Trying to conceive?

Question

I was wondering how the whole charting thing works. My husband and I have been talking about having another baby. Our daughter is almost 8 months old and we have just recently started discussing this topic. We will more than likely be trying to conceive in 6 months or so. Our daughter was a surprise baby. So we want to plan a baby. But I don't understand the whole charting. I have tried to figure it out before but I just don't get it.I know it works and my sister in law has gotten pregnant by doing this. So if any of you have good suggestions on it I would really appreciate it. Sorry this is so long. Best answer gets 10 points! Thanks

Answer 1

Boy, I didn't know so many people had such an aversion to charting! ;) I actually think charting is a great idea. I was able to get pregnant very quickly when I charted. Otherwise, you are kind of just shooting in the dark and hoping that your dates are right and that you ovulate perfectly around your dates. When I chart, I chart three different things:

- BBT

You should check your BBT (Basal Body Temperature) every day at the same time. The best time is before you get out of bed in the morning. You can use a regular thermometer for this or get a special BBT thermometer at the pharmacy. I just used a regular thermometer. Chart your temperature daily. When you see an abnormal rise in temperature, this may mean you have just ovulated. Most women rise 0.4 to 0.6 degrees right after ovulation. When you notice the spike, have sex that day! Just after ovulation is not too late because it takes a while for the egg to move down. So, if you take your temperature every day at 6 a.m. before rising and it's 97.8 or 97.9 for 10 days in a row, and then suddenly it rises one morning to 98.4 - that might mean you have ovulated. Of course, your temperatures may vary some. Mine would rise or fall 2 or 3 degrees. I knew I had ovulated, however, when it would spike 4 or 5 degrees and stay up. Draw a line to connect the temperatures on your chart, and you will probably be able to see when ovulation occurred pretty easily.

- Cervical mucus

Secondly, monitor your cervical mucus. Wash your hands, then feel the outside or just inside your vagina with a finger. Dryness indicates no chance of conception. This is like right after your period. As you approach ovulation, the mucus gets sticky and white - only a slim chance of pregnancy. As you get right near ovulation, the mucus gets clear and stretchy, and there's lots of it. It looks kind of like egg whites. This was a pretty good indicator for me of ovulation. Dry - not fertile. Wet - possibly fertile. Very wet and icky feeling - fertile! The more mucus there is, the easier it is for sperm to travel.

- Cervical position

Third, monitor your cervical position. Wash your hands. For this, reach up into the vagina with a finger. If you touch your cervix easily, you are probably in an infertile time. If your cervix is way far back, difficult to reach, this means you are in a fertile time. The cervix gets high and soft around the time of ovulation. This, paired with monitoring the cervical mucus, was my biggest help. I would know automatically just by feeling where my cervix was what level of fertility I had then. And you will see gradual changes each day as you approach ovulation. After your period, you will start out dry and your cervix will be easily touched, but every day you will get a little wetter and the cervix will get a little farther back.

That's the quickest route to getting pregnant, or to discovering any problems with your fertility. Too many women don't understand signs of fertility and so go for a long time hoping they'll get pregnant but never do. Chart your BBT, cervical mucus amount and cervical position every day. Combine this knowledge with your dates, and assuming you are perfectly fertile, you will have no trouble getting pregnant.

One more suggestion - eat healthily and exercise. Women who do not ovulate often just have to lose 20 pounds to resume ovulation. Imagine trying to conceive for years and years and then learning it's often as simple as losing weight! Of course, it's not that simple for every woman, but it certainly is helpful to be healthy from the get-go when trying to conceive.

There are a lot of good websites out there with information on this topic. You should be able to locate them with a simple search if you need more info. Best of luck! :)

By the way, my little girl is due in 3 months!

Answer 2

Don't even worry about charting, it just makes things more complicated. If you have a regular period (28 days) you should ovulate 14 days after your last period starts. If you start charting you will feel like a robot and sex won't be as fun as it should be. Plus, your husband will be happy that you have sex all the time, not just when you are ovulating. I never charted and it only took 2 months after my body got rid of the Birth control and my periods returned to normal.

Answer 3

I have the book Taking charge of your Fertility, but it has sooo much information that it is hard to understand at first. What I found really helpful was the website:
www.fertilityfriend.com
Once I understood the charting aspect the book became more relevant to me. I know everyone has their particular website that is great, but with this one I don't have to do any work except to record my temps. They do everything else.

Answer 4

I agree with jilldaniel! Get the book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler! It's really thorough and informative! It will answer all your questions about how to chart! Hope that helps...

Answer 5

Get the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler.

Answer 6

try the web sight fertility Friend. you enter your dates of you period and it charts for you and tells you your most fertile dates

Answer 7

go to mymonthlycycles.com and sign up ( its free) then if you can record all of your past periods. then go to menstraul/fertility calendar and it should show you when you are most likely to get pregnant. Best of luck to you.

Answer 8

Sometimes trying to plan for it can be the worst possible idea. Try to be relaxed and i am sure it will happen for you.

Answer 9

go to Babycenter.com they have lots of info on charting and when you ovulate