10DPO confusion!

Well I'm still here! At the end of the day! At 10DPO! Curiouser and curiouser...

So in a nutshell (well, you know my "nutshells", but I'll give it a go! Ha!):

* Another drop in temp this morning but 0.1 degree (same amount as yesterday's drop) to 36.6. Still high enough. Still triphasic. But definitely dropping away from the higher flatline that I had before. So, obviously I totally expected my period to arrive today and I did not even think of testing this morning.

* Headache from waking pretty much, so I presumed that to be a "pre-period" type of headache. Got bad enough by lunchtime to take painkillers, and then it eased off (surprisingly), but came back a bit later. It's gone this evening.

* Crampy. Oh my goodness, CRAMPY. Since first thing, and almost continuously throughout the day. I'm REALLY confused about the cramps. I charted bad cramps from yesterday evening, and STILL have no period, which has never happened before without me being pregnant. I really do expect to see my period, such is my lack of confidence now, and also with the dropping temps, but it's confusing because it will be the very first time I have ever had bad cramps before a period arriving in my life. Except for each and every time I conceive, that is! ;)

The cramps today have been worse than yesterday's, which I am really surprised about. They have been as bad as if I actually HAD my period at that moment, and I took painkillers for my headache but hoped they would also work on my cramps, as they were ever so uncomfortable and sore, and just constantly bothersome and distracting. My lower back ached with them too. They felt hot and heavy and "full", and sometimes really pressurey. They made me feel a bit queasy at times, and I generally felt a bit lightheaded and completely (COMPLETELY) exhausted. I have never ever had cramps like this before a period! It has been such a weird and confusing day! I have occasionally felt sure I had a leaky feel going on, but never had any bleeding or even spotting, when I went to check. I was utterly convinced all day long that my period was about 2 seconds away, and I have lost count of how many times I went to check (20 or so?!)! Craziness. I was surprised and perplexed every single time, because I was SO SURE I had started my period with cramps like that and a slightly leaky feel. I only had a little CM today, even so.

Then I was putting Benjamin to bed at 7pm and suddenly it struck me that I had NO cramps. None whatsoever. My back even felt okay! About 8pm I started to feel crampy again, and it has been on and off this evening since then (it's only 9.30pm now though, not that much later). Right now I have no cramps. Or maybe if it reeeally focus on it and squirm a bit (!) then I might be mildly crampy like I was from ovulation. Hmmm... This is all a typical pattern of the type of cramps I am usually experiencing by this kind of stage of my luteal phase when I am pregnant, every single time.

* Tired. Ridiculously exhausted, and mostly physical too, not just sleepy. My shoulders want to curve over all the time and my chest wants to cave in, and I feel breathless most of the time with how tired I feel. My skin feels like it's hanging heavily off my bones. Just so tired out today, for no particular reason. Could be pre-period-ish of me though.

* Neil was giving me a cuddle when I was making the dinner in the kitchen this afternoon, and he put his hands under my shirt up my back and stopped suddenly and said how my skin was really softer than usual. He touched my cheeks and said definitely as soft as when I'm pregnant. So I have charted "weirdly soft skin" - another thing I only experience when I'm pregnant. Maybe I was just warm from leaning over the oven or something and that made my skin feel softer though? I asked him again this evening and he said, "Hmmm.... not sure.... to be confirmed!" Which is no help at all, lol! So I don't know. But I charted it because of what he said earlier. Very odd if I am getting my period.

* Forgot to say yesterday about the sore throat that I mentioned the day before. It has hung around, but on and off and very mild. It can't make up its mind. I am just now aware of it again so it reminded me to write about it here. It's definitely not anything illness-related, so it could be the same kind of thing that I had at this stage in my LP with Matthew and Nathan's pregnancies. I am also a bit gunky at the back of my nose, but don't particularly need to blow my nose, nor am I congested. That is something I am familiar with from all my pregnancies too, but I suppose it could happen at other times? I don't know.

* Tonight I am noticing something that I sort of noticed last night but brushed it off. This is a new symptom and one which isn't very familiar to me as a pregnancy symptom. I have a constantly watering mouth tonight, and a distractingly metallic taste in my mouth. Yesterday evening I had the same thing all evening, but after wondering about it a few times, I finally put it down to the possibility that I just had a little bit of Benjamin's moisturising cream left on a finger and perhaps I'd chewed that finger and the effect was a metallic taste in my mouth? That seemed plausible to me so I left it at that and thought nothing more of it. Tonight it's exactly the same. I have noticed a bit of mouth-watering earlier in the day but no particular weird taste. But this evening it's constant and really distracting. It's not horribly unpleasant but imagine it would be if I felt sick at the same time. My mouth is really watering all the time. Yuck! I feel fine though. I have felt queasy a few times today but I think that's tied to the crampiness more than anything else. I've eaten fine, but not had an increased appetite today.

* Gassy as usual. Much more bloated today than previous days, and it's all water-retention on my tummy from the look/feel of it, so that would be a typical about-to-get-my-period sign for me from what I remember - but I usually get that AS I get my period, rather than the day(s) before. I can't remember if I have ever had that in my luteal phase when I've been pregnant, so I can't compare.

* Still peeing more frequently than usual.

I'm really confused as to how I am getting persistant or even new symptoms that point more to pregnancy than my period coming, when my temps are actually dropping down towards getting my period. I would have thought my symptoms would disappear or reduce greatly as my temp went down, because the thing causing my temp to go down would also be the thing causing symptoms to disappear?

Well, once again I have NO idea what to expect in the morning! My strong leaning is that because of my temp pattern, I will get a further drop (possibly a big one, though that's what I thought would happen THIS morning) and then my period tomorrow at some point, which would give me another 10 day luteal phase. If I wasn't temping, and only had symptoms to go by, then because my symptoms and signs are SO strong and SO obvious (apart from the temps confusing things!), I would not have a shadow of a doubt that I am pregnant right now. Because I really do feel pregnant still, but I look at my temps and think that I must just be imagining things because surely they mean I will get my period? I don't know! Well, I guess I will just have to wait till the morning and see what the thermometer says. That should finally confirm it for me, and then I'll know. I will update my chart first thing as usual so that I don't keep anyone hanging (in case anyone is, lol!). I'm glad I will have a 10 day luteal phase again, but a little deflated to feel so confused and like I don't know what I'm talking about any more, regarding my body and the signs it's putting out! Oh well. If I hadn't just had a couple of chemical pregnancies in a row, I wouldn't be hesitating to call this a chemical pregnancy, because as far as signs and my chart go, EVERYTHING points to it. But it feels awkward labelling it that AGAIN after the two previous times really, in case it really ISN'T. Or something. Although, the cramps alone are an absolute assurance, for me, of pregnancy, whether I get my period or not. Until I get this doubting thing going on and start to think, well maybe they are just the "new me" as far as a normal non-pregnant luteal phase in the day or two before a period starts? I guess that is possible, though it still seems unlikely, given my history right from when I first started periods, and of course all my pregnant luteal phases.

Nicola, I had to check my chart history to answer your question! If I am not pregnant this cycle then yes, it will be the longest number of cycles after having a baby without being pregnant yet. After Arthur was born, I got pregnant with Matthew on my 5th cycle. After Matthew was born, I got pregnant with Nathan on my 5th cycle. After Nathan was born, I got pregnant with Benjamin on my 4th cycle. And I started my cycles again several months earlier after Benjamin was born, than I have ever done before. So I am now at the end of my 5th cycle since he was born. I have never had a 6th cycle in a row after having a baby before, so that will be a first for me if I get my period! :)

So, that nutshell: I think I am pregnant. But I think I am getting my period. And I think I am not sure about either of those things.

I am going to go to bed EARLY tonight, now that I've written this post, because I'm really tired, I have no Bible to catch up on (kind of sad really), and it will mean the morning comes quicker to put an end to my confuzzled state! ;) I'll update tomorrow.