?? for Those Who Temp

[KBL7]

I have a few questions for those of you who temp.
I will be using FF to chart my results.
My DH and I have decided on saliva ferning and charting temps and to forget about OPK's. I have never used temping for charting before because my schedule was so varied. Now it is a little more consistant, so I thought perhaps this is the time to start temping.
I have done BBT for thyroid testing. Wake-up, barely move to get the thermometer. Then put thermometer under armpit and lay still for 10 minutes, then record results. I assume this is the same, if not please correct me.
Here are my questions:

1) How exact should you be with your wake up time?

2) Is there a preferred BBT thermometer? And where did you get yours?

3) What are important things to consider while utilizing temping?

I appreciate being able to get the 'reviews' from those of you who are doing (or have done) this as opposed to some general article about the process.

[Sourire]

I find that temping within +- 1 hour of the same time every day works pretty well.

I got my thermometer at a pharmacy, just made sure to take one of the ones that said Basal Body Thermometer.

Normally I temp orally though you can also temp vaginally. I don't think the armpit is an option for charting (I have never heard of it anyways).

[Drummer's Wife]

I wouldn't do armpit - that's pretty much the least accurate place to measure temperature. I do it orally, and either right before I get up in the morning, or if it's the weekend or a day I can sleep in, I take it when I get up to pee (and then fall back asleep).

I bought my BBT at walmart for like $8.

[la mamita]

i set an alarm for 6am (weekday wakeup time) and just wake up and temp everyday, whether or not i decide to fall back to sleep and sleep in later than that. i usually have a 30 minute buffer zone +/- that wakeup time which works; out of that range, i've gotten weird temps that i have had to discount.

and definitely don't armpit temp! oral or vaginal.

i got my thermometer at rite aid and it was cheap. it's a special BBT one.

also, missing one day for whatever reason (illness, shut alarm off on purpose, weird sleep schedule) won't throw your charting off too much, so just make sure you are temping most days.

[Calycanth]

I've been temping for 2 cycles now. During the first cycle, I temped orally, but I switched to vaginal temping for the second. I think it's more accurate since I tend to breathe through my mouth when I sleep.

I also got a cheapie BBT for about $8 on Amazon.

[ValH]

I agree with the previous posts about not temping via armpit. I did actually try that for the first week I started temping, but my temps were sooooo low and jumpy. I do orally now, which seems to be more stable.

I try to take my temp within +/- 30 mins in either direction. If you take it much earlier or later, there are online BBT adjusters (FF has one for VIP members, or you can Google for a free one). It's not recommended to use those too often, but once in a while won't hurt. Or if you miss the time by a lot, you can just discard the temp... it's the overall pattern you are looking for, so missing a few is no big deal. Just try not to miss too many temps around O time.

I got my BBT at a drug store for probably $8-10. Just make sure if specifically says BBT on it.

[KBL7]

Hi Ladies, thanks for your replies.

I think I can live with a 30 minute +- schedule.
I probably would have caught the different temping locations if I had re-read a temping 101 article.