Your basal body temperature is very important in determining when you are ovulating. If you know when you are ovulating, then you can plan when you should be having sexual intercourse. If you are trying to conceive a girl or a boy, then knowing when you are ovulating, is that much more important because you need to know when EXACTLY you should be having sex.
When to have sex, when planning a boy or girl, is best covered in a lot of detail in this book, How to Choose the Gender of Your Baby.
The definition of basal body temperature is your body temperature that you have in the morning before getting up, moving, or eating anything.
In order to get an accurate reading, you need to use a high-quality Digital Basal Thermometer
, as you are only looking for a 0.5 to 1 degree Fahrenheit change in temperature!
In addition to using a high-quality thermometer
As I said already, you need a good thermometer. So what should you look for in this thermometer?
Well, you need to know that the basal body temperature thermometers are made for exactly this. Knowing your temperature can help you know when you are ovulating.
You don’t need too fancy of a thermometer, as long as you can get a read to one tenth of a degree (i.e. one number after the decimal in a temperature reading).
Something that you can get with a basal body temperature thermometer is one that remembers what the last temperature you took was, just in case you forget it before you record it. It is also a good idea to get one that rings or beeps when it is done, as it just makes it easier than having to watch the clock.
The other thing to consider is whether you want to buy a digital thermometer or a glass thermometer. I have used both, and personally, I find the digital thermometer is more convenient to use. If you will be using a glass thermometer, you will need to shake it down before you go to sleep, because you don’t want to be doing this the next morning before you take your temperature, as you’re supposed to take your temperature at rest before you get up. If you prefer the glass thermometer, I was taught to put it in a clean sock and spin it over my head like a lasso. This is easier than shaking it in your hand, but you need to be sure that you have a good grasp on the sock (don’t ask me how I know that!). 
Just be sure that if you are using a digital thermometer that you make sure that the batteries are always working at their maximum effectiveness so that you get accurate readings.
These are the main features that you need your thermometer to have in order that you can take an accurate basal body temperature.
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