BBT for newbies. What do I need to know?

[Squiff70]

I'm just starting my second cycle TTC and decided to try tracking my BBT.

What does a complete novice need to know and what are the pitfalls please?

Amy advice gratefully received!

Okay here we go!

1. Get a two decimal thermometer. A £10 femometer works well
2. Fertility friend is the best app out there for tracking
3. Aim to take your temperature within the same 30 min window every day. On the odd occasion you wake up late or early you can use an online bbt adjuster
4. You don't have to start on CD 1 but try and start as soon as you can into your cycle
5. Take temp orally (under tongue) or vaginally but stick to one method as the temps are higher vaginally
6. Take temp as soon as you wake up - before you've spoken or moved or anything
7. You'll need minimum 4h sleep to take your temp accurately
8. Discard temps if you're ill or have a hangover

What you're looking for is a temp shift, where the day after ovulation your temperature rises (ideally 0.3C or more but some have slow rises so it's a guideline not a rule) and stays high. Ovulation is confirmed once you have three consecutive temperature higher than the previous six.

OPKs and EWCM are taken into account by FF so track those as well if you want as it can give you a more accurate picture.

Once ovulation is confirmed, try not to torture yourself by reading into the LP temps. BFP charts can be all over the place and you could have beautifully high temps in a BFn chart too. One thing I will say though is that a lot of women note temperatures dropping as a heads up that AF is on her way.

Two more points for good measure:

• some ladies see a drop in temp at 2dpo, this is called a fallback rise and isn't anything to worry about
• some get a big dip in temp on ONE day between 6-9dpo. Ladies keep getting excited about these saying it's an implantation dip but there's no such thing - it's actually just a secondary estrogen surge caused by the corpus luteum and is normal and not a cause for worry or celebration.

If you ever have any chart queries, feel free to DM me!

@Juno231 thank you so much for taking so much time and care over your reply. I'd already bought a Femometer when you replied and it's arriving (according to Amazon) on Sunday. I'm on CD1 today so I'll have to set it up then start temping on Monday which will be CD4. Is that too late?

I'll install FF and take a look at it tomorrow. What happens if you don't wake up at the same time every day? DP works shifts and we're often up at 6am but on the days he's in later or off work I don't wake up til later.

I'll deffo stick with oral temping but thanks for the info about vaginal temping also!

I'd never heard of a fallback rise before. You learn something new every day! Thanks also for telling me not to get deflated or excited about the dip in temp after ovulation too - that's very useful to know.

I'll let you know how I get on. Many thanks once again!

@Squiff70 CD4 is absolutely fine! How big are the differences between shift/non shift days? On average, one hour's difference translates into 0.1C so if eg you wake up at 8 or 9 instead of 6 it will mess with your pattern a lot and might prevent you from producing a useful chart.

Having said that though - definitely give it a go and see what happens, it could work still!

8 or 9am is spot on @Juno231. Do you think it's worth a shot or should I just cancel the order?

@Juno231

Okay here we go!

1. Get a two decimal thermometer. A £10 femometer works well
2. Fertility friend is the best app out there for tracking
3. Aim to take your temperature within the same 30 min window every day. On the odd occasion you wake up late or early you can use an online bbt adjuster
4. You don't have to start on CD 1 but try and start as soon as you can into your cycle
5. Take temp orally (under tongue) or vaginally but stick to one method as the temps are higher vaginally
6. Take temp as soon as you wake up - before you've spoken or moved or anything
7. You'll need minimum 4h sleep to take your temp accurately
8. Discard temps if you're ill or have a hangover

What you're looking for is a temp shift, where the day after ovulation your temperature rises (ideally 0.3C or more but some have slow rises so it's a guideline not a rule) and stays high. Ovulation is confirmed once you have three consecutive temperature higher than the previous six.

OPKs and EWCM are taken into account by FF so track those as well if you want as it can give you a more accurate picture.

Once ovulation is confirmed, try not to torture yourself by reading into the LP temps. BFP charts can be all over the place and you could have beautifully high temps in a BFn chart too. One thing I will say though is that a lot of women note temperatures dropping as a heads up that AF is on her way.

Two more points for good measure:

• some ladies see a drop in temp at 2dpo, this is called a fallback rise and isn't anything to worry about
• some get a big dip in temp on ONE day between 6-9dpo. Ladies keep getting excited about these saying it's an implantation dip but there's no such thing - it's actually just a secondary estrogen surge caused by the corpus luteum and is normal and not a cause for worry or celebration.

If you ever have any chart queries, feel free to DM me!

You are the guru of all knowledge!

@Squiff70 I think it's worth trying tbh. Odds are you'll have a wonky looking chart but that you'll still be able to detect a pattern. For critical FW temps you could perhaps use the temp adjuster if needed.

Would you be using OPKs as well?

@SWAttempting haha thanks! Sadly I've been temping for 18 months now I think (ttc 21 cycles) so it's the only reason I know my stuff by now 😅

[quote Juno231]@Squiff70 I think it's worth trying tbh. Odds are you'll have a wonky looking chart but that you'll still be able to detect a pattern. For critical FW temps you could perhaps use the temp adjuster if needed.

Would you be using OPKs as well?

@SWAttempting haha thanks! Sadly I've been temping for 18 months now I think (ttc 21 cycles) so it's the only reason I know my stuff by now 😅[/quote]
Awww mate I know! You were here and guided me through conceiving my DS who is now 11 months. We're now at baby #2 as my heart failure won't cope in 18 months to 2 years time.

Hi @Juno231. Yes I'll definitely be using OPKs as well.

I'm sorry you still find yourself here after 21 cycles, that's REALLY tough on you and your DP. I really hope it happens for you soon. I was on these boards a LOT 3 years ago both before and after losing my first set of twins at 19+4. I then conceived my second set of twins who were born 4 months premature. Our daughter survived despite being given a less than 5% chance, but sadly our son died at 4 days old.

Our LG is an absolute joy and we'd love to give her a surviving sibling, hence I find myself back here.

Anyway, my time on these boards has shown me many ladies who tried for many months or years finally got their much-wanted and much-loved babies. I have every faith you will be one of them.

Praying you have a healthy and happy pregnancy very soon.

May I ask if two decimal thermometer means 2 decimal places? Mine is only 1 decimal place.

I thought I'd got the hang of it this month but my temp skipped up by 0.5 deg c 7 days ago (CD10) and has stayed there since with a blip up another 0.5 deg C rhree days ago when I wasnt feeling well, so I'm not sure where I am!

Ovusense is great for taking the temp and charting it, if you're willing to pay out for it. Takes the user error out of the temping as it monitors your temp regularly through the night while you are wearing it. However, I don't massively rate their ovulation confirmation so I used to use their device and the chart they generate, but interpret the chart myself.

Also the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Wechsler is a classic and really helpful

@SWAttempting Christ that's mental 😂. Makes sense though, one of my friend's baby turns one end of this month and I started trying before she did 😅. I did think I recognised your name though! I hope you fall quickly with this second one and that your heart is okay xx

@Squiff70 oh that's terrible, I'm so sorry to hear of your losses. Did they ever figure out why you gave birth prematurely last time? You certainly seem to have a knack for conceiving twins though - think it will happen again? I've got my first IVF appointment on Tuesday with the aim to have my first transfer in Jan!

@Palavah yes you're meant to use thermometers with two decimal places as the changes are quite minute at times. You could probably still detect a pattern without it but could be trickier.

Thanks @Juno231. The consultant said it was "just one of those things" and added twins and multiples often come early with no explanation. Plenty of women go to term (or close to) with twins so there MUST be an explanation. Conceiving twins twice naturally is v rare apparently but once you've had twins you're four times more likely to have them again. I HOPE I don't have twins again. I wouldn't cope with three very young children plus past experience hasn't been great so will just have to see what happens I guess.

@ellenpartridge thanks also for the info about Ovusense - I'll bear that in mind!

@Juno231 thank you!

[quote Juno231]@SWAttempting Christ that's mental 😂. Makes sense though, one of my friend's baby turns one end of this month and I started trying before she did 😅. I did think I recognised your name though! I hope you fall quickly with this second one and that your heart is okay xx

@Squiff70 oh that's terrible, I'm so sorry to hear of your losses. Did they ever figure out why you gave birth prematurely last time? You certainly seem to have a knack for conceiving twins though - think it will happen again? I've got my first IVF appointment on Tuesday with the aim to have my first transfer in Jan![/quote]
Have you gone forward for more testing after 18 months of trying? I really hope you get a BFP soon. It's so unfair I have an 11 month old and trying for baby number 2 😢