Since we’ve been toying with the idea of trying to have a baby (not actively trying yet, but you’ll be the first to know!) I’ve been keeping track of my basal body temperature (BBT) and recording it at fertilityfriend.com. Tracking basal body temperature is a cheap way of predicting ovulation. Right after ovulation the BBT goes up and stays up until the next menstrual cycle. This is called the luteal phase. In case you don’t know me, I’ll just tell you that I over-analyze and over-research everything. So just thinking about having a baby has prompted me to know everything there is to know about it so I’ll be prepared in case I wake up one day and decide I’d like to get pregnant.
I never knew that a woman’s body temperature skyrockets as soon as she ovulates and remains high the entire second half of the cycle. No wonder I’m so hot and bothered for 2 weeks out of the month!
My guy has told me time and time again “Gina, you are absolutely delightful for about 2 weeks out of the month and I can hardly stand you the other 2 weeks.” In monitoring my basal temperature, I noticed that my temperature went from an average of 97.2 to 98.2 in a matter of a couple of days. It remained high until the second day of my menstrual cycle where it went back down to 97.4.
This period of hotness has really got me wondering if it explains a lot of my physical symptoms during this period. I feel hot, I look hot (people are constantly telling me, “Gina you are really red, are you OK?” and I’m pissed off.
The day my temperature goes down I feel like a million bucks. I’m cool (literally and metaphorically) and I’m happy. I realize that this temperature change is just a physical manifestation of the hormonal changes going on at that time and that my shitty mood is probably much more connected to hormone level than straight body temperature, but I’m tempted to try hanging out in a tub of ice water during this month’s luteal phase just to see if helps me be a little more “delightful”.
If you’d like to monitor your basal temperature just for kicks - take your temperature each morning as soon as you wake up (preferably before you get out of bed. I don’t do this in bed because my guy has no idea I’m tracking my temperature every day unless he happens to read this - hi honey!) and record it for a full month.
