TTC with a Long Cycle

BLink1015 · October 2014

Hi there! I'm new to the site and love the sense of community and support here

I wanted to throw this out there to hear if anyone has experienced anything similar or has any input. My DH and I have been married for 18 months and together for 9.5 years (we are HS sweethearts) We are both 27 and have stable, good careers. DH has no debt, I am working tirelessly to pay off the rest of my student debt. We have had many discussions over the years about when to start TTC. We really like the idea of having a Fall baby (obviously a healthy pregnancy & LO is the important part but at this point we have no reason to believe we will have TTTC) but here's my issue - I have a long cycle and I won't ovulate at all in January. Note: If we did end up having TTTC we would be more concerned about conceiving than specific EDD.

I have charted for the past few years and always had a regular 31/32 day cycle. However, starting in July my cycle has been getting longer and longer. [July: 46 days; August: 44 days; September - I'm currently on day 49 with no AF yet. I did POAS 4 days ago - BFN] If my cycle continues this way - with long... loooong cycles, I will have less chances of a fall EDD. This is so disappointing to me because we were hoping to connect holiday breaks (I'm a teacher) with maternity leave to extend time with LO. Has anyone had disappointment with TTC and less chances to conceive due to long cycles? Thanks!!!

Jags8 · October 2014

Please don't set yourself up for disappointment. Even if you got pregnant in January for a Novemebr EDD, what if something went wrong, and baby had to come in September?

cMichelle0423 · November 2014

@BLink1015‌ I used to have really long AND irregular cycles. I've only had 1 period in the last two years so I'm not sure what my cycle is like now (I've had two pregnancies in the last 2 years, 1 cycle in between). It really depends on a lot, like @emilie818‌ said. Not only does your body make all the decisions, but so does your H's. Personally, I got pregnant both times pretty quick. We were only trying for 2 months with our first LO before getting pregnant, then I got pregnant after 1 month with our 2nd. DH is 26 and I'm 23. We're both obviously pretty fertile, but that's not the case for everyone. I have a friend my age who also has long cycles, that has been ttc for the last 8 months with no luck. Just be patient and bang it out like every other day! Lol that's what dh and I did and it worked for us! Good luck!!

jennypolkadots · November 2014

My first thought is you need to talk to a doctor if you cycle changed so drastically so suddenly. I could see adding a day or two but adding 10 days and it staying that way is really a red flag. You should also learn more about charting and natural family planning. You will be able to pinpoint your ovulation and most everyone has their period the same # of days past ovulation each month, even if the total cycle length is longer. What has happened with your cycle is something is delaying ovulation longer and longer and this should be addressed. Or perhaps it is totally normal and just your new norm, but still worth checking out and trying to regulate.

There are holistic approaches. Make sure your healthy weight and eating well. There are also herbs like motherwort that are supposed to help regulate cycles.

I have 30 day cycles like clockwork and got pregnant our first month trying. Even with charting and predictable cycles, I was totally shocked it happened the first month. Seriously, it is not very common and I would never plan on that. It seems fate intervenes where the more you are counting on it the less likely it will happen. But start trying when you're ready, the birthday is just not a big consideration in the grand scheme of things.

jennypolkadots · November 2014

Another note - charting will be your best friend if you do get pregnant. I promise it's simple - just take your temperature with a basal thermometer ($10 at walgreens) every morning and chart or use fertility friend on your phone. If you don't have 28 day cycles then your due date will be off if you aren't charting. If you know your ovulation date or at least your average leutal phase length you will be able to get a good due date. You also would be able to tell when to take a test (+10 DPO or later) which would be very difficult if you have no clue when you ovulate.

If your EDD is based off a 28 day cycle but the month you conceived you were set up to have a 50 day cycle your due date will be off by about 3 weeks. Many OBs do early scans to date the fetus but not all of them and even this has accuracy issues instead of knowing for sure when you ovulated. You don't want to go through the whole pregnancy thinking your baby is measuring small or be induced weeks before your correct due date. I hope this helps!