With a cost of nearly $300 it’s not surprising to me that a lot of women want to know how effective the Ava Fertility Bracelet is before they decide to make the purchase. I’ve seen a lot of women looking for feedback and since I’ve been using Ava for a while now, I wanted to put together a quick Ava Fertility Bracelet Review.
I decided to get an Ava after we had been trying for about a year and while I’ve shared where we are in our fertility journey, overall I’ve been very happy with the Ava as a fertility tracking tool.
How does the Ava Fertility Bracelet Work?
The Ava Fertility Bracelet is worn at night and tracks the 5 physiological signals of fertility. Specifically it tracks skin temperature, resting pulse rate, breathing rate, heart rate and a few other items that are indicators of your health. There are definitely other, more cost effective, ways to track those things but Ava specifically uses those to feed information into their app to provide more comprehensive information about your overall fertility.
Using the data compiled while you sleep Ava provides a six day estimate of your fertile window.
What are the alternatives to monitoring fertility?
The Lutenizing hormone (LH) increases 24-48 hours prior to ovulation. This surge is what triggers the release of an egg from your ovaries. For just a few dollars per test strip you can easily measure LH throughout the month.
There are a few tricky elements to monitoring LH that I didn’t enjoy through the strip method. Similar to a pregnancy test, the strips go in urine and the low cost options are ones that require starting out by peeing in a cup. As fun as that is to do every day for a two weeks the other complicating factor is knowing how to read the tests.
There are two lines that appear on the test and as you get closer to ovulation the second line will become darker and thicker. A positive test is when both lines are ‘close’ the same color. This is literally the biggest pain to read and if you interpret it wrong you have to start all over again next month.
Once you get a positive test you have 24 hours approximately before ovulation. So 1 day notice that its ‘time’ to start trying.
The more expensive electronic tests do the interpretation for you and provide a ‘fool proof’ smiley face when you get a positive. These tests cost around $40 per month to use. If you consider that the average woman takes up to 6 months to get pregnant you’ve already spent $240 just on test strips.
Another method for monitoring fertility is using basal body temperature (BBT). Basal Body Temp is your temperature when the body is fully at rest. Ovulation will cause a small (1/2 degree – 1 degree) change in BBT.
To do BBT monitoring you need a special thermometer that shows to the hundred degree and you need to measure everyday at exactly the same time, without moving or getting up. After you have the temp you need to chart it (there are apps) and when you see a positive change it means ovulation has ALREADY HAPPENED. At that point you’ve completely missed the window and have to start again for next month.
How the Ava Fertility Bracelet is different
I tried both LH strips and BBT monitoring before getting an Ava Fertility bracelet and honestly I hated the experience. I am not a morning person so BBT was impossible for me to get a consistent reading. LH strips were simply too difficult to interpret and buying the electronic ones is just as expensive as using the Ava fertility tracker, especially when you consider that we’ve been trying to conceive for over three years now.
I love the simplicity of the Ava Fertility tracker. All I have to do is wear it every night and I get a full download of detailed information about how I slept and where I am in my cycle. It updates based on the data provided each day and alerts me when I’m entering my fertile window.
That said, I am one of the people who did not get pregnant after a year of use. That’s not because of the Ava, that’s because I have unexplained infertility. It’s an entirely different reason and Ava works exactly as it is supposed to. I’ve even verified the data my fertility bracelet provides me using LH test strips.
If you’ve already been trying for a while and want to purchase an Ava Fertility Tracker it’s definitely worth it to pay for the 1 year guarantee. Infertility isn’t something a smart monitoring device can control.
My favorite thing about using Ava is being empowered to know whats going on with my body, without having to jump through a ton of hoops and guessing games. With all the pressure related to infertility, testing is the last thing I need to be stressed out. Now that I’m all the way down the infertility testing rabbit hole, I still use the Ava app for monitoring and tracking.
If you are interested in checking out the Ava, head over to their website using my affiliate link. Ava did not sponsor me to write this review, but I will receive a small commission if you choose to buy one using my link.
This post contains affiliate links. Purchasing items through the affiliate link will support this blog.
In the world of internet shopping there is nothing better then getting to experience toys and games firsthand. Luckily in Colorado our neighborhood toy store Beyond the Blackboard is helping make shopping in person a fun and interactive experience.
National Toy Store Day is December 9th and in honor of the celebration Beyond the Blackboard is giving 20% off your entire purchase at either of their Colorado Locations.
I attended a holiday kickoff just last weekend and I had so much fun browsing through all the new toys and playing with this years picks for holiday gifts. It’s more important than ever to support local businesses and when you are looking for gifts for kiddos, there is truly no better shop to explore. Owned by former teachers, Beyond the Blackboard specializes in educational toys that will hold up to daily play.
Disclaimer: I was invited to an event at Beyond the Blackboard but was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.
Well it doesn’t feel much like fall in Colorado but when I started this post it was a lot nicer! Luckily we’ll be back up to warm weather next week and then I can finish cleaning up the rest of my garden.
The shorter days of autumn and cooler temperatures serve as a constant reminder that summer gardening season is slipping away. This doesn’t mean that there is nothing left to do before you put your garden to bed for winter. There are many things that will need to be done, and you can still enjoy the things you will have to do. As you prepare your garden for a winter sleep, clean things up and put your garden tools away, you can also enjoy the fruits of your fall harvests.
Here are some fall gardening tips to help you get your yard or garden in shape for winter.
7 Fall Gardening Tips to Prepare for Winter and Spring
Plant spring bulbs
Fall is the time to plant spring bulbs. You need to do this early in the fall so that the bulbs have a chance to establish roots before the first frost. Those roots will nourish the plant so that it can provide you with blooms the following spring.
Divide perennials
There are many perennials that will need to be divided. The reason for doing this in fall as opposed to spring is because by doing it in fall, you give your plants time to adjust to being transplanted at a time when the soil is still sufficiently warm. You also want to do this when there is no new growth, and because many perennials will be entering dormancy, this is the ideal time.
Dig up non-hardy bulbs
If you live in a zone for which certain flowering plants that grow from bulbs aren’t hardy, you will need to dig them up. Cannas and other tropical bulbs are examples of things that will have to be dug up if you live in a zone that is colder than zone 7. After digging the bulbs up, you will want to hose them off to remove all of the dirt and debris. Allow the bulbs to dry out completely before packing them away.
You can pack them in peat moss, shredded newspaper, shredded wood or anything that is soft and that will still allow them to breathe. You can then store them in a box or other container that will get adequate air. Place them in a cool and dark place such as a basement.
Remove dead growth from annuals
You may also want to dig up the dead growth from your annuals. They serve no purpose by being left in the ground. If you are certain that there are no seeds or seed pods in the dead growth, and are sure that there is no danger of disease, you can toss these into your compost heap.
Remove dead vegetable plants
You will want to dig up any dead vegetable plants, making sure that you get every last bit of harvest there is. Although you can toss the dead growth (provided you are absolutely certain there is no danger of disease,) into your compost heap, you may want to toss these things into a second compost heap that you can use anywhere other than your vegetable garden. Even if you don’t have diseased plants, there is always the potential that plants that are disease carriers can transmit that disease to the compost, and then pass it on to whatever happens to be growing in the soil where the compost was used.
Rake your leaves and mow the lawn
You don’t want to leave leaves on the ground because they can get matted down and when wet, will easily get moldy. That can cause the spread of fungal disease to your grass and throughout the soil. Cut the grass as short as you can, making sure you use up all of the gas in your mower. If the gas is allowed to remain in your mower over the winter and the mower isn’t used, it can cause the carburetor to gum up. This will prevent the grass from getting matted down and there won’t be any chance for roaming creatures to dig holes in your yard.
Plant cool weather vegetables
If you are in an area that actually enjoys a long fall, it’s the ideal time to plant your fall cool weather vegetables. That would include lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, radishes, peas, and arugula. As for your other vegetables, as long as the plants are still in good condition and providing you with a harvest, you can leave them in the ground.
Other things you will want to do are clean and oil your gardening tools and bring them into your garage, shed or other protected place. You may also want to put mulch on some of your garden beds, making sure you don’t do it on garden beds where there are plants that can easily succumb to root rot. Shred your leaves and use those for a mulch because they decompose quickly and will add nutrients to your soil.
I hope you enjoyed these fall gardening tips and are able to get your yards organized before the snow flies. Here in Denver we’ve had a gun-ho start to the winter so I don’t think I’ll be doing much of a fall garden this year! Getting rolling now means that I’ll be prepared to start the spring strong and my yard will be looking in top shape when warmer weather hits next spring.
Interested in other home projects? Check out my review of Comfortex SlumberShades.
One of my coworkers announced that they hate Hocus Pocus.
Clearly they are mistaken and while there’s a full 96 minutes of reasons why, there’s at least ten specific iconic moments that prove any Hocus Pocus hater incorrect.
Anyone can relate to Winifred’s mood about mornings.
We all want to go to this 17th century costume party. Or just visit that house and wander around a bit.
In the 90’s this was a sick burn.
This is the only appropriate response to road rage
This was the moment every 90’s kid learned what virginity was.
An entire town of people failed to notice no one knew who these women were yet allowed them to take over and perform a dance number.
We all have that one friend… if you don’t have that friend, you are that friend.
The only way to refer to schools.
The sign-off we’ve all wanted to give that one ex.
Last but not least… squad goals.
Gif’s from Giphy
Interested in other Halloween Tips and Tricks? Check out these posts!
Welcome to My Bliss
