Now, how to put all of that together in a chart?! :) There are many charting websites out there, and trust me, I have seen and tried them all. FertilityFriend.com is the best of the best and I highly recommend making an account and using it.
There are many things you can do to pinpoint your exact day of ovulation. Temping is the #1 must have in a chart. The second thing you can do is use Ovulation Prediction Kits or OPKs. The third thing is checking your cervical mucus because this changes a lot during your cycle and can clue you in to your fertile time. Now let’s break these down.
Temping. A Basal Body Thermometer or BBT will be needed for this and you can get then at any drug store. A regular thermometer will not work, the BBT is much more accurate and you need that with your chart. You must take your temp every morning at the SAME time and after at least 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Take it before you move or even get out of bed. This may seem like a hard task, but once you get used to it, it’s easy. I always set my alarm for 7AM, took it, and went right back to sleep. I would get up later and record the temp in my FF.com chart. See the little blue dots on the chart? Those are temps that were recorded. The dotted lines mean a temp was missed that day, and the open circles mean the temp recorded was not at the usual temping time. During your cycle, your temp will bounce around and that’s normal. See where the red lines meet on this chart? That is the day this lady ovulated, and you can tell that because the day after you ovulate, your temperature rises significantly. See how on day 16 it was really high? After that, your temp will stay higher and bounce around some, but it should for the most part stay above the horizontal red line. Towards the end of her cycle, her temperature started to drop and that is a sign that her period is on it’s way.
OPKs. While temping confirms your ovulation, OPKs predict that it’s coming within the next 24-48 hours, so when both of these are used together, you can time sex perfectly. OPKs measure a hormone called LH in your urine, and right before you ovulate, the hormone surges and the OPK picks that up. OPKs look just like pregnancy tests, and I buy my test strips from Amazon.com in bulk because they are cheap. These you take everyday starting around cycle day 10 of your cycle, in the evening around the same time. There will be two lines on the strip, one is the test and one is the control. A negative result, the test line will be lighter than the control. A positive result will be AS dark or darker than the control. Once you get a positive, CONGRATS, you are in your fertile window and I suggest you get busy!! :) I would also suggest having sex every day until you confirm that you ovulated with your temperature spike. Below is my personal chart from the cycle that I got pregnant. See where is says OPK on the bottom left? If you go across you will see all the little – signs and then two + signs. That’s what inputting your OPK info on a chart will look like :) You can click the picture to make it bigger.
Cervical Mucus (CM). During your cycle, your mucus downstairs will change and gear up for accepting sperm. So yes, that creamy stuff that comes out during your cycle, while gross, is completely normal. Charters categorize CM into 3 different things: Sticky, Creamy, and Eggwhite. Sticky is literally that, and normally happens after your period and before your next period. It’s marked as an S in the CM section on the chart. Creamy is more creamy like lotion and you cannot see through it. This can happen anytime in your cycle and is marked with a C on the chart. Eggwhite literally looks like eggwhite, and can stretch up to 2-3 inches. This is the only CM that is sperm friendly and comes around during your fertile window. It is marked by a green E on the chart. The other CM that you see is red, and that is your period, marked by Heavy flow-H, Medium flow-M, Light flow-L, spotting-*, and dry -.
Putting it in perspective
I hope this gives you an idea of charting, your body, and how to keep track of everything. Charting is SO empowering. If you were not ovulating, your chart would show that. If you had a short Luteal Phase, your chart would show that too. When you do get pregnant, you will know the exact day you conceived instead of having a Dr. guess. It’s just a wonderful tool to have and it allows you to be aware of everything that is going on in your body. I think it’s better to chart and find out now if something’s wrong, then try for a year, go to a Dr. and have him try to figure out what is going on with your cycles.
There are two steps to concieveing: Your time + God’s time= baby time. You can do everything in your power, but once that is done…..all you can do from there is pray. I loved knowing I was doing literally everything I could, and the rest was up to God. It gave me such a sense of peace.
I hope this helps anyone out there that is trying, thinking about trying, or just wants to learn about the process! It’s a LOT of information to take in, so if you are confused or have questions, PLEASE message me and ask. I would love to help and I have been there myself, so I completely understand! No question is dumb :)
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