Period and Charting Questions

Hello! I have some questions... okay quite a few.

1. I always spot for 3-7 days before my period actually starts, I am wondering if its normal, and if that actually counts as period days, or just spotting? When I track, should I count them as period days?

2. What is ferning?

3. How do you determine your luteal (sp?) phase and what is it?

4. My period is ALWAYS brown, with a day of normal bleeding and the rest is just a bit more then spotting. At the end of all butone or one and a half days of my period I don't even need to change my pad once (I do anyways, don't worry :) ) Is this normal?


Thanks so much!

Spotting is normal for some women. For as long as I remember I've spotted before AF and I've had lots of investigations for infertility and they never found any reason for it.

You count your first day of period from the first day of full flow (not spotting).

Ferning is a term for what you see in a fertility microscope called a Maybe Baby (could be other brands too). You lick a little lens, dry in and look into it. It looks like ferns patterns when you have high levels of estrogen in your body such as before ovulation and before your period (AF). Some women use them to detect ovulation. I found that it worked OK when I was younger, but as I got older I had more estrogen present throughout the cycle and it became difficult to tell when I was Oing.

LP is luteal phase and that's the time between when you ovulate and when you get your period. Anything under 10 days is considered short. Ideal is around 14 days. The only way of really knowing what your LP is, is by temping each morning. When you see your temp go up and it stays up for several days in a row you know you O'd then you can count your days until AF arrives. A short LP can make it difficult to fall pregnant as you don't have enough time for implantation before the body says it's time for your period. The quicker implantation happens the more likely it is that it will be a sticky bub and not an early loss (sometimes referred to on here as a chemical pregnancy).

Hope this info helps.

Thanks so much! :D