[DogMomForNow]

Hi Everyone! I've introduced myself on another page, but thought I should do so here. Hi, my name is Stacie, and my DH's name is Tim. I am 24 and he is 28. We got married on September 12th 2009, and on the first night of our Mexico Honeymoon decided we were ready to try for baby number 1. Naturally, I figured it would happen right away, bam I would be pregnant after the first month. Realizing now that's not always the case. I've had a frustrating last couple of weeks, feeling very consumed by the fact that I have not gotten pregnant. I am trying to tell myself "it's ok, calm down, let nature take it's course." But boy, easier said then done!
Today I went to my family doctor for treatment for a UTI i've had for about a month. While there we got on the topic of how TTC was going. I vented my frustrations to her, and she recommended that I chart my body temperature. I came back to the office and started reading up on it. I understand the point, and understand how to do it, but what I don;t understand is what I am looking for. When are you suppose to actually DTD? When do I start charting? Any and all help on this would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you ladies in advance!

[LifesGood]

hi and welcome. im one of the co-hosts of the board

Charting your BBT, cervical mucus and cervical position helps you learn about your cycle and can show you when you ovulated.

Most of us use fertilityfriend.com to track all of this, There are also tons of FaQ and information on the site as well. Basically you take you temperature at the same time every morning before you get out of bed. I take mine at 6am you enter in to fertility friend and that is your chart. most of us have links to our charts in our siggys you can click on my carebear blinkie.

Coming up to the time of ovulation your CM (cervial mucus) goes from sticky to creamy to watery and or eggwhite (EWCM) up to ovulation, with it drying up shortly after. Usually ovulation occurs the day before your temp shifts.... Look at coley's chart to see that.

After 3 days of high temps FF confirms your most likely O date as the day before the 3 high teps

[Admin-pattyandthemoos]

Hi! I just love your doctor!!! Not every doctor values charting. Welcome to the charting board. If you really want to learn about charting pick up the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility. You will learn everything you need to know there and it is good to have for a reference.

I would sign up for an account with Fertility Friend. There are other sites you can use too. Look through the getting started thread in the charting school subforum.

Once you have an account start taking your temp every morning before you get out of bed. You need to make sure you don't get up and move around. Also, you need to take your temp at the same time each day or your chart won't be accurate. I would start with just taking your temps first. Then you can start working on adding your cm info. I would read all the threads in the charting school on CM and also read Fertility Friends info on charting cervical mucous.

Don't worry if you understand it all. We will help you figure it out.

I would also highly recommend picking up some opks. I order mine online from early-pregnancy-tests.com. They aren't very much money and they will really help you out.

[Coley]

I'm Nikki!!

Just about everything you need to know to get started has already been said. Just take it one temp at a time... it can be both exciting and maddening at times... but I wouldn't trade my BBT for anything!

Oh yeah... and just because no one else has said it... use an actual BBT Thermometer, NOT a fever thermometer... it won't be sensitive enough. If you haven't already, you can pick up a BBT at any pharmacy, Target, Walmart, etc for usually around $10 bucks.

Best of Luck & Baby to you...

I look forward to getting to know you better over the coming weeks of your TTC journey!

[DogMomForNow]

Thank you both for your help. I went to the Pharmacy last night and bought a Digital Basal Thermometer, and once I got home, I signed up on Fertility Friend! I took my first temperature this morning! It was a straight 97.0. It seems simple, I'm just afraid I won't know when I need to be DTD. Do I need to chart it for a month or two to see some sort of trend?
Thanks for the tips on getting the book. I will have to pick that up!
Hmm, OPKS? I'm not sure I know what that is!

Thanks for all the help. Today I actually looked forward to my alarm going off, haha!

[Admin-pattyandthemoos]

Originally Posted by DogMomForNow

Thank you both for your help. I went to the Pharmacy last night and bought a Digital Basal Thermometer, and once I got home, I signed up on Fertility Friend! I took my first temperature this morning! It was a straight 97.0. It seems simple, I'm just afraid I won't know when I need to be DTD. Do I need to chart it for a month or two to see some sort of trend?
Thanks for the tips on getting the book. I will have to pick that up!
Hmm, OPKS? I'm not sure I know what that is!

Thanks for all the help. Today I actually looked forward to my alarm going off, haha!

You should use your cm to help you figure out when to dtd and not your temps. Your temps will confirm ovulation but they aren't always helpful for predicting it. (Sometimes you can tell if you have a temp dip before ovulation but that doesn't happen for everyone). So when you start seeing slippery cm, especially ewcm consider yourself fertile.

OPKs are ovulation prediction tests. You can buy them at the drug store. I buy mine from early-pregnancy-tests.com. They are a lot cheaper there and I actually think they work better than most of the store brands.

Originally Posted by Coley

Oh yeah... and just because no one else has said it... use an actual BBT Thermometer, NOT a fever thermometer... it won't be sensitive enough. If you haven't already, you can pick up a BBT at any pharmacy, Target, Walmart, etc for usually around $10 bucks.

I thought about that after I posted. I am glad you mentioned this.