I'm very sorry if this is a bit icky, but we are all girls together??

[fizzipop]

Sorry to have to be so crude, but I am planning to start TTC dc2 as of next month. I have been doing the temp thing to see when I've ovulated. I'm just a bit confused cos I know your discharge 'down below' changes when you ovulate, becomes like raw egg white, rather than creamy. .
The thing is, out of my last 4 cycles, my temp has gone up at around day 17, but only once have I noticed the change in discharge. Does this mean I haven't ovulated? I'm sure I read somewhere that if your temp goes up you have ovulated, but it just seems weird to me that it is very obvious to me when the discharge does change, and I'm obvioulsy looking out for it.....it definitely hasn't recently.
I know you may wonder why I am worrying as I already have a dd, but it took us a while to get a BFP the first time, so I think I'm just a little tiny bit concerned. Thanks. Hope I haven't out anyone off their tea.

from what i can gather the rise in temp is a more accurate indication of whether you have ov'd. the discharge is to "help things along". you are at your most fertile before your temp peaks. hth

Temping isn't an exact science TBH, I ovulated regularly on day 16 according to my temp charts, but ovulated and got pregnant on day 9 with my DD!

What you are looking for in temping is the dip BEFORE the surge - the dip indicates ovulation, which makes sense with what you are saying.

If your cycles are regular you are more likely than not to be ovulating on a regular basis. However, even normally fertile women have the occasional anovulatory cycle. I would therefore look at your cycles as a whole and see how regular or otherwise they are.

Charting as a method is not infallable, you can for instance have a rise in temp in the second half of your cycle when an egg has not been shed. A woman can ovulate earlier, later or not at all in any given cycle.

The surest way of knowing whether ovulation has occured or otherwise is to have blood tests done.

Are you checking internally? Sometimes there's lots of cervical mucus up there around your cervix but you might not always see it on the toilet paper when you wipe. (obviously you need to be scrupulously clean about washing hands first and afterwards!)There's a great book you can buy all about charting called Taking Charge of Your Fertility which I found very useful when I was ttc.

Thanks everyone, very useful, esp the internal mucus thing.
When we were ttc dd I had only just come off the pill and my periods were so irregular, started every 6 weeks, then 7, 8 and eventually every 10 weeks!!! Made me chuckle on the temp chart cos it only goes up to I think 40 day cycle, mine were over 75 days!!!
Since dd born, they were initially bit irregular but the last 3 were 4.5 weeks long, and looks like this one will be similar.

I also found the charting website "fertility friend" very useful - you just enter your charting temps each day and their software does all the rest for you - works out when/if you're ovulating and when your most fertile days are likely to be. You have to pay for VIP membership but I started out with a free trial for a month (or might even have been 2 months - I can't remember). The site is quite American and the chat boards have lots of tickers and other things which might seem OTT to lots of mumsnetters but I honestly believe it was a huge help when I was having trouble ttc.

Thanks again.
I'm hoping that as my cycle was so infrequent last time we were ttc, and now it seems a lot better that things should be a littel easier. I might be being nieve there though.
Because I had so few periods that year, 5 instead of 12, I think that's why it took so long. I had a miscarriage fairly early on in TTC, so me and dh always think of it that I got pregnant two out of five attempts, which is obviously good odds!!

I was so irregular, I thought I'd ovulated when I hadn't and vice versa. We literally were doing the baby dance every other night. Sounds fab doesn't it? NOT! It's just not the same in those situations!

I will def try the website if I get stuck, but in the meantime I will try and relax and not think about it too much, and see what happens.

You don't always get a dip before the temperature rise.

The temperature rise indicates that you have (probably) ovulated -- i.e. it's no good as an indicator of when to have sex, unless you are fairly regular and hence it can help you predict for future cycles.

The egg white cervical mucus is an indication that you are having your mid-cycle oestrogen surge, which means that you will (probably) ovulate in the next few days.