Questions about BBT..Need some help please. =]?

Question

Hey Ladies =]

I want to start charting and I never really tired it faithfully but I'm going to try and start. I know you are supposed to take it the first thing in the morning before you even get out of bed and take it at the same time everyday. This might be a stupid question but I get up a lot at night to use the bathroom maybe 2 or 3 times and I was just wondering if this mattered? Will it effect the temperature in any way? Also are the temps supposed to be lower or higher when you ovulate? How am I going to know that I am? Will there be a difference in the temp drastically. I never really understood it fully and that's why I never really tried it faithfully. Thanks guys and sry I asked some dumb question.

Answer 1

Hi there and welcome to the world of charting! I do warn you that once you start charting you'll be instantly addicted. It's really interesting to see what your body does throughout it's cycle. You are right about the basics - however make sure you get a good thermometer as well, preferably a BB thermometer as they can predict your temperature more accurately and can store your temp in case you don't feel like writing it down right away.

Getting up in the night shouldn't effect your temperature in the morning unless you are getting up so much that you are getting less than 5 hours sleep. I agree with the previous poster - fertility friend is amazing and takes all the guess work out of things.

Your cycle is made up of two phases - the follicular (before you ovulate) and the luteal (after you ovulate). In the follicular phase your temps will be low, once you ovulate you will typically notice a dip in temperate on the day of ovulation and then a spike. If your temperature stays high for 3 consecutive days it is safe to say you ovulated and are now in the luteal phase of your cycle. Your temps will remain elevated after ovulation for roughly 14 days and will drop once you get your period which will then begin the follicular phase all over again. However, if your temps stay elevated for more than 14 days it is safe to say you may be pregnant.

That is just a little crash course but fertility friend has lessons on charting and can tell you everything you know. Good luck! I starting charting 2 weeks ago and I actually look FORWARD to getting up at 5:00 AM to take my temp (even on weekends!).  

Answer 2

1)  Yes, you take your temp every morning at the same time (as close to it as possible) before getting out of bed, drinking anything or moving around too much.  The idea is to get the temp of your body at rest.  They say that you need to have at least 4 hrs of sleep to get an accurate reading, but I am like you and get up to pee a lot.  It never really affected my charting.  Also, I have 2 toddlers now and still managed to chart even with their needs.

2)  Check out www.fertilityfriend.com  It's a great way to track your charting.  Their software draws the chart and interpets it for you.  All you do is enter your data daily.  And if you pay to become a member, you can use their message boards.  They used to be free for everyone but they changed and made the forums only for the paying members.  You can use the charting software for free though.

Good luck and baby dust to you!!!