To or Not To BBT

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.

photo credit

Can't hurry love, you'll just have to wait...

Apparently you can't hurry ovulation, either. It's CD 46. My temp skyrocketed (sort of) this morning, and I'm hoping and praying it isn't another fluke like the two I had at CD 10 and 32. I'm not entirely hopeful, because I had to wake up early this morning and I tossed and turned for about an hour in a half-awake-but-not-coherent-enough-to-temp sort of way before I actually woke up. I was awake enough to know I was awake, but I kept drifting back into my really weird dream about running from the new president. (Michael Caine was the new president, and he wanted to kill everyone wearing plaid. I, of course, was wearing three layers of plaid)

The point is, I don't know if all that half-waking-up muddled my temp. So my lovely high temp could truly be lovely and high, or it could be purely the result of Michael Caine's people chasing me through barbed wire fences.

I suppose only time will tell.

Today's piece of totally helpful TTC advice: "Decide you don't want it anymore." Yes. That's why I'm not getting pregnant. My ovaries are trying to spite me.

Being Careful What You Purchase

FF spirited away my cross hairs this morning. Damn her.

I had a rather comical experience this week. Until this Sunday, I had never received TTC advice from anyone but members of my own family (or Mr. Cherry Bud's own family, who are quite liberal with it, I can tell you). Advice like that is annoying, but it's well-meaning and at least it comes from people who have a vested interest in what my ovaries will someday produce.

And then.

This Sunday, I ran by our local supermarket before family dinner to pick up a 6 oz can of tomato sauce. In case you don't buy tomato sauce in 6 oz cans, this stuff costs about 37 cents. I, of course, had zero cash on me, and you just can't put a $.37 purchase on your debit card. They pay supermarket-debit card taxes on that stuff.

So, in view of not annoying the store people, I ran by the magazine rack and grabbed a copy of FitPregnancy. I'd like to say that my obsession with that magazine is a TTC thing, but I would be lying. I started reading Parents when I was ten, focusing on any articles that detailed labor and delivery. Which I'm sure was a totally healthy thing for a ten-year-old to do. Point being, I'm a wierdo. On with the story.

Tomato sauce and Magazine-That-Doesn't-Apply-To-Me in hand, I headed to the register, aiming for one run by a woman that I know by sight. She's very sweet, but it's important to note that I don't know her outside the grocery store. At all. She doesn't even know my name. But as she rang (rung?) me up, this is the conversation that ensued (with commentary)

Cashier: Oh, are you pregnant?! (understandable question considering the purchase)

CB: Not yet (dumb answer. Never give anyone a "yet")

Cashier: Are you trying?! (Here we go)

CB: Um...yes? (in my defense, her openness with the question flustered me, and I didn't have time to come up with a scathing retort encouraging her to mind her own beeswax)

Cashier: Good Girl!! (Good girl? What?) The key is to not think about it! My friend was told that she was completely infertile by all the doctors, and they tried for seven years, and she finally gave up and wasn't thinking about it, and she got pregnant. All the books say that is what you're supposed to do. Even the doctors say so. (All the books and doctors, huh?)

CB: (taking my "groceries") OK, well, I'll do that.

Cashier: Just relax! That's the key! If you stress, it will throw everything off. Just enjoy it, and tell your husband he has to enjoy it too! If he's stressed, you won't get pregnant. Take your vitamins and everything, but relax! Enjoy doing it!

CB: (I don't know what possessed me to say this) That reminds me, I'm supposed to pick up my vitamins, and I forgot.

Cashier: Pick up your vitamins!! And relax!! Tell your husband!!

The end.

Frankie says "Relax"

I am sure that every single one of you ladies who ever TTC has heard the phrase that all TTC women cringe at: "Just relax and it will happen." Really is that all it takes? Why didn't you tell me eight months ago? I thought we had to have sex multiple times around my time of ovulation. Now I know exactly what we have been doing wrong. Geesh!

Many people in our lives know that Mr. PB and I are TTC (I just can't keep anything secret), but no one really knows the extent to which we are trying. My good friend, who is also TTC, and my mother are the only two that I have even mentioned charting and opks to, and even then it has just been in passing. For everyone else I normally just say "We are just being really relaxed about it and seeing what happens." HA! Those people who actually really know me must know that I am lying through my teeth. I don't do anything that way. I mean, I already know exactly what parks in Disney Mr. PB and I are going to on what days and what rides we are going to go to first. It is just the way my brain works; why in the world would I use the "relax" philosophy when it comes to conceiving my child.

My mother imparted the "relax" philosophy on me earlier last week when I told her that AF had come and I was making myself feel better with a cheeseburger and fries (5 Guys...best PMS food EVER!). These were her exact words "Don't worry so much about making sure that it is 'perfect' time, just do enjoy it and do it when it comes naturally." Gee, thanks mom for the sex advice. Now how am I really supposed to respond to that? "Okay, but then don't expect a grandchild for another few year. Mr. PB only really wants sex about once a week and sometimes that is stretching it." Yes, Mr. PB is one of those guys, but he didn't spring it on me until we were together for about 7 months and already madly in love. Not to get too much in detail, but I am a girl who could enjoy it nightly and we did at the beginning. However, now if I left things up to Mr. PB, we would be together maybe once a week, twice if I was real lucky. See the problem with the "relax" wisdom here? There is only so many times a girl can try to seduce her man (failing frequently) without him figuring out that it is that time of the month. I found quickly that it worked better if I just told him it was BDing time. Is this really information I could give to my mother to contradict her "relax" wisdom? Probably not. Now don't get me wrong, Mr. PB and I do have a great sex life; I just can't rely on our normal schedule to help us conceive.

As the summer is drawing quickly to a close and August 27th is creeping closer and closer, I am painfully aware that the "When are you having children" question and the "relax" wisdom will be hitting me more frequently as I return to work. I have decided I need a witty yet informative comeback that would keep further questions at bay. This witty yet informative comeback however has not been created yet...suggestions??

I think I may just put the "relax" wisdom out of my mind for the next week and focus on the things that are occurring right now: our anniversary, our Disney vacation, and that very special time in a TTC woman's life, waiting to O. Here's to a great week, a fantastic anniversary celebration and hopefully a Disney baby. Maybe that could be my comeback: "Actually relaxing doesn't help. However Mickey Mouse, OPKs and charting seem to do the job perfectly!"