Charting to Avoid October, November, December 2008 - Page 34

[texaspeach]

oh yeah, highly recommend the divacup/mooncup or similar.. I got one and found it easy to use and comfortable to wear. much more comfortable than my diaphragm There is a bit of an ick factor, but I just try not to look and wipe my hands immediately. I use a cloth pad for back up - they're a lot better than disposables cause they don't give me a rash!

[MarineWife]

Ok, Twinklefae. I'll go with that for now. If my cycle gets really long, I'll restart it.

I have a Diva cup that I'm so frustrated with. It worked wonderfully the first time I used it but I can't seem to get it to work now. It leaks horribly no matter what I do. I get tired of and irritated by having to continually take it out and try to reposition it. I've given up on it for now. I do use disposable pads at night and when I go out because the cloth pads I have don't stick to my underwear and I'm too lazy to pin them. I forget about them and have had them drop into the toilet too many times! I have to search and search for disposable pads that don't have that blue, superabsorbent core. Those give me a rash. I used to use Kotex but I think they've changed all their pads to superabsorbent so I've switched to Stayfree. Those are the only ones I have found that are just plan pads. You should hear my dh call me from the store reading off all the descriptions to make sure he gets the right one. It's pretty hilarious!

[texaspeach]

oh man. I didn't know kotex changed their pads. they were the only ones that didn't give me a rash! I bought a whole ton of them a couple of years ago and am just now running out.. arg! I only use the cloth pad as back up, at night I use sposies

[Twinklefae]

Have you tried Natracare? They sell them in the "natural" section of the grocery store here.

http://www.natracare.com/products/th...ral_choice.htm

I'm new to the Divacup (used a Keeper pre-baby) but it does seem harder to get right. The silicone is so soft I find it hard to get it to open up.

I think I O'd, but obviously it will take a few days to confirm. (Currently FF does not think I O'd.) If I did though, I didn't have any wet or ew CF this cycle. Which is kind of weird.

[MarineWife]

That is a good temp hike, twinkle.

I have seen those Natracare products. I think my commissary only carries the tampons. I should check again next time I go.

[Twinklefae]

Originally Posted by MarineWife

That is a good temp hike, twinkle.

Why thanks! Still feeling weird about the lack of wet cf this cycle, but DS has been cutting molars and nursing like a mad man, so that could have been it.

Originally Posted by MarineWife

I have seen those Natracare products. I think my commissary only carries the tampons. I should check again next time I go.

I them. (for when I want something disposable) I've used the tampons and the super pads. Definitely worth the effort to get!

[DucetteMama21842]

Alright ladies, question again.

I've been charting and only checking my external cf as it's not important to check internally yet for me. I'm on cd13 and after two creamy days my temp just dropped and I'm dry this morning. Is that normal? I thought I might be inching my way to ovulation until that happened. Can you be dry before ovulation? I had assumed I'd have lots of creamy days with no interruptions... I just started the book, so I thought I'd ask here.

[ladyinred]

Originally Posted by MarineWife

texaspeach. Gosh, is there anyone here who's doing ok with cta?

I'm _okay_ with CTA. I mean, it's necessary for us right now but I'd really rather be ctc. But I need a job with benefits first and a little more financial stability that what we have now which is basically, anything goes wrong we could lose the house. But I'm enjoying charting a lot. I'm learning so much about my body which is just so awesome. We kind of use it more as a back up method though. We use condoms almost all the time except the last five days or so of my cycle. I don't mind condoms, Df doesn't really like them but he'd rather use them than be worried about pregnancy right now.

I'm sorry you're having trouble with your diva cup MarineWife. I've been using a Keeper for.... about 8 years now I think and I love it even though it leaks. I just use cloth pads too. I kind of gave up on making it not leak or overflowing, mostly it overflows. I thought cloth pads would totally gross me out but now I barely even notice. I guess I'm a lot more comfortable with my bodily fluids than I used to be.

Did anyone else get another free trial of VIP on FF? I don't need all the bells and whistles that come with the VIP versions so I wouldn't pay for them, but it does look pretty

[AnnieA]

Originally Posted by DucetteMama21842

Alright ladies, question again.

I've been charting and only checking my external cf as it's not important to check internally yet for me. I'm on cd13 and after two creamy days my temp just dropped and I'm dry this morning. Is that normal? I thought I might be inching my way to ovulation until that happened. Can you be dry before ovulation? I had assumed I'd have lots of creamy days with no interruptions... I just started the book, so I thought I'd ask here.

It could be a fluke or it could be that you will get a temp spike tomorrow because you O'd today. I've read that your CF is supposed to dry up before you see a temp spike but mine never does. It is always the day of the temp spike or the day after.

[AnnieA]

Originally Posted by ladyinred

Did anyone else get another free trial of VIP on FF? I don't need all the bells and whistles that come with the VIP versions so I wouldn't pay for them, but it does look pretty

I get the trial VIP version every so often. I love the extra features but I wouldn't pay for them. I enjoy it while it lasts and look forward to it showing up again!

[Shelsi]

Originally Posted by AnnieA

I get the trial VIP version every so often. I love the extra features but I wouldn't pay for them. I enjoy it while it lasts and look forward to it showing up again!

Yep me too. I admit I paid for it when I was TTC. I was so obsessed with my chart and every little detail. I think I just needed to buy something that was related to the baby I wanted so much

[MarineWife]

Danile ~ Lots of things are normal. There's so much variation among women that you really can't predict what your CF or temps might mean unless and until you know your own cycle patterns. Some women get a temp dip right before O but most don't. For some women, creamy is the wettest CF they get. Some women have weeks of fertile CF. Some women only have 1 day of it. Breastfeeding can keep CF drier.

The thing that bothers me the most about the Diva Cup is that I get irritated inside from taking it out and putting it back in. It actually starts to hurt. I could handle the leaking with a pad. Shoot, tampons almost always leaked.

I bought a lifetime VIP membership at FF back in 2003 when I was ttc. I don't know what it's like without that.

[DucetteMama21842]

Thanks for the input! I guess we'll have to see what happens!

[mommy2two babes]

Well this cycle is somewhat a wash having lost my BBT mid cycle. I am still looking but I have decided to break down and buy a new one.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to the best one to buy?

[gardenmommy]

Temperature dip: I almost always have a slight dip before I O, then steady climb to my temp. peak. I usually have copious amounts of CF, though.

Thermometers: I have a Mabis. I like it just fine. There aren't a lot of options around here, though, so maybe if there was something else, I might like it better!

[DucetteMama21842]

And my temperature definitely spiked up today, but no real serious external cf. (Which is pretty typical in the past for me...) I am totally sitting here scratching my head.

TCOYF is REALLY interesting though! I'm learning a lot! I'm so excited to CTA for another year. That's when DH and I decided we're going to TTC again. I think that will give us a good enough run to know how good at this I'll be.

[texaspeach]

I have the BD basal therm. It beeps every 4 seconds, which isn't a bad thing for me cause it keeps me from passing back out and the therm falling out of my mouth that happens with my walgreens brand basal. It only beeps when you turn it on and when it's done. I also like that the BD has a lighted display. You turn it on, and it lights up, then the light goes off while it's working. When it's done, if you want to see your temp if it's dark, you just push the on button again and it lights up. Very handy so I don't have to bring my therm in to the hall way, where it will invariably get left on the hall table and forgotten about until the next morning.


I had a dream/nightmare I was pg last night. Well, a dream I was POAS and there were two lines, and then a drs visit. It was weird because I was 16 in my dream and living with my parents, but the father was DH!


DucetteMama21842, I don't remember, are you just off hormonal birth control? sometimes that can mess with your mucous sign. Otherwise, some women just aren't as 'juicy' as others in the mucous department. Your temp spike may be due to ovulation, but it could be from outside factors as well (sleeping in, tossing and turning, drinking alcohol, etc), that's why you need several days of high temps to confirm ovulation glad you're liking TCOYF!

[DucetteMama21842]

I haven't been on birth control, but I do have a nursing toddler. I toss and turn just about every night. LOL. The only thing that seemed weird about it is that I KNOW I'm usually really wet around ovulation time (I used to chart before, but didn't know a lot about using it as birth control.) although I don't typically ovulate this early. It's around the middle of my cycle though. We'll just have to see I guess. I figure these first few postpartum cycles are gonna be wacky anyway... just wondering what you more experienced ladies thought!

[Shell_Ell]

Funny the "alternative" period gear subject has come up in this thread, because I've been considering it. Tampons in particular are making me nervous all of a sudden. Anything that close to where babies grow makes me nervous, frankly. I don't have the money to invest in anything at the moment, but I'm researching anyway.

O came "late" this cycle (CD21) Things are still irregular, I think because my 18 mo old is still nursing and cosleeping. I'm still having almost a week of EWCM before O. I'm curious to see how this LP plays out, if it's longer.

[nancybotwin]

I use the Keeper, and won't go back to disposable sanitary items ever again. I have super heavy periods and I always leaked through even the super duper tampons and then through a pad. Ugh. I have to dump the Keeper several times a day on heavy days, but it is nothing like the grossness of what I always called my "diapers" when I used the disposable stuff.

This is only my second cycle charting and I o'ed earlier this month than last, so our timing was pretty close to O and freaking me out a little. We're not actually TTC for a month or two, totally fine with whatever happens but a baby late next fall or winter would work out much better than one in late summer. Ah, well, what can you do? I'll be testing right before Christmas, not sure when yet. I'm not even certain when I O'ed, still tracking my temp increase.