I have told you all that we are trying to get pregnant with our second child. Also, I would really like to have a girl. Of course whatever god decides to give us then we are happy, but I can still hope god gives us a girl. And after talking to a few people on twitter a while back I was told about a way to increase your chances of having a girl. The only thing is you need to know your ovulation cycle. After being on mirena for almost 3 years I have no clue what my cycle is. I tried using some of those ovulation test strips. Notice I say tried. I could never test on the right days and they never seemed to show ovulation. I was getting really tired of spending money on test strips. No they are not super expensive, but you have to have a ton of them to keep guessing and testing. That adds up and it just made everything stressful. And stress is not something you want when trying to conceive. So I began researching online and quickly found OvaCue Fertility Monitor. I was so excited when they sent me one to review along with a vaginal sensor.
A little about the OvaCue:
The OvaCue is a saliva-based electronic fertility monitor designed specifically for trying-to-conceive couples. With the OvaCue, you can predict your ovulation date up to seven days in advance by measuring changes in the electrolyte concentration of your saliva – giving you more opportunities to conceive each month.
The FDA-cleared OvaCue Fertility Monitor has been clinically proven to be 98.3% accurate in monitoring ovulation in studies sponsored by the National Institute of Health. Simply place a spoon-sized sensor on your tongue for five seconds each morning and the Ovacue will automatically record your fertile status for the day. The OvaCue tracks the readings in memory and indicates your most fertile days in an easy-to-read, color-coded calendar. OvaCue users also have access to OvaGraph, an online charting tool that can be used to graph your OvaCue readings, store an unlimited number of cycles, and much more.
A little about the Vaginal Sensor:
By measuring the electrolyte levels of your cervical mucus, the vaginal sensor will provide the OvaCue fertility monitor with the information it needs to track trends in your hormone levels, thereby allowing the monitor to identify the estrogen surge that occurs just prior to ovulation and the subsequent shift from estrogen dominance to progesterone dominance that occurs at the time of ovulation. The OvaCue will display a pink box on the day that this hormonal shift is detected, indicating that ovulation occurred on that day.
While the OvaCue does not need data from the vaginal sensor to predict your fertile window, the vaginal sensor is required to confirm the date that ovulation occurred. By confirming ovulation with the vaginal sensor, you will know with certainty when your fertile window begins and ends.
The OvaCue is so easy to use. There are a couple of important things to know about the OvaCue. You must begin using it on Day 2 of your cycle, you can start as late as Day 4, but no later. Which was so hard since I received it in the middle of my cycle. I was actually super excited when I finally started so I could use it. Also, the OvaCue needs to be used first thing in the morning before taking a drink or brushing your teeth. I keep mine on my night stand and use it before I even get out of bed. The monitor is really easy to use with just a couple of buttons to push. After placing the sensor on my tongue I just push a button and it pops up with a number. I save the number and it goes to the calendar page. The calendar changes colors based on the numbers.
The calendar is color coded:
White: Days of lowest fertility
Light Blue: Days of increasing fertility
Medium Blue: Days of Moderate fertility
Dark Blue: Days of highest fertility – have intercourse every day.
Pink: Ovulation confirmed (requires vaginal sensor; marks end of fertile period)
White with Dots: A prediction of future fertility
So when you see the colors develop you can plan when to have intercourse. If you are just looking to get pregnant with no concern for gender then you want to have intercourse on all the blue days (light, medium, and dark). But since I really want to try to conceive a girl we are just sticking with the light t medium blue days. I understand that this will decrease my percentage of getting pregnant since it is highest recommended to have intercourse on the dark blue days. Also, I have to state that OvaCue does not endorse or recommend gender selection. The monitor is meant to help couples to get pregnant.
I learned a few things in the first month using the OvaCue monitor. All women have different cycles, but the average is on the 14th day you ovulate. So when I began using the ovulation test strips I would usually start testing about day 12 or 13 and use them until day 15 or so. And the reason I did not ever get a positive strip is because I ovulate on day 11. I guess I am an early ovulator and the OvaCue monitor was able to let me know my cycle. This is such an important thing to know about myself. When it comes to conceiving and especially since I want to conceive a certain gender.
So far I am loving the OvaCue. It is so simple and tells me so much about myself. It definitely takes the stress out of trying to conceive. I love that it gives advanced notice for ovulation and it is pretty accurate on that prediction. I am hoping to to become pregnant and give Jayden a sibling soon. I am so excited to continue to share my results. If your trying to get pregnant I would highly recommend the OvaCue with the vaginal sensor. You could purchase the OvaCue by itself, but it is more effective with the vaginal sensor. So I encourage those interested to get the bundle for the best results.