A few Questions.

Hi girls I am new here. i am planning on doing  SU/TBM with 0+12 for my attempt but am struggling to find all the equipment I need in Australia.

I have had a look at the FAQ but the microscope listed there is no longer availiable, what are Aussie girls using instead? I am also confused as to how to do the lime tampon without the plastic applicator Tampons as these are unavailiable here. I am planning on making my own incubator but has anyone over here found a good one I can buy instead? I am also trying to track down distilled water.

I have been charting my temps for 18 months and feel I have a good understanding of when I ovulate, the only problem is I see the shift in CM way before my cervix becomes hard and low. Do I have to wait for the cervix change or just the CM shift?

Thanks for your help, sorry about all the questions!

Sorry, I cannot help you with the equipment.

Do you have OB tampons... what I do it soak it in the lime for a very short time just so there is enough to drip out and then sort of squeeze it back into shape if that makes sense and I use it that way.

wish upon a star:

Do I have to wait for the cervix change or just the CM shift?

I have such a tough time with the O+12 as well.  What I know is that the CP CT and CM shift all play a part.  Since the cervix position can vary with BM that one is not as reliable but the texture and mucous are both very important to see your shift.  Remember if you are on the diet this will affect your CM so that may be why you are seeing a different shift. 

Good Luck!

Thank you for your help, it is so hard to pin point 0+12 and this is my last month before I TTC so I am getting really nervous!! I am on the diet and supps so this may be why my CM is changing before my CP and CT.

This may sound silly but what are OB tampons?  Are they just regular tampons without the applicator?

Thanks for your help, good luck to you too

 Hi sorry only just saw your questions.  Hope I can help. Firstly my microscope is a york one.  Check them out on line or go into a york store, there is one in melb cbd, not sure what state you are in.  The cheap ones were really rubbish and you can't see anything, basically I got the one that goes up to 400x magnification, don't need the colour wheel makes no difference, but you will need to buy some slides to put your sample on and somethings called  cover slips, they are small very thin pieces of glass that sit ontop of the sample so that when you magnify your sample the microscope doesn't dip into it(you have to get very close to the sample to magnify), the microscope cost $150 i think. In as far as the incubator, you cannot buy cheap ones here, but it is so easy to make your own. I bought an esky (from coles of all places) it is basically just a polystyrene foam box ($16), I got a lamp that the on off switch could be hung on the outside of the esky (basically a night light), and then I got a cooking thermometer that could show both farenheit and centigrade and poked that into the side of the esky.  I also put a rectangle piece of polystyrene into the esky to hold the sample at 45 degree angle.  I found that the esky takes time to heat up, so I put 2 fans either side to blow warm air onto it (which I then switch off when the incubator has reached the correct temperature.  In as far as test tubes I bought plastic ones online from a kids science website, cant remember which one, but it is in oz, they came in a set of 10, I then sawed off the top as they were too long too collect the sample easily with needless syringes.  Needless syringes you can buy from your local chemist - terumo are the best, they have a really smooth action so as not to harm the spermy tales. If you need any other help please let me know I have tried test runs everyday for nearly 2 weeks and have got this whole incubation thing down pat.

Thank you so much for your help. I am also in Victoria so I will check ou the microscope you mentioned. I am a little confused about what you mean with the fans, are these outside the incubator or small ones that you put inside to warm it up?  Sorry if this is a silly question!

One again thank you  for your help.

 No what I found is that it took a good 45 mins sometimes longer for the incubator to heat up to the correct temperature, so my dh came up with the idea that if we had fans blowing on the incubator (i.e outside) just normal electric fan heaters it would help the incubator reach the correct temperature faster, which it does. Sorry to confuse. 

dgf:

 No what I found is that it took a good 45 mins sometimes longer for the incubator to heat up to the correct temperature, so my dh came up with the idea that if we had fans blowing on the incubator (i.e outside) just normal electric fan heaters it would help the incubator reach the correct temperature faster, which it does. Sorry to confuse. 

Excellent idea!  What we do is put a glass or two of hot water in the incubator this helps with the requirement for humidity and it helps speed up the incubator to reaching the correct tempt.

wish upon a star:

This may sound silly but what are OB tampons?  Are they just regular tampons without the applicator?

No, it does not sound silly at all.  Yes, they are tampons that do not have the applicator.

wish upon a star:

 

Thanks for all the help girls, I really appreciate it, this site is fanatastic

You are very welcome and I agree I love this site!!!