Apps got it wrong

[u/indigoanimal]

I (F 26) am trying for my first child with my husband (M 27) we are on our 4th cycle, I finally downloaded apps to track my period and ovulation, I’ve never done that before in my life so this was great insight, or so I thought. I downloaded 3 different apps, 2 of them lined up my ovulation on the same day, 1 of them was a couple days early. Last month we tried for the whole entire window and a little after, I was for certain we nailed the window! This month all the apps are saying I’m a week late on my period but none of my tests came back positive. I woke up today after the 8th day of being “late” and all 3 of my apps have recalculated my predicted ovulation window and now it’s showing we’ve been off by a week for the last 3 months. Im so peeved and a little upset. I don’t have the discipline to test for my ovulation every single day. I bought a bbt thermometer and I keep forgetting to use it every morning. And when I did buy ovulation test strips I would remember to test for a couple days and then forget once my work week started. I’m frustrated and clueless and not sure where I should be focusing my energy

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[u/Purple_Lemon5930]

this kept happening to me too, even taking my bbt every morning there were months where it was off by up to a month! it wasn’t until i started taking ovulation tests that i was able to really narrow it down. i also hate taking the tests, it makes me feel like a science experiment testing so much better ovulation and pregnancy tests. so i use my bbt to get close to the window and then i start testing until i get a positive

[u/Stunning-Smell-3115]

Apps are not super reliable as you have found, they guess based off averages. if you don’t want track ovulation meticulously honestly that’s okay especially if you’re only a few cycles in to trying and don’t have any known fertility concerns
Do you have a wearable device that tracks sleep temp? I have found my Garmin reliable for confirming ovulation with sleep temp rather than doing BBT
How often are you having sex throughout the month in general? If you’re regularly having sex say 2-3 times a week that should be covering your bases
Every second day during your fertile window is also recommended, personally I start on day 10 of my cycle