charting with a baby/toddler

[Anonymous]

I have a 3 yo who usually wakes up once a night, and I'm usually (98% of the time) the one to go check on her. Of course, it happens around 2 or 3 a.m. I wake normally at 5:30. So, by the time she goes back to sleep and I go back to bed, unless I take the BBT when she first wakes and is crying, I'm screwed. Try doing this when you are barely awake on 4-5 hours of sleep. It is hard.

I don't mean to sound whiny. Just wondering if anyone else has been able to chart successfully under similar circumstances. My current BBT thermometer makes a very long beep and I have to turn the light on to read it b/c it doesn't remember my temp later. So, it is awful for my husband to deal with. And who wants to turn on a light at 2:30 a.m.??

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I see a few options here:

1. Get a BBT that will store your temp for you. Tell DH that you're up dealing with a crying toddler, so he can deal with a beep

2. Help your 3 year old learn to sleep through the night. Tell her that nighttime is for sleeping and that you won't be coming in until it's light out. Then ignore her cries. You'll have a few bad nights, but then you can all get some sleep!! And then you can use your existing thermometer at a more reasonable hour when it's appropriate to beep and turn on lights.

I don't mean to sound harsh here, but I value my sleep! You must be exhausted.

[Anonymous]

agree with PP.

But if you do keep having to take temps in the dark ( I do this but only cause I get up at 5:30 and my husband doesn't get up until 6. I keep my cell phone by the bed and use the small light that it puts out to read my temp. My thermomenter does store temps, but I like to see it as soon as I take it.

Good luck getting your 3 year old to sleep through the night!!

[Anonymous]

I don't have a toddler, but I do have terrible insomnia and wake many nights at 2-3am. I can usually put myself back to sleep and wake around 5:30 or 6, at which time I take my temp. I think Fertility Friend says you only need 3 hours of sleep to get a read and I haven't noticed a dramatic difference in my temps if I get less than 3 hours. And, I used to keep a flashlight by my bed to check, but I now just use the storage feature.

[Anonymous]

Make your husband get up with your daughter! Tell him that you can't get up w/ her and get an accurate temp, so if he wants another baby, he should get his booty out of bed!

[Anonymous]

I agree, it has been so much harder to chart when trying for a second than the first because the first is often up in the night. I am a much less sound sleeper than my husband and am usually the one to get up in the middle of the night for our son. On particularly crucial days to get the temperature (around ovulation, obviously) I wake him up and have him go attend to our son. Other times, near the beginnig or end of a cycle, I figure the exact temp doesn't matter as much and am more likely to get up. I second the advice to get a new thermometer (probably not more than $10?) that saves temperatures, or use a flashlight. Tell hubby you'll stop turning on the light early if he'll get up with your child! Good luck.