Ovulation

I went in for Day 10 monitoring today. In anticipation of hearing the date for my IUI but instead was told that I have a 13.5 sized egg on the left and it hasn’t gotten to its mature state. Back to daily testing and coming in for another monitoring appointment on Tuesday.

Ovulation is the part of your menstrual cycle when the egg is released from your ovary and typically happens between day 11-14. Once the egg is mature, your body releases a surge of luteinizing hormone (LH), triggering the egg’s release. Not everyone experiences symptoms with ovulation or pays that close attention like me. Although the most accurate method to determine ovulation is with an ultrasound and hormonal blood tests in a doctors office, I have also taken this process into my own hands. So in all the spare time I have, I’ve researched and learned some other methods to track it. These days, the ovulation tracking consumes my morning routine each day.

Basal body temperature (BBT) charting– this involves taking your temperature with a basal thermometer throughout your entire cycle to have a record of its changes from baseline. This should be done each morning. Ovulation is said to be confirmed after your temperature has stayed elevated from your baseline for 3 days.

Ovulation predictor kits (OPK)– these kits are usually over the counter and detect the presence of LH in your urine. You are able to gauge ovulation when the result line is as dark or darker than the control line. Or if you’re like me, you need the visuals of the circle, flashing smiley face, or solid smiley face.