It’s a wonder that I made it to 33 years old without knowing that you can pee on a stick to know if you’re about to release an egg from your ovary. 

Looking back on science class in 7th grade… they left out ALL the important details, and I frankly feel robbed of understanding what TF was actually happening in my uterus for the last 3 decades. 

But also… I’m kinda already over peeing on sticks, and I’ve only been thinking about pregnancy casually for 6 months and only been in a “hey, let’s do it” mindset for like under 30 days… so this is gonna be a long road, friends. Buckle up. 

Today’s fun lil topic: When will I *actually* ovulate this month?

And my god, if it happens while Matt is out of town, I’ll scream. 

Nothing like deciding to GO FOR IT quite like your husband traveling for work during the golden era of the month (potentially)

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve typed a variation of “can you get pregnant if you have s#x 5 days before ovulation?” to which I already know the answer is YES. But....

... there’s about 1 million caveats and asterisks.

Per Google, it sounds like there’s a 10% chance but that requires that the sperm survives that long and is healthy enough to survive in the first place. Not to mention, it would require a healthy egg. The amount of variables here is frankly ridiculous. 

BUT HERE’S THE THING, I’m NOT actually supposed to ovulate until when he’s back anyway, but like… there was a very faint line on the ovulation strip yesterday morning, and while my predicted ovulation is a whole 5 days from now (aka when he’ll be back in town anyway) - I felt like a psycho all day wondering if I would or wouldn’t ovulate earlier than planned. 

I tend to ovulate between days 16-18 (yesterday was day 11) but I’ve also been adding more recovery activities to my life in the last month, so I’m like “what if my ovulation comes sooner?!”

This sh!t is so insane. Or I’m a crazy person… one of the two. 

All that said… we (okay, I) decided not to “go for it” last night, because if I did ovulate early, I would have driven myself crazy during my luteal phase in “I wonder if that one time we had s#x 4 days before my ovulation will actually work?” when in all reality, the chances were 10% at best. 

Because I already played that game last month when we only “tried” once and then I found myself peeing on pregnancy tests just 6 DPO (days post ovulation!) when in reality, you can’t know until 9 DPO at the earliest! 

(side note: I will say that this book: Taking Charge of Your Fertility: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health has really helped me feel sane. It’s so comprehensive and informative - I am an information JUNKIE. I was already tracking my cycle when I started using it as a reference but I’ve learned so much more.) 

But back to my wasted pregnancy tests… does that make me more or less crazy that I know myself well enough to skip a chance at “trying” just because my odds were so low that they were likely impossible, so I’d rather just know my odds are zero and mourn having to skip a month? BLAH. 

Also we really suck at trying so far so wish me luck. Cross your fingers that my ovulation isn’t earlier than expected and we get to actually get to try this month. 

Send me a DM if you have any thoughts to share (especially on Pre-Seed cause a girl on my tennis team recommended it!!)

Are you TTC too? What’s been the hardest part for you?