Caught off guard…
This morning I went to the toilet and… oh, HELLO PERIOD!
I was NOT expecting to be bleeding today. Not even tomorrow.
Or the day after…
My cycle had only been 21 days.
The cycle before that was long (for me) at 30 days.
What is going on?!
THIS is the importance of cycle tracking.
Knowing when something is normal for you.
AND, maybe even more importantly, knowing when something isn’t.
I had absolutely nothing with me - obviously - why would I when I wasn’t expecting to bleed for at least another 5 days?!
So I shoved some toilet paper in my thong… yes, it is as grim as it sounds… until Ellen, whose house I was staying at, rescued me with a disposable period pad - something I haven’t used for YEARS!
Now that I’m safely back home in my beloved period pants, I can laugh about it and then - in true Laura style - tell all of you about it too.
I’ve been tracking my cycle for 3.5 years now and my cycle is most often 26 days long with a few exceptions where it is maybe a day or two longer or shorter depending on what’s happening in my life.
But 30 days? Then 21?!
That’s never happened before.
30, yes. Once.
21? Never! My shortest cycle before now has been 24 days - which, again, was a complete anomaly.
What’s also interesting is that I literally voice noted Ellen not that long ago - something she tells me was overheard by her friend at the time [I mean, if you know me you should probably know not to play my voice notes out loud in public] - telling her that I can’t remember noticing any ovulation fluid this cycle.
Although I do also remember noticing what I THOUGHT seemed like ovulation fluid SUPER early in my cycle - what I thought at the time was too early to be a sign of ovulation.
We have been having lots of interesting conversations recently about the assumption from some people that sex is only for reproduction - yet there are still lots of people who aren’t even aware of when they are fertile or how to notice the signs.
Knowing your body and tracking your cycle can be used both to support your attempts to get pregnant but ALSO as a very accurate contraceptive method to prevent pregnancy too.
So when people get confused about whether or not you can get pregnant on your period - the answer is both yes AND no. For me, usually the answer would be no. However, in this cycle, it’s highly likely that the answer could have been yes.
Every body is different.
Every CYCLE is different.
Knowing yourself is THE most important rule over and above anything you can read or learn from anyone else.
If you know your body, you know what is right for you.
Then you can (mostly) be prepared for what life throws at you… and occasionally you’ll still be left shoving toilet paper in your knickers and wondering what the fuck is going on.
