Temping if you wake at different times?

[wishiwasonholiday]

Just checking that if I wake at different times will this still be ok? Just some mornings I wake up before my alarm at say 5.40-6am but if I go back to sleep do I use the 5.40/6am one or do it again at 7?

Also should you have been asleep for a certain time as I wake up frequently in the night sometimes being awake for a few hours, would this give accurate readings?

Thanks in advance.

Hi, there is a brilliant book called "Taking charge of your Fertility" which explains all these things in great detail! It can be picked up really cheaply second hand on Amazon. It's by Toni Weschler, official website here: www.tcoyf.com/

The fertility friend website is also wonderful: www.fertilityfriend.com/ There is a free to use bit where you can enter your daily temperatures and observations and it will draw the graph for you and put in the coverline and everything. There are also free tutorials talking you through every aspect of charting. I have been using this site for about four months and it is just brilliant.

From Memory, your temperature should be taken at roughly the same time each morning, within 3 hours or so. So at 5:40-6 instead of 7 would be totally fine. I think you should also take your temperature after at least 4 hours of solid sleep. SO if you were up from 12-2, you would be fine to take your temperature at 6. I also suffer from insomnia, and I tend to take my temperature anyway and just discard it if it is way outside what I expected.

I really hope this helps. Please feel free to PM me if you think I can be of any use!

Thanks, also I just took my temp and it was 36.4 in one ear and 36.9 in the other (it's always different in each ear) which do I use?! I'm on cycle day 2.

I have read that ear thermometers are not suitable for temperature charting in this case as they are not accurate enough! I use a babymad oral thermometer, again a bargain purchase from Amazon! But any oral thermometer would do. The other option is to take your temperature vaginally which some women find better if their oral temperatures do not show an obvious spike at ovulation. I have only ever taken mine orally so can't comment on this.

I have no idea which temperature I would use for ears!

You need to get a specific basal body temperature (BBT) thermometer, they are more sensitive to small changes. You also should take your temperature orally or vaginally for the most accurate result.

As far as times go, it should be at roughly the same time everyday. By waking temperature I interpret it as meaning before you get out of bed, so I don't think it matters if you wake and go back to sleep.

You can buy a BBT thermometer here

Also, Fertility Friend can answer all questions on charting your temperatures.