Conceiving...how to start the 14 days..SERIOUS ONLY?

Question

My question is my period is usually a three day deal...first day i get a small cramp...then i know its time to put something on....light light bleed liek only when I wipe....then second day I bleed...third day is light again im done...I have been like this since I was 11...My husband and I are now wanting to try to conceive...Should I start my 14 day count after the first day or the second since the first day is sooo light...?? Please serious answers only!!!

If you guys are going to have smart answers why are you even on here...I was just getting other peoples ideas/experieneces..I mean this catagory is trying to conceive...SOME people might not now.,..

Answer 1

The fact is, you should not be concerning yourself with a 14 day count, but with determining when YOU are at your most fertile. The textbook case (that we were all taught) of a 28-day cycle with ovulation occurring on day 14 is a model that MOST women do not fit. So although your cycle starts on the first day of bleeding -- which in you case is apparently very light bleeding -- that doesn't mean, at all, that you'll ovulate 14 days later, even if you DO have a 28 day cycle. My cycle was always a little longer than 28 days, but my typical ovulation day was a full week after that mythological day14 -- were I counting, I'd still be trying to conceive! In any event, a one day difference in the math shouldn't be a factor if you're having sex at your fertile time -- you generally have the best chance of conceiving by having sex in the several days leading up to ovulation, and the "best" time is not, actually, on the day you ovulate, since an egg only survives for a matter of hours and it takes some time for sperm to reach the fallopian tubes.

So, even though it's not what you asked for I'm going to give you what is becoming my stock answer about trying to conceive.

Go get a copy of the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility, by Toni Weschler, and visit the forums at http://www.tcoyf.com. Read about what's required for conception to occur and learn to read your own body's signs to determine when YOU are at your most fertile.

Chart your own cycles. Go out to your local drugstore and buy a basal body temperature thermometer -- these are more sensitive than your regular thermometers that you use to see if you're running a fever. You should take your temperature every morning, at the same time; it should be taken after at least three consecutive hours of sleep, and before you do ANYTHING. Don't get out of bed, reach for water, even open your mouth to speak before you temp. Your temperature fluctuates in response to hormonal shifts; those fluctuations are subtle and if you chart them, you will learn your own pattern of fertility. Typically, your temperature will rise after you ovulate, and in many women it will dip slightly before you ovulate.

Learn to check your cervical fluids (also called cervical mucous) and check it at least once daily. It's quantity and quality changes during your cycle, and typically takes on an egg-white like consistency before you ovulate.

Learn to check your cervical position, if you can reach it and are comfortable doing so. You will feel for whether it's high/low, open/closed, hard/soft. This will also give you clues about your fertility.

If you're not charting or using ovulation kits or monitors you may not be having sex when you're most fertile. The 28-day-cycle/ovulate-on-day-14 myth is just that. Sure there are women with 28 day cycles who ovulate on day 14 but that's a textbook case and MOST of us don't fit that description. If I had sex in accordance with that idea of fertility I'd still be trying to have kids.

If you are doing those things already and know your timing has been right, and after a year you're still not pregnant, you should call your OB/GYN and get a referral for a reproductive endocrinologist, who is a specialist in the field and will be far more knowledgeable than your run of the mill OB would ever be. More likely than not, an OB would give you a prescription for Clomid, tell you to take it, and send you on your way.....without any tests, without any monitoring (and with any fertility drug, you shouldn't be on it without being monitored).

If you're not yet charting your cycles or using an ovulation monitor or ovulation predictor kits, please, please start to. This will help you tremendously. First of all, you will maximize your chance of getting pregnant. Second of all, IF something is amiss, it will arm you with knowledge about your body, so you can go to the doctor having already some sense of what may be a problem (i.e. if you're not ovulating, or if you have irregular cycles, or if your luteal phase (the number of days between when you ovulate and when you start to bleed) is short...etc.)

If you know all this already, I'm sorry for being redundant -- goodness knows I don't mean to sound condescending.

Best of luck, and Happy New Year!

Answer 2

First day you see anything. You didn't mention how long the cycle is but the 14 day thing is only for those who have a 28 day cycle. Go to babycenter. com for an ovulation calender or just type that in at any search engine. Also you should begin trying about 3 days in advance of your expected conception time and def. have sex that day. You can also purchase an ovulation kit at WalMart or Target that will help narrow down the exact day. They aren't all that expensive to get you started and pinpoint the day exactly. Good luck!

Answer 3

Ovulation occurs at the mid-point of the cycle (so the 14th day of a 28-day cycle). This is when you are fertile and capable of conceiving. You start counting the day the bleeding begins, no matter how light. Even though it a light bleed, the hormonal cycle has begun and that marks the first day you begin counting. Eggs "live", or are viable for fertilization for about 24 hours. Sperm cells for about 72 hours. Good luck and, of course, enjoy trying!!!

Answer 4

I am in the same situation and I have some dark spotting for the day before my period starts. I did speak to my doctor and she said to count the first day as the day that you have 'flow'. I know it sounds kind of gross, but that's how I had to figure out where I am in my cycle. My husband and I have been trying for awhile now and this was a problem because we were missing the window of opportunity. Also, the WebMD ovulation calendar is awesome! My friend used it and she's now pregnant. Good luck!

Answer 5

First day...and just incase have sex on the 10th through 15th day after your first day of yoiur period. Sperm can live up there for like a week and so when the egg drops then chances are you will get pregnant. I mean as long as you do it on all of those days you have a higher chance.

Answer 6

First day...and just incase have sex on the 10th through 15th day after your first day of yoiur period. Sperm can live up there for like a week and so when the egg drops then chances are you will get pregnant. I mean as long as you do it on all of those days you have a higher chance.

Answer 7

First day, but since you have such a light period, I would look for other signs of ovulation if I were you. You want to be looking for a change in your cervical mucus (it should have the consistancy of egg whites). Also, chart your temperature with a special "charting" thermometer. When you experience a spike in your temperature, you have likely ovulated.
Good luck!

Answer 8

okay. If you are serious about a baby? I would have sex everyday as much as possible. Every woman ovulates differently. The only way to know for sure is to take an ovulation test. But seriously. if you want a baby, have sex actively everyday, then you have a higher chance.

Answer 9

You always count on the first day that you bleed no matter how light or heavy it is. Best of luck and have lots of fun!

Answer 10

I have read that day 1 is the day you see red blood. My cycle sounds very similar to yours. The first or 'warning' day is usually brown spotting. The next day is heavier and definately red. I have always called that day day 1. Hope this helps.

Good luck!!