can someone teach me?

[Kizmet]

Hi everyone,

This may be really silly but can someone explain to me how to chart? i read lots of talk about temperature and things like that but whats a good temp? how do oyu measure progestrgen levels? I have no idea! With DD I fell pregnant on the pill and have had som eissues ttc lately so instead of just not using protection Dh and I want to go at it whole hog! Can someone teach me how? thanks so much everyone! :wizard:

[mum2charli]

Oooh I would also love to know how this works :yes:

[QTB]

hmmm where do i start? lol ok, well you need a basel body thermomenter not just a normal one, a BBT has an extra digit (e.g 36.46 not just 36.4) you then take your temp either vaginally or by mouth at the same time every morning before doing anything, dont even get out of bed :)

take note of the temp and chart it on www.fertilityfriend.com

you can also moniter cervical mucus (CM) and cervical position (CP)

I found out alot of what i know from the FF charting course, its good!! let me know if you need help, have more q's etc :)

[Kizmet]

how do you monitor mucus and cervical position? tell me all you know! lol im so clueless! here is me blissfully ignorant thinking babies just happen! learning the hard way that the just dont lol:laughing: i can get one of those thermometers from the chemist cant i?

[annb]

yep all the info is on fertility friend, its great, ive used charts for both my pregancies on there
my advice aside from the technical side is dont get too hung up on it, its easy to 'sweat the small stuff' when it comes to charting, at first dont worry if you forget to temp one morning or you temp at the wrong time, or you see a temperature dip that is weird - just look for a general pattern on your cycles
and big thing - dont go reading all the forums - remember its a site that a lot of people have conception problems so there are a lot of sad stories out there and its easy to get lost in there and worry yourself stupid!!

[QTB]

hehe i wish i was blissfully ignorant... as annb said, you do get caught up in ttc... there is alot of sad stories out there... etc etc

im not to sure on the CP stuff, cos i dont do that, due to having a baby my cervix is always open... i know for it to be the 'right time' it has to be SHOW (soft, high, open, wet) thats all i felt i needed to know about that! lol

umm mucous, is generally, AF then creamy, wet/watery/egg white, then dry...

when you are fertile, or coming up to O (ovulation) your CM turns wet/watery, or clear and strechy like egg whites(EWCM), thats what your looking for is the EWCM!!

hmm what else is there? oh yes, you can get a BBT from the chemist...!

umm, http://www.fertilityfriend.com/courses/ thats the link to the course, if you wanna know everything (or close to it!) thats the place to find it!!

hope that helps :)

[jamb]

Does that mean that once you have a baby your cervix is always open?

Another cervix q? if anyone can answer- once O has passed and you have conceived does the cervix return to feeling like the tip of a nose or like soft lips - sorry if TMI, just curious.

I am not a regular CP checker but i have felt it like lips once but most of the time it feels like a nose.

[QTB]

sorry i cant help ya on the CP thing, i only know that SHOW means that your fertile....

with the cervix, if you have had a baby sometimes your cervix will never close properly, it will close, but you have to learn how your cervix is i guess you get to know your cervix you work out what is open and what is closed for you but then some people who have had babies there cervix does close right up hope this makes sence!... ill try find the FF link about cervixs and having babies...


My cervix always feels slightly open. Should I always record "open"?


Women who have had children by vaginal birth often notice that their cervix always feels slightly open. Even if your cervix always feels open, you may be able to discern subtle changes throughout your cycle. If you are able to discern subtle changes, record how your cervix opening changes relatively throughout your cycle, noting "open" for when it is most open and "closed" for when it is least open. If you do not notice any changes, simply do not record any cervix opening observations.

[jamb]

hmm interesting, thanks for that :thumbsup:

[QTB]

not a problem :)

[mum2elouise]

I am just a learner with all this too, so would love a bit of help. I tried to join up to Fertility Friend but it won't accept me:no: Any ideas?? Or any other charting sites that are easy??