Day 56 (CD1 of cycle #37)

When I took my temperature this morning, I immediately flung myself out of bed to the bathroom. After days of temps around 97.9 degrees, today's 97.3 could only mean one thing -- menstruation. Sure enough, within minutes, my period had arrived, and within an hour, the cramps had begun.

I was a bit disappointed at my 12 day luteal phase the past cycle. When I thought more about it, however, I realized that my sleeping patterns had been very inconsistent, and that there were a handful of nights in the luteal phase that I fell asleep on the couch for a few hours before actually going to bed with my eye mask on. Also, on a few nights, I've been waking up without my eye mask on -- looks like it's time to tighten up the velcro again. Hopefully next month I can be more consistent with that to try to get a longer luteal phase again.

Also, it should be noted that my period arrived the day before the new moon.

My plan for this cycle is to try to use light to trigger an earlier-than-normal ovulation on cycle day 18, so that my next period won't arrive at an undesirable time. We'll see how that works.

Day 51 (CD40 - 8DPO)

Though I appreciate the benefits nearly every day, there are some days when I am particularly glad that I use the fertility awareness method of birth control. Today is one of those days.

I am on cycle day 40. If I had no idea about how my body worked, I would think that there was something very wrong with me for not having a 28 day cycle. But because I am aware of my body's natural signs and keep track of my menstrual cycles, I know that this isn't completely abnormal for me.

My average cycle length is 34 days. If I were not using the fertility awareness method, I would likely be freaking out, worrying myself sick, and spending an exorbitant amount of money on home pregnancy tests, cursing them all because, well, if I'm not pregnant, than why isn't my period here yet? I may even turn into one of those women on Yahoo answers asking complete strangers whether or not I was pregnant and panicking about what I was going to do if I actually was.

In reality, however, I do use the fertility awareness method, so I know that my body did not ovulate until CD32 (ten days later than usual). So instead of stressing out, I'm calmly sitting here sipping raspberry leaf tea in preparation for my period which won't be arriving for at least another five days.

It's the little things that make me happy.

Day 47 (CD36 - 4DPO)

Observation: I fell asleep on the couch last night and slept there until 4am (without my eye mask on, and with lights on in the room), before actually crawling into bed (with my eye mask) for another few hours. During both times, I noticed that I had very bizarre dreams, despite the difference in light conditions.

Pondering: I wonder if my temps are going to raise another 0.1 degree and even out at 97.9 for the rest of my cycle like they did during my last luteal phase.

Day 46 (CD35 - 3DPO)

I got my third high temp, which verified ovulation on CD32. Interesting things to note:

- This was my latest ever recorded ovulation. It seems that the extra melatonin produced by sleeping in dark conditions was enough to suppress ovulation.
- This was my lowest ever recorded coverline. It seems that the extra melatonin also lowered my core body temperature.
- Ovulation occurred on the day after my first light night. That, combined with extra sunlight during the daytime seemed to have triggered my ovulation, or at least balanced out my melatonin/seratonin levels enough that I was finally able to ovulate.

Day 45 (CD34)

Finally! My temp this morning was a 97.6, the highest I've seen in quite a long time. Between that and less-fertile mucus and cervix position, I'm fairly confident in a third high temp tomorrow, verifying that I ovulated on CD32, officially my latest ovulation ever.

Last night I did sleep with my eye mask on again, and was glad that I did; I felt quite well-rested in the morning. My plan during this luteal phase is to be sure to get sun every day to hopefully balance out my seratonin/melatonin levels before beginning the next cycle. I'm hoping for a fourteen day luteal phase again, which would put my next menstruation on Friday, July 4th.

Day 13 (CD2)

So today's temp was a quite low 97.1. However, since it was much closer to yesterday's 6am temp than its 9am temp, I did go back and adjust my chart likewise (though still keeping the whole novel of what happened in my notes).

I'm totally psyched about that 14 day LP, and am totally hooked on the natural "magic" of Lunaception... after less than two weeks! The steady temps, the longer LP... I could definitely get used to this. Especially considering I've only had one other LP that long in my 35 cycles of charting (c16) and I happen to know that three of those nights of that LP we were sleeping in a cabin in the woods (as in, total darkness!) Coincidence?

So now I'm just excited to see what'll happen to my ovulation this month. It's a bit nerve-wracking, since now I'm back at the drawing board and have no idea when I'm going to ovulate, but the suspense makes it kind of fun, too.

I also received a PM asking if I was planning on trying to get in line with the moon cycles; I'm going to copy/paste my response here -- it kind of outlines my general plan of action:

I had taken a look at the calendar this past week since I knew AF was going to be due, and saw that I'm actually functioning on opposite the cycle of the moon -- the full moon was May 19th, the day AF arrived for me. So... for me to get "caught up" this cycle and ovulate on the next full moon, that would mean ovulation on CD31, which is a rather late, even for me!

So, what I think I'm going to do is just try to simulate darkness with my eye mask throughout the entire cycle this time around just to see where it ends up placing ovulation on its own.

Then, next cycle I think I may start introducing light for three nights, depending on where it places ovulation this month. My average ovulation is CD21, and I'd ideally like to get it earlier to avoid the long wait each month when we switch over to TTC in January, so I'll probably try introducing light a few days earlier each month to eventually try to get it down to somewhere around CD15 or 16.

Day 12 (CD1 of cycle #36)

I totally messed up the good consistency I had going.

From 12-6am, DH & I were asleep on the couch with NO eye mask. When I woke up I was shivering, since we had left the patio door open. Waking temp: 97.0

From 6-9am, DH & I went back to bed and I used my eye mask to fall asleep for another three hours. Waking temp: 97.7

I had lots of brown and red in my Diva this morning, so I'm assuming AF is here, and I'm just now (10:30a) starting to feel cramps coming on. We're going out to a movie, so I'm going to make myself some Raspberry Leaf tea to take with on the drive, and some Midol just in case.

All in all, though, I'm excited to start a fresh new cycle!

ETA:
Well, AF definitely hit full force, in the middle of our Chinese buffet... should have known today wouldn't have been a great day to go out to eat, but DH's been craving Chinese for awhile now and we figured it'd be a good date -- along with our movie.

Day 11 (14dpo)

I'm hoping AF will show up later today. I had quite a bit of creamy CM in my Diva Cup this morning, so that's probably a good sign. Waiting for AF is just annoying, even if you do know there's no way you're pg. And I haven't had a 13 day LP (like it would be if it comes today) since July; and I've only had one 14-day LP EVER. I need to learn more patience I guess.

Oh, and, yes, I had another 97.9 temp this morning. I even checked my temp again later after I had been up for awhile just to make sure that my thermometer wasn't wonky... and it gave me a different temp, so at least I know the thermometer's not just stuck on 97.9 or something.

ETA:
Still no AF. We went on a long walk this afternoon and when we got back my lower back was somewhat sore, as if cramps were starting, but now I'm thinking it was probably just sore from our walk. So... looks like my LP this month is at least 14 days. Pretty amazing.

Day 10 (13dpo)

My period didn't arrive this morning. If it waits until tomorrow, that would put my LP at 13 days, longer than it has been in the 10 months that we've been living here. Could Lunaception really have effected my LP that much in a mere 10 days?

And this is amazing...

Day 9 (12dpo)

Well, today I got my SIXTH 97.9 in nine days! I'm so psyched for my next cycle to start so I can see what it'll do for me over an entire cycle! And I thought I had fairly steady temps before!

I don't recall waking up at all between when we went to bed and when the alarm went off, which is definitely good. Even if the only benefit would be to give me a better night's sleep, it would be worth it!

Day 8 (11dpo)

Guess what my temp was this morning? Yet another 97.9. If it weren't for those two mornings waking up late where I had higher temps, I think I'd probably start wondering if something was wrong with my thermometer!

Last night I slept well, but woke up one time when it was still dark out with my eye mask slipped up over my forehead. This morning when the alarm went off at 6:15, I felt incredibly awake... and that's coming from someone who up until a week or so ago was used to sleeping in until 8am!


Some more observations...

I made up this chart awhile ago, but it doesn't exactly follow in line with the "less light = shorter cycle" theory (which is what they say should happen for Lunaception), because according to that, Nov/Dec are the longest.
But when you look at what actually happened those months, it's rather interesting...

We moved to our new, MUCH lighter apartment in August, so cycle 28 (Sept) was my first in this apartment.

OVULATION DATES -
Previous September average : CD18
Cycle 28 in lighter apartment : CD22

October seemed normal.

Previous November average : CD21
Cycle 30 in lighter apartment : CD31
Previous November LPs: 13 days
Cycle 30 LP: 12 days

Previous December average : CD22
Cycle 31 in lighter apartment : CD27
Previous December LPs: 13 days
Cycle 31 LP: 12 days

January had a slightly later than normal.
February seemed normal.
March & April had shorter LPs than normal.

Obviously, that wouldn't explain why June would have my shortest cycles ( s on CD18, 19, 18), but I did think it was interesting.

Day 7 (10dpo)

Another 97.9 this morning! How about that! That makes four out of six and every single undisturbed temp so far while using my eye mask. To be honest, I'm a bit surprised... I didn't really expect it to make a difference right away -- and honestly, it could be a fluke... I have had fairly steady temps before.

I've been having less issues with dry eyes using my eye mask, too, which is good. I started waking up once during the night, and then after I temped at 6am I had a hard time getting back to sleep, but we did go to bed early, so maybe that was just as much sleep as my body needed.

Day 6 (9dpo)

I had yet another 97.9 this morning... that's the third one over the past three days and the other two were "disturbed" temps anyways. Could be a good sign! And I slept VERY well (which might have had something to do with staying up late last night!) The only times I felt myself waking up this morning were when the alarm went off to temp and a few hours later when DH actually woke me up. Yay!

Day 5 (8dpo)

I noticed my eyes being less dry this morning, which is a good thing... perhaps just "getting used to" the eyemask?

We woke up late this AM, so my temp was way higher... adjusted, though it would now be:

CD25 97.7
CD26 97.9
CD27 98.0 (adj)
CD28 97.9
CD29 97.8 (adj)

I only found myself half-waking up once this morning, which considering we slept so late was good.

Day 3 (6dpo)

Just a quick note on how my eye mask has been working for me...

I've been putting it on every night with the strap adjusted tightly, but at least once a night I wake up with it off. One night it had just slipped up on my forehead; one night it was on my pillow; and last night it had somehow made its way to the floor. I think it's trying to escape.

As far as my sleep... I've found that I do fall asleep a lot more quickly and have been waking up less often in the mornings before the alarm goes off, but thus far haven't felt especially more well-rested.

And as far as my cycle goes... well, it's still too early to tell at this point, especially since I'm in my LP already and just started using it at what looks to be 4dpo. So... we wait and see.

Lunaception

Here's the thing... I have long cycles. I always have. My average ovulation is on cycle day 21, and overall, the cycle lasts about 34 days. And when we're TTA, I don't mind at all! But once we TTC, I'm going to go nuts waiting three weeks for ovulation every cycle... I just know it. So, why not try to encourage an earlier ovulation through Lunaception!?

Lunaception is the regulation of light and darkness while sleeping in order to naturally encourage changes in the menstrual cycle. In general, women have found that decreasing the amount of light while sleeping does a number of things:
1. Women with early or late ovulation notice it conforming more with the average ovulation on cycle day 14
2. Women with short luteal phases find that they are lengthened
3. Women with erratic or scant cervical mucus find that it is increased and becomes of greater quality
4. Women find that their basal body temperatures become more even and hormones more steady
5. People find that they get a better night's sleep and are more awake and alert throughout the day.

Right now our lighting situation is less than ideal. And now that I think about it... that could be why I haven't been sleeping well lately (like... for the past month or so... right when it would be getting lighter earlier). With a studio apartment with lots of windows, we get lots of natural light and blacking it out with heavier curtains would be impractical, expensive, and probably not very effective, either. So, plan B... eye mask. Now to find one that I like.

The last two cycles, my mucus pattern has been driving me nuts (too little... only distinguishable by internal checks), and over the past year I've gone from consistently 13-day LPs to consistently 12-day LPs with a 10-day one thrown in there... too much light?

Another note about our sleeping arrangements... last year our bedroom was in a loft apartment which was QUITE dark (esp. at night)... and from cycle 16-26 (the time that we lived there) I had consistently longer LPs and consistently earlier ovulation... coincidence?

So, my plan right now is to start wearing an eye mask as soon as AF arrives (around 5/17). Cycles 36-38 (May-Aug) I'll wear it consistently throughout my cycle. Then, from cycles 39 if they are still long (with ovulation after CD20), I'm going to try removing it for CD12-14 to try to encourage an earlier ovulation.