How to Tell When You're Ovulating

When you want to get pregnant, it's hare to wait for the little plus sign on the home pregnancy test. You want to do everything you can to maximize your chances of getting pregnant in any given month. The best way to do that is to know when you ovulate.

How can you tell when you're ovulating? There are several signs. None are definitive, but when they occur together, they can be a good indicator that it's baby making time.

The first sign you should look for is a change in your vaginal secretions. Right after your period ends, your vaginal secretions will be thick and sticky or non-existent. As ovulation nears, these secretions will turn white and creamy and finally clear and copious, with the consistency of an egg white. When your vaginal secretions are like egg whites, ovulation will generally happen soon.

Another sign to look for is a change in cervical position. This is not for the faint of heart, and if you're not desperate to get pregnant, you can skip looking for this sign. If you really want to know if you're ovulating though, wash your hands and check the position of your cervix. Throughout most of a woman's cycle, the cervix is low and closed. It's easy to feel with your fingertips, because of it's low position in your vagina. As ovulation nears, the cervix becomes high, soft, and open. You may not even be able to feel it, because it's so high in your vagina. If you check it throughout your cycle, you will soon be able to tell the difference between how your cervix feels at ovulation and how your cervix feels throughout the rest of your cycle.

Some women experience mittelschmerz around the time of ovulation. This is a sharp pain in the lower abdomen. It lasts from a few minutes to a few hours, and can be quite painful. Not all women experience it, but if you do, it's a sign that ovulation is happening.

A final way to tell if you're ovulating is to track your temperature. This won't warn you that ovulation is about to happen, but it will show you if you're ovulating at all. Over the course of a few months, it will provide a pattern that will help you anticipate ovulation in future months. To track your temperature, get yourself a good digital thermometer. Keep it within arm's reach of your bed, and when you wake up in the morning, take your temperature. Do this before sitting up, eating, or drinking. It also works best if you take your temperature around the same time every morning. Chart your temperature on a piece of graph paper or with a temperature chart. You can find printable temperature charts online. After taking your temperature for one complete cycle, you should notice that your temperatures are about a half a degree higher after ovulation than they are before. Ovulation occurs on the last day of low temperatures. Hopefully after a few months you will have a good idea of what day during your cycle you tend to ovulate.

If you want to spend the money, ovulation kits can also come in handy. Each brand is a bit different, so you'll need to follow the instructions exactly. Ovulation kits can work well if your cycles are regular, but they don't help much if your cycles are long and irregular. Typical ovulation kits only include 5 tests, so you really need to have a good idea of when you ovulate in order to use them effectively. I don't like to rely on them, because I have long cycles, and I don't like to spend the money on them.

Hopefully after you get familiar with these ovulation signs, a positive pregnancy test will be right around the corner!