I am also confused about charting, but from what I have read on forums and from other people charting with BBT is only good for knowing you have already Ovulated. I am more interested in when I am going to ovulate from each month to the next. So i use the Maybe Baby Saliva test. It was about $60, but it last up to 2 years of re-use. i just put a blob of saliva (when i get up), wait for it to dry and it shows different images in the microscope that tell you when your not fertile, then when your in transition and when you are ovulating. So you can do the BD from transitional to Ovulation. Although I have only just started using it last month, I saw the results just this past weekend. Although like you I had a 26 day cycle. This test told me that I ovulated on day 8 after my period. So I wasnt expecting that to happen so soon. I am not sure if it's because i have just come off the pill or not. But it was definatley showing ovulation. I did it twice just to make sure!

I am sure next month I will ovulate at some other stage of my cycle, but I prefer to know when I am going to ovulate rather than when I did ovulate. Defeats the purpose doesn't it. By then you've missed the boat.

Good luck with it mate.

I read this interesting article though on BBT:
NO - Relying on BBT charts to time your intercourse, and then still failing to conceive, can in itself be responsible for an undue amount of stress. When we tell our patients to throw away their basal thermometers, we take the first big step in reducing some of the pressure involved in their infertility treatment. BBT is a much misunderstood test. Many couples think that they can use their BBT charts to determine the best days on which to have intercourse in order to conceive. They don't realize that a BBT chart is of historical value only. It can indicate,after the fact, that you did ovulate. Over a period of months it can show you whether your ovulation is more or less regular. But what it CANNOT do is predict when ovulation is about to occur. If your goal is to have intercourse, or precisely timed fertility testing, that coincides with ovulation, a basal body temperature chart is NOT an accurate indication of when it will occur.