[~*Bethy*~]

Hey all, Im Beth - some of you know me from the WTTC board

1) I am getting my mirena taken out feb 4th - do I want to start temping the following morning or wait till my period comes, and start temping the first day after my period ends?

2) The BBT Thermometer, can I buy this at target? If so what brand am I looking for?

3) To temp, do I temp in my mouth, under my arm, or in my vagina? Are there different ways of temping? And do I have to temp more than once a day?

Im going to use Fertilityfriend.com, and have already set aside money to upgrade my account. I will hopefully be Temping and Charting to avoid untill June. Is there other sites you prefer?

Thanks so much, and I cant wait to join you all

~Beth

[sjkduke]

Hi and !!!! So happy to have you here!!!!

I'm Sarah, and I'm your host...there are several girls here who are VERY well versed with fertility charting to help you out!

First off, I would wait until your period starts to start charting. If you're using FF, it will start your cycle based on your period.

Second, Target has BBTs that are perfectly fine to use. I believe they carry the BD brand, girls, correct me if I'm wrong.

Third, I suggest temping vaginally. I have done both orally and vaginally, and find vaginally to be much more stable and consistant.

Fourth, I would suggest using some other form of charting or protection if you're planning to avoid pregnancy until June. Fertility Friend is geared towards helping you get pregnant, instead of preventing it.

[KatiInCT]

Hi and !!!! So happy to have you here!!!!

I'm Sarah, and I'm your host...there are several girls here who are VERY well versed with fertility charting to help you out!

First off, I would wait until your period starts to start charting. If you're using FF, it will start your cycle based on your period.

Second, Target has BBTs that are perfectly fine to use. I believe they carry the BD brand, girls, correct me if I'm wrong.

Third, I suggest temping vaginally. I have done both orally and vaginally, and find vaginally to be much more stable and consistant.

Fourth, I would suggest using some other form of charting or protection if you're planning to avoid pregnancy until June. Fertility Friend is geared towards helping you get pregnant, instead of preventing it.[/b]

on most accounts. I used FF to avoid for 4 cycles after stopping birth control but as many will tell you it is a program meant for TTC not TTA. The girls over at the NFP/FAM boards are very helpful with TTA questions (NOT that I am trying to make you leave here!).

I would start charting right away but understand that it probably won't mean anything until you have your first period. But it is good to get in the habit of temping every morning. Is better to be frustrated about forgetting and missing a day when it doesn't matter than being frustrated when you really are trying to understand that first chart.

I temp orally but I know some girls prefer vaginally since it will show your temperature trends clearer. Personally I would say start out orally and see if it works for you and if not then switch to vaginally. Just make sure you temp in one place or the other for a full chart, you can't switch in the middle or things won't make sense!

The girls here are awesome about answering questions so ask away!

[ShawnaCAN]

1) Start temping right away. You could ovulate prior to your first period after having the Mirena removed, so consider yourself potentially fertile as soon as it's out.
2) You can buy a BBT thermometer at most pharmacies, in the family planning section.
3) Many women temp orally, but sometimes this leads to erratic temps if you happen to breath with your mouth open at night. For a more even pattern, temping vaginally is recommended.

4) Fertility Friend isn't designed for TTA, so I would recommend using Ovusoft for that. FF is prone to giving false interpretations, saying that ovulation has occured when it hasn't yet...so people assume they are safe when they are not. This isn't a big deal if you've taken a course designed to teach you how to use charting to avoid, because then you'll know when FF is wrong. But if you're placing all your trust in FF to make your interpretations for you, it may not be very reliable for avoiding pregnancy. All software programs are only meant to be used as tools to help you with your charting, not as a substitute for having the training in how to avoid with charting. It's really important to have that so you can interpret your charts on your own and understand the rules for determining when you should consider yourself fertile and when you are infertile.

If you have any questions about charting to avoid, don't hesitate to pop on over to NFP/FAM!

[~*Bethy*~]

why thank you ladies (and Kati ) I thought FF was just a all around program, guess not - good thing I havent paid for the full membership just yet

I will pop over, Ive been over there before, but that like August of last year, and it just was blah...but now that I have 14 days left - I need to start getting advice, woot!

Thank you all so much!!! You will be seeing more of me, I promise!

~Beth

[alicenwonderland]

Hi Beth! There's a lot of us WTTC/Grads members here.
I would suggest starting to temp right away to get in the habit, just expect things to chang over the next couple cycles.

I got my thermometer at Target. It was just generic Target BBT. It's pink and obvious.

I prefer to temp vaginally. It seems to give my chart the most consistency. I temp when I first wake up.

If I were you, I would use Fertility Friend just for updateing and using in your siggie so people can follow your chart. But for the main calculations and such, I suggest Ovusoft software. It's got all the TTA rules built in. Also, you only have to pay the fee once and you are a lifetime member.