Methods of Tracking Your Fertility

BY SABRA GILBERT

There are quite a few ways to track your fertility as you go along the path of trying to conceive. You can write it all down by hand, pick your favorite app, or even a bracelet. Finding what works best in your life for you is key as it is so important to have a full and clear photo of your fertility to show your acupuncturist or doctor.

Writing it all down

Depending on the lifestyle that you enjoy, this might be a good option for you! Especially if you like drawing graphs or bullet journals on a regular basis.

Bullet Journal Method

Now I will admit that bullet journaling isn’t something that I am super into or enjoy, but I did go diving into some Pinterest research for you to find a method that I thought covered a lot of bases in a good design and could be added on to get the entire picture. (Check Here)

Just make sure that you have all the data that you need to keep track of. This includes basal body temperature, cervical mucus, day of your cycle, what your cycle is doing, and some symptoms of your cycle that you notice as well. If you are taking any medication or supplements, you might want to build this into your chart, or make sure to have another page that covers these as well.

Planner Method

If you are an avid planner user, and have the space to do it, you should be able to add in ovulation and cycle tracking into your planner habits as well. Either using the monthly calendar to have it all in one place, or if you prefer on the daily pages. While not as convenient as having it all on one page, as long as it works for you, that is what really matters.

There are also extra pages online that you can find to print off and put into your planner if that is preferred as well.

Notebook Method

I have also seen women who use a notebook. They either form a grid to track BBT, cervical mucus, intercourse, cycle days, and ovulation strip results, or also have a graph at the top of the page to track BBT visually instead of just numerically. I have seen people both either tape their actual ovulation strips into their notebook to see the subtle changes in LH or just mark an indication of how strong the LH surge was.

My Favorite Apps

My personal favorite is to track digitally. This way I can set a reminder to alert me everyday that I need to track and I don’t forget all the details that are ideal to track as well. I’ve tried a few through the years and have a few to share with you today! Each has its own visual aspects that either can be great for you or hinder your ability to focus, so make sure to select whatever works best for you!

Glow

My current personal favorite is Glow, though I will admit that it is starting to put too much focus on the community and chat part than I prefer. I like all my facts on the front page, not a lot of random forums to read through to get to what I need to fill out.

But my favorite part is the ovulation strip reader. I take a photo with my phone and it tells me when I am reaching my peak, no guesswork. You can also either look at the exact photo that you took or it can be set to a graphic instead, while still showing that there are differences day to day.

Other things that it reminds you to track are cervical mucus, symptoms, moods, sleep, stress, and of course, intercourse. There are additional things that you can choose to track or not.

There is also a premium upgrade as well that keeps your tracking longer along with other perks. I’ve never personally used it, but it’s an option for you.

Other Apps to Check Out

There are a few other apps that I pulled up on my phone and explored a bit and liked as well. Femometer My Fertility Tracker, Flo, Clue, just being a few. So if Glow isn’t for you, there are other options to try as well! Some require subscriptions and some are free.

The Ava Bracelet

A third option that you have (if you do not have PCOS or extremely irregular cycle lengths) is the Ava Bracelet. It is worn through the night and collects data for you to be able to tell you your fertile days. It is different in the other ways of tracking as it will only track your skin temperature, resting pulse rate, heart rate variability ratio, perfusion, and breathing rate. All this information syncs from the bracelet to a phone app every morning.

These days, there is basically no reason you shouldn’t be tracking your fertility information. ;) You have many different methods and levels of automation at your fingertips to help you be able to keep track of your fertility factors and tracking to show your fertility team!

PIN IT FOR LATER