How long should I chart my cycle before trying to conceive?

Question

I want to get pregnant in the beginning of May of next year. I run out of my birth control pills in mid-January so I will be charting my cycle starting then.

I plan to take my temperature and chart my cervical mucus for 3.5 months before trying to conceive.

Will this be enough time to get an idea of when I ovulate? What should I do?

Answer 1

Until you get a consistant pattern. I tried this, and it took about 2-3 months before I got into the habit of doing it every single morning. it also took a while before I figured out how long to measure it. It was noticable after 3 months that the monthly pattern was the same.

Beware - you can still get pregant regardless of charting accuracy. If you don't want to get pregant right now, keep using contraceptives. The use of birth control pills will prevent you from getting an accurate temperature plot, good for stopping. Gotta find some other means - like condoms.

3.5 months should be long enough.

For extra accuracy, keep track of the mucous as well.

Answer 2

there are so many charting things you can do!
**check out www.fertilityfriend.com (you can use their site for free to log all your temps, and aches and pains that come along with ovulation.
**I used a saliva monitor (about $30, called "maybe mom") it tests the amount of estrogen in your system
**I used vaginal temperatures on my charts (then temps don't very so much if they aren't taken at exactly the same time every day)
**I bought ovulation prediction kits (i bought 100 on e-bay for $19. you use two per day when you THINK you are up to 7 days from ovulation... 14 tests per month... i could test for 1/2 a year)

if you get REALLY good at being able to pin point in advance the day you will ovulate, you can even increase the odds of having a boy or girl... if you are interested read "how to choose the sex of your baby" by doctor shuttles. i SWEAR by that book. i heard about the book when my husband and i were considering having ONE MORE child... we already had 3 boys... so you know what i wanted... AND, I GOT my daughter! the book makes a lot of sense too!

OH, and to answer your question:) 6 months of charting is what a doctor likes to see in case you are having problems conceiving after getting off the pill. and i found that it took me almost the enire 6 months to completely figure out my own cycles... start charting after your next cycle begins... it won't hurt anything, barely takes any time, and gives you nearly a year to get comfortable!

GOOD LUCK TO YOU!

Answer 3

Well i would wait at least 6 months.....A gf of mine went to the doc and she had ovarian cyst and her doc told her to wait at least 6 months....for some reason and then she can try to get pregnant...She told me that otherwise there is a big chance of miscarriage..Good luck and god bless you...You are gonna make an excellent parent...