Living by the BBT

The BBT, or Basal Body Thermometer becomes a close friend of many during this journey. Every morning is began by reaching for the BBT the moment your eyes open. After taking your temperature you reach over for your trusty pen and chart to mark off your day's temperature with the corresponding day of your cycle (also marked with the date of the month).
The thought is that once you see a pattern of the temperature remaining the same for several days, and then a spike followed by a drop (running entirely on a 10 year old memory), you have an idea of your most fertile day. This is the more economical option to the ovulation test kits.

Your next goal is to "make a baby" on that day. After a month, or two, or three...this becomes more of a chore and less of a spontaneous act of love. I know for a fact that we are not alone in feeling this way. I have heard over and over again how couples try to keep the romance alive during this time. A new nighty, a spontaneous "date night" at a hotel, a special dinner, or anything to try to alleviate the work of what should be such a beautiful thing.
For us...this was the beginning of our stress. Gone was our spontaneity what followed was resentment and a feeling of responsibility to furthering a bloodline. In essence we felt like valued breeding livestock trying to perfect a science, not enjoying each other.
To add to this experience of responsibility of furthering our genetics, we had check-in visits with our primary care provider where he checked my thyroid levels and would ask for copies of our charts. After living by my daily body temperature for several months he suggested our next step.
**Image borrowed from http://infertility.about.com/od/tryingtoconceive101/tp/bbt_body_basal_temperature.htm