[tobi4]

Hi ladies! I usually post over at ttcal but Ive started charting this month and I thought maybe you girls would share your wisdom with me!
I usually take my temp at 7am after sleeping for 8 hrs. The school year just ended and since I work in a school Im off for the summer and going to bed later. For instance I went to bed at 2am last night and got up at 10am. So still 8 hrs of sleep. Is that the most accurate time to take my temp or shall I set my alarm for 7am, knowing its not after having my regular amount of sleep, but its the normal time Ive been temping.
I set my alarm for 7 this morning and got a temp of 98.02 and then at 10 when I actually woke up for the day it was 98.38. Both were taken without getting out of bed. So which one is the right one? Which should I use?
Thanks for your help ladies!

[Mod-LilSunshine]

Welcome to the board!

I would keep your time as close to the regular temping time as possible. The more consistent that time is, the more consistent your temps will be. Generally you want to have at least 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep before you temp...so it wouldn't be necessary to have a full 8 hours. So, for this morning, I would use your first temp.

Just curious...but are you a teacher?

[Coley]

Ideally, you want to temp at the same time every day and after at least 3 consecutive hours of sleep. Obviously that's not always possible, so do your best. There will always be circumstances that can't be avoided.

Whether or not you'll have more accurate temps by temping at the same time or with longer amounts of sleep really depends on your own unique metabolism and body patterns, which will become apparent after you've got a few charts under your belt.

As for which temp to use... if it were me, I'd use the first one. You went to bed at 2am and by 7am, you'd had 5 hours of sleep... which is more than the "rule".

Hope that helps... and Welcome to the Wonderful World of Charting!

[tobi4]

Thanks so much for the replies ladies, that helps a lot! I guess Ill have to go in and change it to the lower temp, It was a nice jump, and it should be 1 dpo so I was quite happy. Oh well, its still higher than my previous temps.
**Lisa, Im a teaching assistant to a little girl with ASD. I LOVE my job, she's a doll! We just finished grade 2, moving on to grade 3! Woohoo! lol

[NutMeg76]

SInc it is the middle of the cycle you should stick with 7 am. Once this cycle ends, if you need to continue charting and you will still be waking up later, you can switch to the later time. The important thing s to be consistent for that cycle.

If you re going to wake up at about 10 everyday for the rest of the summer, taking your temp at 10 am if you start a new cycle will be fine.

[Arya]

I just want to say welcome to charting Teaching is wonderful, very rewarding