To chart or not to chart?! Help a girl out

[Moominmiss]

So as much as I’m not a newbie to the whole ttc thing (3 dc, 1 mc and a chemical), I’m 37 and feeling the pressure of time ticking by in order to attempt to conceive this one last time.

I currently only use ovulation test strips, namely the one step cheapies from eBay. I input them into the premom app and basically dtd as much as we can.

I don’t know whether it’s worth trying to start tracking my bbt basically.

The thing that worries me is that I don’t sleep great. I get up during the night pretty much every night to pee more than once. Usually try last time being around 3am, but can be later. Then my oh’d alarm fir work goes off at 5.30am. All this means I don’t usually have long stretches of uninterrupted sleep and from what I’ve read, this is really important.

Is it still worth even bothering with?

And IF it is, can anyone recommend a thermometer to use and an app to track it?

I’ve read about the femometer one with the app that syncs automatically but read some great reviews and some really bad ones. Also I’m not interested in paying for any kind of subscriptions so want something that I’m not having to pay for each month.

But ultimately if bbt tracking isn’t going to work for me because of my crappy sleeping then I’ll just carry on trying as we are!

Thank you 😊 💐

Hey! I’ve just started bbt tracking so can’t confirm accuracy but like you I don’t sleep well so had the same question.

There’s a book all on bbt to help become pregnant called Taking Control of Your Fertility - it’s really well regarded - and it says that 3 hours uninterrupted sleep is enough.

I don’t use anything fancy - just a 10 quid femometer digital thermometer from Amazon and use free Fertility Friend app. I think it’s great - looks a bit old school but it makes a chart for you and helps you interpret it.

Oh one thing is has helped with - your bbt drops when you’re going to get AF, so I’ve enjoyed having some heads up with that so I’m not obsessing every time I go to the loo.

@BernadetteSunday thank you!

I just downloaded the fertility friend app this afternoon and just input the data I’ve got so far, dats we’ve dtd, and when I go a positive opk this month etc.

I might bite the bullet and get a thermometer then. If it works then great, and if it doesn’t then so be it.

It would be nice to have a heads up before af arrives though. I’ve been getting bfn’s now for a few days (currently 11dpo) so I know af is near. I have been keeping an eye on my rhr on my Fitbit app this month and it seems to be dropping slightly which ties in with af coming so would be nice to have something else to confirm this alongside it.
I attempt sometimes to feel my cervix position etc but I think I’m pretty rubbish at it and often can’t feel much difference.
Temping just seems a bit more straight forward!

Hey, I've recently started tracking my BBT as well.
I'll be honest and say I dont have a fancy thermometer as like you, my sleep pattern is all over the show and I didnt want to get one if it was a bit pointless!
When I'm not on furlough my shift pattern differs daily so this will affect the time I wake up and wont be accurate I assume?

For the first month my chart is all over the place. My temp differs alot and I cant make out where I have a dip or a consistent increase! Not sure if this is because of the thermometer or the fact its not the same time every day (I like a lay in!).
I might bite the bullet and get a proper BBT thermometer to see how much difference it makes.

Hi ladies. I just brought one too which should be arriving tomorrow, and despite ttc for 3 years have only ever used opks as bbt always looked too complicated so I'm new to it all too. Might try do my research today as I have the above book mentioned but always skip over that chapter. I work night shifts so my sleep is all over the place and when I am back in daytime routine I'm up in the night to eat or use the loo, so hope it will work!! 🤞 x

I have just finished my first full month charting (pic attached). My timing is a bit erratic as I have a toddler who wakes all hours! But I have found it helpful, my temps dropped drastically yesterday so knew af was on her way and sure enough she's here today. It also confirmed ovulation which is reassuring. I'm going to continue and try not to read into it to much. I think it's a helpful tool and also good for tracking everything in 1 place. I also figure if you need to speak to a professional at any point about fertility having charts for a few months will be helpful. X

I use and like Ovusense for this. It takes your temperature regularly through the night and gives the average core body temperature. It's more accurate than a BBT thermometer but more expensive.