Is 4 attempts too many?

[Throwaway_panther]

Hi atomic, and et. al.

I know 3 attempts in the fertile period is recommended for trying for a boy -- is that sort of a hard and fast number? Or is just many attempts in the fertile period still ok?

So say you did the three attempts between 0-1 and 0 -- is 0+1 necessary? Is it risky in case that last attempt is just weak, "dusty" sperm? Does O-3 or 0-4 count in all of this too?

Thank you in advance!

[ksmom]

O+1 is unlikely to count as sperm wouldn't have time to capacitate. I can tell you I got boys with various BD patterns ranging from 5+ attempts to just one. Good luck and have all my blue dust!!

[Throwaway_panther]

Thank you! I know atomic has answered this so many times, so I don't want to ask ad nauseum, but think I got thrown off by Fertility Friend having 0+1 in their "attempts" count.

As a follow up, too -- if there's still EWCM or watery CM at O+1, is that a sign of ovulation still to come or is it just "leftovers"? I seemingly always have watery CM so not sure if I should see heavier amounts of CM at O+1 to mean I might be ovulating later after a surge than expected?

[ksmom]

Fertility Friend probably counts the O+1 attempts because even though it's good at detecting O, it's not an exact science. It could still be off by 2-3 days either way. So what someone thinks is a pregnancy resulting from O+1, probably O'ed a day or two off from what FF detected.

Some people do get fertile cm for a day or two after O. I usually get it. I think it takes a while to dry up. You could be experiencing a false surge where your body gears up for O then decides against it. Only way to know for sure is through temps or ultrasound. If you always have watery cm, you'll probably just have more of it or have it change to ewcm around O time.

[MiaMelb]

Exciting to 'see' you are ttc again panther

My understanding on attempts is the more the merrier provided you're in the fertile window. Each attempt just adds to what's there swaying blue. I think O-3 is a pretty long shot so I'd be aiming for those attempts from O-2 to O. Agree about the ewcm too, can definitely still be around after O. GL

[atomic sagebrush]

NO, I'd LOVE to see you guys in with even more attempts if possible (and yes O-3 and O-4 count) but I don't want to make the rule of thumb something that only 10% of people could ever do (keeping the goals achievable for my beloved blue swayers as you know is kind of a big deal to me )

O+1 is a special case because you cannot get pregnant that day BUT that having been said, sometimes O could conceivably be delayed and in that case, an "O+1" attempt may end up really being an O Day attempt. There is NO risk to BD O+1, the O+12 idea is completely debunked and even if you DID accidentally BD at O+12 and even if it did even do anything (it doesn't) the egg would have been long before fertilized by sperm from earlier attempts that had already capacitated.

The risk to avoid is this: You don't want to start having lots of back to back "bunny" attempts too soon. We don't want to have DH depleted by attempts that cannot hit the egg (so like O-5, 6, 7 or even O-4 is dicey) because those sperm will be dead and gone before any egg shows up, and then he's shooting much less per batch than he would have been if not for those too-early attempts.

So that is why I tend to prefer NONdaily attempts earlier in the cycle (even EOD can be a lot for some guys, YMMV) and then leaving him better able to hit it hard during the fertile window.

[4blue2pink]

nice to see you back again TP hows things with your thyroid levels? it sounded like you were having a complete nightmare with it a couple of months ago, i hope they have normalized for you now so you can go ahead with ttc your boy xx

[Throwaway_panther]

Thank you everyone for the responses and well wishes!

Thyroid levels are a go -- apparently the cheaper med I was on didn't work as well with my body as the other thyroid product I was on. It's much more expensive, but my levels were completely out of hypo levels within 2 weeks of going back on it. That was over a month ago, so my levels should be even more optimal now.

Good to hear about the many attempts! I know my DH is a special case for blue swaying, but he considers EOD until the fertile period "torture," so the promise of tons of sex during my fertile period is what's kept him on board

Sort of an added question:
I've had a pretty consistent date of suspected ovulation (CD 20 or 21) after a pretty consistent 2 days of pos OPKs, including the full cycle after my 5w loss. If my OPKs indicated ovulation this month at CD 18 after a 1 day pos OPK, should I trust that? Is it possible my LH surge is just way early, or is my ovulation perhaps moved up this month for a variety of factors? Funny enough, this is my second month of trying "Lunaception" and it seems to be what actually triggered this?!

I know BBT is the most accurate way, but that's not been something that's worked out for me :/

[atomic sagebrush]

Fertility Friend probably counts the O+1 attempts because even though it's good at detecting O, it's not an exact science. It could still be off by 2-3 days either way. So what someone thinks is a pregnancy resulting from O+1, probably O'ed a day or two off from what FF detected.

Some people do get fertile cm for a day or two after O. I usually get it. I think it takes a while to dry up. You could be experiencing a false surge where your body gears up for O then decides against it. Only way to know for sure is through temps or ultrasound. If you always have watery cm, you'll probably just have more of it or have it change to ewcm around O time.

good point. FF can never rely upon people having their temps done properly and doesn't call it for O until the 3 days of high temps so I think take that with a wink and a nod, probably doesn't count but just in case of delayed O or misleading temps...

It is totally possible to get EWCM after ovulation. EWCM is NOT about ovulation, it's about hormones. The hormones make the CM thin and stretchy like that. So sometimes you make a lot of estrogen and/or it takes a while to work its way out and/or it drops more slowly for whatever reason and/or it takes longer for your body to thicken it up and you'll have it for 1-3 days after O or even longer.

I have absolutely had it after ovulation and it's not unusual for me, either.

[atomic sagebrush]

Your O Day can change at any point. Even if you've had every single cycle of your life with O on CD 20-21 it can still change just that easily and yes, I'd absolutely trust the OPK. LH surge, even if early, does indicate it's possible to be fertile sooner than you think and I'd still wanna hit it with the attempts. Men that are normally machines in the BD dept. can often go longer without possibly swaying pink anyway so those concerns I had in my above post may not be quite as applicable.

Intersting about the Lunaception!!! Thanks for sharing that!