# For those who aren't aware of their fertility signs, why not?



## dynamicdoula (Jun 11, 2004)

I've been charting so long it seems like there wasn't a time when I didn't, but I certainly remember the "am I pg? Was that a symptom? Where is my period?" craziness of my youth (







). I see lots of those threads all over the web but here especially I have to wonder why more women don't chart their cycles?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Maybe you don't chart but you know when you O... that applies.. but to those mamas who may have heard about charting/fertility awareness but just don't do it or haven't learned their body's signs... why not?


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## conlimac (Apr 18, 2006)

Hi! I'm new here  Hope you don't mind me weighing in.;

Speaking for myself, I haven't gotten more than 4 straight hours of sleep at night in over 7 years so (if I'm understanding the process correctly) I wouldn't be able to get an accurate temp. I've always had pretty obvious ovulation symptoms though (mittleshmertz for example) so am usually pretty aware of what my body is doing, except, like now, when I'm nursing.


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## momtokay (Apr 29, 2003)

i'm not currently charting as my cycles are pretty easy to understand without temps. i get a couple days of cm ending with middleschmertz (spelling) and then AF 13 days later. i did chart for a long time though to get a better understanding of my cycles, but enjoy being lazy now.







i do still track cm though so i know when i'm ovulating as every now and again i'll ovulate earlier or later than usual. i don't want to get af when i'm not expecting her if i ovulate early or wonder if i'm pg if she's later than usual.


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## Lousli (Nov 4, 2003)

I don't know if this counts, but I'm on the pill. No need to chart. I have decided that I'm tired of the pill and nearly 100% sure I'm done having kids, so I'm getting an IUD next week. I did chart to ttc my second, but I would be too worried to use it for family planning since I don't want to be pregnant and don't want to abstain from sex during certain times of the month. We hardly have any time to dtd as it is, so we have to be spontaneous.


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## Baby Makes 4 (Feb 18, 2005)

I charted for a while when we were TTC but it made an already stressful time much more stressful. I was obsessing over every temperature and it was making me crazy. The last 6 months we were TTC I was just tracking CP, CM and taking OPK tests.

Right now I'm BF and haven't gotten 4 straight hours of sleep in about 18 months so it's not practical. As soon as we wean I will start tracking again but probably not temping.


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## kerikadi (Nov 22, 2001)

I agree Kristina. Like some of the other posters I did go months with not enough sleep and slacked off for a while but we have charted our entire marriage otherwise.

It makes me crazy to hear of women that have been trying for months or years and think taking their temp at the same time every day is too much trouble when they would rather spend hundreds of dollars on OPKs or get a prescription for fertility meds.

I can understand how some would become obsessive when ttc but for me since I temped all the time whether tta or ttc so it didn't make me worry too much.

When my girls are older I will teach them how to monitor their cycles. Not saying I will expect them to use it as bc but want them to learn right off the bat how their bodies work.

Keri


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## MomBirthmomStepmom (May 14, 2005)

Well, I've been on birth control for forever, but that's not my 'reason' for not charting.

Get ready for it.....

I don't chart because I plain and simple don't want to.







Am I lazy, or what?

I just have no interest in it, even though it's been preached to me for years, and I have read alot about it, see nothing wrong with it etc etc. I just have no interest in doing it.

If I were to start, I doubt I'd make it a week out of sheer non-interest.

Sorry for the lame answer, but it's 110% honest.


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## bubsmom (Jan 30, 2006)

My answer is a little niave. I just plain didn't realize what good it was. I never knew anyone who did it and never read anything about it. I am now on my first cycle of charting, and from the signs I am getting almost to my 2nd cycle. I am not charting for TTC or TTA as DH had a vas over 2 years ago. I am doing it to better understand my body and how my cycle effects my back problems that are caused by possible endometriosis. Now that I am doing this and have read TCOYF and about to start another book about it I do not understand why women do not do this to gain a better understanding of there own bodies. I have been telling so many other women about now so they can be aware.


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## kyangel80 (Oct 5, 2005)

I've never charted simplyb/c I've never had a reason to







I too know when I am ovulating just from being aware of cm and other symptoms( I feel like I am in heat







). If I needed to for any reason I would definately do it before seeking out a doc. though.


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## Lousli (Nov 4, 2003)

Oh yeah, I should have added that too. When I wasn't on the pill or ttc my cycles were really regualr and my ovulation was pretty obvious, I got O pains (I can't spell that other word







) so I was pretty aware of my cycle without charting.


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## ejsmommy04 (Apr 25, 2006)

I just started charting since my dh and I am going to be ttc soon. I find it to be the easiest way to track your ovulation. But when we were ttc our son it took us a while and it was a little depressing to chart and obsess over it. Another hard thing now is that I have a toddler who wakes up at different times and it will throw off my temps. I am trying to stick with it this time though. Hopefully, it won't take as long as it did the first time.


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## MacKinnon (Jun 15, 2004)

I don't chart because I am lazy







That sounds awful but like MomBirthMomStepMom said, it's 110% true! I was on birth control and then we weren't really TTA, then we were TTC and did so pretty quickly and easily. I've always kept vague track of my cycles-- CM, etc. but haven't writted it down. My vague tracking and the withdrawal method have been pretty effective birth control since we had DD and weren't REALLY TTA. Now that we are TTC again, I've started up with my vague tracking again! If we try for more than a few months, I'll start real charting before I start with OPK's and the like. So, I guess the answer is (a) I'm lazy and (b) I haven't really needed to!


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## GearGirl (Mar 16, 2005)

I guess for me it was because I never thought I needed to. I was always on a 28 day cyle, I used birth control all the time, and when I stopped using it I got pregant on the first cycle both times. I also think I ovulated pretty close to the standard cycle stuff I was always taught, so I knew when it was happening, and as the pp said, I also feel like I am in heat, LOL. So, it really seemed pointless, I felt like there was nothing much to be learned from it. I am now getting interested in it as I am older and we are talking about #3 and I know things have likely changed with my body in the 3 years since I've been pregnant. I do think it is important for women to understand their cycles, but for me my body gave off such strong and regular signs it never occured to me to chart. I am curious about it though!


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## blastomom (Jun 11, 2004)

I never had a need to. I always vaguely knew when my period was coming (I was never regular--anywhere from 28-35 days or so) and while I spent most of our 10 pre-baby years not on the pill and not trying to get pg, I knew it wouldn't be a disaster if we did have an "oops". Once we decided to start a family we went for it concieved the first month of actively trying.

Do women who are not actively trying to concieve chart? And if so, Why?


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## sanguine_speed (May 25, 2005)

I don't need to. What for?









If I started to have problems conceiving, I'd consider it.


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## KayasMama04 (Feb 4, 2006)

I actually do not see the point of "charting" if I get pregnant I get pregnant. We use protection so if I miss a period our protection failed. I have only missed one period(other then with dd) and that was right after my husband went to Iraq. I generally know that my period comes the last few days of the month. When we do start to want another baby we just don't use protection and go at it daily lol


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## wednesday (Apr 26, 2004)

I used to chart and learned a lot from it but feel like I don't need to anymore. I can easily tell when I'm ovulating without keeping records of temps, so whenever we want to TTC a second we'll know when to try. We're sort of TTA at the moment but an oops wouldn't be the end of the world, so I'm just kind of too lazy to keep records.


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## Jennbee (Apr 30, 2005)

We've been TTC#2 for 13 months now, and I haven't charted mainly because I'm lazy and it's one more thing I'd probably get stressed about. But, it might be a good idea for me to start doing it.


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## amydidit (Jan 21, 2005)

I've considered charting, even tried it briefly, but I kept forgetting to take my temp until after I'd been up for a while... plus, I get up several time a night to use the bathroom, so I doubt I'd get an accurate temp anyway.

I do pay attention to my CM though, and I can generally tell when I'm ovulating from that.


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## Rico'sAlice (Mar 19, 2006)

Most of my reasons have already been mentioned by previous posters.

1) Not motivated enough. I suppose that once we TTC, if it doesn't happen within the first few months I might consider it.
2) Ridiculously irregular sleep patterns
3) Know when I am ovulating anyway due to mittleschmertz, ECM, and libido.


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## folaboye (May 21, 2004)

:


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## wombatclay (Sep 4, 2005)

Well...growing up my cycle was so unpredicatable I'm not sure what charting would have done for me.







I'd have AF for a week, spot for a few days, bleed again for two weeks, go 5 weeks with nothing, bleed for three weeks, back to nothing for a week, etc. And I wasn't sexually active so fertility wasn't really a pressing concern.

Then when I went to college I started birth control pills and had a glorious five years of perfectly regular cycles, so again, no need to chart.

When I went off the pill I hoped my regular cycles would remain, but no such luck. I kept a menstrual calendar and the year I got pregnant with dd I had fewer than 40 days in the entire year during which I was not spotting/bleeding. I even bled every month till my 7th month of pregnancy!

Oddly enough, I am now as regular as a clock. But I'm wide awake 4-5 times a night and simply don't have the time to temp, nor would it be reliable with all the night waking. I have mittelschmitz and regular changes in cm, so I go by that.

Charting, at least for me, just doesn't make sense!


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## malibusunny (Jul 29, 2003)

I charted before having my son, but never went back to it after his birth. Since I *just* got my fertility back, I guess I don't chart because I didn't need to for quite a while.

I had to go to the doctor the other day, though, and when the nurse took my temp she saw that I had a fever, and she asked me "did you know you had a fever?" since it wasn't in my symptoms list. I realized that when I was charting, this never would have happened; I always knew my rising temp back then.

I suppose I should really start charting again...


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## laohaire (Nov 2, 2005)

I read the whole thread and now I want to know, why WOULD you chart? Other than TTC of course.

Some women said they didn't need to because they always knew. Well, I don't pay that much attention myself, so I don't know when I'm ovulating. Is there a reason I should? My body goes on and ovulates without my help, so why would I need to know if I'm not TTC? An honest question.


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## dynamicdoula (Jun 11, 2004)

I chart because my cycles have always been a mystery to me.

As a teen, my cycles were irregular. I went off the pill at 17 and didn't ovulate again for two years. I had no idea why, I didn't know anything about charting, or PCOS (which I have), or anything.

The first time I ovulated I conceived at 19, and then my cycles returned 9mo later. When we decided to have another child, I had heard good things about charting and I liked the idea of knowing more about my body than my doctor. (I feel that's how it should be.)

Now I know so much, just from charting:

* when i'm fertile or not fertile
* how long my luteal phase is (very short)
* I know WHY my luteal phase is short so i dont need blood tests or doctor visits
* I know what to do about it, or if I want to leave it alone
* I know if I ovulate late
* I know when I'm anovulatory vs. ovulating late
* Other disorders can be exposed by charting, like Wilson's syndrome.
* I can speak intelligently with my doctor (vs. having him talk TO me) about my body, what is normal for me, etc.
* I never ever have to worry about whether my due date will be accurate!









I know when I'm going to ovulate so I don't always 'chart', but when I asked the original question it was more about 'being aware of your fertility signs', not so much about charting them, specifically. I should go and edit the OP.


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## amydidit (Jan 21, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *laohaire*
I read the whole thread and now I want to know, why WOULD you chart? Other than TTC of course.

Some women said they didn't need to because they always knew. Well, I don't pay that much attention myself, so I don't know when I'm ovulating. Is there a reason I should? My body goes on and ovulates without my help, so why would I need to know if I'm not TTC? An honest question.

I know many who chart (or pay attention to the signs) to AVOID conception, so it works both ways... plus it just seems like a good thing to be aware of your body.


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