My Second Pregnancy Test

I took my second pregnancy test on Friday, March 14.  I was so anxious to see the results and I tell you what, those 2 minutes you wait are excruciating!!  Much to my disappointment the test said "NOT PREGNANT".  Now I was thoroughly confused because I thought I was 5 days late and took again to the internet.

Once again, I was schooled in how the female body works.  I didn't know that your ovulation date determined when your period would start.  I know by tracking my BBT that I ovulated on day 21 of my cycle (which is considered on the late side), and then your luteal phase lasts 12-16 days before your period starts.  So I thought my period was late based on my average 28 day cycle, but in actuality because I ovulated late my period "due" date was actually not the same.  And wouldn't you know on day 14 of my luteal phase my not so friendly "friend" showed up right on time (of the "real" time).  Major bummer  :(

So back to the drawing board we go and I continue to try to chart out and make sense of the female body!

My First Pregnancy Test

(Days leading up to my very first pregnancy test)

I've been counting down the days to see if my monthly "friend" would visit me this month.  My cycle has been very consistent since stopping birth control.  I decided in advance to wait until the morning after I was 2 days late to take a pregnancy test, which would be Tuesday, March 11.  I consulted with my Sister, and freaked out with her when I really was 2 days late.  I could hardly sleep Sunday and Monday night, I was thinking so much about it!

(Morning of my very first pregnancy test)

I leapt out of bed (well not really since I had to move the dog from his slumber to allow me to get out of bed!) and ran to the bathroom.  I kept thinking I hope my "friend" didn't come.  My Sister had already texted me 20 minutes prior saying she couldn't sleep she was so anxious (and let me remind you that she is an hour ahead of us, so it was 5:00 am her time!).  I took the test and anxiously waited for the results... and waited... and waited.  "NOT PREGNANT" flashed across the screen.  My first reaction was "OMG NOOOOOOOOOOOO" because I thought for sure it would say "pregnant".  I texted my Sister the not good news and tried to hold it together.  All I wanted to do was crawl back in bed and ditch work for the day.  My Sister suggested re-testing in 2 days assuming I was still late.  She also shared some positive hope and said she knows someone who doesn't test positive until a week after her missed period.  I tried to not think about it too much until I could google more info!  Once I got to work I read from several forums that the pregnancy tests are different from person to person.  Sometimes, people know their pregnant days before their missed period, others not until days after their missed period.  I'm really hoping I'm in the latter and that I might actually be pregnant but the hormones aren't showing up yet.  Now to anxiously wait another 2 days, and going to the bathroom frequently!!

Tracking Your Ovulation Is Harder Than It Seems

For "most" people, you can track your ovulation by charting your temperature from day to day.  The norm is for your temperature to be lower prior to ovulation, then a spike down and then up for ovulation, and then an increase or high temperature during the rest of your luteal phase.

The first month of charting, I had this perfect example of the temperature differences, including a spike down the day prior to ovulation and a significant spike up on ovulation.  So I figured, hey this thing is easy, we got this, let's try next month.  Well here's where it goes wrong...

The second month of charting I did not have the sudden spike signaling ovulation.  I thought maybe I didn't ovulate because I was kind of stressing over "the perfect time" since Tyler really wanted to try for a boy.  Since I didn't think I ovulated, and wasn't able to track it, I pretty much hoped that month would be a fluke and we'd try the next month.

The third month of charting I also did not have the sudden spike signaling ovulation.  I had several spikes, but then the following days the temperature would decrease or increase.  I was getting really frustrated and took again to the internet to see what I could find out.  Apparently not all ladies get the sudden spike in temperature for ovulation, it can also be a gradual increase over the rest of your luteal phase.  Now this was starting to make sense, because that's what happened in month 2.  I also found out that you don't necessarily ovulate on the same day from month to month, something else I was predicting wrong.  Bottom line, each month can be completely different, from the day you ovulate to how your chart signifies ovulation... great, this may be harder than I think!  Since I didn't feel confident I could "pinpoint" the day of my ovulation, we decided on the other route -- try multiple times during my "fertile" window.  I believe I was able to pinpoint my ovulation after the fact, and we just hoped that our method worked this month.