New to Charting? Join other newbies here!

[Swanny]

Hi I'm on CD 1 today so this will be my 3rd cycle since m/c in Sept.

I'm confused about charting though, how do you know from the basal body temperature when you are going to ovulate? Cause I thought it shows when you are ovulating with a temperature increase but ideally I would want to start BDing around a week before OVing just to be sure?

Welcome Swanny, glad to have you on board!

I would highly recommend looking for the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility. It does a great job of explaining how taking your temperature AND tracking your cervical mucus can help you to pinpoint ovulation. I put a link to the amazon entry for the book in the very first post of this thread.

Also, check out www.fertilityfriend.com and take a look at their FAQ section (it's totally free to sign up for their basic membership).

Here is my basic understanding of how it works, but you really need to do temping in conjunction with tracking your cervical mucus so that you can know before you actually ovulate.

Tracking your basal temperature you will notice that the day you ovulate there should be a spike in temp about 0.5 degrees (F). The temp does not really give you enough warning in order to maximize your peak window of fertility. It just confirms that you did ovulate and can tell you what day you did so.

This is where cervical mucus comes in. As you approach ovulation your cervical mucus (cm for short) will change. Right after your period most women will notice very little mucus, then they go through a stage where there is some cm but it's usually kind of sticky and crumbly. After that it will begin to get a bit thinner and be sort of a lotion consistency (that's the stage I'm at right now on cd 11). After that it will become more watery and get more and more like egg whites and very slippery and there can be a lot of it. This is called fertile quality cervical mucus and as soon as you notice this stuff you want to start doing the baby dance! They say your absolute peak day is your last day of this egg white like mucus. Of course you don't know it's your last day until it's already past, so you want to try to do the baby dance each day the fertile mucus is there. Keeping track of cm on your chart will help you to pinpoint when to do the dance.

I hope this helped and please let us know if there are any other questions. There are so many experienced charters on this board who are eager to help.

Wishing you lots of luck and baby dust!!

Thank you so much, this info i really helpful I'm going to order my BBT and OPK's tonight. I'll keep you updated as to how I'm getting on and it will be nice to chat to others in the same situation. Good luck everyone

 

[SA Mummy]

hi there

i am new to charting too, i havent started to do bbt or cm I have been using fertility friend to track af and bd.

this is our 2nd month of ttc, af reared her ugly head last weekend so i wasnt best pleased. had a strange bleed though, much lighter and much shorter than normal.

im due to start ov next thursday so i think it might be too late this cycle to start doing bbt. we trying to do the bd as often as possible from now so that we increase our chances.

fingers crossed for a bfp end of this month and no need to get to grips with all the other bits of charting.

lots of baby dust to you all.

xxx

 

[bernina]

Welcome SA Mummy! Fertility Friend is a great place to keep track of AF and bd. And since you're in your first few months of trying that's all you might need. I know the first 2 times I got preg I didn't do anything more than track my cycles and count back 14 days from when my next period was due to determine when to do the BD. Now I'm on a mission to make this happen as quickly as possible and needed a way to verify and pinpoint ovulation. It's been 15 mos ttc for us and I'm getting tired of waiting Plus charting totally gives me something to focus my energies on during the times when I'm waiting to ovulate, waiting to test, and waiting for AF (a lot of waiting is involved isn't it?!? )

Good luck to you and sending lots of baby dust your way to keep AF away this cycle!!!

 

[Swanny]

Hi Ladies,

Just wondering how you are all getting on? My BBT arrived yesterday so I took my first temp this morning and have set myself up on fertility friend.

https://www.fertilityfriend.com/ttc/calendar_module.php?cd=9[/URL]

AF is just starting to leave so I'll probably start BD'ing every other day and then probably every day leading up to OV.

Think I will start using OPK's from Monday so that will be CD9.

Hope you are all well.



x

 

[bernina]

Hi Swanny!

I'm still charting away. Currently on cd 14 and no signs of ovulation yet (Fertility Monitor low, creamy cm, and no temperature spike). That's not surprising though given that I ovulated very late in my cycle the last 2 times (like day 24 or something!).

The routine I've been using is to set my alarm for the same time each day (even on days when I can sleep in I just go back to sleep after temping), take my temp while still in bed, head to the bathroom and pee on a Clear Blue Fertility Monitor stick, then in the shower I check my cervix position and cervical mucus. I also check the cervical mucus throughout the day when going to the bathroom.

Not sure that I will ovulate this cycle or if I do if it will be a viable egg as I met with a fertility specialist on Monday and was told my uterine lining looks thin and my eggs are smaller than they should be at this point. But I'm going to still keep charting (esp helpful to see if I actually do ovulate) and doing the baby dance in hopes that we'll get a miracle. I also found out I have a heart shaped uterus which could be causing my recurrent miscarriages (not definite though, just could be a factor). So I have lots of new information to digest and hopefully some options to help my hormonal (thin lining, small eggs) and uterine shape problems (potential minor surgery to remove the heart shape).

 

[bernina]

Okay here is my update for cycle day 15. If the big O is going to happen this cycle I think it's approaching! My cervix is high (although this is the least accurate of all the measurements I take, it's such a relative thing!) and I just discovered some watery stretchy cm when I used the bathroom. So I think it's time that dh and I start bd'ing for this cycle!

My Clear Blue Fertility Monitor still reads low, but I noticed on the test stick that the line that indicates estrogen appears to be fading (which means estrogen is increasing).

I don't know why I'm so excited about this, but I am. It's just fun to see everything you read about with charting actually happen to you. I'm also hoping that the b vitamins have helped to lengthen my luteal phase and if I O in the next 5 or so days then it appears that it may have worked.

How are the rest of you doing?

 

[hopefulheart]

Hello,

I'm new to this site and to charting so I'd really like to join you all. We've been TTC for about 4 months now. We have had some unexpected situations get in our way which could have something to do with the lack of success so far, but the bulk of that stress is behind us now. Either way it's still early days and hopfeully getting this tracking thing down will help speed up the process!

I'm on CD5 and only just got my digithermometer so started BBT yesterday.
Sending lots of BD to everyone.

 

[bernina]

Hello,

I'm new to this site and to charting so I'd really like to join you all. We've been TTC for about 4 months now. We have had some unexpected situations get in our way which could have something to do with the lack of success so far, but the bulk of that stress is behind us now. Either way it's still early days and hopfeully getting this tracking thing down will help speed up the process!

I'm on CD5 and only just got my digithermometer so started BBT yesterday.
Sending lots of BD to everyone.

Welcome hopefulheart!!

I think you'll find that charting and temping really helps to pass the time. Since there are only at most like 5 days you can actively TRY for a baby, it's nice to have something to focus on during the other 23 or more days.

Can't wait to hear how your first cycle of charting goes!!!!

 

[bernina]

Here are my latest upates:

Currently on cycle day 19.

According to my chart and my Clear Blue Fertility Monitor, I should ovulate tomorrow! We did the BD the last 2 days and will of course do again tonight and tomorrow and the next day.

I can already notice a difference in my stress level this cycle due to charting. Instead of guessing when the monitor would give me the first High reading, I knew when it was approaching by observing the changes in my cervical mucus and just being more intune with my body in general.

I'm a bit discouraged this month though as we saw a fertility specialist and I was told I have a heart shaped uterus and that my lining looked thin and my eggs small. But I think this dr didn't realize that I ovulate late in my cycle and not on day 14 which doctors just love to think is the same day for all women (even though I specifically told him that). So I'm hoping my little eggies got real big (well at least one of them!) and that the lining thickened up, I read it can grow 1-3 mm/day and since my appt was 7 days ago that's a lot of growing!

How is everyone else doing??

 

[Fish&Chips]

Hi all, this is my first cycle of charting properly and I'm finding it so interesting. It actually gets me motivated enough to get up in the morning!

I'm currently on cd12 and am hoping to ov in the next couple of days. Part of me is terrified that I wont ov because as yet I have no way of knowing if I ever have. I'm using opks as well as I'm pretty rubbish with the cm checking. x

 

[bernina]

Hi all, this is my first cycle of charting properly and I'm finding it so interesting. It actually gets me motivated enough to get up in the morning!

I'm currently on cd12 and am hoping to ov in the next couple of days. Part of me is terrified that I wont ov because as yet I have no way of knowing if I ever have. I'm using opks as well as I'm pretty rubbish with the cm checking. x

Welcome to charting Fish&Chips!

I agree, I have felt way more motivated this cycle and also more like I did when first ttc. Almost like some of the naive excitement of ttc is back, before I knew everything that could go wrong. Whatever caused this new feeling I'm not complaining, it sure beats the mild depression, anger, and jealousy I was feeling with the last couple of cycles I'm sure I'll have my dark days again, but for now I'm enjoying just feeling normal again.

How cool, sounds like we will ovulate around the same day and can go through the tww together!

Believe it not, but after 15 months of trying this is going to be my first official tww. Of course the wait existed before, but I swear I never realized it was 2 weeks! I think before I came to this site and started learning all this useful information I was thinking that I could start testing earlier than two weeks after ovulation And to top it off I have a luteal phase on the shorter side and before I started using the clear blue fertility monitor I never realized when i actually ovualted. So that's a long way of saying this will be my first agonizing, analyzing ever temp dip wait and it will be nice not to go through it alone!

 

[bernina]

Hi all, this is my first cycle of charting properly and I'm finding it so interesting. It actually gets me motivated enough to get up in the morning!

I'm currently on cd12 and am hoping to ov in the next couple of days. Part of me is terrified that I wont ov because as yet I have no way of knowing if I ever have. I'm using opks as well as I'm pretty rubbish with the cm checking. x

Oh I wanted to ask you why you feel you're not good at checking your cm? I know every woman is different, but I have found that one of the easier things to keep track of. Although I did get thrown for a bit of a loop today as it appeared that my egg white cm was drying up a day before the big O!! But I just used the loo and to my surprise it was back (well more watery than egg white, but still fertile). There is less of it though, but I'm hoping that it's still enough to keep the swimmers afloat.

If there are any questions you have or problems you're running into let us know and mabye we can find a solution or offer some advice.

 

[Fish&Chips]

Tbh I'm not sure how to do it. I don't have much (or at least I don't think so as I've not really paid much attention before) so I have to do it internally and never seem to be able to get enough to stretch. It'll be nice to have another 2ww buddy! It's such a tough time that it'll be great to have someone to share thoughts etc with.

This is our first month of ttc properly. We've been trying since July but not really timing our bd-ing etc. I always thought you could get pregnant at any time in your cycle!! Whoops! x

 

[ablacketer]

Fish,
try hooking your finger and collecting from the space directly across and slightly behind your cervix, it pools there much like semen does. I found that is the easiest way for me and trying to get mucus from the cervix itself is near impossible.

bernina,
I noticed the same thing with mine this cycle (only my 2nd charting and mucus checking) I got my positive OPK (for the cheaper ones, check both morning and evening to keep from missing the peak of the surge, they usually come in a pack of 20 that arent any good the next cycle anyway, I start using them day 9) and Oed 48 hours later. I thought maybe I mis-took my temp because my ewcm seemed to go away and was replaced by watery cm. but I got my spike later on.

Hope this helps ladies

OH! and my chart is located below my siggy, feel free to stalk it all you like

 

[hibiscus07]

I'm new to charting. I charted the last half of last cycle but I am pretty sure it was anovulatory as AF was just light brown spotting, and my temps were similar to this cycle's follicular phase.

I'm happy to see that my BBT is higher in LP than in FP, but I'm concerned that it's so jagged. I looked around through a google search and several sites said it could indicate a progesterone problem. It's not dropped below the coverline at all, though.

Do you think it looks irregular? Would you be concerned with this pattern?

Thanks, gals!

 

[ablacketer]

youre welcome to compare it to mine. it looks similar to me

 

[Swanny]

My Ovulation Chart

It's first time charting so no idea what it's supposed to look like.

Seems to be quite up and down....

How is everyone else getting on?



x

 

[foxyloxy28]

Hi Ladies

I'm having a bit of a nightmare with my charts! I've not ovulated yet (well, atleast I don't think I have!) and I am always regular @ 29 days. Am I right in thinking that if I don't ovulate today or tomorrow, my lp will be under 10 days and that's a problem??

Any help / advice very much appreciated!

 

[Fish&Chips]

Hi Foxylady. How long have you been ttc for? Just wondering if you have a settled pattern yet. Maybe you are just going to have your af late this month?

Also are you taking your temp at the same time every day? Also are you charting your cm?

Your temps look a little different this cycle to last.. I'm still too new to charting myself to give you a qualified assessment (!) but I was wondering if there could be reason for this.

 

[Fish&Chips]

Just seen that you are on cycle 5. Not sure if it's the same for you but mine were always 29 days but the last 2 have been 34 and 26 days. I've just seen the dr and apparently it's possible that the pill has only just left my system. As well as the change in cycle lengths, I started getting spots and lots of cramps. I took my last pill in June this year. x