When I gave birth to Emma, we didn't exactly want more
children after. My doctor asked me what type of birth control I was on before
having Noah… Errrr, basal body temperature? I mean, that’s a birth control
method, right? Well, if you mention that to some people they’ll probably think
you’re crazy… and a friend of mine conceived her three kids while on BBT so… I
guess it does fail huh? Now here is what you want to understand, after having
two babies that are 11 months a part, you REALLY don’t want another child right
away. So, BBT was sort of scary. I mean, it worked for 7 years but there was no
way I was taking the chance that it wouldn't work now.
So, what to do? I did like the idea of charting and taking
my temperature but let’s be honest, for BBT to work you need to get at least 4
hours of restful sleep. NOPE. So we decided to start using ovulation strips
along with body language. We started shopping online for ovulation strips and
we found the the Babi ovulation strips. They were quite cheap (100 for 25$ on
amazon) so we decided to give them a try. Turns out we love them… They give a
precise and good result. Technically, they are all you need to know when you
ovulate. Here are some tips that I use that could help you…
- Read the instructions. Seriously all that I’m saying in here is probably written down on the instructions.
- Don’t use your morning or concentrated pee, but don’t use too diluted pee either. Ideally, the instructions say to use urine from 10 am to 2pm. I guess that’s when your pee is ideal? Anyways, pee into a little cup (I use a baby food jar). Then, dip the tip of the ovulation strip into the urine (don’t go past the “max” sign) and count 10 seconds. Take it out and let it rest on the wrapper for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, you should read a result. I personally don’t think the first time you take an ovulation test you’ll know what you’re looking for. Most of the time there is always a line. It’s not like a pregnancy test; the slightest line does NOT mean you are ovulation. What you need to look for is the darkness of the line. If you are about to ovulate, the line will be as dark as the control line or darker
- My advice is to start your ovulation strips 7 days after your period start and to keep going until you see the line go very dark AND light (just like in my picture.) Eventually you’ll get the hang of it and you’ll see that your test becomes positive at day X or Y. If it’s always the same day, you’re hooked.
- On that same note, I’d encourage you to track your cycles on a fertility website or by hand. I use fertility friend.
- Ok, and here is the REALLY TRICKY part. Usually fertility strips are used for trying to conceive. So, technically, it tells you when it’s OK and good to have sex in order to get pregnant. When you see those two dark lines, it means that you will ovulate in 24 to 48 hours. Now, sperm lives up to 5 days… So, say you are waiting for the two dark lines to stop having sex, screwed. Wise advice: if you are trying to conceive aka team yay baby: have sex all the time, specially a day or two before ovulation. If you are avoiding getting pregnant, aka team No thanks baby: don’t have intercourse (or figure a way to) until you get your strip confirmation that you are ovulating. Then, wait a good 3 days, and have sex.
- Said this way it sounds super scary and complex but really it isn't. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be like “yes we can do it” or “Mehhh why don’t we just cuddle huuuh?” Seriously, you get used to it easily.
Those are my tips. It’s been working really well for us and
I honestly can’t wait to get my full 4 hours of sleep for me to be able to redo
the BBT but for now, that’s how we do it. Anyways, it’s worth a try… It’s
really cool to see how your body works.
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