As a courtesy to Bees who don't necessarily want to read about the more, um, graphic side of TTC when perusing POAS boards, here is a "safe" place to do that.
Whether it be CM, sex (we can even call it sex! 
,) or whatever, bring it on! Share questions, concerns, facts, musings, etc!
TTC is kind of, well, messy sometimes so let's chat it up!
You might also enjoy...
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Okay, so I will begin...I am relying more on CM as opposed to OPKs to plan sex this month and read to look for EWCM and really couldn't figure out the texture without breaking open an egg. I read that EWCM is very close in texture to semen...why don't they just say its like semen vs egg whites? Anyway, that is much. easier to figure out and look out for!
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You will definitely *know* when you have EWCM. The first time I was checking I thought I had it every day, and then bam! Haha.
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I actually think that ewcm looks a lot more like egg white than semen but I guess it feels slippery like semen. This is probably more TMI than you were expecting but on my peak day after I pee my ewcm will sometimes extend from my vagina to the toilet water while I'm sitting down. Sorry if that crossed the line to too much TMI.
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@NerdBee: not too much info at all. I am grossed out at the idea of grabbing my CM and checking it out, I don't know why, but this describes it perfectly for me so now I know lol
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Following!
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@NerdBee: You literally cannot cross any lines here! I meant more like texture. So basically, clear semen?
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@KelLeeLeee: I tend to be more watery than have EWCM, I seriously feel like I have peed. Some women are like that that there is so much that they can't tell EWCM is mixed in. It worked for me last month! Well, the getting KU part. Hoping/praying for a sticky baby this month!
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@simplyfelicity: last month with your BFP did you go by CM or OPKs?
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@EABAE: I used OPKs last month but those produced a lot of stress deciphering lines, so I am going to try to monitor my CM this month and have sex cd12-17. I o'ed last month at cd 15. Basically, we are going to replicate the bd timing of last month plus add some days to the beginning and end in case I am off from the CP. CM will just be for added info.
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@simplyfelicity: Okay, since we're on the TMI board - do you go digging up there? It feels really watery to me too, until I get near the cervix... that's where the good stuff is, hahaha omg
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@KelLeeLeee: BAHAHAHAHA! Okay, there are some days where there isn't much, so I wash my hands and gently ummm...swipe? Most days it is pretty much readily accessible. Also if you BM and then go "looking" or just wipe, you should be able to find it. I found a pic on google images, inadvertently, that shows the different types but even that might be too much for the TMI board.
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Okay, so I wanted to share a couple links I have found helpful:
This one is a pretty light introduction to CM:
http://www.parenting.com/article/how-cervical-mucus-helps-predict-your-most-fertile-daysThis one is much more informative and even has pictures that wont make you want to vomit:
http://nfp.marquette.edu/monitor_cervical_mucus.phpThis is an article about the success of CM checking:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/26/cervical-mucus-ovulation-monitoring_n_3659092.html -
Okay, so DH and I DTD around 5 hours ago. On impulse, I checked my CM and found nothing. No more than a few minutes later, I felt something going on downstairs, checked and I noticed what looked like EWCM. Super stretchy and clear. Not a lot but some. It really didn't look like semen as I have noticed that semen is more slippery and doesn't stretch. Any thoughts? Seems weird it would just appear suddenly!
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@simplyfelicity: Mine actually looks like actual egg whites!
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@CatchAFallingStar: Wait your EWCM does? I am just wondering if I am confusing DH's sperm with EWCM. I have been pretty dry lately but this doesn't seem like sperm. I am so confused!
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@simplyfelicity: When I had EWCM, it looked and felt just like egg whites. I don't think sperm looks or feels anything like it.
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@CatchAFallingStar: Okay thats what I was thinking. To me, sperm is super slippery without much form. Thanks!
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@simplyfelicity: sperm usually is white, not clear, so you probably just got some EWCM
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@simplyfelicity: it is really easy to confuse EWCM and leftover semen. The key is that EWCM will stretch more than an inch and you usually only get it about O-5 through O-1/O or so.
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@simplyfelicity: Semen is not stretchy at all. Just very slippery. Pretty sure you had ewcm.
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@simplyfelicity: you might also be interested in this thread:
http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-totally-completely-100-flame-free-ttc-question-amnesty-thread/page/4#post-1592420
(and, um, totally not meaning to AW my own post...) -
@septca: AW? I had no idea there was already a TMI board!
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@simplyfelicity: AW = attention whore.
It's not really a TMI thread so much... more of a place where you can ask questions you are too embarrassed to ask elsewhere. There is a gold version too, if you are interested in that. It was started because people mentioned somewhere else that they felt intimidated by the TTC boards and felt like they needed a safe place to ask "dumb" questions.
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@simplyfelicity: Also - I was thinking of you this morning. Have you read "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" (often referred to as TCOYF)? I think you would *really* like it - it is a great way to learn a lot about this stuff in a really practical way. Based on the way you have described yourself on other threads, you might like having all the nitty gritty details.
(For me, at least, more knowledge = less uncertainty = less stress.)
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@septca: Oh hahaha, gotcha.
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@septca: You are so thoughtful. My quest to know everything about everything is my Achilles' heel. I want to know more and then knowing more adds opens more stress. I am totally working against myself. Anyway, I have heard of the book and been super interested, especially since I don't want to use BC ever again. I will totally put that on my Amazon wish list.
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Hooray! A place where I can be as gross as I need to be! I understand some might not want to hear it but its hard to ttc for an extended period (or be a newcomer) and not want some help with this stuff.
I find the hardest thing with CM is when it's mixed or characteristic of many types. I got a lot of EW and that was just like egg white but I also get little blobs of EW after ovulation and ill get sort of watery and sort of creamy. Lately I've been getting streaky white creamyish. I don't know what to call it sometimes so I take a stab but Fertility Friend can sometimes put a lot of stock in CM or get confused so I try to be as close as possible.
I'm also curious with mittelschmertz If its common to have it from O and off and on through the LP? I never had it before having my son and sometimes I'm convinced its just gas or something else. I had thought it was my kidneys as I used to get KI way back when but the doctor said nope. I realt need to figure out a system to remind me to temp next month or just try temping even if its not ideal wake ups because my body has been one confusin little bitch lately.
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@MrsMccarthy: The same thing happens to me re: ovulation pains. One month I really felt it, but most of the time it's just sharp twinges that feel like gas pains, and they end up staying around most of my LP, then of course making me feel like I'm pregnant
I have read that even if you do not have consistent waking times you can still temp. For example, if you wake up at 6am the first day and take your temp, and then next day you wake up at 7am you can just subtract .1 from your temp to make it more accurate. -
@KelLeeLeee: hmm maybe i'll try it. I cosleep with my son so the hardest part is not talking or moving and just plain forgetting entirely. I may set an alarm.
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@MrsMccarthy: My CM confuses the crap out of me. I know when I have globs of EWCM, but everything else is confusing and sometimes doesn't follow a reasonable pattern. I like the second link @simplyfelicity: posted because that is way easier than putting the term creamy, sticky, watery, etc to it.
This cycle is so screwy. I am pretty sure all my fertile CM is gone, but I'm not sure I have ovulated and my cervix is too high for me to reach right now. For more TMI this cycle, the two times I had spotting (4 days apart) it looked exactly like when you have some blood in your snot and blow your nose. I am hoping that it was an ovulation indicator and not some more serious issue. Both times it lasted for less than 12 hours and turned to brown towards the end.
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@Radish: hmm have you thought of taking a pregnancy test or is that just a ridiculous thought? When was your last full period? Was it pretty heavy?
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@MrsMccarthy: I've thought about it because of the bleeding, but I'm pretty sure it would be impossible. My last period was April 16th and heavy. I would have had to ovulated very early in my cycle and I've never had a cycle shorter than 27 days in the 28 cycles I have kept track of. I started using OPKs on CD 11, though, so I guess anything is possible. We BD on CD 9, but not earlier.
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@Radish: Ugh...I had the limbo phase. I am hoping this becomes clear to you soon!
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Alright, so I am on cd 14 and I already feel "out." Last month I O'ed on either cd 15 or 16. I don't recall having EWCM but did have watery cm. Like lots of it for three days starting cd 14. This month my husband and I decided to not do OPKs and just BD during what we thought was my fertile window. As added reference, I decided to start charting CM.
For the past couple of days, I have been moist and had EWCM here and there. Not tons of it by any means and I am now wondering it if was semen but it was stretchy and I can smell semen from a mile away and this didn't smell the same (would love to add I did not sniff my CM
, I just have a sensitive nose.) Anyway, while checking my CM for the past few days, I have noticed that I couldn't really reach my cervix and what I could was super soft. Today, I checked and felt that it was hard and almost like it had a point to it. I was like, what the heck is this? I remember reading that low in hard means not fertile. I have also been fairly dry now. (Maybe due to the checking earlier.)
So, now I don't know where to go from here. I am not sure if I O'd already because I never really got that abundance of CM. Luckily, DH and I DTD cd 12 and 13.
Then again, I am not sure why my cervix would be so low and hard, but softer earlier. (I am no cervix expert, I could just tell it felt different.)
My other thought is, maybe O is a long way off from now... and maybe the EWCM meant nothing.I know cycles can be wonky after a CP and I know there is no way to prove O without temping but does anyone have any insight to share? Sorry this is so all over the place...Thank you for getting through all of it,
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@simplyfelicity: I would rely more on CM than CP because it can differ a lot from person to person. I think the smart plan is to try to hit EOD or every third day at least until about CD20
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@MrsMccarthy: I totally agree! I wonder if my body keeps wanting to O and then stops. Work has been super stressful as has the CP. Next month, I am either going to use OPKS or just BD EOD for my whole cycle and not even worry about O. Thanks, as always!
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Okay I've got a lovely question for you all but that's what this thread is for right? If your CM looked kind if like semen but wasn stretchy what would you call it. It's a bit thicker than milky but thinner or wetter than lotion. I think it would have to be thicker to be sticky too. Creamy?
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@simplyfelicity: sigh. I'm at CD 19 and no ewcm yet usually I get it anywhere between CD 15 and 18. So I totally get your frustration.
@MrsMccarthy: what does it feel like when you rub it between your fingers? I think I remember from TCOYF that creamy feels like lotion when you rub it between your fingers.
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@NerdBee: yeah I guess lotions but a bit wetter? Like watery lotion. I'm gonna go with creamy. Also regarding the EWCM do you every go searching for it? Sometimes that's what I have to do. I know it's not fun but with clean hands if you go digging you can usually find something around ovulation
(For me, at least, more knowledge = less uncertainty = less stress.)
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