So that last time I did BBT charting was years ago when I was dealing with doctors and doing clomid and other things to try and get pregnant. However, I became so overwhelmed and stressed with everything I was doing and the charting and making sure I woke up at the same time was stressing me out even more. And when you are trying to get pregnant seriously stress is the last thing you need.So I would love some advice cause I am thinking about doing it again just so I can see what's going on with my temps etc. One part of me thinks it will stress me out again, but on the other hand I am much more relaxed now and doing things on my own terms so maybe I won't be stressed.
So questions:
Does it really matter what time a day you do it at? Any of you who do it do you do it in the morning or at night or have you tried both and did you see a difference? I know temp changes throughout the day, but if I temped the same time every night would it be okay vs temping in the morning?
Also, do you temp orally or vaginally? If so which is better... I always did orally, but the lately some friends are saying results are better vaginally.
And do you have to temp the whole month? I know some who only temp after their period ended?
Any advice fellow readers or buds would be ever so much appreciated. I just want to keep my mind as stress free as possible, but on the other hand I don't want to waste my time BBT charting if I don't do it to get accurate results.
Oh, decisions, decisions.
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3 comments:
You definitely have to do it in the morning, before you get out of bed or move around. I temped orally, which was fine for me. It really needs to be within an hour (so 1/2 hr either way) of your normal time. And you have to have had at least 3 hrs uninterrupted sleep. You can also skip during AF, those aren't really reliable anyway, and you can also skip the 2ww if you want, but make sure that O is clear before you stop temping. So really, you can skip about half the month, depending on you cycles.
I thought it was very useful, and I couldn't have imagined not doing it.
To answer your questions:
Time of day really does matter. It needs to be done immediately after you've had ~4 hours or more of sleep. Most people do it as soon as they wake in the am. FWIW, I wasn't religious about the time. I noted on FF when I usually woke up and if it was an hour outside of that time in either direction FF would note it with a symbol on the chart. As your cycle progresses, if that one temp is throwing off your chart, you can discard it. No biggie. Usually a temp or two isn't enough to throw off the chart though. You're looking for a pattern, a distinct shift in your temps. Keep that in mind. I'd have gone insane with obsession if I had to set an alarm, so I didn't. It still worked for me. Even if you don't temp perfectly (and it takes practice at first), you're still gleaning information you wouldn't otherwise have. Temping also clued me in to some of my secondary signs of fertility. It was really educational.
I temped orally. If you are prone to sleeping with your mouth open, that might not work for you.
In the beginning, I temped daily. It helped me get into the habit of doing so. The bottom line though is that, for FF at least, you need 6 temperatures BEFORE your ovulation and at least 3 AFTER to get crosshairs. Once I'd established I had time post AF to fit in my 6 temps, I skipped doing it during AF. I like to keep doing it beyond the 3 post-o because you can potentially catch the temp shift to clue you in to a BFP (see my chart).
If you haven't already, I'd really recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility. It will answer a lot of the questions you have.
Good Luck.
ps. Get a thermometer that will remember your temp in case its temp time and you aren't really ready to wake up.
Thanks for the info :)
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