Temping Questions

lilylover27

Hey Everybody!

DH and I have currently been TTC the "old fashion" way with just BDing and see what happens. Now that the Holidays, which is always a stressful time, is coming to an end I am going to start temping when my next AF comes which should be next week sometime. I plan on buying books about fertility but also wanted some of the input from the women on here, as you know real life is much different then books, so I have a few questions!

Ok, so here it goes:

1) I know the best time to temp is in the morning before you even sit up in bed. I have read mixed things about temping either orally or vaginally. I am definitely a mouth breather when I sleep and read that can affect the temperature. Any other people on here who sleep with their mouth open have an opinion? I am fine doing either way just didn't know if it was that great of a difference.

2) I have also read you should mark anything such a sickness, lack of sleep, and alcohol consumption. Now my question is do you ladies mark down when you had a glass of wine with dinner? How strict are you all about marking down these things?

3) What is a good app to keep a chart electronically? I am not the best at keeping papers around the house organized and feel like the charts will quickly take over our bedroom!

Thank you all in advance for your input it is truly appreciated! Also, yes I have purchased a BBT thermometer so I am all set to go with that!

TheBorg7of9

3.) fertility friend. No question.

PeggyOlsonFTW

1. I'm a mouth breather. I temped orally when trying for DS and my temps were all over the place. I temp vaginally now and my temps are much more stable and I don't feel like I need to second guess them as much.

2. I don't log every time I have a glass of wine. Just if I'm drinking enough to be drunk.

MRSCORKER

Welcome!
1.  I temp orally but I've heard that temping vaginally will give you more even temps. There are ladies here who do it both ways. If you're a mouth breather at night, maybe you should start by temping vaginally and see how it goes. You can always switch it up the next cycle if you don't get a BFP.

2.  I always mark down "sleep deprived" if I had a bad nights sleep. FF will give that temp a little less "weight" I think when it comes to giving CH. As far as drinking, my personal rule is, if I drank enough to feel tipsy, then I drank enough for it to effect my temp. A glass of wine with dinner is not something I would make note of but that's just me. If I think I temp is off for one reason or another, I make a note of it in the notes section so that if I'm questioning my CH or FF is having trouble figuring out my O day, I can go back, read my notes, and discard questionable temps. 

3.  Fertility Friend for sure. There are a ton of other apps out there but FF is the best. We swear by it around here! It's also helpful when participating in this community as everyone is familiar with it and we can help each other with chart questions. 

Hope your stay here is short!

MonaLisaRalphio

My rule about drinking is that if I was tipsy when I went to bed, I record it on my chart. If I'm going to bed completely sober, I don't see the need.

sarah0985

I agree with everything pp said. Don't have anything else new to add other than;
I also breathe through my mouth. I started temping orally and my temps were all over the place. (See first attached) I stopped that cycle. I MAY have seen a shift if I continued but I no longer trusted my temps. I also attached my next cycle in which I started temping vaginally. It's a clear difference and easy to see why I trust the temps in the second cycle more than the first. In hind sight, I wish I had switched sooner. If you know you breathe through your mouth, I would just start vaginally. You could start orally if you're super unsure about vaginal but if you start to see drastic jumps I'd switch immediately.

paigeed

Welcome! Glad you're starting to temp.

1. Mouth breathing will change your temps. So if you do, vaginally could be better.
2. Until you learn your body I would mark anytime you consume alcohol until you see how much will or will not effect you.
3. Fertility friend is by far the best. It will put all that info in for you. Also it has tutorial videos for like a month that help you learn how to chart and understand it better.

Good luck!

paigeed

Oh and I recommend the books Taking Charge of Your Fertility and Making Babies. Both are educational and wonderful.

mali0902

1. I'm not a mouth breather, but after 3 months of erratic temps, I switched to vaginally temping and I'll never go back.
2. What pps said regarding alcohol consumption and temps.
3. Fertility Friend. I also recommend the vip feature. It costs money, but I love the info it provides. There's usually a discount. If there isn't one currently, wait. I feel like they always have one.

And I know you said you already have a bbt thermometer, but I'm throwing in my 2 cents and recommending Mabis (if you don't have that one yet). The Target one blows. At any rate, if you start seeing repeated temps, that could mean your thermometer is favoring temps. Just some new-to-temping advice Good luck!

MamaPerkins

I didn't even know that about mouth breathing. That might explain my crazy chart!! Thanks for the question!

simcal18

Well crap. I wasn't getting a super clear pattern from my temps, but I was hoping that it was just the thermometer (not a BBT one) and not my chronic mouth breathing. I have a new BBT that I was going to start using next cycle orally, but now I'm wondering if I should just jump straight to temping vaginally. Not exactly super excited about that switch, but does anybody have any tips on how to do it so that you feel slightly less like a basting turkey?

bsckgb7

simcal18 said:

Well crap. I wasn't getting a super clear pattern from my temps, but I was hoping that it was just the thermometer (not a BBT one) and not my chronic mouth breathing. I have a new BBT that I was going to start using next cycle orally, but now I'm wondering if I should just jump straight to temping vaginally. Not exactly super excited about that switch, but does anybody have any tips on how to do it so that you feel slightly less like a basting turkey?

You shouldn't switch mid-cycle.  Vaginal temps will be different than oral temps (can't remember if they are are higher or lower), so you may miss your temp spike

sarah0985

@bsckgb7 they're higher. So FF would interpret them as your O date. (For me at least they're significantly higher.)
@simcal18 hahaha. I never felt like that but now I'll have that in my head. The only days it bothers me is if I'm super dry. I didn't have a bbt till this coming cycle and I see a clear shift. A regular thermometer isn't as precise but should still show a clear shift unless your shift is super minimal. (Mine is a full degree)

penelope4612

I am a mouth breather and have wonky temps at times but still can always see a clear temp shift following ovulation.  Generally my temps are under 97.4 prior to ovulation and above 97.5 after ovulation (usually tend to be above 98).  I have been hesitant to switch to vaginal temping because I have fallen asleep with my thermometer in my mouth on multiple occasions (I temp when DH gets up for work, which is an hour before I need to be up) and so I'm just a little nervous about accidentally falling back asleep with a pointy thermometer in my vagina.  

lilylover27

Thank you everyone for all your input! It is great to hear some real life input! I am actually excited to start so I can see the way it all works and hopefully time BD better for O!