What's the point of charting?

[Kelilah]

I started charting last week when my cycle began again, but then the dog chewed up my thermometer and I didn't bother to go buy a new one. I just don't see the point of it. I have an extremely regular 28-day cycle (I mean very regular, down to the hour) with a light 3-day period that is the same every time. We do the deed every 36-48 hours anyway. So why bother to chart?

Should I go get another thermometer and go back to waking up to the alarm clock every day? I hate waking up to the alarm; I'll do anything to conceive, even that, but I just don't see how it would help. It's not like taking my temperature makes me ovulate, and it's not like we only have sex once a month. So is there a reason to go back to it?

[MaerynPearl]

why bother:

a regular 28 day cycle does NOT mean you have a 14 day lp. If you have a short lp it can be indicative of problems. Charting can point this out and allow you to take care of it ahead of time.

a regular 28 day cycle does NOT mean it will continue to be 28 days... if you know your LP length and O date... you will know if AF is actually late or if you just Oed later for whatever reason. This saves a lot of wondering why you are getting BFNs and AF is 3 days supposedly-late when you are only 6dpo and AF isnt due for a week. Regular cycles in the past does NOT mean they will stay that way and when many women start to TTC (charting or not) amazingly their bodies start to screw up.

Of course, you don't HAVE to chart... but as I said if you suddenly get a totally normal curve ball thrown at you by your body... it saves a lot of wondering when you already know what is going on.

Personally... I charted for months when not TTC (DF was deployed overseas) just because charting out things other than just BBT helped me to understand my body REALLY well... and also was enough to prove that my migraines have nothing to do with my hormones (no matter where in my cycle I was, I was just as likely to get them) but my IBS did (which I then took care of until I got pregnant and it threw me all out of whack again... ugh! LOL)

[lifeguard]

How long have you been ttc? If you've only just started I wouldn't bother. I HATE charting & I certainly wouldn't add the stress to myself if my cycles were even slightly regular. BUT if you've been ttc for 6 months or longer & are getting anxious than it might be worth charting to see if (like pp said) you're lp is too short or if something else unusual is happening.

[Kelilah]

We were off birth control but not really trying for about a year; during that time, he went on a lot of long work trips (so we didn't try every month) and we didn't have health insurance yet so he would pull out sometimes, etc. I got pregnant in October (a couple days after our health insurance kicked in) and miscarried in November. I miscarried at 7 weeks but the baby had died at 6 weeks. Since December we've been trying in earnest but nothing yet. So I don't know whether I need to be charting or not.

I get that information is always good, but charting was really screwing up with my sleep; I'm not used to waking up to an alarm, so I kept waking up in anticipation of it and lying there in the pre-dawn waiting for it to go off, afraid to move and mess up my temperature reading, unable to go back to sleep... really annoying, and I worry about messing with my sleep while trying to conceive. Besides, sometimes I'm in bed by 9 pm and sometimes I can't go to bed until 3 am, so I worry it's not consistent enough to get reliable readings anyway.

I just don't want to deal with the hassle unless it'll really make a difference in getting me pregnant. Maybe I'll give it another month or two and then see.

[KristaDJ]

Personally I think you should try without really "trying" for a few months at least before you start charting. For some women charting is VERY stressful and can cause problems you didn't have before. I think charting is awesome if you are having trouble conceiving but it doesn't sound like you have, you just haven't been consistent. I think giving it another month or two is a good idea and then at that point if you feel you need a little extra help getting your timing right or figuring out what's stopping you there are tons of knowledgeable ladies here Charting your temp isn't the only way to chart either, you can observe your other fertility signs to get a good idea of when you ovulate and how long your LP is.

[finnegansmom]

I think you can loosely "chart" without temping. I used NFP as birth control for years, and I mean, like 12 years or something, without a hitch. My cycles were 28 days, I Od on day 15 and could always tell my CM and possibly slight twingey cramps. I never temped but I circled days on a calendar. The first month I decided to "take a chance" on my O day, I got pregnant (6 months before my wedding, opps).

If temping is stressing you out, don't bother. Take notice of your other signs, and keep track, maybe pick up some cheap OPKs. I temp now, but the thing about temping is, it won't tell you when you are going to O, it'll confirm that you already did. Checking you CM can give you a heads up (and OPKs will as well).

Good luck mama!

[TheDivineMrsM]

I also have a really regular 26-27 day cycle. I started temping out of frustration after a few months of trying unsuccessfully. While I was getting my period regularly, I wanted to understand what was happening in the interim. I wanted to see if we were timing BD correctly. I wanted to make sure my LP was a normal length. Months of OPKs are expensive; temping gives me information so that I can use them at a more appropriate time. I HATE surprises, and temping gives me a clue when AF is showing up at least a day in advance. That gives me time to process the fact that I'm not pregnant, deal with the sadness and frustration, and move on.

[Kelilah]

Cool. I'll keep trying for another few months without the charting and skip the stress for now. Hopefully it'll take again soon and I won't have to deal with that stupid alarm anymore.

Thanks, y'all!

[MaerynPearl]

you can still chart temps even if you don't wake at the same time every morning... as long as you temp as soon as you do wake up... it can still be pretty reliable.

[CawMama]

I'll tell you something about myself....I wish I could stop charting! I've been doing it for 30 months, and I am totally obsessed. Friends have told me that they have stopped temping and checking their cm and I'm jealous that they are able to do that.

[Tanikit]

I chart because it gives me something to think about and I like graphs lol. The point is to see when and if you ovulate and if you are timing intercourse correctly (which if you have sex every 48h you will be anyway) With a regular 28 day cycle you could ovulate between day 12 and day 18 if your luteal phase is normal.

I do not set an alarm - my daughter is my alarm and usually wakes me within the same half hour every day which is fine. Even when I have woken up at 04:00am and taken my temperature and then done it again at 06:00 the temperatures have not differed significantly so I am not worried.

Enjoy ttc - if charting stresses you, leave it. BDing every 2 days is probably the best way to go about it anyway.

[peaches' mom]

I agree with Maeryn and Tanikit that you shouldn't worry too much about the time your temp is taken. Don't set an alarm if you don't need to!!!
FWIW, I have 2 LOs who wake me at different times every day, and there's the rare w/e when I get to "sleep in" (past 7, lol). Even with my extremely varied temp times (anywhere from 3 am - 8 am), the actual temps are pretty stable and my charts show a definitely thermal shift, etc. As was suggested, just be sure to take your temp before you do anything else.
Also, IMHO, you'll quickly see the benefits of charting as you TTC.

Good luck!

[PhotoJournMama]

While taking temps is great and yes I do it myself, I don't think it's really necessary other than to corroborate other symptoms and make sure that you actually O'd and that your LP is long enough. I would suggest, if you don't want to temp, to just keep track of your CM - usually O happens on the wettest/eggwhite day or the next day and then quickly goes dry after, which would suggest that you probably O'd. Lots of methods only look at CM.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Originally Posted by Kelilah

We were off birth control but not really trying for about a year; during that time, he went on a lot of long work trips (so we didn't try every month) and we didn't have health insurance yet so he would pull out sometimes, etc. I got pregnant in October (a couple days after our health insurance kicked in) and miscarried in November. I miscarried at 7 weeks but the baby had died at 6 weeks. Since December we've been trying in earnest but nothing yet. So I don't know whether I need to be charting or not.

I get that information is always good, but charting was really screwing up with my sleep; I'm not used to waking up to an alarm, so I kept waking up in anticipation of it and lying there in the pre-dawn waiting for it to go off, afraid to move and mess up my temperature reading, unable to go back to sleep... really annoying, and I worry about messing with my sleep while trying to conceive. Besides, sometimes I'm in bed by 9 pm and sometimes I can't go to bed until 3 am, so I worry it's not consistent enough to get reliable readings anyway.

I just don't want to deal with the hassle unless it'll really make a difference in getting me pregnant. Maybe I'll give it another month or two and then see.

You dont need to set an alarm to chart you take your temp. When you wake up no matter when that time is as long as you have had 3 hours of sleep. Once you wake your temp starts to change moving or not so by just laying there waiting on the alarm you where not getting an accurate temp any way.

When I was taking my temp I went to bed when I wanted and woke when I wanted. I cant imagine doing it any other way.

Temping is not hard unless you make it that way Another thing to remember is if you are charting when you get pg then you know the exact date of conception so that you know your EDD without having to rely on the u/s or the Dr and their little wheel.

[stellamia]

I'm proof that you DON'T have to chart to conceive (I'm pregnant and didn't chart...just used OPK's). For me, it was a pain and a worry/obsession that I did not need. For many women it's a God-send and I'm glad that it works for so many, but it's NOT a must to make a baby!

Sex makes a baby. That's a fact. If you and your man are DTD that often, you don't have to know the exact time you ovulate.... I know a lot of people here actually conceived during the cycle they stopped
"trying"/charting/timing/stressing.

Also, OPK's are a fantastic way to figure out when you ovulate and they have them for $1 each at Dollar Tree. They worked brilliantly for me and many other women here rave about them. Then you'll know when you ovulated and you can know when to test!

There actually is a thread here called "TTC without charting" bc there are quite a few of us who don't chart.

Good luck!!!

[Sk8ermaiden]

If you have trouble conceiving on your own, charting can tell you

1) If you are ovulating
2) If your luteal phase is long enough
3) If you might have a hormone problem (post-O temps on or below the coverline)
4) If you have enough good quality CM

[Kelilah]

Thanks so much for all the useful information! If I don't conceive this cycle, I'll pick it up again. I'm glad to know I don't have to wake up with an alarm and take it at the same time every day. I appreciate the tips and info!

[BarefootGirl]

If you're BDing every other day or so, you probably don't need to chart, except that knowing your O day will mean you know when to test (or not).

One thing that you might need to know is that a 28 day cycle doesn't mean you are Oing on day 14. In your case, it probably doesn't matter, since you are BDing frequently anyway. But I have a friend who was BDing starting at day 14 every cycle for a few months. Nothing happened, so she started temping, and found out that she usually O'd on day 12. So she was totally missing it for those months that she started to BD on day 14. It's only been a month or so since she figured it out, and isn't pregnant yet, but I suspect she will be soon. I have another friend who O's on day 20-22 every cycle, but her cycles aren't extraordinarily long so she wouldn't have known that without temping.

But if you're BDing all the time anyway, don't worry about it

[shy]

I agree with the pps who said you dont have to chart, at least not yet. It took me a long time to get into it but now I truly enjoy and look forward to it.
just wanted to say about this:

I kept waking up in anticipation of it and lying there in the pre-dawn waiting for it to go off, afraid to move and mess up my temperature reading, unable to go back to sleep.

btdt!
I would just take the temp whenever you wake up and not worry about the alarm clock. You will still start to see a pattern. My wake up times are all over the place and I am hoping to standardize them, but +/- 1 hour as long as it is after 3+ (pref. 5+?) hours continuous sleep is supposed to be okay for charting.

[hollytheteacher]

i'm a non-charter as well. I've never had problems getting pregnant (just STAYING pregnant). If I don't conceive right away this time (should be Oing around the 21st I think) than maybe I'll start doing it. But I am not too stressed about the whole thing anyway. When it happens, it happens is how i'm looking at it

I also have a lot of fertile years left...hopefully...i'm almost 26.