Tracking?

butterflygrooves

J and I had a chat the other day about adding to our family in the future, since the process with the girls adoption has left us a bit wary of adopting again, we are talking about getting pregnant.

How far in advance did you start tracking your cycles? I have been been doing basic tracking, just my period, for the past few months. The app I use for tracking also has a fertility option which uses BBT, CM, and a bunch of other symptoms.

We don't plan to try until at least this spring or summer so I have some time, I just want to be prepared in case we really do this.

BTW, the plan is to start with ICI's at home using a known donor.

2mommiesinoh

It cannot hurt to start now and have a good idea of what your cycles look like for when you start. I mean the spring is only what 5 months off?

KarynMancini

Good Luck! I think fresh sperm definitely has its benefits. Better to track for as long as you need so you will have a good idea when the time comes of your cycles and their ranges. Exciting for you!

ball.and.chain

I'd try to get at least 3 cycles of tracking under your belt.  Starting now is not a bad idea.

JoySeattle

How exciting! I agree that 3 minimum, or as soon as you want to, would be a good plan. Start with BBT, then add opks (cheapies work well for me). I personally do bbt, cm, cervical position, and opks, but we're doing IUI which needs to be more precise than fresh.

hlke

Getting to this a bit late.  I'd start now if possible.  It took us a few cycles to work out the kinks of BBT charting (crappy thermometer, waking up at different times, etc), but by cycle 5 or so, Fertility Friend was getting really good at predicting C's fertile window, which was very helpful for timing insems.  I'm not sure what app you have, but I would really encourage you to use Fertility Friend, it is REALLY good.

Once you've charted a few cycles, I'd do two cycles of OPKs before you try, to get practice at reading them and making sure they sync up with your chart.

And just so you don't have to muddle through like we did, we got the Mabis thermometer from Walmart (a favorite on the boards) and C set her alarm for the same time every day about an hour before she would usually wake up.  That way if she woke up early or slept in late, she'd still take her temp at the same time every day.  It made a huge difference in the reliability of her chart. 

mollykelley

I agree with the ladies above. This weekend I was introduced to a great book on the Fertility Awareness Method called "Taking Charge of Your Fertility". It has been around for years and has great advice. Luckily, there is a phone app downloadable from their website. I highly recommend because it teaches you so much about your body. Tracking Bbt but also other measures you can read about in app.