The Official TTC Thread!

[LaurenThePartier]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Congratulations, Random_Thoughts and Brightlight!!!!

DCgator - Huge amounts of dust coming your way. So glad to hear about your clear HSG and good BDing schedule. Totally hope this is the month for you, especially since EDD could coincide with your 2 year anniversary!

Steal - I'm sorry this wasn't your month, dear, and I completely understand your frustration. You have every right to feel that way and I think it's very important to mention it. I never thought about a lot of those things, but I do now after what I've been through. Huge hugs going out to you, because you have been such a sweetheart to everyone here.

Ryan Claire - Just wanted to voice my support. I'm sorry this past month wasn't it for you, but I have high hopes for IUI #3!!!

KTF - So sorry about all of the stuff you're going through. I'm sure having to have additional tests was a let-down. But, I hope your body gets back to normal soon.

Kennedy - Hoping for good news on your 2WW!

Bella - Thinking of you during your 2WW!

Moxie.moo - Welcome!

Charbie - I'm with you on the green-eyed monster for other countries awesome maternity leave! I used to work for a UK based company (though all plans were American and generally awful) and we'd have mothers on maternity leave for close to a year, many who were being paid at least 50% of their full pay the whole time. My current company has 6 weeks paid, and then I'll have to supplement with vacation - that they're now threatening to do away with. Ugh.

PO - I need to move, especially if the 20 weeks maternity leave law is passed!!!!

CDNinNYC - Welcome back to the thread! Coincidentally, I'll be in NYC in October!

Lots of dust to everyone else in their 2WW or silently lurking this thread!


AFM, still waiting on AF. Wednesday I'm 6 weeks post-op, I'm going back to the gym this week (today, in fact), and generally feeling better aside from the weird tightness around my abdomen by the end of a day sitting in front of a computer. Incisions is healing up nicely, aside from the ugly area near the middle where they had to stab through to drain the hematoma.

I just want my period to come back so I can start temping/tracking and figuring out what my body is going to be doing now that it's down a tube. I should be back to posting more often because my doctor expected my period to come back between 4-6 weeks post-op, and the longer it takes to get here, the crazier I get. I know you ladies are really the only ones who understand why I'm so frustrated that it's not back.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Steal Unless you DH has a low sperm count then your doctor is wrong. There is no evidence that conerving swimmers helps with conception if you have a healthy sperm count. In fact the opposite is true -- more deposits increases the odds of getting pg. A bunch of us scientist types confirmed this back in the day with real experimental data and stuff that was dug out of the medical journals. So your doctor is wrong-o... unless I am overlooking news about your hubby's swimmers. Assuming he is fine, then if you are up for every day or EOD you should totally do it because it increases your changes a lot!!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Steal-HUGE HUGS!!!!!!! I'm sorry you are feeling so down and frustrated right now!!!!!!!! I am trying my darndest to stay optimistic, but it is so hard and a lot of the time it is a loosing battle! Drive-by BFPs are definitely not cool (though people who pop back out of the woodwork with a BFP are awesome! If Fisher does a drive-by BFP I think I will squeal out loud

RT-Congrats again. Did your old name start with an S?

CD-Welcome back! Sounds like there are a few one tube wonders (and I have a few friends IRL who are as well) that one tube can truly work wonders Hope that it is not too scary for you and LTP and others!

Just trucking away here, nothing major to report! My mei tai arrived and it is gorgeous!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Steal-HUGE HUGS!!!!!!! I'm sorry you are feeling so down and frustrated right now!!!!!!!! I am trying my darndest to stay optimistic, but it is so hard and a lot of the time it is a loosing battle! Drive-by BFPs are definitely not cool (though people who pop back out of the woodwork with a BFP are awesome! If Fisher does a drive-by BFP I think I will squeal out loud

RT-Congrats again. Did your old name start with an S?

CD-Welcome back! Sounds like there are a few one tube wonders (and I have a few friends IRL who are as well) that one tube can truly work wonders Hope that it is not too scary for you and LTP and others!

Just trucking away here, nothing major to report! My mei tai arrived and it is gorgeous!

LOL, Bella! I've read a LOT in the past 6 weeks, and it's amazing how many one tube/one ovary/one testicle/combo of the 3 pregnancies are out there. When there's a will, indeed!

I still have Ol' Lefty, and IIRC, CDN has her right tube & ovary. Seems like a set-up for a Wonder Twins pairing, no?

 

[Laila619]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Steal Unless you DH has a low sperm count then your doctor is wrong. There is no evidence that conerving swimmers helps with conception if you have a healthy sperm count. In fact the opposite is true -- more deposits increases the odds of getting pg. A bunch of us scientist types confirmed this back in the day with real experimental data and stuff that was dug out of the medical journals. So your doctor is wrong-o... unless I am overlooking news about your hubby's swimmers. Assuming he is fine, then if you are up for every day or EOD you should totally do it because it increases your changes a lot!!

I agree! DH and I have always been crazy BDers, but the month we got knocked up, we did it twice on O-2, once on 0-1, and twice again on O day. Then once again the day after O for extra good measure.

They generally only recommend you do every other day if your DH has a lowish count.

Hugs to everyone and lots of baby dust. I know how frustrating the process can be, believe me.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Steal Unless you DH has a low sperm count then your doctor is wrong. There is no evidence that conerving swimmers helps with conception if you have a healthy sperm count. In fact the opposite is true -- more deposits increases the odds of getting pg. A bunch of us scientist types confirmed this back in the day with real experimental data and stuff that was dug out of the medical journals. So your doctor is wrong-o... unless I am overlooking news about your hubby's swimmers. Assuming he is fine, then if you are up for every day or EOD you should totally do it because it increases your changes a lot!!

I agree! DH and I have always been crazy BDers, but the month we got knocked up, we did it twice on O-2, once on 0-1, and twice again on O day. Then once again the day after O for extra good measure.

They generally only recommend you do every other day if your DH has a lowish count.

We also have had success with the marathon approach, every day from about CD 8 to 18. Others have too, in my recollection.

My concern about trying to time it to hit the day before ovulation, for example, and that being the only time in the fertile window you hit is that estimating ovulation is far from accurate *unless* you are being monitored by a doctor who uses an ultrasound to assess follicular readiness and can thus tell very accurately when you will ovulate. With temping and CF and even OPKs the estimate is only accurate within a few days, and so trying to hit just that window seems to me to be risky. ETA I am not a reproductive endocrinologist, though, who would of course be the final word of these matters. BUT neither are most family practitioners and I wonder sometimes if misinformation is being passed along occassionally?

 

[HOUMedGal]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Hello, friends!

Just wanted to pop in from lurkdom to say that I'm rooting for you girls back here!!

Steal, so sorry that your body got your hopes up for this month - I had a similar month before I got preggo where I just SWORE I was preggo, and sure enough, I wasn't. It was really frustrating to get my hopes up just to have them dashed. Hang in there lady!

LTP - I hear ya on wanting AF to hurry up and come back! After my MC, I got SO impatient waiting for her to show up again. It took 5.5 weeks for me. It was such a relief when she finally showed up, one of the several important landmarks along my healing journey after our loss. I have been thinking a lot about you during your recovery time - glad you're doing well!! Oh, and I LMAO'ed at your "wonder twins" comment re: you and CDN - love it!! Wishing nothing but the best for both of you!!

Bella - ooooh, a new Mei Tai! Nice!! I have been eyeing those myself....

Love and baby dust all around!! I will continue to be cheering from backstage for all of you ladies!!

 

[missjaxon]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Hello wonderful ladies of the TTC thread! I am just slowly dipping my toes in here after over a year of lurking and was wondering if anyone could help me out with a question I have regarding charting. I have been charting for the last year, but have PCOS so some months I do not ovulate at all and the months I do ovulate my luteal phase seems to vary. From reading on FF website variance in luteal phase more then 2 days mainly indicates that I ovulated sooner or later than my chart shows, but what is really confusing me is that the months when I have a clear shift how can my ovulation day be off? I am vigilant about getting the same amount of sleep at night and temping at the exact same time every morning. I don't drink alcohol haven't been sick and cannot think of anything else that may cause a change in my temperature - It does raise for 9-12dpo* and FF is giving me crosshairs. Does this mean that my temperature is not an accurate measure of ovulation? I do track my CF as well but I will admit that I am off and on with it and not consistant with logging it. I know it would help better but I just feel the rest is exhausting enough for me for now lol. *bad me* If anyone can help me understand better I would really appreciate it! Thank you in advance.

ETA: 9-12dpo, I accidentally typed a 3 instead of 2.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Missjaxon Honestly, if I had to guess, I would say that temping is not a good tool for you! I have not heard of a medical reason why a woman's LP would vary in length. Would you mind posting some of your charts? Are you using OPKs? I ask because I wonder whether you are having some anovulatory charts (more than you guess) and entering OPK data or other data if forcing FF to give you cross hairs. Anyways, I would not mind seeing 4-5 charts from the last months to get a look at things.

Are you hoping to TTC soon and is that why you are charting?

 

[dcgator]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Hello my fellow TTC'ers,

It looks like the board has been a hoppin'. I figured I better post now before I get too far behind...

Bella - So, what DPO are you? It seems like you have resisted the urge to POAS so far. I do respect that, and only wish I had that kind of patience! Good luck my dear and I will keep my fingers crossed for you

KTF - I am sooo very sorry about the continued issues. I know you proabably don't want to hear that there may be more issues, but I really think it's important to go see your Dr. about whatever is going on. Maybe it will be nothing, but it the case that its something more serious, it would be better to deal with it when its less of an issue versus letting something become a seriously threatening issue. I send you all my dust that this is just a little hiccup, but please do let us know what you decide to do. BIG ((((HUG)))))

Moxie - Welcome to the TTC 'hood . I hope that you find us to be a helpful and supportive resource, without having to bring all this up IRL. It sounds like you and your DH have done everything right so far and are good and ready for a little one. As for your late AF, what a B indeed. But hopefully next month, she will stay away for a proper 9 months Btw, I loved your last comment. So true...

Steal - Thanks for the well wishes. We will just have to wait and see though. As for your comments, don't feel bad for what you said, in fact I have always felt that way about fly-by posters too, but never said it on here (only to DH). Plus, I think I have had my one outburst for this month already, And whatever the backstory maybe, I think almost all of us who have been here a while felt the same at first glance. I'm sure you didn't mean any harm because you are too sweet my dear. But, I did like the Angelina Jolie reference, too funny. As for the EOD thing, I agree with the rest of the girls that you shouldn't have to do that unless there is a sperm issue. Do you know why the Dr. recommend that?

Brightlight - We know and remember you, so don't you worry about it. That is too funny about your DH knowing before you. I don't think you will ever be able to live that one day though, as he will always recount how he knew first, lol. I am sooo very happy for you and DH and hope that you will stick around a while longer to cheer us on. Good luck sweetie!

Fiery - Thanks for your comments, you always seem to be able to smooth things out and speak so eloquently. And thanks for watching out for all of us.

Modern - How lovely to be in vaca in Hawaii. Enjoy the beach and the time with mom!

Houie - How nice to see you in these parts. Thanks for coming in to check on us. Btw, you look great, with your growing baby bumb. I hope that things continue to go smoothly for you!

Random - I don't think you ment any ill will hun, so no worries on that front. I would only say that perhaps you could have precluded your pregnancy announcement with an "old poster under new name" or something to that effect. Either way, I am with Bella in thinking your old name started with an S and ended with a y. Are we right? Congrats again, and don't feel like you can't post here if you need some support, pre-full preggers thread. A happy and healthy 9 months to you!

Kennedy - Goodness gracious girl, get thee to a pee stick immediately! LOL Ok, so that is what I would do, but we are all a little bonkers around here and are mostly POAS addicts. Either way though, if you are 11DPO, there is a decent chance of picking something up. I really do hope that you get lucky and get a BFP on the first go. Please let us know when you do test, as we will all be here with bated breath. Good luck! (and AF, stay away!)

CDNinNYC: Welcome back my dear, and what a pleasure to have you back with us again! I'm sure you and your One Tube Wonder will do just fine. I really hope that you do get KU quickly and have a healthy pregnancy. Good luck!

LTP - It's good to see you back in these parts as well. I am sorry that AF is taking her time to get to you, but you can have mine, if you want We are indeed here if you need any kind of support. Good luck with returning to the gym. Oh, and for the scar, you can try Mederma. Its a gel that you apply a couple times a day and helps minimize scars. It's kinda expensive, but it does work.

MissJaxon - Welcome to you as well lady I wish I could help you out with the charting, but the PCOS is a little past my grasp. Hopefully some of the other ladies will be able to add some useful info. A sample chart would probably be helpful in determinging your O. Either way, I hope your stay here is short and sweet!

Parrot, Lili and Ryan Claire - Hello ladies. I know you are all going into your IUI cycles. I hope that everything is good to go for all of you and you are about to get your green light. Lots of luck ladies!

Gaby - How's it going on your end? I hope all is well.

****
AFM - Just trucking along and trying to keep up with everyone There seems to be a few of us in the 2WW, so good luck ladies!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Wow DC-You are so good at responding to everyone. Esp in new PS, I don't have the patience or the memory to make that work

I am 10 dpo today and just feel normal. My b**bs don't hurt so much any more, I am tired, but that is par for the course since DH likes to stay up late and I don't think I sleep well until he comes to bed too. That's been one of the biggest issues since getting married (our 1 year anniversary is October 3!!!!!) I like to go to bed around 11 or 12, DH likes to go to bed around 1:30 or 2 We're working on it

Anyway, I am holding out until Sunday...I thought about POAS this morning, but I HATE negative tests, for some reason they make me feel way worse than getting AF...

 

[Steel]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

CDN: Thanks honey. I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you back. I’m near you in cycle days; I’m a day behind at CD3 today and on my second day of Soy. I have a very soft spot for you and really hope that this conception will be as wonderful as the last but that you have a healthy 9 months and a beautiful summer baby. Fingers and toes crossed for you. You have as much hand-holding as you want from me and the other ladies here.

LTP: Thank you it is very lovely of you to say that. I hope that your body is on the fast-track to healing and you can start charting. Are you ‘allowed’ to try on your first cycle back; do you want to? ***Healing dust to you*** P.s. perhaps if you book a sexy weekend away and pack only white trousers then AF will have no choice but to rear her ugly witchy head to spoil your plans? Hehehhe P.p.s Ol’ Lefty – you crack me up! Kudos for the attitude!

Dreamer & Laila: Thank you so much. We may have an issue, but it is unconfirmed and I won’t talk about it here. That said we talked and have decided to go back to EOD.

Bella: Awh, thank you honey. I loved the hugs! I really wasn’t trying to be mean to other people but I had to say something. Can we have a mei tei photo please? Pretty please? How is the 2ww? Dustdustdustdustdust ps. dust!

HOU: Hi pregnant lady! How’s it bumping! Thank you for the commiserations. I am getting over it (well not really, but you know). Lovely to ‘see’ you here. Ps. you are one hot mamma to be. I love your cute bump!

MissJ: Hiya! Welcome. Trust Dreamer; I have been trying to get her to come visit me as my personal sex-o-meter. God that sounds dirty. I mean to tell me when to get it on. She has great advice so post your charts if you can. Dust for a summer baby!

Dcgator: Happy 2WW’ing! I hope I used all the crazy up for the group this month and you are having an easy wait. Just call us the unofficial TTC thread tag-team police ne nawh ne nawh. I am really sorry that I upset somebody but I have felt so sensitive when I saw similar posts and with all my crazy juice from my fake non pregnancy, I posted. Glad you liked the Jolie reference; sometimes I think I am a smartie-pants. Thanks for tuning in on the EDO; we talked and are going back to that this cycle. I am sending so much dust to you I hope you have a vacuum cleaner: dustdustdustdustdust!

Much love to all my TTC ladies & lurkers!

 

[missjaxon]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Missjaxon Honestly, if I had to guess, I would say that temping is not a good tool for you! I have not heard of a medical reason why a woman's LP would vary in length. Would you mind posting some of your charts? Are you using OPKs? I ask because I wonder whether you are having some anovulatory charts (more than you guess) and entering OPK data or other data if forcing FF to give you cross hairs. Anyways, I would not mind seeing 4-5 charts from the last months to get a look at things.

Are you hoping to TTC soon and is that why you are charting?

Thanks Dreamer, I will post a couple of my charts when I get a moment. I have still yet to enter in the first 6 or 7 months into FF from my own tracking on the paper graphs that come inside TCOYF. I am not using OPK's at the moment - my OB/GYN suggested I don't waste money on them for now because my cycles are so off. We are TTC, my FI has had a SA and it came back fine and my OB/GYN wants me to have an HSG before we talk about moving on to Clomid. She has put me on Metformin so I told her I wanted to figure out my body and see if we could do this on our own before we take anymore steps, but it has been a year and I am still not sure I know what is going on. I guess I will cave in January and do the HSG if things are not any better and go from there. Hopefully this afternoon I will get a minute to post my charts here. Thank you for taking the time to answer me!

 

[missjaxon]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Thank you dcgator and Steal ! I am so shy about all of this that I just managed to get up the nerve to ask my question and you ladies in turn are are all so nice! I really appreciate it. Wishing you both all the best on your TTC journey.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Missjaxon I think you might find this site interesting http://www.tcoyf.com Taking Charge of Your fertility has a companion website and forums along with that, and the real charting gurus hang out there. I spent some time there when TTC and learned a lot. One thing I learned was that for many women with PCOS metformin and other medications to help regulate their symptoms made all the difference in the world. I am like you in that I do not like to take any medications unecessarily, but I also think that if you are very very sure of your diagnosis and trust your doctor, then sometimes it is better to just do what works, ya know? Anyways, if you have not seen that site before I think you might like it. The yare hard core charters there! There is also a PSOC subform if you look a little.

 

[Keepingthefaith21]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Hi Ladies - Thank you for your kind thoughts and words. It is a very frustrating time. Eventually I will go for the additional testing my OB is suggesting. She did phone me back to say that I should feel free to try until I decide I want to go for the follow up testing. Her main concerns aren't around the polyps as much as the possibility of a clotting disorder but I recently had a tattoo done and didn't experience what I believed to be any exessive bleeding so she kinda backed off that when I told her. I do like that she is trying to do so much for my wellbeing but at the same time I am just exhausted from it all. Due to a lot of stuff going on at work, I can't even schedule an appointment until mid-October so I will use the next few weeks to try and see if my cycle decides to go back to normal between now and then. I'll finish out my awkward 2WW and pray that I either see a BFP or AF comes close to her scheduled visit so I can at least take solace in my cycle rebooting. The hope us TTCers can hold out is amazing indeed - despite all of the issues with this cycle and having absolutely no indication that I may be even slightly pregnant, I am still going to POAS at the close of my 2WW. Ahhh...sometimes I think I am glutton for punishment lately.

Steal - I hear you on getting a good color! I told my sylist I wanted to start moving towards a brighter shade of color than what I have been getting. In saying this, I expected she would make my entire head the same shade. Instead she did the roots the color I was hoping for but merely combed the new, lighter shade over my existing residual darker color. I now have this weird two tone look going on. I am trying to rock it as if it wasn't a mistake but I don't think I am fooling many. If we are taking this route in about a year I will have matching ends and roots. Something to look forward to I guess...

LTP - I totally understand your wish to get your cycle back. It is so hard to sit around waiting for it. Even when I got my first post-op period the rest of my cycle was full of surprises and I keep asking myself "was that really my period". I wish there was a magical pill you could take to bring your body back around full circle overnight. It is absolutely amazing how long it takes the body to re-set itself back to normal following pregnancy.

DC - I'm hoping this is the month for you!!!!

CD - WELCOME BACK!! I've heard many positives about One Tube Wonders so I'll keep positive vibes out there for ya.

 

[random_thought]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Thank you guys, that makes me feel a lot better
I'll just say that those of you who guessed my old name are spot on and leave it at that. Good luck everyone, lots of baby dust to you all!

 

[modernsparkler]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Steal: Sounds like you have already gotten good answers from the smart ladies here, but I wanted to echo that the sperm conservation theory has no merit unless DH is short on swimmers. If not, feel free to get a bit busier !!!!

DC: Thinking good thoughts for you in the 2WW!!!

MissJ: Welcome. Sounds like your cycles are confusing. Hopefully you can post and get some insight. I have heard of Metformin working very well for PCOS so hopefully that will be just what you need to get the job done!

CD and LTP: Just a shout out to say that DH and his brother are products of one working ovary. My MIL had an ectopic before DH and she swears she could feel the ovulation from the ovary with the open tube (she had a tube removed but kept the ovary) and they tried only on those months. Another good success story sending well wishes your way.

Bella: Congrats on your patience for holding out on POAS. Hoping for 2 lines on Sunday (or sooner )

AFM: CD11. Had some high temps on vaca due to the hot weather that initially made FF say I ovulated on CD 9 which seems way to early to CD 19 last month, so I "discarded" the temps and it took the O lines away. CD 11 and waiting..

 

[modernsparkler]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

OK... had to share this with you ladies. Hoping it means good luck, but it TOTALLY freaked me out. Its a STOWAWAY baby GECKO that I saw crawling across my bedroom floor after unpacking my suitcase!!!!! I screamed for DH and we eventually got the lil guy in a tupperware and put him outside. Hopefully he can adjust to the Northwest climate

 

[Laila619]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Oh my gosh modernsparkler!! I would have screamed too! He's a cutie though.

 

[missjaxon]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Thanks Dreamer. I have been to the website, but never even looked long enough to see they had forums. I will check them out! Here are my last 2 charts (one being my current cycle), the cycle before them was rather long and I actually took Metformin for a week before getting terribly sick from it and I feel that is what kick started these 2 months of ovulation following. I went and looked back at my paper charts and noticed I had a 9 day LP (23 day cycle) and another 11 day LP. Since I don't often have detected ovulation and especially since I just recently started using FF (with its fancy detection information)I had never noticed the difference. Maybe temping isn't accurate for detecting ovulation for me with my mixed up cycles? I felt like I was finally getting the hang of temping after months of "practice" only to be confused again. I apologize for jumping in with such a complicated question and circumstances. I am going to talk to my OB/GYN about it. Anyway I would love any insight on my charts, this months is confusing me with the spike and dips in temperature after ovulation and still no AF.

 

[Laila619]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Missjaxon, your charts show ovulation to me, with a clear thermal shift. Are you worried that something is wrong? If your normal luteal phase is 9-12 days, then you're still in that range. With today's lower temp, AF might be coming.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

I agree that both your charts look like classic ovulation charts to me.

The thing you are wondering about is that your LP seems to change, right?

I think that perhaps the O-day this month is wrong. Your temps pre and post-O are actually very stable from month to month, so I think that FF poinned O day too early on your second chart judging by the horizontal line being at a lower temp than the previous month. If you go by the temps, you most likely O-d on CD 17 this month, making today 11 DPO, with a normal mid LP dip on CD 25 and a drop on CD 28 is close to your cross-hairs temp from the previous month, suggesting that AF will maybe show up tomorrow. I think it is fair to guess you have an 11 day LP, that 9 day one in your records was probably from a misestimate of your O-day if you showed a clear thermal shift like these charts.

BUT you havea slow rise pattern temp shift, meaning that your temps rise sloooowly from the pre-O range (averaging about 96.8 if we assume the crosshairs this month are off) into the post-O range (around 97.5). I also had a slow rise pattern when I was charting. That pattern makes it harder to identify O-day, so I think to get more accurate charts you need to monitor your other fertile signs. If you can add your CF to the chart or your cervical position, I bet you can get a better feel for when your actual O-day is. But with a chart like yours, you could be ovulating at the start of the slow rise-- say CD 14 last month and CD 15 this month -- but it could be a few days later or even a day earlier! So I think the charting of temps only is great because it shows ovulation, but for timing BDing you probably need to rely on other signs like CF or you need to try to cover a period of time from about CD 10 until ovulation is confirmed with the sustained (3 day) temp shift and drying up of CF.

So to answer your original question, the corss-hairs are an estimate so even with perfect method for temping, your O-day can indeed be off, as I think it is in your chart this month and probably in the other months you had a variable LP.

 

[Laila619]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

I think ovulation was on CD 17 too.

Still, I think you should add in one other thing to confirm ovulation--whether it's OPKs or keeping track of CF, either is fine. I always used two different types of data--temps and OPKs. This makes things much more clear than just temps alone.

 

[missjaxon]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Thank you ladies, that makes sense. I really appreciate you taking the time to look and explain to me. It is nice to have somewhere to ask these kinds of questions.

 

[LadyBlue]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

I'm just stopping here very quick to tell Dreamer that she is a total pro with charts , so much better than the Fertility Friend advice.

 

[dcgator]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Hey Ladies,

Just to add some confusion to the mix, I would have to say that FF got Miss J's O date correct. Here is a sample of one of my charts. I too have really low pre and post O temps. And while I have an almost exact temp pattern as Ms J, my other fertility signs confirm the O date.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Hey Ladies,

Just to add some confusion to the mix, I would have to say that FF got Miss J's O date correct. Here is a sample of one of my charts. I too have really low pre and post O temps. And while I have an almost exact temp pattern as Ms J, my other fertility signs confirm the O date.

Just to clarify what I was saying, I was not suggesting that the fact that her temps are low is why her chart this month is probably incorrect about o-day... the absolute value of someone's pre- and post-O temps is not very important for chart interpretation. What matters is that her cross hairs this month are pinned at a different point than they were last month. Most women will tend to have a signature pattern of pre- and post-O temps accross the months. So for *you* your typical pre-O temps will be in a certain range and *your* typical post-O temps will be in another range, and usually those two ranges are about .5 to 1 degree different. On MissJ's charts, notice that on her Aug chart the cross hairs are 2 tenths lower than on her July chart. That difference from month to month *could* mean the o-day is pinned wrong on her Aug chart. It would depend a little on what her typical pre-O temps look like on her other charts, along with other signs. At any rate, it is uncertain enough that it explains the apparent variation in her LP that she has been seeing, in my opinion.

As for your chart, lovely looking temps! How long is your usual LP? ETA whoops noticed it is from May, thought it was this month I will add that I think it is possible you ovulated a day later than the cross-hairs suggest too, based on the OPK and CF entries (as ovulation can occurr up to 36 hours after a positive OPK and can also herald a very quick drying of CF), and given that the temp shift is a little ambiguous. That is probably why your cross hairs are dotted. I would be curious to see if the cross hairs move if you remove your OPK information or your CF information or both... have you ever played around with the charts like that?

I sort of think with charting it is important not to get too hung up on the ovulation day, since there is likely a 2-3 day window when ovulation could have occurred even with the most perfect chart. Charting lets you know that ovulation *did* happen at some point within a window of error. That is partly why TCOYF recommends the three-day rule when TTC -- keep on BDing until ovulation has been confirmed with a three-day sustained and unambiguous thermal shift. Only then can you be fairly certain that you really did ovulate.

 

[missjaxon]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Thanks for posting dcgator. Now I am not sure about my ovulation dates at all, I guess I really need to add the other fertility signs to my charting before I can be sure of anything. My temperature rose again this morning to 97.7. I was expecting my period on 9 DPO when it started to fall, because last month is dropped and the same day I got my period, but now my temperatures just keep raising and falling and I am confused about it. I was hoping charting was also going to make it easier to expect AF because in the past I just wait and wait and wait....think I feel symptoms and wait some more. I have been having breast tenderness and some minor cramping so I hope it is on its way so I can start a fresh month and add the other fertility signs to try and get a clearer chart.

 

[missjaxon]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

I'm just stopping here very quick to tell Dreamer that she is a total pro with charts , so much better than the Fertility Friend advice.

I agree! Yay for Dreamer for being so kind and helping with chart interpretation. Especially for someone like me who gets confused easily, it is very nice to have someone who knows what they are doing.