When can I start relying on FAM?

[lactatinggirl]

I had my IUD out in January. My first cycle 52 days and I'm now CD 12 of my second post-Mirena cycle. 

I've heard you should wait three months (or possibly 3 cycles?) to actually rely on FAM to TTA. Is that true? Should I wait longer because I'm recently off hormonal birth control? I feel like I am really good at keeping track of my signs, but it's still pretty sporadic (e.g. EWCM directly after ending AF). Should I just wait until it appears that all my signs line up with each other?

[JMJ]

How did you do at spotting ovulation in the last cycle?  I would confidently use FAM for post-ovulation infertility based on conservative rules the very first cycle.  For pre-ovulation, you may choose to have a little more experience.  The "last dry day rule" is the least conservative but works for most people (96-99%).  Some (very few) women have few enough days of CM before ovulation that they can get pregnant on their last dry day.  You're probably fine through day 6 based on statistical clinical tests.  These tests were done on women not taking hormones, but it doesn't appear that the residual hormones are making you have super short cycles.  Other experience rules require 6-12 months of experience.  If you're confident, I'd say go for it.

[lactatinggirl]

Sadly, with my thermometer going on the fritz, I didn't spot an ovulation. I did have 10 days straight of EWCM though, so I'm guessing somewhere in there. :-P 

Maybe I'll wait and see how confident I feel after this cycle.

[JMJ]

Did you dry up after the 10 days of EWCM? How many days was that before the start of your next cycle. Peak day is counted as the last day of "more fertile" mucus (wet, stretchy, or EWCM), and studies show that a woman almost always ovulates on Peak day +/-3 days with the most people ovulating on P or P+1. I'd say that you might want to get the hang of interpretations first. If you want me to take a look at what you do have for your previous chart, I'd be happy to look at it with you. You may have more information than you think.

[lactatinggirl]

I figured out how to show my last chart. I just threw out all of the temps before getting the new thermometer and they've been way more consistent since then. I also wasn't super consistent about remembering to enter the signs into the computer, but I'm getting better at it as time is going on. Most days where I don't enter CM is dry because I don't want to enter dry until I can confirm I've been dry all day, but I forget because I'm not entering it at the same time as temp and then I don't have CM to suddenly remind myself. 

Also, I forgot to explain that my sudden temp drop in this cycle's chart is because I started taking temps earlier because of daylight savings. I should have compensated ahead of time, but I didn't think about it. Luckily, it was before any sort of temp drop really mattered because I was still having AF, so I figured I can just remember to compensate for it in my head. 

http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/3309e3

[lactatinggirl]

Also, I count stretchy as EWCM. From what I understand from reading TCOYF, stretchy is a description of EWCM, right? 

[JMJ]

It looks like you probably ovulated in the day 48-51 range and had a super short luteal phase, but it's possible that you ovulated earlier and just didn't dry up do to the hormones still in your system.  I would count anything stretchy as "more fertile," especially when trying to establish peak day, but clear and stretchy is more fertile than white and stretchy, which is more fertile than yellow and stretchy.  Before the return of my fertility, I sometimes had a BIP that was yellow tinted clear and stretchy.

[lactatinggirl]

Awesome thanks! Hopefully the short LP was just because of getting off hormones. I think I may have ovulated today, but I guess I'll see if my temp stays high tomorrow morning. Thanks again!