Female Question

I'm fairly certain no men are reading this blog, but I thought I'd preface it just the same. I have a question. Some of you ladies might not be able to answer this if you have been on hormonal contraceptives for most of your adult lives.

My body feels different around ovulation time now, compared to before I had B. Before the pill, as a teenager, I did note some achiness that would have probably been ovulation pain. I never noticed anything else. From reading now, it seems that pain was likely shortly after ovulation and not necessarily at the time of ovulation...but I digress. After 7 years of being on the pill (1997 - 2004) things were a bit different. I read TCOYF. (Taking Charge of Your Fertility - which seriously I think every adult woman should read just to understand their bodies more, even if they have no desire to use the books tips to avoid conception with the fertility awareness method. I'm full of rabbit trails today.) So after learning there were other signs of ovulation, I began to notice more. And because I was charting - right from the start - I made note of those signs. In addition to the physical changes of CM and CP, I had increased libido. I had kind of a fuller feeling in my pelvis. At that time, from my charts, it appears that I would gear up to ovulate, but would not actually do so most of the time. In the same cycle, at a later date and possibly multiple times, I'd gear up again and eventually ovulate (based on evidence of a sustained thermal shift). Afterwards my breasts would get increasingly tender until shortly before AF showed.

Since resuming my cycles post baby in February 2008, it appears I am generally only gearing up once to let the egg go. Which is great. I still have CP and CM changes, but I do think my CM is less in volume than it was prior to giving birth. Now I almost always get a low, dull backache around that time. I never had that before. I'm not taking my temps anymore, so I have no concrete evidence that I am indeed ovulating, other than the onset of my period 13-14 days later. It just feels different now. Maybe because things aren't in exactly the same place as they were before? I don't know. I don't have as pronounced breast tenderness afterwards anymore either.

Anyone else noticed changes? Is it age? Having a baby? All of the above? Should I have my hormones checked? Inquiring minds want to know.