Hello

If you just happened to stumble upon my blog, or were wondering why TCOYF.com has such a different look and feel in the New Year, boy do I have some exciting news for you!

TCOYF.com has been, and always will be, the place for you to learn more about my book Taking Charge of Your Fertility, the Fertility Awareness Method, and all things related to women’s health and fertility. But, as we approach the 20th anniversary of the publication of my book, it became clear to me that a makeover of TCOYF.com was long overdue. I hope you will enjoy the fresh, clean look of the site, and be sure to check back frequently for blog posts and articles written by me.

But besides just prettying up the place a bit, I’ve made some exciting changes to the fertility charting functions of the site. I have chosen to partner with the wonderful team of women (and the token few great men) who comprise Fairhaven Health, the creators of OvaGraph Fertility Charting. OvaGraph has been around for several years, offering free online fertility charting, along with supportive and vibrant forums in which women can share and inquire on all things related to health and fertility. I am happy to announce that OvaGraph is now the official fertility charting tool of TCOYF.com. Click here to get started or download the app. The app? Yes, that’s right. Finally – a TCOYF mobile app!

So, don’t be surprised when you click the Chart Now! Button at TCOYF.com and you see the name OvaGraph. You’ve found the right place! With this marriage, TCOYF.com and OvaGraph.com have joined together to offer you the most advanced fertility charting options available, but we are maintaining some of our individual identity – “keeping our own names”, so to speak.

This isn’t to say that I now think that the only way for women to chart is through an app. But I realized that even though I’m still old-school and love the idea of charting on good ‘ol paper charts (in fact, I have scores of notebooks filled with my charts dating back 35 years!), I recognize that each woman should decide what works best for her.

So if you are like me, you may prefer the simplicity of recording by hand at the end of every day. And just like I prefer reading a book with (gasp) actual pages rather than a backlit screen, I find that charting on paper feels more organic and keeps me more easily in tune with the daily changes in my body. Regardless, NO online chart or app is worth anything if you haven’t been taught how to observe and record your amazing fertility signs.

Still, and with that being said, I can’t deny the endless advantages of using an online charting tool or mobile app to chart your cycles. That’s especially true of the one designed to match my book, since it does all of the following:

• allows you to easily input your fertility signs (waking temperature, cervical fluid and cervical position), automatically detects your thermal shift, and even draws your coverline

• keeps track of your unique cycle history, including average cycle and luteal phase lengths, as well as shortest and longest cycles

• allows you to view your fertility cycles in either calendar or chart form

• stores all of the various OTC tests that you may take, including ovulation predictor kits, fertility monitors, and pregnancy tests

• stores which prescription meds and supplements you are taking

• keeps track of pregnancy symptoms

• allows you to access your fertility charts from your smartphone

• generates vivid and clear charts that can be easily shared with your doctor, friends, and online fertility community

Can you see why I am so excited? Welcome to my new site, and I look forward to making this a wonderful forum for you. Oh, and did I mention that I have another surprise in store for you? More news to come within the next few months. Meanwhile … enjoy.