Charting to Avoid/Fertility Awareness May/June 2012 - Page 3

[LionessMom]

Originally Posted by erigeron 

I think for me being around the same time is important,but there is no way in heck I am setting an alarm, so I tend to temp at whatever random time in the morning I find myself up with the baby without her really being up for the day yet (if that makes any sense), which is typically somewhere between 5-6:30. How much sleep I've gotten doesn't seem to play in. You could write down all the variables for a little while and see if you notice any patterns.

this is what i did and it worked for me. i saw a clear pattern every month. 

[lactatinggirl]

Hrm... So this is a tad bit embarrassing. Trying to keep out the TMI as much as possible, it was only happening first thing in the morning. There's another area around there that could be bleeding. Not quite sure what's going on. Possibly just my body still recovering from birth. I mean, I did birth a nearly double-digit sized baby in under 3 hours of labor, so who knows. Anyway, thanks for all the advice. Given this new information, I'm going to consider myself still amenorrhea. At least my fertility hasn't returned! :-P

[inthemeadow]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum and looking for some advice :) My DH and I have been trying to make the switch from using condoms to NFP and abstinence (we're CTA). We started out with BOM and then switched to CrMS. I've been charting since January and everything looks pretty straightforward, which I'm grateful for. The main problem for me is sex drive... before my peak fertility, I am really randy... then as soon as my CM dries up I am not interested in DTD. So the all-clear days after ovulation are not being used. My DH and I have been talking about this and going back to using condoms during some of my fertile days, so that we aren't going quite so long without DTD. I think it'll help but I'm really discouraged that our sex life has kinda stalled out since switching to NFP. Any advice about coping with this?

[mt_gooseberry]

Originally Posted by inthemeadow 

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum and looking for some advice :) My DH and I have been trying to make the switch from using condoms to NFP and abstinence (we're CTA). We started out with BOM and then switched to CrMS. I've been charting since January and everything looks pretty straightforward, which I'm grateful for. The main problem for me is sex drive... before my peak fertility, I am really randy... then as soon as my CM dries up I am not interested in DTD. So the all-clear days after ovulation are not being used. My DH and I have been talking about this and going back to using condoms during some of my fertile days, so that we aren't going quite so long without DTD. I think it'll help but I'm really discouraged that our sex life has kinda stalled out since switching to NFP. Any advice about coping with this?

First, welcome!  I'm also using CrMS, and we had another user here but she switched to TTC and is now pg.  I don't recall if we have others here of the top of my head....

Second, a word of warning: I am coming from a Catholic perspective, so you may not find all of my advice helpful. :) So, I would look at your reason for postponing pregnancy. It would seem your body really wants to get pregnant!  If it is essential that you postpone, then the Catholic advice would be to pray, pray, pray. And the CrMS comes with SPICE to help you cope with the frustrations that come with going against what your hormones are telling you to do, which is have a baby. You may want to review that section of your textbook. Many women who are nursing actually have the same problem--since they aren't producing the hormones for ovulation, they don't have any libido. There is a lot of advice out there on how to cope, since the problem can last as long as a woman nurses and that can be for years. I was going to refer you to the Sex Talk forum, since there is tons of advice for low libido over there, but since you're new you might not be able to get in. The two most popular pieces of advice seem to be "Fake it 'til you make it," as many women find that things will start to turn on once you get going a bit (also refered to as the "push start"); and to communicate to your DH that he is going to have to put in extra effort. Lots of drawn out seduction, foreplay, that kind of thing.

Last, I would definitely not mix condoms and CrMS. Of all the BC methods, condoms have one of the highest failure rates and you're using them right when a failure is most likely to, well, fail. I know that many FAM users use barrier methods during their fertile period, but when you include the people who contracept during the fertile time in Creighton's success statistics, they plummet. You only get those high numbers if you follow the rules of the method.

I hope I've been able to help!

[inthemeadow]

Thanks for the feedback, and the welcome :) I wasn't able to find the Sex Talk forum anywhere but you've given me some things to go on! I've also heard the caution about using condoms + NFP methods together. However we'd been using them for over 3 years with not one pregnancy scare. Hopefully that doesn't mean we have any underlying fertility issues that need looking into.
 

[Baby_Cakes]

So, my first cycle postpartum and I guess things are going to be a little wonky.  CD15 and still no ewcm or otherwise different CM.  Pre baby I usually would O sometime around CD14.  Just watching and waiting and until I know for sure something is going on, we are just using condoms.  

meadow - I hear you on the not feeling it on days when you aren't fertile.  Describes the last almost 2 years of my life b/w being pg and then postpartum!  The only thing that really helps me is the push start like goose said.  I really, really need to get out of my head.  I remind DH it's going to take a little more time and effort to get me going, and I probably won't be the initiator...but once things get started I always enjoy them.  It's worth it to try.  You know?

[mt_gooseberry]

My fertility is starting to make a come back.  Random days of fertile mucus are coming with more frequency.  Does anyone know how long this is going to last before I can finally start tracking cycles again?  I'm guessing it's an individual thing, but I'd still like to hear your opinions.  DS is still primarily breastfed. 

[JMJ]

Originally Posted by mt_gooseberry 

My fertility is starting to make a come back.  Random days of fertile mucus are coming with more frequency.  Does anyone know how long this is going to last before I can finally start tracking cycles again?  I'm guessing it's an individual thing, but I'd still like to hear your opinions.  DS is still primarily breastfed. 

I've seen a CCL estimate of about a couple months.

[erigeron]

Back to CD1 for me. I started my period at the worst possible time, about to board a plane and the tampons were in my checked bag. Of course! The last week of my chart is rubbish because I was on vacation and all schedule changes aside, vacationing with my husband's family tends to mean drinking a lot (not bingeing or anything, but going through a few a day, and when everybody else is having a beer when sitting around in the afternoon, and one with dinner, and one after dinner, it's a lot easier for me to do the same) and alcohol tends to raise my BBTs even if I drink slowly and don't feel drunk. I don't think I did ovulate this "cycle". I had a couple of days of EWCM and then a dry-up, but my temps were all over the map after that rather than staying up.

On the bright side, though, I'm getting a lot better at actually remembering to temp and so when I do start ovulating again I may actually be able to chart it.
 

This was post-partum cycle #2 for me and DD just turned 1 year old.

[Baby_Cakes]

I'm on CD4!  AF arrived right "on time" even though I had no temp shift that indicated O.  This is my 2nd postpartum cycle and DS is 10 months old.  My cycle was exactly 28 days.  Clockwork?  But no O so...

Will temp again this month and see what happens...

[dreamingtree]

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes 

I'm on CD4!  AF arrived right "on time" even though I had no temp shift that indicated O.  This is my 2nd postpartum cycle and DS is 10 months old.  My cycle was exactly 28 days.  Clockwork?  But no O so...

Will temp again this month and see what happens...

That is interesting that you got a 'clockwork' cycle even with no O.  I wonder why that is, huh? I've heard that often happens with anovulatory cycles, but I don't know why.

[dreamingtree]

Originally Posted by erigeron 

Back to CD1 for me. I started my period at the worst possible time, about to board a plane and the tampons were in my checked bag. Of course! The last week of my chart is rubbish because I was on vacation and all schedule changes aside, vacationing with my husband's family tends to mean drinking a lot (not bingeing or anything, but going through a few a day, and when everybody else is having a beer when sitting around in the afternoon, and one with dinner, and one after dinner, it's a lot easier for me to do the same) and alcohol tends to raise my BBTs even if I drink slowly and don't feel drunk. I don't think I did ovulate this "cycle". I had a couple of days of EWCM and then a dry-up, but my temps were all over the map after that rather than staying up.

On the bright side, though, I'm getting a lot better at actually remembering to temp and so when I do start ovulating again I may actually be able to chart it.
 

This was post-partum cycle #2 for me and DD just turned 1 year old.

 Ohhh worst timing ever! Hope you managed to figure something out for your plane ride. That is noooo fun!

[dreamingtree]

Here is a link to the new thread:

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1357047/charting-to-avoid-fertility-awareness-july-2012

[erigeron]

Tampon from the machine for 25 cents. Which ended up costing 50 cents because I dropped the first quarter in the conveniently positioned trash can right under the machine. *facepalm*.

I'm not sure if we're going to ttc this month or wait a couple more, so I'll hang around for the time being.