Frequency?

[mimosas]

How often do you have sex during your fertile window? I read every other day so that his supply has time to replenish which is what we've been doing, but maybe we should try everyday?

I want to do everything we can for the best chances this cycle. I have pre-seed, H switched to walnuts (lol), and I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

[VillainV]

I read no more often than once a day. I'm still waiting to O, but we've been getting pretty busy this month (even though we know it won't make a difference). If the egg is only good for 12-24 hours, then every other day seems like you might miss it? I'd love to hear from the ladies who have read more than me though, because I'm no expert.

[nevafaye]

Aug 21, 2012 8:13:41 GMT -5 VillainV said:

I read no more often than once a day. I'm still waiting to O, but we've been getting pretty busy this month (even though we know it won't make a difference). If the egg is only good for 12-24 hours, then every other day seems like you might miss it? I'd love to hear from the ladies who have read more than me though, because I'm no expert.

But sperm can live like 2–5 days inside you, so as long as you're doing it at least a few days before you should be fine.

[statlerwaldorf]

Every other day

[Jalapeñomel]

As long as there are no sperm issues, you can have sex every day.

[jenn1298]

We try for every other day until I get a positive OPK, and then everyday for 3 days or so.

[winecheery]

Well, I won't be much help, this being my first cycle, but for what it's worth...

My doc said we could do it everyday if we wanted to, without adverse effects. We are taking her suggestion, and to get in the habit, made sure we got to it every other day, or every few days, even before we got off the pill. We're just having fun right now. My doc literally said just have fun, and try and stay stress free as your body adjusts to being off bc, and that the more you do it during your most fertile days, the better the odds for success, but don't make it a chore.

Hope this is your cycle!

[Cheesecake]

I guess it averages out to 2 times in 3 days. It can be a few days in a row, and sometimes we skip a day, or when weekends and then weekdays (or vice versa) are involved, it might be evening day 1, morning day 3, morning day 4, evening day 5.
It kinda depends on how busy and/or tired we are too. But at minimum every other day.

[mkesweetie]

Every other day from the day my period is over until day 19 or 20. Generally. Sometimes every third day.

I'm running out of ideas and energy at this point.

[VillainV]

Aug 25, 2012 9:25:27 GMT -5 mkesweetie said:

Every other day from the day my period is over until day 19 or 20. Generally. Sometimes every third day.

I'm running out of ideas and energy at this point.

Do you do any charting? If you can pinpoint when you ovulate, then you can save your energy for the few days leading up to and including when you ovulate. Obviously sex during the rest of the month can be fun, but if you're burning out then you can go easy on the rest of the month (use that for "love-making" sex) and have more energy for "baby-making sex" during your fertile window.

[mimosas]

Aug 25, 2012 9:25:27 GMT -5 mkesweetie said:

Every other day from the day my period is over until day 19 or 20. Generally. Sometimes every third day.

I'm running out of ideas and energy at this point.

OMG I would be exhausted. Do you have short cycles? I guess this wouldn't be bad with a 28 day cycle. Mine are 35 or 36 so this would be an extra ten days or so of every other day sex. I'm tired just thinking about it.

[mkesweetie]

Ok, the last two that responded to me made me want to cry, because I *am* exhausted and here I'm thinking I'm a kinda shitty wife about that!

Charting - no. I haven't been. I think I'll start w/ my next cycle, because I didn't start this month - things were crazy at work and I've just been kind of lazy.

I also am changing my OPKs. I have been using the Target brand for the last three months, and I honest to God have a hard time telling if they're positive or not. I read a post on ML a few weeks ago that a lot of people had that problem so I got a new brand this month.

My cycle - inconsistent to say the least. I have a 23 day cycle, followed by a 28 day, next 24 days, then a 29, and then last month (teaser!) 31 days.

I think I'm just overwhelmed. I have sisters that get pregnant just *thinking* about babies, so I really thought it would happen immediately and now I'm on cycle 10 of TTC and I feel like I haven't been trying hard enough bc I don't have a chart and my temps.

:-(

[mimosas]

Not a shitty wife! Every other day for that long is a LOT.

I haven't started temping yet, but I've found it super helpful to chart CM as an alternative. I use that and a Clear Blue fertility monitor (I'm so lazy) and that seems to have ovulation pretty pinpointed. But I'm six cycles in with no BFP, so maybe my methods are not the best advice.

[mkesweetie]

I saw my GYN and talked to her about TTC before we started. I am generally a pretty obsessively organized person, especially about things I have a plan for. I asked then about charting and her response was that I should give it a while of sex every other day (from day 9 to day 19/20) and see how that goes. So I think I just kind of clung to that thinking, "Ok, if I do this, I'll end up pregnant!" Now it's not happening, and I'm a little bit over it, and then that makes me feel like if I *really* wanted this I'd be having sex all the time to make it happen. Maybe that makes no sense - it even sounds a little crazycakes when I "hear" myself say it here.

[VillainV]

Aug 25, 2012 10:54:56 GMT -5 mkesweetie said:

I saw my GYN and talked to her about TTC before we started. I am generally a pretty obsessively organized person, especially about things I have a plan for. I asked then about charting and her response was that I should give it a while of sex every other day (from day 9 to day 19/20) and see how that goes. So I think I just kind of clung to that thinking, "Ok, if I do this, I'll end up pregnant!" Now it's not happening, and I'm a little bit over it, and then that makes me feel like if I *really* wanted this I'd be having sex all the time to make it happen. Maybe that makes no sense - it even sounds a little crazycakes when I "hear" myself say it here.

I think charting might make you feel a little bit more in control of the process. Sex every other day between those days should work, but if it hasn't so far, then charting couldn't hurt. It will definitely give you a little bit more ownership of the process. That doesn't necessarily mean that it will work miracles -- even if you do EVERYTHING right, on any given month you only have about 25% chance of success.

The other good thing about charting is that if you end up having any fertility issues, you can go to your doctor with all of the information about your cycle that you've already collected, instead of having to take months to gather the data.