TTCingOnTheDL
LIF Infant
Member since 12/08 106 total posts
Name:
Michelle
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Some Good Temping Info
Temping rules:
Get a Basal Body Thermometer (BBT). Don't use a regular thermometer--it isn't sensitive enough to pick up slight temp fluctuations, and you might miss your thermal shift (see below), which then show an incorrect date for O.
Temp at the same time every day. If you temp at 9am one day and 11am the next, your temps are useless. The later you sleep, the higher your temp. Set an alarm if you need to, then go back to bed if you want.
Have your thermometer right next to your bed and DO NOTHING before you temp--don't get up for any reason, don't talk, etc.
Get a minimum of 3 hours uninterrupted sleep.
Things that can cause a falsely high temp: oversleeping and temping late, drinking, changes in the environment like too many covers compaired to usual, or changes in air conditioning, and illness, and medical conditions like hyperthyroidism.
Things that can cause a falsely low temp: not getting enough sleep, breathing with your mouth open if you usually don't, a lack of covers, lack of heat/higher air conditioning that normal, and medical conditions like hypothyroism
If there is anything different, note it for later review.
Ovulation is determined what is called "sustained thermal shift". This means that you need to have 3 temps higher than the prior 6 temps. Out of the higer temps, at least one must be .3* higher than the 6 low temps.
To find this out, you need to determine your "coverline", which is defined as "a line .1* above the highest of the last 6 temps."
Each day you look to see if you have gone over the coverline. Once you do, you need to determine whether that temp or either of the two after it are .2 degrees or more above the coverline. This would confirm that you have a sustained shift, which is what you need to be sure you have O'd.
Example: Temps 1-6 are from 96.5-96.9, your coverline would be 1* over the highest of those (so 97.0).
The next 3 temps would have to be over 97.0 and at least 1 of those 3 would have to be 97.2 or over for the .2* rise.
After Ovulation, you have entered your Luteal Phase (LP) and won't be able to get an accurate HPT until 10 DPO or later. You might see the following things happen during the LP:
You may see a dip at 4-6 DPO. This is likely the corpus luteum starting to produce progesterone. It is totally normal.
You may see a dip 7-10 DPO that then goes back up to the same level or higher. This is called an implantation dip (ID), and is a possible indication of pregnancy, however it is NOT proof. You can still get a BFN and AF.
You may see a second shift in temps after 8DPO that stays at least .1* over your ovulation shift. This is called a "Triphasic pattern" and is also a good indication of pregnancy, but like the ID, is not proof you are pregnant.
If you are not pregnant, you may see either a steep one day drop below coverline or a gradual drop over 48-72 hrs which signals AF arriving. You might also see spotting or an increase in fertile-type CM as an indication AF is coming.
Cervical Mucus Observation (NEW AND IMPROVED)
CM should be checked every time you use the restroom (preferably before, and after), whether urinating or having a BM. The most fertile kind of CM should be recorded for each day.
There are several different ways to note CM, and I am including some information that you might find helpful, even though it has to be "translated" for online charting (more on this later).
The best way to check CM is at the vulva (the entrance to the vagina), either with toilet paper (folded flat) or with your fingers. Internal checks should be avoided if possible because you can easily confuse CM and other vaginal secretions.
You are checking for sensation when you wipe, and for any visible CM. Should you see CM, you then also evaluate it's color and stretchiness. Each should be evaluated as independently as possible.
Evaluate the feeling as you wipe across the vuvla: It can be
dry,
moist or wet (also described as "smooth")
or slippery
When in doubt record the more fertile sign (not sure if it's moist, but sure it is NOT dry--record moist.) If you have a slippery or "lubricative" sensation but have no visible CM, then it is still considered "Fertile CM".
If you see CM:
Evaluate the feel of the CM: Is it dry and crumbly? Does it stick to one finger and look like rubber cement? Does it feel creamy or like lotion? Does it feel like there is excess water with the CM? That is "watery"--this is, for me, the hardest to identify and explain...think loose, but not slippery, snot and you have an idea. Is it slippery or oily?
Evaluate the color of the CM: Is it opaque, cloudy or streaky, or clear?
Evaluate the stretchiness of the CM by stretching between your fingers: Is it not stretchy at all? Does it stretch only a very tiny amount then break (say 1/4")? Does it stretch a whole lot (say 5"-7")?
CM patterns are different in each woman but will generally be dry or sticky right after AF, getting more creamy and loose as O approaches, with CM quickly returning to creamy or sticky/dry within 48-72 hours after O occurs. Some women have nothing drier than "creamy" CM, and others don't get good, clear EWCM, but even if that is the case, they can still get pregnant relatively easily. CM should be checked multiple times a day and the most fertile type recorded.
In order to help you with really understanding such a complicated learning process, you might want to try the following "code system" used by Billings and Creighton methods of NFP. You can just add the code to your notes field at the end of the day so you can more explicitly catagorize and understand what your body is doing.
Sensations at the Vulva:
D--Completely Dry
S--Smooth (Lotion-like but neither Dry nor Slippery)
L--Lubricative or Slippery
Catagories of "DRY" where there is no visible CM to record:
0--Completely dry
2--Damp and without any lubricative feeling at the vulva
2W--Wet and without any lubricative feeling at the vulva
4--Shiny-looking and without any lubricative feeling at the vulva (typically seen right before visible CM occurs)
Catagories of "Possibly Fertile" or "Non-Peak" mucus where you have a "SMOOTH" feeling at the vulva, but no CM is visible (You are still considered fertile!! This is solely for you to differentiate whether you are at your *most* fertile, or if that it still approaching!!):
10DS--Damp with a Smooth feeling at the vulva
10WS--Wet with a Smooth feeling at the vulva
10SS--Shiny with a Smooth feeling at the vulva
Catagories of "Fertile" or "Peak" mucus where you have a "LUBRICATIVE" feeling at the vulva, but no CM is visible(This is when you are at peak fertility whether you can see CM or not!!):
10DL--Damp with a lubricative feeling at the vulva
10WL--Wet with a lubricative feeling at the vulva
10SL--Shiny with a lubricative feeling at the vulva
Visual CM evaluations:
Spinnbarkeit (or Stretch factor)
6-- Sticky (stretches no more than 1/4")
8--Creamy (stretches from 1/2" to 3/4")
10--Stretchy (Stretches 1" or more)
Consistency
G--Gummy or crumbly
P--Pasty
M--Creamy (like moisturizer, lotion, or heavy cream)
W--Slippery/Lubricative
Color
B--Brown
C--Cloudy or White
C/K--Streaky mix of cloudy and clear
K--Completely clear
Y--Yellow or Yellow-ISH
R--Red or Pink
For example, if I am on CD10, I feel dry at the vulva, but have some CM that I can see, but can't really get off the TP and but has color I might record D-6-P-CY for: Dry at vulva--stretched less than 1/4"--was pasty in consistency--was opaque and yellowish.
On CD 14, I might have L-8-W-C/K for CM that feels slick at the vulva--only stretches about 1/2", but feels very slippery and is streaky in color.
Now the hard part...the *translation* to dry, sticky, creamy or EWCM (which is used by most online charts)!!
Here's what *I'm* doing (and you might find that a better catagorization works for *you*!)...
Any combination of Dry Vulva and/or 0, 2, 2W, or 4= "Dry"
Smooth Vulva and/or 6, G, P, C (and/or Y, B, or R)= "Sticky"
Smooth Vulva and/or 8, P, M, C, C/K (and/or Y, B, or R)="Creamy"
Lubricative Vulva and/or 8, 10, W, C, C/K, K, (and or Y, B, or R)= "Watery"
Lubricative Vulva and/or 10, W, C/K, K, (and or Y, B, or R)= "EWCM"
OPK's (New and Improved)
Ovulation Prediction Kits should be used in the afternoon or evening, and you may want to test twice per day to be sure you catch your LH surge. Usually you will O within 24-36 hours after you get a positive OPK, so DTD every day for the 3 days following a positive if you are TTC!!
To get a clear positive, the test line usually needs to be DARKER than the control! In a few, it should be AS DARK AS, but not many.
You may have several days of "almost positives" before you get a real positive, so make sure you consider the OPKs in relation to your BBT readings and your CM observations--use the OPK more as a back-up to those notations.
You also may get some "almost positives" that seem to fade but there is no ovulation seen in your BBT and/or the fertile CM sticks around. KEEP TESTING!! Some women get a few almost positives followed by a few negatives, and then get a sudden positive that is unmistake-able and is confirmed with a shift a day or so later. This is because your body can "ramp up", but then not ovulate, so don't miss your window!
If you get many days of positives in a row, or multiple *clear* positives with no ovulation, then you might want to consult your doctor because this could be a symptom of something like PCOS, which may require medication or fertility drugs to aid in conception!
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