First Thermal Shift!

Like clockwork, after two days of unmistakable eggwhite-quality cervical fluid, I experienced a dramatic, almost half-degree temperature shift. (My normal basal temp is between 96.9 and 97.2; it jumped up to 97.6 and has continued to rise to 97.8.)I'm on my third consecutive day of high temps now, and I'm also three days post-fertile fluid. All right on schedule, and as long as everything remains the same, tomorrow I should enter my post-ovulatory infertile phase. It's the phase that generally lasts between 12 and 16 days for almost all women; more than 18 high temps in a row are considered to be a pretty foolproof sign of pregnancy. So in a couple of weeks I'll know if we've been successful at using FAM for birth control, or if we unwittingly used it to conceive!

Here are the rules of FAM as I'm using it, based on the fertility awareness method as outlined by Toni Weschler in Taking Charge of Your Fertility:

-You are safe (to have otherwise unprotected intercourse) the first five days of the menstrual cycle (first day of your period is always day 1) if you had an obvious tempereature shift 12 to 16 days before. (If you didn't have a temperature shift, you may not have ovulated, and so the bleeding you're having is considered potentially a fertile sign)

-Before ovulation, you are safe the evening of a dry day

-You are safe the evening of the third consecutive day your temperature is above the coverline. (The coverline is a line you draw one-tenth above the highest LOW temp you have prior to ovulation.)

-You are safe the evening of the fourth consecutive day after your peak day. (Your peak day is the LAST day of fertile-quality fluid, which obviously you only know in hindsight!) This is considered not just eggwhite, stretchy fluid but also "creamy" fluid, which is a little hard for me to distinguish from normal vaginal dampness. If anything will be our downfall in terms of determining fertility, this will be it...

There's a lot more detail to it than that, so obviously you'll want to check out a book for yourself if you're anticipating using the method, but I thought I'd outline a little background on what's going on with me.

It was really exciting to see the thermal shift, especially right on cue. It made me feel like my body is some kind of science experiment that's actually working. I'm also pleasantly surprised that it occurred so soon after going off the Pill, since I know that that's not always the case.