giving me conflicted signs. My hair is relaxed, my nipples hurt. I'm tired enough to fall asleep while typing this and I'm constipated. My cervical mucus turned creamy/tacky.
But I still feel like, "If I haven't gotten a positive by now, this cycle is a bust".

Time is the only thing that will tell.

10.22.12- Cycle Day 24

CD 24
8 Days Past Ovulation (7/9)

Temperature 98.5 (Adjusted from 4:30am at 98.20, couldn't figure out where my thermometer was at 6am)

Taking: Aspirin
Vit B6
Multivitamin

Cervix is closed and high

 
I actually had sex a few hours before this picture, so the cervical mucus may be obscured in the cervix pictures and may not be "accurate", so to speak.

Cervix is closed and high.

Cervical Fluid: Creamy

This is before intercourse. As you can see it's very thick and opaque.

Of course I peed on sticks today. They don't look any different from yesterday, though, so I don't want to make the effort to get them on the interwebs. I'll let you know if anything changes. :O

Implantation Dips

If you are taking your basal body temperature each morning (BBT) you probably have heard about implantation dips. They are a small thermal drop in your chart during the luteal phase that last only one day. They usually occur during the window of implantation, or around 7-11 dpo. The idea is that when the blastocyst is implanting into the uterine lining, the body produces a surge of estrogen. Estrogen lowers temperature, progesterone raises temperature. So, the BBT will show that estrogen surge in a temperature dip.

A note: If you see a dip at 2-4 dpo, this is NOT an implantation dip. Implantation dips can only happen after the blastocyst has hatched from it's "shell", which occurs between 4-6dpo. I am an early hatcher, so I know mine hatch around 4 dpo. It can be as long as to the end of 6 days before you get an actual hatch, though.

On this chart, there is a small dip at 3 DPO. This is NOT an implantation dip.

 On this chart, there is a dip at 2 DPO. This is NOT an implantation dip. The 5 DPO dip COULD be an implantation dip, but it's not likely.

This chart shows an implantation dip at 7 DPO. This IS a pregnancy chart, but ends in a miscarriage. It is likely that the blastocyst implanted at 6 DPO (more on that later.)

This is my current chart. It COULD be an implantation dip, as it occurs at 7 dpo (6/8). That does not guarantee that this is a pregnancy chart or that I will get a positive test. If I do get pregnant this cycle, it is likely that I had a blastocyst implant at 6 DPO (5/7). (Again, more on that later.)

They are a THEORY, not a fact. Some women will never get an implantation dip and they are pregnant. Others will always get a dip around that time and they are not pregnant.

Now my theory about implantation dips: I believe if you see a dip then the estrogen surge and implantation has already happened. Just like with determining ovulation, where the rise means that ovulation occurred on the last day of low temperatures, an implantation dip means that the estrogen surge relating to the dip occurred the day before the dip and can only be reflected the next day.

So if you see a dip at 7 DPO, it is likely that the dip is reflecting a hormonal shift from the previous 12-24 hours. So it is likely implantation occured at 6 DPO. If a dip is seen at 9 DPO, it is more likely that the actual implant and estrogen surge began at 8 DPO and is only being reflected in the chart the day after.

Make sense? Remember, it's just a theory, and it's just something I've been musing over.

10.22.12- Cycle Day 23

CD 23
7 Days Past Ovulation (6/8)

Temperature 98.17 at 5am, 98.5 at 6 am. Adjusted to 98.37
Looking at my chart, this could be an implantation dip. Or it could be nothing. I would like to suspect implantation because of yesterdays odd cervical fluid and today's drop. Time is the only thing that can tell for sure.

Taking: Aspirin
Vit. B6
Multivitamin

The cervix is high and closed today, you can tell by how close it is to the hymen.

Cervical Fluid: Sticky/Tacky

Much different from yesterday's odd egghwhite tackiness.
(Edit: I actually re-checked my cervical mucus for the day. It's back to creamy, so that is what is recorded on my chart.)

And yes, today I finally allowed myself to pee on sticks. I'm kind of an addict, you know.

First, I used a Babi (Found on Amazon)

I decided that one was not satisfactory, so on to the Wondfo

I thought I saw something on the first two (and even if I didn't I was going to rationalize it anyway) so I used a FRER, too.

No more FRER's until 9 dpo (8/10).