So I'm totally dumb with all this fertility stuff... never really charted or temped but I have been logging my periods the last few months. I'm curious though, can you get pregnant AFTER you ovulate or does it have to be before/during? And do you ovulate for several days or just one day or what? Sorry I'm completely clueless here... help a girl out!!

We BD'd last Wednesday (I think) and it was 23 days after my last period began (19 days after it ended) and I have a 30/31 day cycle. The next 2 days I had constant nausea and I'm pretty sure I'm probably pregnant (I'm uber fertile) but now I was just wondering if that's even possible if I'd already ovulated??

I'm the wrong person to be answering...but I have always thought you have to bd within 24 hours of ovulating. However sperm lives much longer so it is very possible to get pregnant if you bd'd a couple days before.
I'm sure one of the more experiences mamas will pitch in here. Normally, I don't think you ovulate more than once, but maybe some people do? I dunno... I'm just trying to figure all this out myself!

Once you ovulate the egg lives 12 to 24hrs after, you can get pregnant then but it does slightly lower your chances, your chances are higher the day before ovulation or the day of ovulation, sperm live 3 to 5 days(some say longer up to 7 days) in you so you can get pregnant having unprotected sex up to 5 days before ovualtion, the egg releases that day and then you have that 12 to 24hr before it dies for the sperm to catch the egg, which being super fertile then its possible you would catch it, because I have and I am super fertile, so the question is what day did you ovulate? IF you ovulated anyday after cd23 then yes you have a chance, and if you ovulaleted on cd22 or cd 23 then you have a chance but if you ovulated anytime before cd 22 then more than likely you missed the egg :( (going by the unprotected sex you said you had on cd23, was that the only day of unprotected sex?)

Oh forgot to add your lp needs to be at least 10days long, (luteas(sp) phase- is how many days between ovulation and af) you need at least 10 days(which is pushing it short) so your uterus is nice and ripe for egg to implant to survive, so if your regular 30 to 31 days then the latest you probably ovulated was on cd20 to cd21 (but that's if your super regular and if your lp is on the short side too :/ ) BUT all possible you ovulated later, but praying this is still your month :)

If you truly have 30/31 day cycles and BD on cycle day 23, then assuming that your ovulation wasn't delayed this month, you probably BD'ed too late to catch the egg. Normally there is only a very short window after the egg is released where it can be fertilized, as the egg lives up to 24 hours. Occasionally a woman releases two eggs and they live for 24 hours each, which would extend the egg life to 48 hours.

However, sperm have a relatively LONG life, which means that you can BD several days BEFORE ovulation and still get pregnant. My oldest child was conceived from BD roughly 5 or so days from ovulation! Usually that's around the maximum sperm life, up to 5 days or so.

However, it's entirely possibly that you could be ovulating later and simply having a shorter luteal phase. Breastfeeding can affect the length of the luteal phase, even to the point of taking awhile for things to work themselves out after weaning occurs.

Have you been under any significant stress this cycle? Stress can also delay ovulation.

If you have any more cycles before being blessed with your next child, you may enjoy taking your temperatures and recording your symptoms to get a clearer picture of what your cycles are currently doing and where your most fertile days are.

Which cycle day are on you on today?

I'm going into day 30 now, and so far no sign of AF. I did feel a little cramping a day or two before BDing, which is generally my only sign of ovulation. I have never ever worried about my "fertile days" so I'm thinking maybe general rules don't apply to me??? But I guess I'll find out soon enough what the outcome is! :)