My shipment is set to arrive Nov. 20. I'm not sure if I'm clear about my ovulation day, but my charts appears to point at cycle day 15 (CD 15). That puts my ovulation day on Thanksgiving. I'm getting three vials of donor sperm, and I'm temperature charting, using a Clear Blue Easy Fertility Monitor, using an OV Watch and using ovulation predictor kit (OPK) test strips. That's right. I want to nail it.
Much of the literature, and the good ladies at the NW Cryo and Fertility Friend chat forums, say you should "baby dance" (you figure it out) every other day during the five days leading up to ovulation, the most fertile days. Thawed frozen sperm has less viability than fresh sperm, which must be considered. When doing AI with thawed frozen sperm, you need to be more precise. If you are able to more accurately predict the day of ovulation by picking up your luteinizing hormone (LH), you should attempt insemination at 12, 24 and 36 hours past the surge. Ovulation, or egg release, normally occurs within 24 to 48 hours after the surge. And the egg only survives as few as six or as many as 24 hours.
With all of these variables, and because I haven't yet caught my LH surge (only one previous month of OPKs and this is my first month with the monitors), I am thinking I will initially look for high fertility signs on my monitors and charting, including the most fertile cervical mucus with the eggwhite consistency (EWCM). (Can you believe that until I started researching "how" to get pregnant, I had no idea why my cervical mucus changed from day to day, week to week or how it coincided with ovulation... no idea... It's amazing what you DON'T learn in school!) Once I have a high sign and a couple days of EWCM, I think I'll do my first AI. Both the OV Watch and Monitor are suppose to give me a five day lead up to my "peak" fertility, so the first AI will likely fall around the 4th day into it. Then me hopes these gadgets WILL pick up my surge and I'll do an AI at 12 hours and another at 24. If no surge is detected, I'll do my second AI on the night of CD 14 and the final first thing on CD 15. I'll continue to check for the LH surge using all methods just so I know for future reference. But I don't want to miss it. At least that's the plan for now... Plans change, though, the more I learn about the process and the more I learn about my body. In fact I've already edited this post based on feedback from "I want to be a mommy" Michell. Thanks, Michell!
Next: More Countdown
6 comments:
Hey there, good luck with the insemination. One thing though that you may know and I may have misunderstood your blog, if you're baby dancing, then yes you do it like every other day when you have a high. With frozen sperm however, it doesn't have the life expectancy of fresh and only lives for 24 hours so most people don't AI until they have a peak since when you have a peak, you still have about 24 hours till ovulation. I hope it all works for you and you get your BFP.
PS how's Kobi??
Thanks, Michell! I knew the 24-hour rule at some point, and know my post wasn't very clear, so I've edited my timing and the post accordingly. So much information! And, since I haven't registered a positive on the OPK, I'm not yet clear as to when I ovulate... All thawed frozen sperm, no actual baby-dancing (not to get pregnant, anyway) for me. BOY I hope I pinpoint my LH surge and don't "waste" nearly $750...
Kobi is doing pretty good. He's scratching at his face occasionally, but it seems his pain is fairly under control. I feel bad, but I think he's forgiven me... at least I hope so.
you're welcome. good luck!!!
WOW Clear Blue Easy Fertility Monitor, OV Watch and ovulation predictor kit GOOD LUCK!!
Do you temp?
-C
I know exactly what you mean about the CM. Who knew? Do you have a link to you FF chart? Believe it or not, you'll miss that cursed chart once you get your BFP. Suddenly, there's nothing to look at and agonize over 6x per day. Or at least that's the minimum for how many times I usually stared at my chart any day after day 7 or so. :)
S&C & Momai - yeah, temp, too! Chart using FertilityFriend. There should be a link on my main page, bottom right.
http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/1479db
I LOVE the chart overlay option! I like to look at all my charts at one time, first from the start date, then the ovulation date, then ovulation and coverline... Trying to pick out some common theme or thing to pay attention to in the future. Yeesh! (I do look at other people's charts occasionally for comparison... but usually just gaze at my own. hahaha!)
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