How I Got Pregnant: TTC Tips - Abby Saylor Armbruster

Hi friends! Now that my pregnancy is out in the open, I’m excited to share more of this journey with you guys, with this post especially geared toward those looking to start a family soon too. Today I’ll be detailing how I got pregnant in about three months with long and irregular 45+ day cycles after being on birth control for five years, as well as what tracking methods, products and apps I used.

*Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor. This post is written for women who are trying to conceive and are looking for tips to better understand their cycle/body for getting pregnant from someone who was in the same position. I’ll be sharing details on how I got pregnant, my TTC journey (Trying to Conceive), as well as what I did to track everything. This post will discuss cycle details as well as information regarding how long it took me to get pregnant. For those who are trying to conceive, I recognize and understand that this is a sensitive topic. My heart is with you!

First and foremost, there are several ways to approach trying to conceive including without tracking and various levels of tracking. Having long and irregular cycles and therefore not having a period every single month, I decided to go the tracking route by utilizing ovulation tests and BBT to know when I was fertile so we weren’t trying blindly. My dream was to ideally be pregnant by the end of February, but we felt very “whatever happens, happens” about it and would have been happy with whatever timing ended up working out for us. I ended up getting pregnant around mid-February, so the ovulation tests and BBT tracking were successful methods for me that I recommend!

WHAT WE USED

Ovulation Predictor Kit — inexpensive on Amazon and comes with ovulation tests and pregnancy tests (my #1 essential!)
Premom app — used to track periods and BBT, and document ovulation test results
Clue app — can be used to track periods, sexual activity, BBT and a lot more
Thermometer to track BBT — I just used a standard, non-BBT specific one from the drugstore that I already had
Prenatal vitamins — I wasn’t super strict about taking these every day when we started trying, but I wanted to include them anyway

QUICK FACTS

I was on Junel birth control pills for 5 years and went off it in September (I did blog posts talking about my experience, starting with this one)
Average period length post-pill: 4 days
Average cycle length post-pill: 45 days
Ovulated anywhere from cycle day 26-32
Number of periods post-pill before I got pregnant: 3
- Post-pill cycles:
  - October 7-November 22 (47 days with a “withdrawal bleed” period October 7-8)
  - November 23-January 4 (43 days with a period November 23-25)
  - Last period: January 5-10
  - Approximate date of next period that never came: February 18
First positive pregnancy test: March 5 at 3 weeks, 2 days (one of the pregnancy test strips from the Ovulation predictor kit I linked)
Timeline: We started “not preventing” late October/November, TRYING in December and I got pregnant in February. If I had to give it a number, I’d say it took us three months to get pregnant.

OVULATION TESTS + TRACKING

I began my TTC process by going off birth control in early September with no idea what to expect from my period after that. I didn’t know if it would take a while to be normal again like I’d read about, or what my “normal” would even be since I’d been on the pill for five straight years. About a month later out of curiosity and wanting to get a better understanding of my body and cycle, I started using ovulation tests in October/November and also incorporating BBT tracking in December. I linked the test strips I used above — they’re inexpensive, easy to use and effective!

As I mentioned, my cycles post birth control were LONG. As someone who was used to a very strict once-a-month period on the pill, this was a whirlwind for me. I honestly don’t remember what exactly my periods were like before birth control since it was so long ago, but post-pill, 45 days felt like an eternity. Since I wasn’t having a period every single month, that meant I didn’t have the opportunity to get pregnant every month and that worried me a bit, hence why I went the tracking route.

After one of my periods, I started taking ovulation tests around the same time every single day (usually around 6:30 p.m.) until my next period started so I had an entire cycle to study (I read that you shouldn’t do it for your first pee of the day, unlike pregnancy tests). If I thought I might be ovulating that day or my test line was darker than usual, I would test earlier in the day too. I used the Premom app to store all the photos of my test results and track everything, and doing this every single day for an entire cycle was really helpful for me in understanding my body.

As for how to time when you’re doing what, I read that it’s best to have sex every other day during your fertile window rather than every single day to better ensure that his swimmers are strong. For people that aren’t interested in tracking, I also read that having sex every other day all the time raises your chances of getting pregnant also since you’re bound to do it at the right time eventually, whenever that may be. Just something to consider!

BBT

I recommend you do your own research, but tracking your Basal Body Temperature (BBT) helps you confirm that you’ve ovulated. You’re supposed to take your temperature at the same time every morning (orally and I did it with just a standard thermometer I already had) before you get out of bed or do anything, and a certain spike means you’ve ovulated. If I had more of a clear consensus of my ovulation with the test strips and my cycle (my test line was never darker than the control line), I may not have felt the need to track my BBT too. However, I felt like I needed more confirmation, so I took my temperature at 5:30 a.m. every morning and documented it in my Premom and Clue apps starting December 19. The Premom app has a nice chart that shows you the dips and spikes, so I recommend using it! You can look up BBT progression charts to get a better understanding of yours.

It’s far too easy for this to slip into an obsession, so don’t let it take over your life! The best thing you can do if you are going to utilize these tracking methods is to gather the data you need each day, document it, then don’t think about it too much. Easier said than done, I know!

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That about sums it up! I hope this is helpful for those of you who are currently trying to get pregnant or plan to start trying soon. Like I said, use the internet as a resource and really do as much research as you can if you’re interested in tracking! I learned something new every day. My biggest piece of advice is to relax and not stress out about it. I swear, we got pregnant the second I no longer felt “desperate” for it. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out and I wish you the best!