Current cycle status and vitamin regimen

So, since I am not charting, OPKing, or doing really anything to track my cycle most of this is a guesstimate. I would say the only thing I am really doing is marking when my period arrives on my phone's calendar and when it is projected. Since I tend toward 30 day cycles, I am estimating to get my period this cycle on 11/25/11--Thanksgiving, AGAIN. I only hope that it is much less painful than last Thanksgivings. Still, I am about 4 days away from my expected period--still no spotting, but I could still get it as close as 2 days before.

I really am trying not to obsess about my cycles, but when my BBs hurt so much, and I know that I've ovulated....I can't help but wait and wonder. I only keep track of when to expect my period so I can know if it is late. I try not to obsess about whether or not I am...I tend to despair that I will never get pregnant naturally.  I did have some spotting about a week ago for 2-3 days..not much...could have been O-spotting. Time will tell. 

I'm also out of supplements. I need to get my Royal Jelly, B-Complex and Folic Acid replaced. I've been out for awhile. Other than that I'm going back on my Melaleuca Vitality 4 vitamins since when I added that to my regimen last time I had such a long luteal phase. So I really believe in those. 

Hopefully I'll be able to get some soon. 

The importance of timing

I think one of the "infertility myths" that most of us believe when we start TTC is that if you have sex on or around ovulation, you WILL get pregnant. 100% chance, and it is just a matter of catching the egg. Of course, that doesn't count for many women who don't know ANYTHING about their cycles, and still believe that ANY sex at ANY time can result in pregnancy....they certainly have further to go in understanding how timing intercourse around O is important.

So breaking it down, based on research, there are about 5-6 days of the "fertile window" meaning sex during this time will have the highest probability in resulting in conception.  These are usually the 4 days BEFORE O, O date and they just throw in day after O, because calculations could be off and they really just don't know FOR SURE how long an egg might last, etc. The reason it is the 4 days before O is that sperm can have a longer lifespan--if conditions are right, maybe 5 days---but that would have to be High sperm count coupled with lots of EWCM with the perfect pH balance in the uterus to keep the sperm going till the egg arrives. And because it can take sperm up to 1-2 hours to reach the fallopian tubes, it's good to have as many waiting to receive the egg as possible.

Anyway, according to many articles, in a healthy couple--meaning no known fertility issues--intercourse during the fertile window only give between 20%-30% chance of pregnancy--I've seen between 15%-30% quoted---most stated that for couples with one or more fertility issues, this drops to 12%-15% chance of conception. So each cycle you may have no more than a 1 in 5 chance of conceiving...this is MUCH less than the certain 100% most of us grow up believing.

I think this is something that I remind myself of....because after 3 years of BFNs and a miscarriage, it can get disheartening to fail cycle after cycle after cycle.