Desperate for help!

Hi there,
I introduced myself a couple of days ago and you were all so nice and welcoming. So now I'm asking for your help. My problem is I have no idea where to start with this TTC thing. I've been reading all your posts and to be honest I don't understand half of them. I have no idea what charting is. And what is an opk? How do I know when I'm fertile? I feel so clueless about everything. Can anyone give me advice on where to start. Sorry if it sounds like I'm whining, it's just babies are all I can think about lately and I'm never gonna get anywhere without knowing where to start. Thanks in advance for any advice.
Melissa

Re: Desperate for help!

First of all- go buy a book called Taking Charge of Your Fertility. It explains all of the crazy stuff talked about on here!

Basically, you are only fertile a few days a month (when you are ovulating) so you want to learn when those days are to time the BD (baby dancing- sex) correctly.

The book explains that by charting your morning temperatures and observing your CM (cervical mucus/discharge) you can tell when those days are.

Read the book and then post us your questions! You can start charting your temperatures and noticing your CM right away!

Lots of baby dust to you!!

ETA: Crash Course: After AF is over, start to notice your CM- BD when you notice egg-white, stretchy, slippery mucus (sign of ovulation). BD every day until your temps go up significantly higher than they were during AF. That's because once your temps go up, ovulation is over.

Message edited 11/14/2005 1:04:27 PM.

Re: Desperate for help!

OPK is an ovulation predictor Kit that shows a line when you are going to surge for ovulation. You can get them at any drug store or WalMart with or around the pregnancy tests.

Charting is taking your temp, your CM and when you BD. First thing in the morning before even getting out of bed and at the same time each day even on weekends you check your temp. with a BBT THermometer and post it on a chart such as what you find on fertility friend.com. This helps you in knowing when ovulation occurs.

ONce you ovulate you temps will rise above your cover line and if pregnant will stay there if not they will drop just before AF.

I think I got this all right. If not some one correct me. THat will send you on your way to TTC.

Also Redstar knows all about all of this and is very helpful to all of the girls on this forum. She is very good at answering questions and giving you answers that you can understand.

Message edited 11/14/2005 1:19:00 PM.

Re: Desperate for help!

I don't chart-I can't get it together to remember to do it in the AM! But I do keep track of my cycles and my cervical mucous-I posted an explanation on here about this before I'll see if I can find it again. The easiest thing to do 1st-do you know how long your cycles are? If they are 28 days your "should" Ovulate somewhere around day 12-15 roughly(you should have sex all of these days as the egg can live for 2-3 days inside of you. The cervical mucous is the biggest indicator for me. Pay attention to your discharge, when it starts to become slippery and can stretch between two fingers is right before you O. I have had good results paying attention to my CM and buying an Ovulation Predictor Kit to pinpoint the exact day. I have been right on every time! Good luck here is that post I was talking about
CM explanation