Charting to Avoid/Fertility Awareness April

[physics girl]

   April 2012 

Welcome to the April 2012 charting to avoid and fertility awareness thread. We are all at different stages in family planning and our own fertility. Some of us are very ardently Charting to Avoid (CTA); some are CTA but would be thrilled with a BFP; and we even have a few who are "whatevering" or pregnant and continue to hang out here.

If you did not post last month, you may have been deleted from the list. If you have joined recently, please double check I have your chart linked correctly. If you were mistakenly deleted, you would like to be added/removed, or you spot anything you would like me to change, please post or PM me to let me know. Remember, you must post in April if you want to be on the May list!

To those who are new, welcome! 

    Who We Are

AKFamily

birdie.lee

blessedwith7

Buterflymomma

canadianhippie

CarsonBookworm

Cassiani

dreamingtree

Guggie L Daly

JenRN

JMJ

Kat216

lactatinggirl

librarygirl

Lily's_Mom

MaryLang

mtgooseberry

OneWithTwo

organicviolin

physics girl

TTCChloeOrConner

vrclay

WifeofAnt

Graduates

Pregnant! 

alyadri (March 2012)

justKate  (STM) (April 2012)

miss_honeyb   (April 2012)

FaithHopeLove29

Lionessmom
 

 Wiki Resources for Charting to Avoid

Reasons to Choose Natural Family Planning - Why would you want to use charting to plan your family, anyway?  Feel free to add your own reasons for charting!

Types of Natural Family Planning - It's not just the rhythm method.  They've got this down to a science with options galore!

NFP or FAM Methods While Breastfeeding - You have options in the postpartum period while your fertility is returning!

Resources For Learning About Fertility Cycles - Find books to read or websites to visit, find an instructor, post your chart online, and learn about how your diet affects your fertility.

Fertility Awareness Method - A quick-start guide to the Fertility Awareness, a version of the Sympto-Thermal Method taught by Toni Weschler in her book, Taking Charge of Your Fertility.

Common Abbreviations for Charting to Avoid/Fertility Awareness - BBT, EWCM, TCOYF, and more!  Learn what all these crazy acronyms mean here.

 Happy Charting Everyone!

 

Edited by physics girl - 4/21/12 at 3:01pm

[CarsonBookworm]

Happy New Month Ladies!!!!

Well, I've got baby fever AGAIN! Or maybe it just didn't go away.....

I'm not in the right place or stage in my life to actually have a child. But this case of Baby Fever is PAINFUL!

Thank G-d that I'm CTA.....otherwise, I don't know what my hormones would make me do!

[JMJ]

I totally forgot it's a new month already.  Thanks for the new thread.  You may move me back up since I had my baby.  I'm not sure I count as charting since I'm using ecological breastfeeding and not cycling (hopefully for a long time), but I'm definitely not pregnant anymore, though I was trying to think if anyone would fall for the April Fools joke that I am pregnant, given that my son was 2 weeks 5 days old.  That would have to be some super fast ovulation (not to mention super fast DTD) to get a positive pregnancy test that fast!

[HouseofPeace]

lol- how many moms posted they were pregnant for April Fool's?  I did.

have baby fever too.  soooo bad.  and 2 friend announced new pregnancies, when 2 friends had new babies!

but happy to have a waistline, and enjoying the almost 1 year old who just is a demanding adorable bunch of energy.

HAPPY APRIL!

[buterflymomma]

JMJ~ I wanted to say CONGRATS on the arrival of your little one! Soo happy for you!

I also wanted to ask if you could take a look at my chart? My TCOYF chart isn't uploading, so I will post my FF link at the end of this post.

FF Shows ovulation on CD18 and TCOYF shows O on CD19.

I am pregnant. According to the charts: I had implantation spotting and implantation dip at 9 (tcoyf) or 10dpo (FF) and got a bfp @ 10 or 11dpo. I also had more spotting at 11 or 12dpo. So, I thought it was a chemical pregnancy, but the spotting went away by the end of that day and everything has seemed ok since then.

So fast forward to today. I went in for a viability u/s this morning. According to my charts I should be 6w 3/4d along. Well once again at this u/s we saw only an empty sac measuring at most 5w 6d. My OB could not even find a yolk sac. I am in disbelief that this is happening to me again only a few short months later.

My question is, how common is it to not see a yolk sac at this stage in the game? Also, can my dates be that off again? I am thinking that it is looking like a blighted ovum and I am going to be experiencing another loss very soon. I go in Thursday to see if there has been any progress. I have also tentatively scheduled a d&c for Friday, just in case nothing has changed. I just can't go through another natural m/c at home. My last one was very traumatic for me. I feel like the d&c is the better choice for my situation.

Anwyay, I appreciate any help. Also appreciate you checking out my chart. Thanks!!

My Chart

Edited by buterflymomma - 4/6/12 at 5:08pm

[dreamingtree]

buterflymomma - I have no advice only hugs for you. I am also in disbelief that this is happening to you again!!!  :( 

[buterflymomma]

Thank you infojunkie. I had a bad feeling about the pregnancy from the beginning, but chalked it up to just being gun shy from my November loss. My symptoms have been coming and going, and some have gone away completely. I was really hoping for good news today, but wasn't surprised when the sac was empty. If I lose this pregnancy too, my DH and I have decided that we really are going to wait at least 6 mo-1year before TTC again. I need to give my body time to rest and also get a bit healthier. I will be very surprised if we see progress next week.

[kat216]

How is it April already? Last month just flew by!

Hugs to you, buterflymomma. What a sad thing to have happen once, let alone twice...

I've had baby fever for a while now... But DH and I have agreed to start trying cycle after next in May/June! I'm so excited, and that's so soon, hopefully it will be easy enough to wait out next cycle.

I started taking the Lifetime Professional Prenatal (thanks for recommending Marilyn Shannon's book, guys!) and vitex capsules this cycle, and it seems to be having an effect, though I'm no sure it's the desired one... I usually O around day 18-20, and I'm on day 23 today and still no O. I've read that B6 can delay O, but I didn't think the amount in the prenatals would be too much? On the good side for preparing to TTC, my CM this month has been super abundant and fertile! I've also been extremely... Um, horny, lol! My DH can hardly keep up with me this cycle! Not sure if that's from the new supplements, but I'll take that, lol!

[JMJ]

Thanks, Butterflymomma.  Hugs to you.  Your chart looks like a beautiful triphasic pregnancy chart.  5 weeks 6 days is only 4 days off from your charted estimate, and given that it's possible for you to ovulate up to 3 days off from peak day/beginning of temp rise, and the ultrasound could be a couple days off as well, it is certainly possible to have a healthy baby measure 5W 6D at this point.  The lack of a yolk sac concerns me much more.  I don't know what the chances are of a yolk sac not appearing by about 6 weeks, but I know it's usually there by about 5 weeks, so that worries me.  Congratulations on receiving this gift of life, and I'm praying for you and your family during this nerve-wracking time, praying for peace, praying for a miracle.  I'm so sorry to hear that you're going through this, so similar to the baby you lost such a short time ago.

[buterflymomma]

Thanks JMJ. That was what I was afraid of. I really am not expecting good news Thursday.  This pregnancy feel pretty much the same as my last one. I felt pregnant at first, but slowly my symptoms are disappearing. I normally feel VERY pregnant by now. At the moment, my symptoms are intermittent at best.

I will give an update after my appointment on Thursday. I am hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

[Guggie L Daly]

Hi! I'm new here! TTA, and still scrambling to settle on a method, materials and routine. I have experienced ERTF after each birth. :/ And now w/ 3 littles, I'd like to wait until they are all CLW before TTC again.

[CarsonBookworm]

Butterfly- When I was pg with DD, she was showing growth about three weeks behind, including no yolk sac. That is why I kept telling my OB that even though he wanted me to have a D&C, that I was certain that everything was fine and that I did NOT conceive when everyone else thought that I did.

Our bodies are bizarre by nature...

[CarsonBookworm]

I forgot to add:

I want to post a chart for y'all to see, because my cycle this month has literally gone for the birds.

I should be O'ing by now...and nada. No change in CM, CP and my temps are higher than the average cycle for me, pre-O, but much lower than they would be afterward.

I know that every month is different, but I want to hurry up and get O over with so me and my guy can dtd. I hate condoms and the waiting is making me very ticked off, on top of the Baby Fever from hell.

I mean I hate to complain, but this is the worst case of Baby Fever I've EVER had. I feel like I'm going to go insane. I cannot adopt a pet, grow a garden, or anything that makes up taking care of something. I hate it! I hate it! G-d, my L-rd I HATE IT!

[dreamingtree]

Originally Posted by CarsonBookworm 

Butterfly- When I was pg with DD, she was showing growth about three weeks behind, including no yolk sac. That is why I kept telling my OB that even though he wanted me to have a D&C, that I was certain that everything was fine and that I did NOT conceive when everyone else thought that I did.

Our bodies are bizarre by nature...

Very interesting. So were you measuring on target for when YOU knew you ovulated and conceived? Just another case of why mamas need to trust their own instincts!

[HouseofPeace]

oh butterflymomma- sending you peace and rest and tears for this time.  I'm so sorry.

and i hurt for you from the same place.  

update us soon!

[CarsonBookworm]

Originally Posted by infojunkie 

Very interesting. So were you measuring on target for when YOU knew you ovulated and conceived? Just another case of why mamas need to trust their own instincts!

Yes, I was.

[JMJ]

Welcome, Guggie!  What is ERTF?  Have you checked out the wiki on types of NFP listed in the first post?

CarsonBookworm, it scares me to wonder how many D&C's are actually abortions performed on viable pregnancies that weren't as far along as everyone thought they should be.

[buterflymomma]

Not sure if I should read much into this or not. My temp dropped yesterday which put it below the coverline TCOYF  gave me. It is still above the coverline that FF gave me though. I temped again this morning and it had gone up a tiny bit but not much.

We are not using the heater anymore and I was sleeping with only a sheet on, so I was a bit cooler than normal the past couple of morning. Would that play a role in dropping my temp so low, or is it looking like my progesterone is dropping too? So far I am not spotting, but I have been having some AF type cramping off and on. I know I only have a couple more days to wait to find out, but ughh it's killing me.

[JMJ]

It could be dropping progesterone, a cooler room, or something else.  It's easy to look at the temps and feel like it's one more sign that things aren't going well, and it could be, but to know for sure, you're really going to have to hang tight and see what happens.  Hugs and prayers.

[HouseofPeace]

Butterfly-

i had cramping/bloating menstrual type pains with my pregnancies too, didn't temp though.

prayers-