TTC and confused by irregular cycle?

[E_Norris]

Hello! I'm 21 years old and I'm not overly familiar with all of this, so please pardon my lack of proper "mommy lingo" in this post (also, I apologize for any TMI!) I use a period tracker on my phone to keep track of my period and ovulation and it usually works wonderfully for me. But lately, my period has been slightly irregular, and this month it was way off. Last month, I had my period from the 10th-14th, then this month I had it again from the 3rd-15th (very long, I don't know what was up with that.) The trouble is that my tracker is now saying that I was due for my period on the 19th and that I'm 6 days late, but this doesn't seem correct seeing as I was JUST on such an abnormally long period. My husband and I are currently TTC, so I am slightly frustrated with this situation. Any advice/input, ladies? How should I know when I'm ovulating, when I've officially missed a period, etc?

 

[AidensMama]

Hello! I'm 21 years old and I'm not overly familiar with all of this, so please pardon my lack of proper "mommy lingo" in this post (also, I apologize for any TMI!) I use a period tracker on my phone to keep track of my period and ovulation and it usually works wonderfully for me. But lately, my period has been slightly irregular, and this month it was way off. Last month, I had my period from the 10th-14th, then this month I had it again from the 3rd-15th (very long, I don't know what was up with that.) The trouble is that my tracker is now saying that I was due for my period on the 19th and that I'm 6 days late, but this doesn't seem correct seeing as I was JUST on such an abnormally long period. My husband and I are currently TTC, so I am slightly frustrated with this situation. Any advice/input, ladies? How should I know when I'm ovulating, when I've officially missed a period, etc?

That definitely doesn't sound right to me either. I have a 'period/fertility' tracker app on my phone that is very basic and I find it to be incredibly inaccurate. I find it useful simply because it reminds me to take my temperature as soon as the phone alarm clock goes off in the AM and to enter information in if I can't get to my computer.

The best way to understand your cycle, know/if when you are ovulating, find patterns in your cycle and figure out the best days BD (Baby Dance, ) is by at least charting the dates of your cycles, AND monitor other signs like your CM (cervical mucus) and really by taking your Basal Body Temperature at the same time every day, after at least 4 hours of sleep, before you get out of bed or move around or eat or drink anything. You might want to try Fertility Friend (my current preference) or some other charting programs the ladies on here use such as Ovufriend or Ovuview. Charting on something like that allows for you to input many different signs/symptoms/ cycle info as well as your temperature, builds a graph to show your coverline, can help predict ovulation and then compare it based on your temps and other information you have entered.

If you click the link to my Fertility Friend Homepage you can see my chart for my current cycle and get a better idea. They offer a 30 day free trial of the premium account and features to new users who sign up, and then it switches you to a basic account. I find the features of my basic account plenty for my charting needs so I haven't payed for a membership, but some women like it. If you sign up via the 'join' link on my homepage I believe I will get a few free days of premium, which is something for you to think about if you have other friends who are TTC, you can refer them and get free time on certain charting applications.

I'm not too familiar with the others, but I'm sure some ladies on here can tell you which the like best. I hear alot of great things about Ovufriend as well.

Also, with some of these charting sites/apps you can share a link to your chart, which makes it easier for others to help you analyze your cycles/symptoms if you ever need outside opinions.

You also might want to use Ovulation Test Strips or A kit like Clear Blue Digital to pinpoint when and if you are ovulating.

I hope that helped you a bit. If you have any question I'll try my best to help you, though I'm not quite as knowledgeable as some of the ladies who have been on the board a long time.