How to Choose Baby Gender

Trying to Get Pregnant? 3 Tips for Knowing When You Ovulate

If you are trying to get pregnant it helps to know when you ovulate in order to increase your chances for success. Many books discuss the 28 day pattern, but in fact your ovulation is related to your own unique menstrual cycle.

Your eggs are ready to be fertilized when they are released from your ovaries in the womb, which typically occurs during the middle of your menstrual cycle. For women that actually have a perfect 28 day cycle this means that ovulation will almost definitely occur on the 14th day, exactly 2 weeks from the last day of your period from the month before.

But what happens with ovulation is that it is not timed in relation to the last period, but rather to the first day of the next cycle. What this means is that usually ovulation occurs approximately fourteen days prior to the beginning of your next period. So you will ovulate prior to day fourteen if your cycle is less than twenty eight days. On the other hand if it is greater than twenty eight days, you’ll ovulate at a later time. If you have an issue wherein you cannot fully predict your cycle, which is the reality for the majority of women, then it will be very hard to get an accurate idea of when you will ovulate simply because you are not sure when you will start your next period.

To make matters even more complicated, ovulation doesn’t necessarily occur at the same time during your cycle each month. So what this means is that if you are trying to get pregnant,  you need other tools in order to be able to accurately find out when you ovulate. Here are 3 to help you now:

1)      Ovulation – The Physical Signs:

There are a number of physical signs that signal ovulation. These include pain or discomfort in the stomach or abdominal area, and swollen or sensitive breasts. The problem with these signs is that they are not terribly helpful or reliable in of themselves to indicate ovulation since there are other things that can cause them.

For a better idea, examining the texture of the cervical mucus is a better physical sign of ovulation. Right before and during ovulation you will typically discharge more mucus from your vagina which will be thick and sticky. You can also stretch it sometimes by as much as two inches or so. While it may sound disgusting, the mucus released is actually designed to increase the odds of the sperm surviving until an egg can be fertilized from the ovaries.

Some women do not experience a change in their vaginal discharge mucus texture, which is sometimes an indication that you may not be able to get pregnant easily and will likely require assistance to do so.

2)      The Importance of Temperature

If you want to get an idea of when you are ovulating you can also check your temperature daily at the same time such as in the morning when you wake up. In order to do this properly you need to record your temperature daily so you can see when you have any changes. When you are ovulating, your temperature will rise by approximately one degree so this can be helpful as an indicator.

Naturally there can be other reasons that your temperature will go up such as catching a cold or fever. Despite this, combining the mucus checking with taking your temperature everyday can give you a pretty good idea of when you are ovulating. This is an inexpensive method as you can buy a thermometer specifically designed for checking ovulation at your local pharmacy.

3)      Measuring Your Hormone Levels – Ovulation Predictor Kits

Last but not least, you can also purchase ovulation predictor kits which tend to be the most  accurate method, as they look at the LH (Luteinizing Hormone) in your urine.  The kits are really easy to use as all you have to do is pee on the provided stick each day at the same time. When you are close to ovulation, your level of Luteinizing Hormone goes up.

The only negatives is that you have to keep buying these kits often during several cycles if you miss your ovulation point. While each kit in and of itself is not expensive, they can add up over time.  Despite this fact, ovulation predictor kits are still one of the most accurate methods for determining when you ovulate if you are trying to get pregnant. And if you can time this correctly you can finally get pregnant with a girl or boy to start growing your family. In fact, once you figure out when you ovulate, it actually becomes possible to learn how to naturally choose baby gender by following a few simple steps. To learn more, click on natural gender selection.