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There are two reason why I'm choosing not to chart, but I'm curious about other bees' feelings...
1) I don't think I could be consistent. I am totally not a morning person. I snooze for 30-45 minutes after my alarm goes off at 5:30. I also frequently pee during the night which I heard can affect temps.
2) More importantly, I don't want to obsess about getting pregnant. I really do want to get pregnant right away, so I think something little could set me off. Having a daily reminder and having to analyze the data I think would stress me out!
What do the rest of you think? Why are you doing what you're doing?
I currently chart to avoid, so take this with a grain of salt--
But, I find that charting pretty easily becomes part of your routine, like brushing your teeth or washing your face. It is not hard to temp and then fall back asleep, particularly if you have a thermometer that stores your last temp so you don't have to write anything down.
And to your second question, I see a lot of people talking about the "stress" of charting online, but I think it actually eliminates stress because you have more information. You know exactly what your body is doing when, so when we do start TTC, we'll know when to have sex to optimize our chances of conceiving.
I don't think I'll spend hours analyzing data--because honestly there's not that much data to analyze. Charting takes me a few minutes per day, tops.
It's not for everyone, though, so if you feel like it won't work for you, there are other options for TTC.
We're nowhere near TTC, but I think your second point sounds VERY valid.
Think of it this way: You can always start to chart later if you feel it becomes necessary. Plenty of people get pregnant without charting all the time (abortion figures alone will attest to that), so even if you have no clue what your body is doing, it'll still be doing it. :)
I chart, and I don't think it's stressful for me. I agree with HannahT, it becomes routine. And it's something hubby and I do together. He'll usually wake me up, stick the thermometer in my mouth, and he keeps track of everything on an app on his phone. It's nice to have him help out during the TTC process.
I just miscarried.... so I'm going to obsess about getting pregnant anyway. If I wasn't charting, I'd probably be going crazy b/c I wouldn't know what's going on with my body or when I'm ovulating.
I'm not ready for a baby yet but I have no intention of charting when I am. Honestly it seems a bit unromantic to me. I'd rather just stop trying NOT to conceive and let nature take its course. If it took a long time and I was getting antsy I guess I'd have to take action, but at least for the first 6-12 months I'd rather just do it the old fashioned way :)
I voted 'yes and it's stressing me out' not because I mind taking my temperature or keeping track but because I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to be looking for. I'm learning and I'm reading TCOYF so I'm hoping something clicks eventually and it all makes more sense! We've only been charting for a month and of course I missed taking my temperature on the days before, of and after my supposed ovulation date because I was traveling so hopefully this coming month will show a clearer pattern.
Wish me luck!
Everyone is different. It's why there isn't just one metod of birth control. I chart, but I love data.
Have never charted before, but I may in the future! The only problem I foresee is having to take the temp. at the exact same time every day. Other than that, it sounds great. :)
I did not chart but got pregnant 2 months after we started "trying." So by "trying," I mean we just did it, and of course I had a vague idea of when I was probably fertile. To each her own, but my approach was to see how it went, and then start charting later if it wasn't happening. To me, charting would sort of take some of the mystery and romance out of it!
I don't think it's essential. We're not TTC yet, but I'm so regular that I kind of know what's going on and when to aim for fertility. It may be more helpful for those who have less than regular cycles. If we go for several months and nothing happens, then I'll probably consider it. It's always an option, so you could try for a few months and see what happens! Best of luck!
@TheFutureMcBride: Charting is a system of tracking fertile days by taking your temperature every day. Your temperature rises and falls in a pattern related to ovulation and menstruation, so if you chart your temperature you can see where you are in your fertility cycle. Since you are only fertile a few days each month, charting can help you maximize your chances of conceiving (or avoiding conception, if that's your goal).
@sarahsd: In my case, charting identified an undiagnosed fertility problem that would have lead to multiple miscarriages, so in my opinion, charting is essential. I was able to take my charts to my doctor and work out a treatment plan that allowed me to save my pregnancy before I even conceived. I can't imagine the heartbreak I would have endured if I had never charted. Charting was easy and enjoyable, and I am also someone who snoozes the alarm every day. I just set the alarm on my thermometer to be my "first" alarm, which I would "snooze" by taking my temp for 5 minutes while I fell back asleep, then the "temperature all done" alarm would go off and I would really wake up. Easy peasy!
If I had never started charting, I would not have discovered so early in the process (6 months into trying) that I had a problem. My temps never changed, and my cervical fluid changed frequently as oppose to on a pattern throughout the month. All I knew before charting was that my periods were irregular. With the additional info, I was able to tell the reproduction specialist a lot more. Turns out I don't ovulate!
Charting is definately a pain. My husband sticks the themometer in my mouth at like 6 AM when I am half awake. Cervical fluid is easy to look at. I never checked my cervical position/opening because I was a little weirded out by that part and never got brave enough.
I say try it. Def. get a copy of TCOYF.
I would consider charting if after 4-6 months of TTC we hadn't yet. All the women in my family have been very fertile so I'm hoping for that. I'm hoping to be about 28-30 when we start so hopefully we should be still good.
@snmcdowell: Thanks! What's a good website where I can chart? Maybe it'll help with my fear of pregnancy by thinking about something else. (Hope you're doing well as can be.)
@TheFutureMcBride: Some of the other bees can probably point you to a good website. I used the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler to learn how to chart, then I made paper photocopies of the sample charts in the back of the book. I put them in a binder that I keep on my nightstand. I don't have a smartphone or a computer near my bed, so paper charting is simpler for me. Plus I found it very easy to bring the paper charts to my doctor, and we spread them all out on the table and looked at the overall patterns.
@theFutureMcBride - We've only just started charting and I borrowed TCOYF from the library (I've already renewed it once!) but online I've used Fertility Friend. It has different features for paid and unpaid membership but since I just signed up I'm still on the full featured website. I just wanted somewhere I could enter and save the data (even just temperatures) so it seems okay so far. I wonder if the other Bees have feedback on Fertility Friend or other useful websites???
Maybe try for a few months and chart if your'e not having any luck? I tracked the number of days between my periods but that was it. We got pregnant the first month we tried. (Lucky I know!)
I was charting to avoid pregnancy, so it was super easy for us when we decided to concieve. We got pregnant our first month trying! I actually prefer charting to other forms of bc, and I hope to go back to it after we have our next baby (in a couple years). Having said that, charting isn't for everyone. If you feel like it will stress you out, maybe try without charting for a while. If you're not getting the results you want, you can always pick up charting later.
@ AnamCara - I also used the free version of Fertility Friend. I like that it's online, and I really didn't need the extra features in the paid membership. If you need extra support in interpreting your cycles, though, the paid membership has some cool additions, like the ability to get answers and interpretations from fertility experts and community access.
@CorgiTales: I'm with you! When DH and I start TTC we have no intentions of charting. Takes some of the fun, mystery, and romance out of it for me. I'd rather just stop birth control and let nature take its course without me constantly checking on nature!
@Mrs. Spring: I'm the same. We charted to NOt get pregnant, then got pregnant right away when we were ready. Took out guesswork.
We used www.fertility friend b/c it was so easy to plug in data and understand. It has a related app for your iphone, using the info off the website but it is called cyclemonitor or something. You can get educational info by subscribing to their email 'course', where they will email you daily and teach you about charting.
We started to chart only after the first few months were unsuccessful. It helped me to feel better about trying each month, but I'm a fairly analytical person. Charting is a very indivdual decision.
I don't chart but was using ovulation predictor kits - I started because right when we started trying I had a really long cycle after YEARS of being totally regular and it freaked me out so the next month we used a kit and got pregnant right away. Then I miscarried so we went back to the kit because we didn't know how my cycle would be after that. Two months later I am still using the kits and I'm sick of it.
All of that is to say that I totally get why you wouldn't want to chart. Peeing on a stick every morning waiting for the "surge" to show gets frustrating and while I love knowing we are doing everything at the right time to make this happen, I am finding that it all just stresses me out too much.
Next month we are going back to just having a lot of sex and hoping for the best! Good luck to you (and everyone else ttc)!!
It's a personal choice. I haven't met anyone who has even heard of, much less done, charting and they had no difficulties at all with getting pregnant. Do what is best for you and let others decide what works for them.
I can say what I *did* (not doing anythingnow...) I only tracked my periods until I got pregnant. If we were TTC for 6 months or so w/o luck, we were going to start temps, but my doc had discouraged starting TTC with temps as she thought it might add stress. I can only say what worked for us. However, we were off the pill (using barrier method) for 5 months before TTC then got pregnant the first month (based just on cycle tracking).
Interesting that many of us who charted got pregnant in our first month trying... (you can add me to that group).
I use charting now to avoid pregnancy. But once we start "trying", I'll stop charting. I know that seems counterproductive, but like some PPs have said, I don't want to take the romance and mystery out of trying to get pregnant. I don't find it to be a pain at all - just pop the thermometer in, wait for the beep, go back to sleep. :) If we don't concieve after 6-8 months of "trying", though, I'll probably use charting just to help us out a little.
@Mrs. DG: That's true - I also got pregnant on our first try, and it was because we were charting.
I don't think charting would be for me, DH travels about 1 week a month, and I work shiftwork, so we just have sex every 1-2 days when he is home and leave it at that (We would have sex at that frequency anyways). I think I would just get frustrated if DH is away when I was ovulations or whatnot. This way we just have sex, and if I get pregnant, great, if not no biggie, I am in no rush at this point.
I'm not currently charting - we're in the not trying to not try phase (sort of). We'll start seriously to try in the next cycle. If I'm not pregnant by the end of the year, I'm heading to my GYN to see if she recommends charting. I'm 35 in a month and a half and we want two kids, so we need to not waste too much time!
We're nowhere near TTC yet but I currently use an app to track my periods because they're irregular (joys of the mini-pill). Part of it is charting moods and cravings and things, there's definitely a pattern there so I figure I've already done most of the work when the time comes!
For me charting was simply about educating myself about my cycle. I felt like if I wasn't sure when I was ovulating, then we weren't legitimately trying. I also felt like making a charting history would allow my doctor and I to have a more informed discussion should we have difficulty getting pregnant. I got pregnant 2 1/2 months after stopping the pill. I took my temps from day one and started using ovulation predictor tests after the second month. Taking your temp every morning really does become routine, though for me wasn't of any benefit because I had inconsistent temps without any obvious trends...not sure if I had a bum thermometer or if it was user error. The ovulation predictor tests on the other hand gave us the information we needed which allowed us to be successful. I never felt like charting made me obsessed about getting pregnant (probably b/c I hadn't been off the pill long), but it does make you more aware that some of your encounters may be more "purposeful" than others...some may say that takes the romance out of it, some may feel it makes it more meaningful. I think the decision to chart or not depends on your own perspective on trying and how quickly you want to be pregnant.
I love charting!! I'm currently trying to avoid, but will definitely be using it when we TTC. TCOYF was SO informative for me, and by the way, the website they have is super useful too. You can chart online there and the forums are full of people that are really helpful if you ever have a problem or question.
I also don't find it at all inconvenient. You only have to have 3-4 hours of uninterupted sleep (ideally) before you can get a basal temp reading. So, I don't know how often you're waking up to pee, but I bet you get at least 3 hours at some point. I naturally begin waking up at about 6am when the sunlight comes into my room, so I just quickly take my temp, put a sleep mask on and go back to sleep, and then record it later after I really wake up, when I have a second to. There's no analyzing of data or anything complicated for me. I just take my temperature, and keep an eye (er... finger? LOL!) on my cervical fluid. Really simple, and so much better than hormonal birth control! Plus I just love being so aware of what's going on with my body and my cycle.
Non-charter here. We got pregnant the first month and did not chart. I probably would have started charting after a few months and no positive test but we just went with having sex everyday, which wasn't any change from the norm.
Just so everyone that cares knows...I'm definitely keeping track of all posts. And they've been really interesting.
I think my real issue is that I think I should but I just want it to magically happen! I'm already trying to predict ovulation and definitely pay attention to all of the "signs" so I might as well take the next step...maybe next month.
As Mrs. DG mentioned, a lot of the charters got pregnant quickly. I'd loved to hear how long it took for more people, both charters and non.
@sarahsd: We got pregnant (miscarried in July) in June on our first try. It was my first month off birth control. No charting or anything like that.
I chart and I teach people to chart. It's really not as daunting as you'd think. It just becomes second nature.
I chart as well, but I'm not as diligent as I should be. I'm working on it though!
The website I use is www.fertilityfriend.com.
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