Talk to me about Temp charting please!

[OTTMummA]

Hello everyone, i am kind of knew to the conception section so any advice would be great.

I have never had regular periods,ever, and didn't have a period after my son for nearly 3 yrs!
But,,,, since this october i have been having regular periods
They have so far been bang on 30 day cycle.
I do get mucus changes and a little pmt just before my period etc.
But wanted to take more control of my cycles by charting, this would also help me know when i am ovulating more accurately.

I am due on the 2nd/3rd of Jan and took my temp today, (just a test to see that it works) and it was 99.2, which to me is high no?
Is it normal to get this temp reading just before a period or not?
And could i get any tips on where to find a blank chart or could i make my own?

Thankyou all.

Nic x

Nic, I would recommend using fertilityfriend.com and entering your temps on there - it helps you with the analysing and interpreting of what the temps mean. Individual temps are difficult to comment on, it is all about patterns. Remember to take first thing in the morning, before you get out of bed (BBT) and a thermometer to 2 decimal places is best.

Good luck!

Hi Nic.

You can do free charting on www.fertilityfriend.com. It's probably best to buy a Basal Body Temp (BBT) thermometer, which measures to two decimal points. And you need to take your temperature when you wake up, before you get up and start moving about as that will raise your temperature a varying amount. Was that one you took first thing? or once you'd been up and about it a bit?
I normally temp in celcius, but did a quick search of the FF chart gallery and it does look on the high side, but really you won't know what's normal for you until you've done a couple of cycles.

Good luck, with your regular cycles you may find that just doing a couple of cycles helps you to recognise what the mucus changes indicate and can just use those to help you.

Took my temp in bed when i woke up this morning, and it was 97.73, so much more accurate i think!
Am currently awaitng AF, but ususally come on overnight.

Hi OTTMum - 97.73 still seems reasonably high for the end of a cycle especially if you're due today or tomorrow. If you're still up tomorrow or the next day with no AF maybe you should test? Who knows? Maybe you don't need to start temping after all?

hiya ottmumma taking charge of your fertility website has blank charts you can print off and fill in.

i have a copy of taking charge of your fertility if you want it? i dont mind posting it to you if you pm me?

really, is that high?
I am a newbie to all this, so forgive me!
What should it be around then?

I've charted for years. It's the pattern not the individual temps that matters, but fwiw 97.7 is not unusually high for the end of the cycle - some women see a gradual fall in the run up to the period, but others won't see the temp drop until the day the period starts or even the day after. 97.7 would be a very typical post-ovulation temperature for many women (me included). But really it's impossible to comment properly on any individual temperature without a larger chart - anything from 95 to 99 could be normal for different women at different stages of their cycle.

Also, TCOYF actually says not to bother with the second decimal place, and I never have. I think it encourages you to obsess too much about very small changes, especially when you are just starting with charting.

There's a livejournal community called 'fam' (fertility awareness method) which is very good for chart interpretation in my experience, and a better interface than a lot of the specific fertility websites ime. Good luck with it!

temp was 97.6 this morning, but not period as of yet.
The chances of me being pregnant are very low, i only had penetrative sex 2 days after my period last month, so extrememly unlikely.
But am a bit by the lack of any AF signs.
Will wait an see.
I printed some sheets out, but obvioulsy can not use them until i come on, can i?

well you could, just count the days from the first day of your last period and start from there, it would give you some idea of what your body is doing.

or just leave it and start from day one on your af?

My last period started on the 3rd of dec.
The one before that was the 3/4th November.

SOOOOOO, OFK, just realised, 30 days, should of started on the 1st, shit. not the 3rd.
So i am 3 days late.

will go test tomorrow then i spose.

well done for holding out that long,. i would have got to a 24hour pharmacy by now

LOL, well maybe im just lazy!
I've taken a few million tests in my life that have never come out + , so im not optomistic tbh.
I don't get my hopes up about these things, just makes me more upset IYKWIM.

I second the recommendation of Taking Charge of your Fertility by Toni Weschler.

AF turned up rather nastily last night, couldn't sleep well, was cramping badly from 2-4am.

Didn't take my temp today, had to get up to a howling little boy early hours and forgot!
Will it be ok to start tomorrow?

Im putting the 3 day lateness down to Xmas stress i spose.
No idea why i thought it was supposed to come on the 3rd, maybe because its been the 3rd last 2 months?!
hmmm, never mind.

Yes, fine to start tomorrow, just remember to put it down under day 2 on the chart (or day 3 I suppose if your period started yesterday). Temps in the first few days of your period are likely to be a bit erratic anyway so experienced charters often don't start temping until a few days in, unless they have a history of very short cycles.