How the heck do you know when you’re ovulating?! Charting and body signs can be helpful, but when you really need to know so that you can get pregnant, ovulation testing might be the key. Knowing when you’re going to ovulate helps you make sure you don’t miss your fertile days. The body ever so …
Charting for Fertility
Mira Fertility Tracker Review
Tracking and charting fertility signs is one of the most important things you can do in order to understand your cycle and increase the odds of conception. Years ago when I was beginning my first bout with infertility, I had no idea what ovulation prediction kits were, and no one had smartphones and home testing …
Why you should chart your Natural Cycles
I get asked a lot of questions about the menstrual cycle, both in email as well as in our private Facebook chat group. Most of the time I answer, my first question is “Do you chart your cycle?“. Charting your cycle is one of the most important things you can do as a woman, especially if …
Dealing with variables in charting basal body temperatures
One of the most common complaints about natural family planning and charting is because there can be so many variables that come in to play when we begin to chart temperatures using a basal body thermometer. Variable #1 – wake up times It’s always best to take your temperature at the same time every day, any …
Dealing with variables in charting basal body temperaturesRead More
3 things I learned while charting my cycle
Over the last couple of years I’ve fallen out of habit charting my temperatures, and last month I got the kick in the pants I needed when Natural Cycles asked me to use their app and write about my experience with it. I’ve gotten pretty good over the years at pinpointing ovulation with secondary symptoms …
What your basal body temps are telling you
Your temperature dipped one day and you can’t figure out why. Or maybe your temperature bounces up and down and it’s hard to figure out when (or if) you ovulate. Join Rianna Poskin and I as we talk about charting from a Traditional Chinese Medicine point of view! I had so much fun with this …
Our Culture and a Woman’s Cycle
I was going to just post this quickly on the NKU Facebook page, but my commentary was becoming rather lengthy. A few days ago Todd found the book “The Power of a Praying Husband” on our bookshelf. I purchased it years ago after I had finished “The Power of a Praying Wife” as I figured …
Luness: the lunaception gadget
It seems as though the Luness device is no longer being sold. We’ve talked about lunaception before, and I’ve heard enough success stories to know that there has to be something to it! And so a couple of months ago, Luness, sent me this pretty neat little gadget to help me in my quest to …
Basics of Charting and Lunaception
One of the biggest reasons I started the 30-day Naturally Balanced Challenge, was to give myself some accountability when it comes to making new habits. Charting is one of those that I often forget about, so hopefully talking about it constantly will get me back into the groove. Below I’ve listed a few of the …
Frequently asked questions about charting
Whether you’re a beginner at charting your fertility signs or a seasoned pro, there are always questions about what may or may not affect your results. So I asked Kimberly from FertilityFlower.com to answer some of the most asked questions I get. 1. Is evening primrose oil the only way of improving cervical mucous? …
Charting secondary symptoms for fertility
Along with temperature changes,changed in the cervical fluids, and physical changes in the cervix, a woman’s body actually gives off other signals during ovulation as well. Not every woman will experience each one of them, but when you are in tune with what your body is doing, you may actually be able to sense them …
Charting cervical changes for fertility
On the topic of Fertility Awareness this month; did you know that your cervix actually physically changes during your cycle? It changes so much so that you can use it in combination with tracking temps (or in lieu of) to further pin point your peak fertile day. It works especially well when combined with tracking …
Fertility Flower: Sympto-thermal Charting
Unfortunately Fertility Flower is no longer an option for those of us who want an online charting service. While it was my favorite, and I’m so sad to see it go, there are other options out there. *In the heart of full disclosure, I was given a membership to Fertility Flower in order to facilitate …
Charting cervical fluid for fertility
Sperm has many needs: nourishment, an alkaline environment in which to live, and ease of mobility. A woman’s healthy cervical fluid supplies it with these three things. During the follicular phase, the increasing amounts of estrogen in the body affect the consistency of your cervical fluid. Beginning with day one of your cycle (when you …
Charting temperature for fertility
Whether you are in the throes of infertility or are trying to conceive your fifth child, knowing exactly how your reproductive system works is essential. Growing up, we’re all subjected to sex education classes in which we learn that a woman’s cycle is 28 days long and ovulation happens on day 14. That seems to …
The basic of charting for fertility
Before we get into charting for fertility and monthly cycles, I want to start with the problems we face with our current conventional methods of contraception as well as the basics of what happens during each point in our monthly cycle. Problems with birth control Many forms of birth control may affect our chances …
Fertility signs while breastfeeding
Getting pregnant can be a challenge all by itself. But when you’re still breastfeeding your last baby, you may face some unique challenges in getting pregnant that you never expected. Clearly if you’re breastfeeding you’ve successfully gotten (and stayed) pregnant at least once. However, it may not be quite that easy the second time if …
Fertility Awareness: The Lazy Way
With all the talk about checking you temperature every morning, checking and charting mucous, and even checking your cervix position, just the mention of using natural family planning to get pregnant can make a girl run the other way. (seriously – you can’t be lazy about it if you’re trying to prevent!) It sounds like …