It is finally raining. All the windows in the house have steamed up. It's like living deep under some fresh water stream, with glimpses of a watery underworld through the glass, wavy green plants undulating in the current.
The only problem is that outside it's still hot. There is something just fundamentally wrong about a hot rainfall. If it were a normal rainfall, I'd have turned off the A/C and opened the windows to catch a nice breeze, but as it is, everything must be kept locked up to prevent insta-mold appearing on all the surfaces.
So yesterday I got the pills and surprise! there were only five of them in the bottle. Hm. It said to take on days five through nine on one's cycle. I know of course that I have a cycle, but part of the problem is that mine is irregular. How on earth do I know what day is exactly the fifth day of said cycle?
This is not an easy question to answer. Here's a sample of the calculation that must be done:
"To predict your ovulation cycle, you must first determine the length of your menstrual cycle. Although a woman's cycle typically lasts between 28 and 30 days, you should count the number of days between the first and last days of your menstrual period, to determine the exact length of your cycle. For the most accurate results, you should calculate the length of your cycle for two to three months to determine your average cycle length. If the length of your cycle varies by more than a few days each month, you may have to speak with a doctor to determine a better way to calculate your ovulation cycle.
Once you know how long your menstrual cycle lasts, you will need to determine the length of your luteal phase, or days past ovulation (DPO). Beginning the day after ovulation, and lasting until the day before your next menstrual period, your luteal phase must last at least 10 days in order for you to become pregnant. Although blood tests are the only way to determine the exact length of your luteal phase, 14 days is the average length for most women. As a result, if you do not have your exact information, you can assume that your luteal phase is 14 days long.
After determining the length of your luteal phase, you can subtract those days from the total length of your cycle to predict when ovulation will occur. For example, if your menstrual cycle lasts 30 days and your luteal phase is 14 days long, your ovulation cycle will begin on the 16th day of your cycle (because 30 minus 14 is 16). Although an egg will only be available for about 24 hours, sperm can survive for three to five days. Therefore, your most fertile time will be about two to three days prior to, and after, your ovulation cycle begins. To increase your chances of becoming pregnant, you should plan to have intercourse approximately two days before you ovulate."
-How do I calculate my ovulation cycle?
Wow. Like that's not confusing at all. It's enough to make one wonder how anyone ever gets pregnant. People do all the time- other people, of course. But still. That it happens at all seems amazing to me.
I continued to google and found more straight forward instructions and, according to them, day one is the first day of my period. With that calculation, yesterday was day nine already. Which sucks, because I missed this month's window of enhanced procreating opportunity. We can still try like heck on the recommended days, but I won't have a chemically enhanced egg(s) to up the ante. We have to save that for next month.
