What do you ladies think? (re: Taking Charge of Your Fertility)

I will be going off my pill soon. Do you think it's a good idea to have the book and begin charting ASAP? Or, should we start on our own first and see how it goes before bothering with charting, etc.

I don't want to waste time, I want to get pregnant SOON after we start! What do you ladies think? Is that "jumping the gun" so to speak? Should we just try on our own without charting/temping at first?

I feel like it's a great way to stay organized so in case we DO have a problem getting pregnant, I have all my records of what's been going on to show the dr.

Re: What do you ladies think? (re: Taking Charge of Your Fertility)

I started taking my temp the cycle I went off BCPs. I think it has certainly helped me learn a lot about what is going on each month.

Temping is not for everyone. Some people loath it. Some people can't wake up the same time every day.

I recently started seeing an RE (reproductive endocrinologist) because we have been trying for over a year with no success. I had all my charts printed out and in my hand for when I went to see him. He thanked me for that! It was easy for him to see what has been going with me.

If you think that temping is a route you want to take give it a try. At least you will know what it's like and if it becomes too much pressure you can stop.

Good luck to you!!




eta: spelling!

Message edited 7/27/2009 2:20:35 PM.

Re: What do you ladies think? (re: Taking Charge of Your Fertility)

My personal opinion is to try to go with the flow at least for a month or two. I got pregnant the first real month of TTC and DH and I had fun and BD'd a lot I ended up having a miscarrige but when the time comes to try again I want nto do the same thing. It felt like more fun and I felt that I woudl feel too much pressure with the charting and stuff...maybe if you want some control try OPK's first? It was amazing what i learned about my body j ust by tracking AF on www.mymontlycycles.com Good luck in whatever way you try!

Re: What do you ladies think? (re: Taking Charge of Your Fertility)

Posted by zoe282

My personal opinion is to try to go with the flow at least for a month or two. I got pregnant the first real month of TTC and DH and I had fun and BD'd a lot I ended up having a miscarrige but when the time comes to try again I want nto do the same thing. It felt like more fun and I felt that I woudl feel too much pressure with the charting and stuff...maybe if you want some control try OPK's first? It was amazing what i learned about my body j ust by tracking AF on www.mymontlycycles.com Good luck in whatever way you try!

Re: What do you ladies think? (re: Taking Charge of Your Fertility)

I use fertilityfriend.com to track my temps. It charts it for you and keeps track of medication or symptoms too.

Re: What do you ladies think? (re: Taking Charge of Your Fertility)

It can't hurt to chart. Especially if you want to TTC right away. I am not going to chart when we start TTC in Jan (I am just lurking now trying to soak up as much info as possible), then again I know when I "O" more from CM, and know I will try on those days. I just don't want to put too much pressure on us right away. I think charting will increase your chances of getting a BFP sooner.

Re: What do you ladies think? (re: Taking Charge of Your Fertility)

i would say chart since you are coming off of BCP. if i had done that i would have known at least somewhat that i wasnt Oing and i wouldve called the doc sooner. instead i let almost 3 months pass cause i didnt know what was going on and i just waited and waited and got more and more frustrated.

so i would say that since BCP messes up your natural cycle for some people, its worth charting to know whats going on.

HOWEVER just because you chart doesnt mean that BDing has to be mechanical for baby making!! i mean Dh and I did it yesterday fully aware that it wasnt for baby making - didnt make it any less fun !!

i think if you just look at charting as something to do for yourself so you know what your body is doing, it will be less stressful. also, charting CM will let you know when to whip out the OPK so you arent wasting strips and money.

obviously this is JMO and ive only been charting for 5 days so maybe my own opinion will change, but right now im all for recommending it

Re: What do you ladies think? (re: Taking Charge of Your Fertility)

I actually LOVE charting because it made me feel like I was working towards making that baby even when we weren't BDing! Plus you're right, it does identify signs right off the bat. You can see whether you ovulate, when you ovulate, see if you have potential progesterone issues (LPD or low progesterone) and you'll know better when you conceived, which will make the whole initial numbers game less stressful (with betas and such).

Good luck! Try fertilityfriend.com to enter your temps. It's SO helpful. If you buy the VIP membership, you also get access to the community discussion boards, which are really helpful.

Re: What do you ladies think? (re: Taking Charge of Your Fertility)

Thanks ladies! Everyone's advice was really helpful! I decided I'm either going to use mymonthycycle or fertilityfriend to document everything as soon as I come off the pill. I figure, why not? And, hopefully I won't have to do it for too long!