[Dibble]

Hi, I'm Cheryl, proud mom to dd Charlie. Dh and I are ready to have another baby but this time things aren't going so smoothly. With Charlie, coming off of birth control pills, my period came on the 20th of each month. We were successful the first time we tried to conceive. However this time, my period is irregular. The last time I had bleeding was Sept. 18th. I thought we were trying to conceive at the right time but when I took the preg. test, it came back neg. Then I got a brand called Answer Ovulation Testing. The first night I peed on the stick to see if I was ovulating, or about to ovulate, it came back positive. I thought it was weird because this was almost a month after having my period on Sept. 18th. However dh and I were active for 4 consecutive days after. Did I do this right and understand the method of the test correctly? When it comes up positive for ovulation that means I'm about to ovulate and should be active for a few consecutive days, right? 2 weeks later I took a preg. test but it was negative. Now, I'm at a loss. I don't know what to do since my period is irregular. I know some brands "First Response" do the ovulation sticks in packs of 20 for those with irregular periods and I've also heard of taking my temp. every morning. Have you ladies found one method to work better than the other? Peeing on a stick every day to find out when I'm ovulating sounds easier than taking my temp. at the same time each day, charting and trying to find a pattern. However, I just don't know which route to take at this time. Also, can I still ovulate and not have a period with bleeding? Also, I think I should add, after having Charlie, dh and I didn't use any form of birth control. I exclusively pumped until dd was 13 months old. She'll be 15 months tomorrow. Maybe I should go on birth control pills for awhile to make my period more regular?? idk Thanks for your advice.

[TeresaSuperMama]

Okay, my first thoughts is whether you were reading the OPKs correctly. With OPKs they don't work like pregnancy tests. The test line has to be as dark as or darker than the control line to be positive.

Charting is another good idea if your cycles are irregular. All you really need is a bbt thermometer and to take your temp at the same time.

Anyhow, welcome to the board and hope we can help you out. Good luck ttc #2!

[Dibble]

I was reading the ovulation stick correctly. I had two pink lines and the test line was much darker than the control line.

[TeresaSuperMama]

Originally Posted by Dibble

I was reading the ovulation stick correctly. I had two pink lines and the test line was much darker than the control line.

Okay, well then I'd definitely recommend charting. You did things right as far as timing goes. Sometimes even when you time things perfectly you don't get pregnant. Charting will help you to confirm ovulation. You can O anywhere from 12 hours to 3 days after getting a positive OPK, but the thing is even if you get a positive OPK it doesn't necessarily mean you will O. Most people do O after getting a positive OPK, but you can gear up to O and then not actually O. This is where charting is helpful.

What I try to do since my cycles are irregular as well is use OPKs to detect ovulation. (Charting will not tell you when you are going to O. It will just tell you IF you O'd and when AFTER you O'd.) Once I get a positive OPK I will try to keep bding until I get crosshairs on FF and ovulation has been confirmed.

[Dibble]

Thanks for your help Teresa. I will start charting. BTW, what does bding and FF mean? I'm new to the conceiving lingo.

[raebelk]

bding means "baby dancing" or making love
FF is fertility friend. FertilityFriend (dot) com is a website a lot of people use to chart their symptoms, bbt (basal body temperature), cm (cervical mucus), etc while TTC (trying to conceive). Many of the websites have posts to explain all the abbreviations for everything, you should be able to search for some help :-)

HTH! (hope that helps)