Tracking your cervical fluid is one of those things that stars off as icky, and then ends up being quite normal. We, as women, are not given much rein over our own bodies and wanting an intimate understanding is often met with repulsion from ourselves and others. Let's change that. Knowing yourself is the top priority when it comes to trying to get pregnant, if you don't know these things you are at a disadvantage.

It's obviously possible to get pregnant without knowing and without tracking, but the more you know, ey. While nothing in this sense is 100% reliable in predicting ovulation (basal body temperature is probably your most reliable way to track, but it won't tell you when ovulation is incoming) it does add another layer to opks. Some people can even use only fluid observations to figure out when they're in their fertile week.

Softcups Artificial Insemination – How To!

So now you've got your sperm donor, you've got one question on your mind. What Is Artificial Insemination, and how does it work? There's a lot of information around and it can be overwhelming, trust me, I know! All I can do is offer what I know and what worked best for me.

Well. Artificial insemination is conceiving without having sex, it can be done for a lot of reasons, but I would suggest that if you are using a sperm donor that this is the way you go. This weeds out people that would take advantage of your want to be a mother in order to satisfy their sexual needs, and you should never feel pressured into sex for any reason. 

Navigating TTC Tracking Apps

There are so many different apps out on the market, google brings up over 300,000 results, and if you've been actively looking up things to do with TTC you'll have noticed that a lot of your ads are targeted towards them now. I often get one on Facebook to do with natural conception which claims to be as effective as contraception by using temperatures. This is the same as what we will be doing to achieve the opposite. Go figure. I always have to stop myself from commenting the same thing on the adverts.

TTC after loss – bravery.

I have suffered through both infant loss, and pregnancy loss, and I do not believe that these things should be put in the same category. When it comes to TTC after those losses while both require an indescribable and infinite amount of hope, and willingness to put oneself in a position to be hurt again, both experiences are very different.

Loss in general can prompt a lot of feelings and thoughts that we've never had to deal with before, anger and bitterness, jealousy and hopelessness, and all of these things are perfectly fine. It's common to be jealous of other pregnant women, and it can be hard to even look at them, let alone if they're friends of yours. It's common to have thoughts like "why me and not them? why do they deserve to be happy?", and it's common to feel a great sense of self-loathing for thinking those kinds of things. You're not that person. Grief is a strange experience, it changes us in ways we can't even imagine and in ways that we never thought possible.

Getting a Sperm Donor

Thinking of braving single parenthood, but don't know where to start? Neither did I. My son was a happy accident but when it came to trying again I didn't know what to do. I knew that sperm donation was a thing, but I didn't know anything about it. I soon came to find out that it wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be.

Basal Body Temperature 101

Probably the most annoying of all the fertility charting methods, just because it's an absolute pain in the backside to do. I had my thermometer tucked under my pillow to use every morning, at 5am, before I got up, and it always took me a good ten minutes to half an hour to get back to sleep. I was then tired for the rest of the morning. However, I can't deny that it was incredibly useful in my charting journey as I could pinpoint when ovulation had occurred with precision.

Ovulation tests 101

Ovulation tests are something I learned about on the internet when I started the TTC journey. When I finally got round to seeing a fertility specialist she seemed to have no idea about what they were. This was surprising to me as they had seemed to work so well for me in this journey and for her not to know was insanity. How many women had she seen and had she told to just keep trying? How many people had she sent away to just keep at it who might not even be ovulating, or who might not be having sex at the right times?

So here I am to tell you all I know about ovulation tests: what they're for, how they work, and how to use them to your advantage.