My husband and I have been Trying to conceive for 8 months now and I have been off the pill for a year. We had sex everyday last month and my period is usually 27-28 days apart. I was supposed to get my period on Monday May 5, but I received it on Saturday May 3 2 deays early. It was a lot lighter than usual (still on the first and second day I used a tampon, sorry tmi) and still today, May 7 when I wipe I am wiping some brown spots. About a week to a week in a half before I had really sore breasts and I couldn't even touch them at all. They don't hurt as much now. I need to know if I am pregnant I really hope so!

Impossible to know. Get a home pregnancy test from the pharmacy and see what it says.

If you are pregnant, congratulations!

If you turn out not to be pregnant, stop having sex every day! You are depleting your husband's sperm. When you finally have sex on the right day, there aren't enough left to do the job, so get him to hold off for a few days. That's why it's been 8 months...

Here's how to do it right:

Do NOT have sex on May 13th -16th this coming month. Your husband, in particular, should abstain from all ejaculation for that work week. And he should also avoid all drugs (legal and illegal) and exposure to any toxic chemicals. (And you should be taking folic acid, starting now if you aren't already.) Then DO have sex on the 17th and 18th. :)

Here's how it all works:

If you are normally regular at 27-28 days, then you probably ovulate 13 to 14 days after the first day of our period. That would be May 18 or 19. I'm guessing the 19th. You can confirm this by looking for stringy mucous a few days ahead of that date. (For me, the mucous change always came exactly 2 days before I ovulated. To be certain how many days before you ovulate the mucous comes, you will need to monitor your cycles more precisely for a couple of months. You can use a thermometer to nail down the exact date on which you ovulate or, if you feel mid cycle pain when you ovulate, "mittlesmirch,” that's just as good. Either way, once you know when you've ovulate, count backwards to see how many days earlier the mucous change began. Then you can use that next time to accurately estimate when you will ovulate, probably about 2 days ahead of time.)

Assuming that you are going to next ovulate on May 19th, your most fertile period is the last 2 days before you ovulate, namely May 17th and 18th. So that's when you should have sex.

The sperm can survive for a few days and be there when the egg pops out on the day you ovulate. (Experts say sperm last 2 to 4 days, and even up to a week, but, my personal studies while trying to get pregnant twice showed that two days was optimal, not 4.)

In contrast, the egg lasts for only 12 hours after ovulation, and then it can't be fertilized, no matter how good the sperm. So, do not wait until you actually ovulate to have sex. Two reasons: 1. You aren't absolutely sure which day you are ovulating and so you could miss it by a day. 2. Even if you know which day you are ovulating--the 18th or the 19th-- and have sex on that day, you could still be off by a few hours and have sex a few hours after ovulation. It takes a while for the sperm to get up into the fallopian tubes to the egg, so they might get there too late. :(

So the best plan is to have fresh sperm ready and waiting a day or two ahead of time. Ideally, you'll use mittlesmirch or a thermometer to find out exactly how many days after your period you ovulate. Because you are so regular, that shouldn't be hard. Sorry this is so long, I wanted to make sure you had everything you needed to know! All you really need to know is the paragraph in italics at the top.

Good luck!
Asking

Thank you for your response... my doctor has told me to have sex everyday... so I am really confused

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Devagal86

Thank you for your response...my doctor has told me to have sex everyday...so i am really confused

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That's a safe answer from someone who doesn't know. Sometimes doctors don't like to admit that they don't know something or don't want to try to figure it out. If you have sex every day, he can't be wrong, because one of those days will be the right one. That doesn't mean the doctor won't be just fine at delivering the baby, though.

I didn't mean to overwhelm you. Here's all you need to know:

You'll probably ovulate on the 18th or 19th of May. Tell hubby to lay off for a few days the previous week, then have fun on the weekend of the 17th and 18th.

Also, get that pregnancy test. Maybe you are already pregnant. :)
Asking

I agree... until a test shows a positive, symptoms don't cut it.

In the meantime, are you taking a good prenatal? Folic acid not only helps with neural tube development (if you are), but can help with fertilization also.

Also, make sure you man is taking a good multi, and doing the things that can increase sperm quality... which is mostly healthy living... no smoking, drugs, limited alcohol, no illness, avoiding pollution, reducing stress, getting exercise... all can improve the quality of sperm... but drastic changes in lifestyle can take a few months to show in sperm quality.

If you haven't already, as Asking suggested, it can help to learn the signs your body shows that ovulation is likely to happen soon. This may not fall within the norm however. Some women, even with 27-28 day cycles, will naturally ovulate sooner or later and will miss the window of opportunity if they adhere too strictly to the classic midcycle timeframe. Knowing your body well will help you pinpoint what is likely your most fertile time... then it would be wise to tack on a few extra days before and after for good measure.