What I Use Monthly to Track my Cycle
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In a previous post (linked here), I touched on how I track my cycles and what I use but I wanted to go into a little more detail on things. When you’re trying to conceive ovulation is clearly very important, so it is equally important to make sure you are ovulating every month. This is something easy to chart if you use an app plus other methods monthly. They recommend tracking for 2-3 months to get a good baseline of your body before trusting a certain apps prediction 100%. All of these things are strictly things I use and researched. Please consult your doctor if you need more advice or have specific questions.
I’ve been tracking since Zach and I started trying last November, but I’ve changed some things along the way. The apps I use now are flo and fertility friend. I also use an Ava bracelet so I have their app, but more on that later. Initially I used the femometer basal body temperature thermometer and took my basal body temperature (BBT) every morning before I would get out of bed (even before you pee – super important!). But I felt like it wasn’t as accurate as it could be since I wouldn’t wake up at 5 AM over the weekends. Plus, it’s very important to be asleep for at least 4 hours before getting your reading, which was hard for me to do daily. Both of those factors kept my cycle from being 100% accurate. So I decided to invest in an Ava bracelet. I really enjoy using the Ava bracelet because I don’t have to worry about waking up at the same time or being asleep for 4 hours etc. It goes on your wrist and measures your skin temperature throughout the night then records your lowest temperature. It also tracks other parameters associated with ovulation including resting pulse rate, breathing rate, and heart rate variability ratio. It also helps detect your 5-6 most fertile days called your fertile window.
I use the Ava app in addition to fertility friend because since my cycles are a little longer than the average person Ava doesn’t always hit my fertile window correctly. BUT it is a great tracker for BBT and I do recommend it for that.
Along with tracking my BBT I use ovulation predictor kits (OPKs). I use two different kinds, a cheaper kind and then a more expensive kind. Since my cycles are a little longer, I start using the cheaper ones around day 11 and keep using them until I’ve confirmed ovulation. I use the ones linked here. But I also use more expensive ones just to really make sure I don’t miss those vital 24-36 hours. For 3 cycles now I’ve used Clearblue Advanced Digital OPKs from days 13-21(these are linked here). You can use the digital reader for 2 cycles before needing to buy a new one. I really enjoy using the digital ones because it takes the guess work out of reading the lines myself. Like I said they are way more expensive than the others, but hey when you’re working with such a small window of opportunity it’s worth it to me!
Once I have confirmed ovulation via BBT and OPKs, I continue to track my symptoms in my apps daily during my two week wait. Obviously, we are still waiting for our rainbow baby so I can’t say with 100% certainty that these methods work but I feel a little more “in control” with them. As I mentioned earlier, I am no fertility expert so please consult your doctor with any questions you have. I have done my own research on things for myself and feel that these methods will work for us!
Baby dust to all and Happy New Year!!!
