September 2009 Weddings
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Charting
I'm going to start charting. I've put it off for a long time and have just been using OPKs, but since I'm taking Clomid I feel it's time to start. I've read TCOYF, and I've been stalking people's charts of GP so I know the basics, just thought I'd ask for advice. What website do you use? Where did you get your thermometer? Are some better than others? I took Clomid for 1 cycle, but won't be taking it again until May, because of Robin's surgery, so I'm thinking I'll chart for the next two months to get the hang of it and then start with Clomid again. Just looking for basic advice. Thanks ladies.
Re: Charting
I used Fertility Friend, and my thermometer was just Target's Up & Up brand... I served its purpose, I think. My chart is linked in my blog if you ever wanna check it out!
updated 10.03.12
I'm on cycle 19 of charting and really think it's great. I use fertility friend to track and I got my thermometer on amazon - I think it's this one. I got one from Target initially, and it crapped out on me pretty quickly. Between TCOYF and the FAQs on fertility friend I've been able to chart without much trouble.
My advice is definitely to track and rely on CM as much, if not MORE than your temp. I think TCOYF makes them seem equal, but CM is much more important, especially if you have any abnormalities with your reproductive system. There are some methods of charting that are used by people with PCOS and other issues that do no use temp at all and they are linked to technologies that help with fertility. That being said, I love seeing the temp shifts on the graph as a confirmation, it's just good to place equal reliance on CM.
Definitely feel free to ask any questions!
| cute shoes make me happy |
I use FertilityFriend - my ticker links to it
I bought my thermometer at Target. The pink Up&Up brand. It works great. Just make sure you get a Basal Body Thermometer (BBT).
Charting is really easy once you get the hang of it. I would recommend doing the free charting tutorial on FF, it's really helpful.
That's the one!
updated 10.03.12
I agree with everything Riss said (as usual). The cycle I got pregnant before was all messed up due to travel, my mom's death, etc. I didn't ovulate until day 52. The only reason we conceived was because I paid attention to CM and took advantage. Temps won't tell you when you're going to ovulate, they just confirm that it happened in retrospect, so it's definitely important to look at both.
I use the Target pink thermometer too and it's still working for me. I think charting took a lot of stress out of TTC because I felt like it was something I could do, and DH and I are nerds and think graphs are fun. (yes, he looks at my chart too). Plus during the times I've had abnormally long cycles, it's given me some peace of mind so I'm not constantly running around wondering why I'm "late" but not pregnant.
I think charting would be good to use in addition to your OPKs to see what's really going on with your cycles.
Congrats to both my TTC buddies, Amberley18 and sb2006 on their beautiful babies!
Dx: Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism After 2 years TTC & failed IUs,we have our IVF baby born 9/24/11
LO#2 aka 'Miracle Baby' Orig. EDD= 9/28 EDD moved to 10/3/13
"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." -- Dale Carnegie
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." --Thomas A. Edison
Thanks ladies! This is especially helpful. I'll check out the thermometers and investigate the tutorials and FAQs on FF more.
I'm a little surprised you havent been charting this whole time.
Anyway, I used the Target BBT. The only thing I didnt like was on the cycle I got pregnant, the damn thing stopped working right around O time, so I couldnt even confirm that I O'd. Obviously I did though.
I read TCOYF and used it as reference a ton but I really depended more on FF. If you can swing it, I think the VIP is totally worth it. You'll probably get a decent price through an intro offer too.
I agree with Mo when she said to look closely at CM and CP. The first time I went searching for my cervix, I cried because I didnt know what I was feeling for. Eventually we found each other and I got used to checking. I was really squemish (sp?) at first but its not so bad. Dont worry if you cant figure out high, low, soft, hard, etc at first. It took me forever. And try not to get too wrapped up in not having textbook CM. I never once had EWCM and I'm quite sure there's a baby in my belly. Figuring out how to classify CM was tricky for me, but again I eventually figured it out.
Get yourself some preseed. I dunno if it really works to get the spermies farther into your ute but its an awesome sperm friendly lube. Its slick though so hang on! :P
Lets see...what else....Oh! OPKs can be helpful but you can get a positive and still not O. Try not to get too hung up on those either. Oooo and try, if you can, not to stare at your chart too much trying to guess how things will go. You'll go nuts. If you can get into the habit of just entering your temp every morning and then not looking at your chart again for awhile, you'll save yourself the insanity of wondering what might happen next.
Good luck, lady!! I really loved charting. It was like this big science experiment.
I agree I think the VIP is worth it. I also don't have textbook CM, so I agree with not over-thinking and worrying about it.
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And, conversely, you can O and not catch your surge. They are still good to try, though. I have never seen a + OPK or EWCM so don't get worried if you don't either.
Dx: Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism After 2 years TTC & failed IUs,we have our IVF baby born 9/24/11
LO#2 aka 'Miracle Baby' Orig. EDD= 9/28 EDD moved to 10/3/13
"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." -- Dale Carnegie
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." --Thomas A. Edison
I remember cracking an egg one time, looking at the white part, and thinking to myself so that's what it should look like! EWCM that is.
LOL nice.
I agree with the others to try not to look at your chart too much. When I first started charting, I would look at it soooo much. Like just stare at it like something was magically going to change. So stupid of me. Now I just enter my temp in the morning and go about my day.
I used FertilityFriend while I was trying to get PG. I charted for 2 months before trying, and we got PG on the first cycle that I we were actually TTC. I thought it was invaluable and will certainly chart again once we can stop TTA.
The only downside to charting, especially with FF and all it's tools, is that if you're anything like me, you're going to constantly analyze, cross-reference, and double check every little thing wondering if it means you're PG.
IMO it's really a great way to get to know what your body is doing. Good luck!
I used Fertility Friend. I was actually 'friends' w/MB on Fertility Friend, but she totally got pregnant that month so I was a loner for what seemed like forever.
Honestly, it really, really helped me understand my body.I knew exactly what signs to look for and I always pretty much knew when I was ovulating.
I stopped using it/charting 3 months before I got pregnant.
I had two thermometers. Nothing special-under $10.00
This is why I've put off charting. For the first year, I was adamant that I didn't want to become baby-making crazy. I can be a little neurotic sometimes.
Thanks for the OPK advice ladies. I've been using them, but since I'm going to be taking Clomid I want to know FOR SURE if it's working. I've been observing CM just not charting it. I'm hoping all of those things combined will give me some peace of mind, not drive me bonkers.
Fertility Friend really is a great site. Easy to use and understand. I liked it a lot, even without the VIP membership.
It's hard not to overanalyze your chart at first, but like others said, it becomes old news pretty quickly and you just enter your temp and go on with your day. I liked charting even though I couldn't use it as a way to figure out when I might O since my cycles were so irregular. Charting to me was just a way to find out when I actually O'ed at all. And if you do get pregnant, you'll be really glad you charted because you can nail down your conception date to within a few days.
I never once saw a positive OPK, nor did I ever have textbook EWCM. In fact, mine was what I would've considered infertile CM around the time I O'ed, but my chart showed a clear and definite temp shift and lo and behold, I ended up pregnant.
If you do have clear patterns of EWCM though, you should do well paying attention to that too, like Meghan said.