The Basics to charting and temping

So this is what you need to know:

• You need to buy a thermometer not just any thermometer but a BBT thermometer which stands for Basal Body Temperature you can pick them up from a well known auction site and from your local chemist.
  
  
• You will need to take your temp everyday ideally at the same time however if you do take your temp say 1 hour later than usual then still use it (never dis-regard a temp) but make a note to why it might be higher/lower than usual, a real handy tip is keep your mobile close to hand and set an alarm on it to go off at the same time each day, when it goes off just input your temp into the phone. Or keep a pad and a pen by the side of the bed.
  
  
• Take your temp orally although you can take it vaginally but bear in mind that vaginal temps tend to be higher.
  
  
• It is best to start temping on CD1 which is the first day of
  
  
• Take your temp after 3 hours of solid sleep but if you wake up earlier than usual take it when you wake, otherwise it will probably be higher than usual.
  
  
• You can use paper charting to log your temps each day or do it online, one particular site that offers a free basic membership is www.fertilityfriend.com it is very easy to use and has a very helpful FAQ section.
  
  
• You need to input your temps each day, this is very important otherwise you could miss a vital temp that will indicate ovulation is about to happen or has happened.
  
  
• Stress, travel and illness can all effect your temp just remember to take these factors into consideration when looking/analysing your chart.

There are other fertility signs other than your temp you can look out for:

These are your cervix.....yes you can actually gather whether you are fertile or not by checking your cervix. An easy way to remember what you are looking for to indicate you are most fertile is:

SHOW which stands for

• SOFT
  
  
• HIGH
  
  
• OPEN
  
  
• WET

Your cervix will feel SOFT rather like your lips when you are gearing up to ovulate/or are ovulating and rather like the tip fo nose when you are in-fertile phase.

The cervix actually moves HIGHer and lower throughout your cycle, the higher it is the better, HIGH usually indicates you are most fertile, low in-fertile phase.

As you can by looking at the picture the cervix has a opening


this is OPEN when you are most fertile and closed when you are in your in-fertile phase (note: if you have already delivered a child, the cervix tends to ALWAYS feel slightly open)

and lastly when you are most fertile the cervix feels WET you may feel some cervical mucus which beings me onto.....

Cervical Mucus is another fertility sign and a very easy one to observe.

CM Stages: (Sample of a regular 28 day cycle)

Days 1-5
Bleeding (normal period)

Days 6-8
Dry days (no CM)

Days 9 & 10
Cloudy, thick and little or no stretchability.

Day 11
Not as cloudy, thinner and more stretchability, but it still globs.

Day 12
Clearer, wetter and stretches more than previous day.

Day 13
Clear, slippery and has the consistency of a raw egg white. Stretches a lot before clinging to one finger. (EWCM)

Day 14
Still clear and slippery and very stretchable.

Day 15
Cloudy, thick and little or no stretchability.

DAY 16 and onwards
Dry days, sticky days and the closer to CM usually becomes Creamy again.

the most fertile CM looks like this:


Bear in mind that not every women has a typical 28 day cycle infact most women don't, which means that most women do not ovulate on CD14.

There are secondary signs that you can also look out for and these tend to be different for different women:

Cramps around the ovaries
Feeling an increased sex drive
headaches
spotting
bloating
water rentention
breast tenderness
and many more........if you notice you have any secondary signs then write them down or mark them up on your chart.

Summary


Can recommend one thing that is to purchase the international bestseller 'Taking Charge of your Fertility' written by Toni Weschler....it is beyond fantastic, you won't regret buying it! It covers in depth the basics of charting/temping whether you are using this method to conceive or prevent a baby

That's fantastic Georgi! I didn't realise that it is higher if you take it vaginally. Although I'm embarrassed to say that's what I did today when I had that high temp, all the previous ones are oral!

wonderful babe!You are the best!

gosh i must be such a dumb ass, its way over my head, im the sort of person who DOES NOT read instructions, i just need to be shown once then im all good, the words all just meddle around inside, im sure ill figure it out!
Its like when i went to put jesses trampoline togther with my dad the other night, he got the instructions out and he is like me, does not have the time or patients to read them (as in his books its wasting time) so we just found all the pieces and put it together, it may have taken 2 hours but we got there!

Wow I so wish there had been a post like that when I first started charting!

Mum of JJ I know it seems like alot to take in but honestly, it's really easy! You don't have to do all of it, I have never checked my cervix for instance. I remember when I first started charting and I was asking loads of questions and I felt really dumb but seriously, the most important thing is just to take you temp every morning at the same time!!!! Once you get a chart started the rest just falls into place!

I agree, this is great info. I have not begun temping or charting yet, but I do intend to do so...that is, if I'm not already pregnant (lol)

I suppose you ladies will be around for help when I decide to get a chart going on FF?

Ry there is loads of us around with enough charting experience to be able to help you with practically any aspect of charting! No worries hun on that score!

Well AF arrived today so there is no chance that I am pregnant this month. It's OK, we weren't planning on being plus we are kind of looking forward to being able to spend money for once now that I have my job. I am confused though because I was expecting a drop in temps as AF was due to start but nothing happened. This is only the second time I have done this properly and the first time I got pregnant so could you guys maybe have a look for me?

galaxy wrote:Well arrived today so there is no chance that I am pregnant this month. It's OK, we weren't planning on being plus we are kind of looking forward to being able to spend money for once now that I have my job. I am confused though because I was expecting a drop in temps as was due to start but nothing happened. This is only the second time I have done this properly and the first time I got pregnant so could you guys maybe have a look for me?

Your temps looked very convincing as they seemed to go up and up BUT this is important 'feet on the ground' kind of evidence to anyone starting out on their journey or simply just charting, that a chart can tick all the right boxes BUT it doesn't always mean that it is a 'pregnancy' chart. Sometimes it's the least likely looking chart that can result in pregnancy, my temp actually dropped as it usually did on 15dpo if I hadn't of tested on 14dpo and seen a I would have thought for sure that was the usual drop before .

Saying that though charters don't always get a drop in temperatures before their period starts (which is caused by the disintegration of the corpus luteum) although I know it is a good way to mentally prepare yourself for when .

I know that you are disappointed but try to look at it this way.....you know your body that much better already

It's OK, I'm not too upset at all. I just thought that there may be another explanation. After all, my chart isn't all that accurate as I changed me method of temperature taking half way through and then got my bbt. My temps did become so much more stable after making those changes so I'm happy about that. It may sound strange but please don't feel sympathy for me. I have a beautiful daughter and it's like one month which is nothing. I am happy about going out to spend my pay packet this month so it's all good. Thanks for looking at my chart though and I can see your point that it does look convincing. Just as well I haven't been trying for months or years, I would have been wetting myself!