I'm a newb and have some questions

[mommy2jasmine]

This is my first cycle of really 'trying' to chart. I am not checking my temp, as I don't have a thermo yet, but I plan to get one in the next couple of days.

My cervix is wacky, but I think it's just my normal. It was pointing down during my period, and the day after it ended, then it pointed to the right/back the next day, then it pointed WAY back for a few days, then it straightened out (I'm always checking in the same position) and as it straightened out it started to soften and open. It's been like this for about 4 days now. Then yesterday it felt like it might be heading backwards and today I couldn't even reach it, it was pointed so far back.

My CM has been on the same cycle as my cervix. Each change in my cervix coincided with a change in CM. My CM has not been abundant, by any means, and only slightly "milky"ish. No EWCM, and I've tried a lot of different things to make sure I'm getting sufficient amount to check. Today it seems to be going back to more of a sticky consistency.

Yesterday, my CM was it's most stretchy, my cervix was still mostly pointed down, and then I got itchy down there last night, and thinking about it, this happens every month, sometime during mid cycle. I haven't been charting, so I don't know when it happens exactly, but it's right in the middle sometime. Could the hormone surge cause this? Maybe my body is extremely sensitive? I felt like I might have had some mild crampy feelings yesterday, also. I'm writing them off as me being super paranoid though, lol.

My chart is on my phone, but I'm trying to find a good site online where I can chart. I like Fertility Friend.

So what do you guys think?

[karmab]

i think it's not that wacky, you just arent used to it yet, and before long, you will be making sense of it. you mention stretchy cm but say no ew? stretchy cm is ew. watery, creamy, etc, they dont stretch. especially once you get a therm. in the meanwhile, yes, a lot of women get a tad yeasty around ovulation- the fertile cm is a little sugary. it has glycogen in it, and yeast love that, so you have to be extra careful with hygeine and all that if you are prone to them. if i were you, id be sure i were eating yogurt with active cultures, or other probiotic foods, on a regular basis too.

[suddenlyamama]

once you get your thermometer it will help so much. Hope you find your answers!

[mommy2jasmine]

I guess I'm still trying to figure out the whole CM thing. I thought that EW meant that it would be super stringy or stretchy like in some of the pictures I'd seen when I "googled" cervical mucus. It's been watery, but cloudy, not see-through like egg whites are. Maybe this whole time it's actually been the good stuff, and I've been thinking it's just not here yet

We BD'd on Sunday, and although Monday or last night probably would have been better, considering I think I'm O'ing today, I think I'm gonna see about maybe getting some in tonight, if nothing else, just for good practice

I grabbed a thermo today and I'm going to start tracking my temps starting tomorrow morning. I know it's halfway through the cycle, but at least it'll get me on a routine. Does traveling (Southern CA to Oregon) make a difference? And DH sweats like no other at night, so we have to sleep with the window open. The weather, at night, is roughly 60s, but it's going to be getting in the 70s in the next month, on through Sept or so... Does that affect anything?

Originally Posted by karmab

i think it's not that wacky, you just arent used to it yet, and before long, you will be making sense of it. you mention stretchy cm but say no ew? stretchy cm is ew. watery, creamy, etc, they dont stretch. especially once you get a therm. in the meanwhile, yes, a lot of women get a tad yeasty around ovulation- the fertile cm is a little sugary. it has glycogen in it, and yeast love that, so you have to be extra careful with hygeine and all that if you are prone to them. if i were you, id be sure i were eating yogurt with active cultures, or other probiotic foods, on a regular basis too.

[forest~mama]

My ew cm isn't clear either. When I got pg with dd it was stretchy but whitish, and it was like that this cycle when I O'd too (first cycle TTC since dd 5yrs ago).

[karmab]

oh i wish i had ew like i've seen in pictures. mine maybe stretches an inch when there's a lot of it! someone here once said she could stretch hers and arm's length ... ... huh??? but yeah, not everyone's is clear. if it's stretchy or wet feeling, it's good.

[littlest birds]

Some months I have a ton of EW(like those pictures) but sometimes it's only a little and I get uncertain. I think it's fine and you can get PG without ever having the wild stretchy stuff.

Having the window open shouldn't be a big deal. Sometimes the weather will shift with the season and usually temps don't get too weird to understand. I think traveling can be tricky, but getting consistent sleep and temping close to the same time helps. You just do your best, you may see extra fluctuations but usually your chart will still be readable. There are some FAQ answers on FF that may help--they do address some of this.

I hope you like temping.

[mommy2jasmine]

Thanks for everyone's help. I don't know if I've read those specific FAQs or not but I've read a lot. I will go read them though in case I missed them. I guess I just like asking "just to be sure"..

Ok, so I woke up at 5:45 and took my temp. 96.97
I took it again, thinking, "That's gotta be off". 96.98
I took it vaginally. 97.06

Then I went back to sleep, and woke up almost exactly 3 hours later (a little longer, actually) at 9:45...98.44

This temp thing is going to be difficult I think. :/

[littlest birds]

Exactly three hours may not be enough. I got about that muxh sleep one night and my temp was way high and I had to discard it. It didn't fit in.

Try temping just once. I have checked later lots of times myself out of curiosity, but I try to ignore what any of it "might" mean.

Why did you think the first temp was off? Those are normal looking temps to me and those first three are all super-close together any of them would do for establishing the pattern for charting. I wouldn't mix in vaginal temps--just stick with one method.

If you're thinking temps below 97 are odd, I don't think they are. So far I consistently have several temps under 97--five days in a row this cycle-- and I have looked at quite a few other charts that do as well. It's not "average" but it within the norms anyhow.

After a little while you'll see a pattern and it'll jump out whether your short sleep did or didn't cause out-of-place temps.

[mommy2jasmine]

Ok. It just seems low to me, but then again, I think I'm used to taking my temperature when I'm sick. Not first thing in the morning when I'm totally healthy. I'll stick to just one way of taking it, from now on. It's probably normal for me, but I guess we'll see. I expected it to be higher so it threw me off a bit. Thank you!

[littlest birds]

I thought the same thing when I saw my temps so low. I was pretty worried. I only almost reached 98 after O last month--my two highest temps were 97.98 and 97.97. I kept thinking if I reach 98 I'll be PG but I didn't and wasn't.

Oh another thing about the cervix, I finally figured out that mine points back more when it is supposed to be "low". Because it points toward the back it doesn't so much go down as back (a little of both) and for me that means I chart it as low.

Baby dust to you!

Assuming you are already TTC, I hope you succeed so quickly you don't get a chance to learn all about charting

[mommy2jasmine]

Well that makes me feel good. All the example charts, and the few I've stumbed upon browsing through here are all high 97s, then up in the 98s after O. So I thought either my body's more messed up than I thought, with my irregular cycle and all, or I'm just "cold" and it's normal, lol

I think I'm the same, when it comes to my cervix. I was thinking that when my cervix tries to go low, it ends up pointing back, because it's so low, that it has no other choice than to. and as it rises it straightens back out, because it has the room to.

Thanks for the Baby Dust! So far I've only got DH convince to "try" once a fertile period :/ but that's better than it was! I'm still figuring out my cycle, and yesterday I thought to myself "I can't be any more ready for "O day" than today, with all these signs" but today they were even MORE pronounced. Maybe I can try and sneak one last try in, since if today's the day, then Sunday probably wouldn't have made the cut.

I hope we don't have to try long. It's funny, though, because now that I know how my cycle ACTUALLY works, and not what I was led to believe in high school ("if you see a boy naked, chances are you're already pregnant" LOL) I have this unsettling feeling that this is going to be harder than it "looks", :P

Thanks for everyones help!

Originally Posted by littlest birds

I thought the same thing when I saw my temps so low. I was pretty worried. I only almost reached 98 after O last month--my two highest temps were 97.98 and 97.97. I kept thinking if I reach 98 I'll be PG but I didn't and wasn't.

Oh another thing about the cervix, I finally figured out that mine points back more when it is supposed to be "low". Because it points toward the back it doesn't so much go down as back (a little of both) and for me that means I chart it as low.

Baby dust to you!

Assuming you are already TTC, I hope you succeed so quickly you don't get a chance to learn all about charting

[littlest birds]

I wish we learned this kind of stuff as teens. It seems like something all women should know. I keep considering trying to get my daughter interested but...it seems weird. I think I may try soon, though, to at least teach her the basics.

[Nutter]

Originally Posted by littlest birds

I wish we learned this kind of stuff as teens. It seems like something all women should know. I keep considering trying to get my daughter interested but...it seems weird. I think I may try soon, though, to at least teach her the basics.

Did you know that Toni W. (of TCOYF) has a book specifically for teens called Cycle Savvy?