Fertility friend chart and CM - advice please, sorry if TMI

[lalabaloo]

Hi, I need some advice re fertility friend and cervical mucous. Today is the first day I have recorded a CM reading on fertility friend apart from period (the reading was "wet") and it suddenly jumped from fertile days from next Monday onwards with ovulation next Thursday to fertile from today with ovulation on Friday.

I normally have a 32 day cycle, today is day 10. My temperature went up quite significantly this morning but it is my first month charting and it is quite erratic as I am still getting the hang of things.

Fertility friend is still showing possibly fertile next week as well. I'm very confused, it was the CM reading that changed it as when I removed it it went back to how it was before. My CM was definitely wet though :s I also recorded a skin breakout as I am spottier than normal.

I have some ovulation sticks I haven't used yet, was waiting until next Monday as per the instructions. Is it worth trying one? I suppose I could always get another pack afterwards?

Does anyone have any advice, other than obviously SWI which I will! Is day 10 too early to ovulate on a 32 day cycle?

This is my chart www.fertilityfriend.com/home/357489 Ignore the first few chart readings as they were with a different (not BBT) thermometer

Its too early to tell ov from your chart but wet or EWCM will always give you a fertile result.

Anything is possible in regards to ov so technically you could ov day 10 pf a 32 day cycle but not likely. Fertile mucous is usually present up to a week before ov as well.

Thanks for replying so quickly! So I am probably more likely to ovulate next week but shouldn't rule it out this week?

The thing is that technically your past cycles are no guide to this one (that's why the rhythm method isn't very reliable!). So even though you usually have a 32 day cycle - which would suggest that you probably ovulate somewhere around day 16-20 - you could well be building up to an earlier ovulation (and therefore a shorter cycle) this time. As soon as you see fertile-quality cervical fluid you should consider yourself fertile. You might notice that it peaks and then dries up within the next couple of days; or you may have a week or more of wet fluid before ovulation. But you really can't tell in advance so just go by whether you have signs of being fertile now! In any case, the 'wettest' cervical fluid generally appears a day or so before ovulation, not at exactly the point of ovulation, because the wet fluid helps the sperm to survive so they're right there waiting at ovulation!

Thanks Kalidasa, think i'm just going to keep SWI and see how things go! I think it might take a few cycles of charting before I get the hang of it and like you say, it can always throw you a curveball! x

Ok FF has now decided that I ovulated on Tuesday :s

FF's interpretations of ovulation date are v. unreliable in my experience. Do you have the book 'Taking Charge of Your Fertility'? Your current chart for instance does not yet meet the criteria for drawing a cover line and determining ovulation according to the rules of the fertility awareness method. (Because it's only two days since your last fertile fluid, and because one of your three temps is not clearly above the six ones preceding the possible ovulation date.) They might be right but it's still too early to tell, especially with that uncertain temperature on the last day (did you take it at a different time?) So if you're trying to conceive, definitely keep going for now! You're looking for three temperatures clearly above the previous six and four days of no fertile quality fluid before you can be confident you have already ovulated. With your current chart, and a history of slightly longer cycles, I wouldn't be surprised if you see your temps coming down a bit again and more fertile fluid in the next few days, followed by a clear ovulation.

Thanks, I think I need to get hold of that book! The most recent temp was taken earlier than usual, by about 40 minutes, would that explain the difference? I will definitely keep going, I don't believe that I have ovulated yet especially considering my usual cycle length. Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it. I thought charting would make me feel more in control but this morning I wished I hadn't bothered starting.

Usually if I take a temp too early it is lower rather than higher than you'd expect, but everyone varies really - once you've charted for a while you'll have a sense of what actually makes a difference for you. I've done it for years and I know that, for instance, quite a disturbed night doesn't mess up my chart as long as I wasn't actually up for long periods during it; and that the time I take the temp doesn't actually make that much difference either, at least within a couple of hours, as long as I take it first thing after I wake. But some women find it gets thrown off very easily which is why it's best to be as rigid as possible when you're learning.

Yes, the book is a great investment. And it will all seem clearer soon I promise! The first month is definitely the most confusing because you don't yet have a sense of the 'scale' of what you're looking at if you see what I mean - it may be that your typical post-o temperatures end up quite a lot higher than your current ones, for instance, but you won't know that yet.

I learnt to chart for convenience (I have long and irregular cycles and it's handy to know when my period will arrive) and for contraception. But if you're doing it because you aim to conceive, I'd pay more attention to the cervical fluid than anything else to be honest. The temp shift will really just demonstrate that you are ovulating, which is useful if you're not sure that you are. But with regular cycles (even if they're longish) it's fairly unlikely that you're not actually ovulating. Good luck!

Thanks, I am using it to try and conceive but I don't get along with hormonal contraception so would like to try to use it as contraception later. I will try and get hold of the book sometime this weekend. I'm glad to hear that it will become clearer! My temperature was higher again this morning but I had a very disturbed nights sleep so I'm not reading too much into it. I'm just going to keep TTC and use the charts as well but until I get used to it and understand my cycle more I am not going to get too het up about it.