So my temp was way down today at 5 dpo (see off the the right).  I know that it is too early to tell if I am pregnant or not, but I feel like that is a bad sign.  The only preggo chart that I have was from my 3rd miscarriage (see below).  It was triphasic and continued to climb up, up, up.  I was on progesterone at that time so maybe that had something to do with it.  I'm not sure.

I always wonder if all of my pregnancy charts will look like this or if they might all look different.  Will my next pregnancy chart be triphasic also?  I often wonder if I should stop charting during the TWW to give myself a break so that I don't have to think about it or over analyze it.  I also wonder if I should put any stake into comparing my chart to the thousands of preggo charts on FF and seeing that mine never looks like a typical pregnancy chart.

For all you charters out there I have some questions for you...  If you have charted multiple successful cycles, were your charts similar all of the times?  Do you put any stake into triphasic charts?  Do you think that there is any way to tell if you might be "a little bit pregnant" by the way your chart looks at the beginning of your LP?  What about at the end of your LP?  For those of you that have charted while on and off fertility meds, did your charts look much different?  This is only my 6th cycle charting, so I am still trying to figure out the answers to these types of questions.  My RE would tell me to go take a hike...she (and their office) don't "believe" in charting.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

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Fertility Friend decided to give me crosshairs today, which is surprising because of how bad my chart is.  My temp today was the same as yesterday...an abysmal 97.66 F.  Really?  I never understand how this can happen.  In my few months of charting, I have never had a chart this ugly.  I did a little chart surfing this morning and found very few ugly charts like mine that resulted in pregnancy.  Crap.

I decided to try the pineapple core trick this cycle.  I have not tried it before, but have heard that it helped others with implantation.  I went out to the grocery store last night, bought a pineapple, and sliced it into 5 equal parts (I did my best with the whole equal part).  I ate the first slice last night, core and all.  I know you are supposed to go from 1dpo - 5dpo, but I wasn't exactly sure if I had ovulated so I gave it an extra day.  Apparently the bromelain in the pineapple core is supposed to help make the uterine environment more friendly for implantation.  I guess you'd have to have a fertilized egg first though and I am not sure I got that.  We'll see what happens.

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Thank you, Femara!  Fertility Friend officially gave me cross-hairs this morning.  I was worried that my disturbed sleep right around O (due to the nightly wildlife activity in my backyard) might have made things difficult to calculate, but I don't even have a dotted line!  FF thinks that I ovulated on cd 17, which is the same day that I had a positive opk.  Normally, I get a positive opk and then O 1-3 days later, so this is also a change from the usual. 

I am actually feeling very good about this cycle.  Not that I will get pregnant, but that my body actually behaved.  I am on track to have a 30-32 day cycle, which is in the realm of normal.  To me, that is amazing!  I am so happy that next month we can "go for it again".  I have a good feeling about the future and I have not felt that since before my first miscarriage. 

FF actually gave me a "good" chance of pregnancy this month with my 1 day slip-up(s).  Knowing that, I have decided that I am not going to do anything differently then I am already doing.  I am not going to take progesterone.  I am not going to stop exercising.  I am going to make a conscious decision NOT to get anxious.  I know that my last loss was a chromosomal abnormality and I am fairly confident that my first loss was the same.  The chemical...I am not sure.  I don't think that me doing anything differently is going to help or hinder me. 

So now I am back to the waiting game and the TWW.  So far no symptoms of any kind, but I am only 3 dpo, so I wouldn't really expect any yet.  FF says my test date is June 3.  Since that is a Sunday, I am going to get blood drawn on June 4.  I can't say that I won't POAS before then, but officially I will know what my deal is then.  I already have another 5 pills of Femara waiting in the wings.  It would be nice to not need them, but if my cycles are going to be around 30 days, I am totally fine with it.  Hoping the next 10 days by go fast!

I will leave you with a song from my favorite music group of all time, Keane.  Their most recent album is amazingly incredible.  I would suggest that you check it out if you have not already.  Oh and buy the deluxe edition.  Most of the songs are so relevant to my life right now, which is probably why I love it so much. 

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Normally, any women who is TTC does not want to get her period.  Now a woman who has recently had a miscarriage...it is all she thinks about.  When will I get my freaking period?!  Is there something wrong with me?!  Well AF finally came today and I was quite happy to see her.  Her visit means I can finally start moving forward again.

After my first m/c and d&c, I was not yet charting.  I really had no idea when or if I was ovulating and thus no idea when I would get my period.  The wait for my first AF after my first d&c seemed like an eternity.  My Google searches regularly consisted of "how long after a d&c will I get my period", "what is the normal amount of time it takes to get a period after a d&c", "is it normal to not have your period 6 weeks after a d&c".  My search results almost always included several hits regarding Asherman's Syndrome, which totally freaked me out.  From Ashermans.org, "Asherman's syndrome occurs when trauma to the endometrial lining triggers the normal wound-healing process, which causes the damaged areas to fuse together. Most commonly, intrauterine adhesions occur after a dilation and curettage (D&C) that was performed because of a missed or incomplete miscarriage, retained placenta with or without hemorrhage after a delivery, or elective abortion. Pregnancy-related D&Cs have been shown to account for 90% of Asherman's Syndrome cases."  At one point after my first d&c, I had convinced myself that I had Asherman's...then I got my period a few days later.

The cycle following this d&c has been different for 2 reasons.  First of all, I charted this cycle.  That has been the most helpful thing for me.  I knew that I ovulated and I knew that I was going to get AF today.  No surprises and no freaking myself out that I had Asherman's.  Secondly, this chart is starting to somewhat resemble that of a normal female's.  Yes, I still ovulated late, but not as late as usual and my luteal phase was a full 12 days with no spotting!  NORMAL!  I am not sure if it is the b6, the red raspberry leaf tea, the acupuncture, the yoga, or a combination of everything, but something is working.

For anyone who has had a miscarriage and a d&c, I would strongly recommend charting your bbt, taking opks, and checking CM with a tool like Fertility Friend.  That way you won't be guessing what is going on with your body.  Maybe you won't ovulate, but at least you'll know.

My temp took a nosedive this morning and I just knew AF would show up...she did.  My RE's office does not "believe" in charting.  When I called them up once to ask them a question about my chart they snidely replied that they don't believe that works and that temperatures are too variable.  I am glad that I did not listen to them and continued to chart...otherwise my yoga class this morning would have turned tragic.
:-)

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Anyone that uses Fertility Friend (FF) knows that it can be very nerve wracking to wait for cross-hairs to be added to your chart (a line that shows you when you ovulated and what your coverline is).  When you are TTC the stakes are high because perfectly timed BD is so important.  Finding out when you ovulated after you ovulated makes things even more difficult!  When you aren't actively TTC, it pretty much sucks waiting for cross-hairs.  The only thing I have to look forward to is AF.  Booooo!

For the past several months I have been using a combination of OPKs, daily 4:30 AM BBT readings, CM checking, etc.  The combination of these tools has been obviously pretty effective in telling me when I ovulate.  The problem for me is not determining ovulation, but the waiting.  Since my cycles are anywhere from 35-41 days I have to wait until around day 27 to ovulate.  Most people get AF on day 28.  How annoying.  Then I have to wait around 11-12 days to get AF. So I have a long cycle, late ovulation, and a short luteal phase.  I am constantly wondering if this has been a factor in my M/C.  :(

This month (my post M/C D&C cycle) I got a positive OPK on day 25, a big temp dip the next day, followed by 2 days of higher temps.  I am hoping for a higher temp tomorrow so that FF will give me cross-hairs on the 26 and I can move on to my next cycle.  I am actually surprised that I got a positive OPK as normal this cycle since I was getting positive PG tests 2 weeks after surgery.  I guess I'll have more news tomorrow.

On a side note, I am so happy to hear that Giuliana Rancic is going to be a mom in a few months!  I have been following her story for a while.  She has amazing courage to be able to smile and be positive after dealing with infertility, miscarriage, and cancer.  She helps me to think more positively in my own life and stop feeling like a victim.  Yay Giuliana!!

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