Are You Ovulating?
Trying to get pregnant but just aren't sure when to time things? Knowing when you ovualte is key to getting that successful pregnancy test. And the key to knowing when you ovulate? By paying attention to your body and getting a little bit of help from ovulation predictor kits.
Record Your BBT
It is highly recommended that you keep a daily record of your basal body temperature or BBT (your temperature when you wake up in the morning) and the texture of your cervical mucus. You need to chart your menstrual cycle for a few months so you can recognize your pattern and have a better chance of predicting your most fertile days.
How to check your temperature
When you ovulate, your body starts to provide a fertile environment for conception. As a result, your body temperature will rise.
On the first day of your period, start keeping track of your temperature with a basal body thermometer. This will show minute changes in your temperature. Take your basal body temperature at the same time every morning if you can. When you have done this, mark it down.
It's helpful to chart your temperature for a few months so you can see whether there's a pattern to your cycle. If you're sick or fail to take your temperature immediately upon awakening, any pattern you find may be inaccurate. Thermometers that remember the last reading are helpful if you tend to go back to sleep after taking your temperature.
Check Your LH Surge
Another sign that you are ovulating is when your Luteneizing Hormone surges. Ovulation midstream tests are a popular and easy way to detect the LH surge in your urine.
Monitor Your Sodium Chloride Ions
A popular new way to detect the fertile days during your cycle is by monitoring your body's production of sodium chloride ions. Throughout your menstrual cycle, your body produces differing levels of sodium chloride ions. Approximately six days before ovulation, levels of these ions will surge. You can detect this surge by wearing an apparatus known as the OV Watch.
This watch-like device is worn snugly against the skin and measures the amount of ions released in your perspiration. You must wear this watch for at least six hours a day from Day 1 of your menstrual period. It is recommended that you wear the watch while you are sleeping. Every 30 minutes, the OV watch will record the level of ions released from your skin. Up to 12 readings a day will be recorded. Each morning, read the results on your OV Watch. The watch will inform you of four fertile days just before you ovulate, of your ovulation date, and of one fertile day after ovulation.
How to Check Your Cervical Mucus
There are three ways to do this. Using toilet paper, or your fingers, wipe across the opening of your vagina. Wearing a panty liner can also help in the collection of mucus. Lastly, you can try inserting a finger into your vagina. Note the consistency of your discharge. You may also want to monitor its texture throughout the day. Read more on Monitoring your Cervical Mucus.
When the Two Coincide, It's Time!
If your mucus looks and feels like egg white at the same time your BBT has increased, you are ovulating. This is your time to start making babies.
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