As you’ve read before, Brooksie and I have been guided in a different direction in our efforts. It all started about a year ago when I fasted & prayed for a solid month. During that time, I knew God was saying “do these things”. It was the clearest direction in my fertility journey that I’d ever had. So, January 2015 I started implementing.

It was then that I started Eating Clean and am now about 75% Paleo, reduced my caffeine intake to nearly zero (with the exception of dark chocolate and a rare caffeinated coffee). In August, we saw a Naturopathic Doctor who has guided us in supplementing our health to prepare our bodies for conception. We’ve made drastic changes to my work life, thus reducing the chronic stress & anxiety that I had been experiencing.

Lastly, I started tracking my basil body temperature and charting through an app called Fertility Friend. In conjunction with this, I continue to use ovulation test kits (OPKs) as a back up and to confirm that my charting was accurate.

It was through these new tools and the knowledge that God has given me that I got a GLIMMER OF HOPE. You’re about to get a family life lesson, but stick with me because there’s good news in all this complicated mess. I promise to keep it clean and I’m not going to go all TMI on you…maybe only a little 🙂

If you don’t want the family life lesson, do pass go to “class dismissed” below.

I’m being careful with my wording on here knowing there are tweens and young teens who have access to my blog. Lord knows I don’t want their parents (my friends) calling me up giving me a piece of their mind. More importantly, I don’t want them to have a reason for their children to not have access to seeing God’s hands at work in my life…

Besides that, there are just some things that need to stay within the bounds of a marriage, AMEN?!?!?!

Now before you go crossed eyed on me looking at this chart let me give you a brief explanation. This is basil body temperature (BBT) charting. There’s actually more to it but I’m showing you the non-TMI portion of it. 😀

You record your early morning temperature everyday. The goal of this is to help a woman pinpoint her exact date of ovulation so as to time things just right.

This chart can also tell you that a pregnancy has been achieved, a miscarriage has happened or that you had a chemical pregnancy. It can confirm that you ovulated and at what point during your cycle. It can confirm that you have a long enough luteal phase (the time between ovulation and menses starting).

There is so much in this charting that a woman can learn about her body. Our body is beautifully and wonderfully made by a God of order. And this is proof of that.

Do you see the solid red vertical line? That is the chart’s indication that ovulation occurred. All of the days listed after that are my luteal phase and are labeled as DPO (days past ovulation). The luteal phase is the last two weeks of the cycle where progesterone is dominant causing a temperature increase and an embryo would implant itself onto the uterine wall. Around 7-10 DPO is when implantation occurs.

According to my chart, I had a chemical pregnancy. This is when egg and sperm meet but the body doesn’t implant the embryo or it simply doesn’t survive. I had never heard of this before my research! It’s also been termed as an early miscarriage (one that takes place at 5 weeks or sooner).

How can I tell this from my chart? The presence of a second thermal shift. When there is a second thermal shift in temps, this is called a triphasic pattern (tri meaning three temperature phases). I’ve placed a black arrow at the point of the shift so you can see it. Also, you will notice that this shift happened 9 DPO which is the bullseye for implantation! The second shift lasted a couple of days.

In her book, Taking Charge of Your Fertility, Toni Weschler, MPH says this:

A triphasic pattern of temperatures is virtually always caused by pregnancy. It is thought to be the result of additional progesterone circulating in the woman’s body and increases about the time of implantation of the egg about a week after fertilization.

So, here’s what likely happened this cycle: the embyro was attempting to implant (as indicated by the second increase in temperature) but for whatever reason it couldn’t. When it was not able to implant, my temperatures dropped back down to the levels of the first set of increases while staying higher than my pre-ovulation temps. From there Aunt Flo came with vengeance. Clear as mud?!?!? LOL

CLASS DISMISSED!

So, why am I so excited about a chemical pregnancy or an early miscarriage? This brings hope to my heart for a couple of reasons. One it helps me to see that God is working. It was this season and this cycle that He would have me track all of this and show me these things. What if I hadn’t tracked this cycle? I wouldn’t have known.

To know that our bodies are able to create this embryo is to confirm that one step of this process is doable for us. It’s step two (implantation that seems to be a possible issue).

***I am not a medical professional. This is an interpretation of my chart based on my own research, studying, and consulting with others. It is through these resources and my own prayerful analysis that I came to these conclusions. I encourage you to consult resources and readings to interpret your own charting and to seek the Lord’s peace in your analysis & journey. Be blessed!***

Resources: *Parenting.com; pregnancy week by week chart

Other Resources: “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” by Toni Weschler