We have been trying to conceive for 3 months now, this is our 4th. I bought Maybe Baby - the ovulation saliva microscope last month, but I wasn't using it daily. This month I decided to use it every morning, at the same time, before I brush my teeth or have my morning coffee.
I will be uploading the results on daily basis, hoping to track the ferning pattern easier, but also to see how this device works.
For those that are not familiar with this technique, I would suggest that you check this website, for more info http://www.maybebaby.com.au/maybe-baby-easy-ovulation-tester . There are other brands too, and they all work exactly the same.
I am 25 years old, and we are TTC for baby#1. My cycles are very regular, the shortest being 30 days, and the longest 32 days.
26 December, 2014 - CD1
I don't have a picture, but had a strong ferning pattern. I had it throughout my period.
27 December, 2014 - CD2
Still strong ferning pattern, but I read somewhere that for some women it is normal due to second estrogen surge.
28 December, 2014 - CD3
Partial ferning! Still having my period.
29 December, 2014 - CD4
Almost no ferning. OK, going in a good direction so far.
30 December, 2014 - CD5
Only pebbles. The black line that you see there is just a particle left from the napkin that I used :D
31 December, 2014 - CD6
This concerns me. I definitely see some partial ferning patterns. It is way too early for ovulation.
1 January, 2015 - CD7 Happy New Year!!!
Almost full ferning. However, I think I know what it is. We stayed up almost all night (New Years Eve, duh), and were eating a lot, and mostly salty food. We were also smoking a lot. Salt and smoking can cause ferning.
2 January, 2015 - CD8
Perfect! No more ferning. It must have been the food the previous two days. Expecting next ferning to be in a week, probably.
3 January, 2015 - CD9
Pebbles.... lots of pebbles, but no ferns or crystals. Pebbles (or bubbles) don't indicate fertility.
4 January, 2015 - CD10
I have no entry for this day, sorry. I had some things to do early in the morning, and didn't even test.
5 January, 2015 - CD11
I think I am getting into a slightly transitional stage. I am around 6 days to ovulation, I can see some small ferns. As I read the instructions, the microscope will show ferns a bit earlier, because it shows estrogen, and the LH hormone (measured by OPK) is triggered by the estrogen, so we need estrogen first to get LH positive on the OPK.
I am expecting to see more and more ferns every day, until I get to the full ferning stage. As it looks, for now, I am still not fertile, but this is getting exciting :)
6 January, 2015 - CD12
I have no idea what happened to the photo that I took yesterday (I am typing this on the 7th). I know I did, because I know i saw some ferns on the microscope, but they weren't visible on the picture, so I even wanted to circle them with red on the photo so that you can see what I was seeing. The photo is gone!!! :(
7 January, 2015 - CD13
Transitional ferning, yay!!! Everything is going the way it is supposed to. Even my both cycle trackers show me that my fertile days are starting.
8 January, 2015 - CD14
Not much to say. I am in my fertile days, and I see ferning. Good sign!
9 January, 2015 - CD15
This time, I experimented and added less saliva to see if it changes the results. The ferning is there, but not as strong as when I put more saliva. I like the ferns, though. They are small and very close to each other.
10 January, 2015 - CD16
There is still a lot of ferning, but compared to yesterday, the ferns are a bit more apart. Too bad I put less saliva yesterday, so that you can see the difference. The pictures are not as intense or clear. However, I am still in my fertile period.
11 January, 2015 - CD17
I took sample of my saliva, but forgot to take a picture :( I can only tell that I had no ferning at all. I have a theory for that.
The estrogen rises before ovulation, but it suddenly drops very low. That's the blue line in the chart above. I guess, it was my ovulation day.
12 January, 2015 - CD18
I see some transitional ferning. My fertile days are over, but as you can see on the chart above, the estrogen rises again after the ovulation. Not as much as it does before ovulation, but it is still present and higher that the beginning of the cycle.
13 January, 2015 - CD19
Transitional ferning. Not much more to say. Same as yesterday, maybe a bit less ferning, but quite similar.
