Signs Of Ovulation
When I was trying to conceive my first child, I had the notion that if I stopped using birth control and had intercourse with my husband a few times a week, I would probably get pregnant fairly quickly. I had spent so many years trying not to get pregnant, that I didn't realize how little I knew about how to get pregnant, and the importance of knowing the signs of ovulation. When I didn't conceive for six months, I decided I needed to do a bit of research to see if there was something that could improve my chances of getting pregnant.
Signs Of Ovulation: Mittelschmirz
OK, so I had a vague notion of having some pain in my lower abdomen, usually on my left side, once in a while, but I never really thought about its significance. When I started doing my research to help me learn how to get pregnant, I learned that this pain is called mittelschmirz. Apparently, some women feel this pain when they are ovulating and it's a pretty good sign that you are ovulating. I had learned how important it was to know when you are ovulating, so I figured this would be the key to helping me figure out when I was ovulating each month. There was only one problem I discovered. The pain of mittelschmirz is not a reliable way to determine when you are ovulating for one important reason. Experts don't know whether the pain occurs before, during, or after ovulation has taken place. If it turns out the pain is occurring after ovulating, then it would not be one of the best signs of ovulation and therefore not much help in getting pregnant.
Signs Of Ovulation: Cervical Mucus
Alright, this one I had no idea about!! Yes, I was aware that women have vaginal discharge, but I had no idea that there were changes in it's color and consistency during the month which actually could be analyzed and used as one of the best signs of ovulation. I learned that the cervical mucus changes throughout the month and if you keep track of these changes, you will be learning one of the very best signs of ovulation. The key is to look for clear, stretchy cervical mucus, which is very similar to the consistency of raw eggwhites. When you see this, it means your are at your fertile "window of opportunity" and ovulation is very near.
Signs Of Ovulation: BBT Charting
Another trick to knowing the signs of ovulation is to do something called basal body temperature charting. This sounded pretty complicated at first, but turned out to be much easier than I at first thought. You just have to get one of these basal body thermometers -- most pharmacies have them-- and then take your temperature every morning at around the same time. It's important to do it just when you wake up, before you do ANYTHING else. That means you can't have a conversation first, roll around in bed a lot, or heaven forbid, get out of bed to go to the bathroom!! When you open your eyes in the morning, you need to reach out on your nightstand where hopefully you have left your thermometer and pop it into your mouth for a reading immediately. Then you write down the temperature and do this routine every day of the month. Eventually, you start to see a pattern emerge, and when the temps rise up a bit, it means you have ovulated. And if they stay up for 18 days, you are most likely pregnant!!
Signs Of Ovulation: Ovulation Test Kits
Ovulation test kits sound like a great idea, but anyone who's ever used them knows they don't always work as you expect. The problem with them is that you have to have a general idea of when you are ovulating because there are usually only 5 days of tests in a box, so you can run out if you don't test at the right time. Basically the way they work is that the hormone that indicates ou are going to ovulate (leutinizing hormone or LH for short) is detected in your urine about 36 hours before you will actually ovulate. So, what you need to do is "pee" on a test stick and then look to see if the result indicates you are having this surge. Sounds simple enough right? The problem is that the instructions say you have to compare the "test" line with the "surge" line and hen evaluate the color/darkness of the second line to know if you are surging. Still sounds simple right? Well, it's NOT!! When you try to compare the two lines it is really hard to determine if the second line is the same color, a little darker, a llittle lighter or what!!! Then if you're not sure, you test again the next day and this time it looks a little different and you wonder, was yesterday's line darker than today??? Does that mean I surged yesterday?? If this sounds vaguely familiar then you have probably done this before and know what I'm talking about. If you've never tried ovulation test kits, give it a go and maybe your experience whill be better than mine!! Personally, I like to only use them when I am also using another method to check for my signs of ovulation.
Signs Of Ovulation: Knowledge Is Power!!
So, if you're still reading all the way down here, I hope that means you thought the information I provided on the signs of ovulation to help you get pregnant was pretty helpful. Actually, I really can't take the credit for it. You probably think I did a lot of research to get all this good information. Well, I tried spending some time on the Internet looking for information to help me get pregnant, but I just found it so overwhelming and quite frankly, a bit confusing. Then I stumbled on to this website that offered articles and a FREE report which gave away some of the common mistakes women were making trying to get pregnant and it was written by a woman who had been there herself, struggling to try to have a baby. So I got the report which was great (turned out we were making some big mistakes ourselves) and I ended up buying her e-book, Personal Path to Pregnancy which was an amazing resource for me. Instead of spending days or weeks sifting through all the information that I was finding online, it was all there in an easy to understand guidebook. I couldn't believe there was so much stuff we could be doing to help improve our chances of having a baby, without having to take fertility drugs or anything. Anyway, I hope that you found the above information on the signs of ovulation useful. If you want to read more about that or all the other things you can do to help you conceive, definitely check out the article, and don't forget to sign up for the FREE report!!
