Charting to Avoid--JANUARY 2013 - Page 2

[slammerkin]

I'm on CD 14 of cycle #3 off HBC. Not sure if this cycle is going to be a successful CTA one, lol. Kind of the only thing holding me back from TTC was DH, but I told him yesterday that if he felt like knocking me up, to come to bed after work and have his way with me. And he did! So who knows what'll happen this month. 

[pickle18]

Originally Posted by slammerkin 

I'm on CD 14 of cycle #3 off HBC. Not sure if this cycle is going to be a successful CTA one, lol. Kind of the only thing holding me back from TTC was DH, but I told him yesterday that if he felt like knocking me up, to come to bed after work and have his way with me. And he did! So who knows what'll happen this month. 

 This cracked me up!  We are really set on having an only, 90% of the time - the other 10% of the time, we think maybe once our high-needs toddler gets a little older (like 3-5 range).

It's funny how hormones affect my head, though - DH has called it, that every month around O time, I will say, "weeelllll...another baby wouldn't be the ennnnnddd of the world..." hahaha   He had to seriously talk me down when we were at our favorite, local baby/lil kid store the other day - and they had the TINIEST fitted diapers and covers on super sale (did not help that we met two friends there with kids 6 months younger than DS - and both moms were preggo!).  Oh geez...

[tm0sweet]

too funny slammerkin! I think DH and I have finally accepted that we're going to have as many kids as we end up having. Good thing since I've been super lazy about charting.

8 weeks pp and I've had some spotting the last few days. Anyone have this before? DH thinks its because we dtd the other night and were a little, ahem, over zealous.

[lactatinggirl]

When I was anovulatory, I bled a little every time we DTD. Sometimes just immediately after and sometimes for a day or so.

[tm0sweet]

Huh, I would hope I'm not having an anovulatory cycle this early pp, but I suppose spotting could mean worse things. It's stopped now so hopefully that's the end of that.

[lactatinggirl]

No I mean hadn't started to cycle again yet. Amenorrhea. I don't know where my brain is at. :-P

[FaithHopeLove29]

Hello ladies! I'm 8 month PP and still no cycles, but going to start some reading up on natural family planning while breastfeeding :) I charted for a while before we got pregnant (4 or so months TTA, then just a few months of TTC). I'm not sleeping much yet, so I haven't bothered to start temping. Just popping in to say hello (and motivate myself to follow some of the links at the beginning of this thread!) :)

[lactatinggirl]

Welcome! 

I didn't start charting temps until after my cycles started back up. Just watched my CM to see if I could be getting closer to fertility, which gave me plenty of forewarning. 

[MarineGurl020412]

Hi ladies! Just popping in to say hi and I am still around though more lurking. I have been sick the last few weeks so I have not been charting since I had a fever I didn't see the point.
 

[BirthIsAwesome]

I'm on CD15 here on my third postpartum cycle. No sign of ovulation so far this month. 

[slammerkin]

Well I guess I no longer belong in this group. DH's spontaneous willingness to TTC ended in a BFP this morning! Eeeek!

[lactatinggirl]

Congrats!

[JMJ]

Congratulations, slammerkin!

[BirthIsAwesome]

congrats!

[pickle18]

* Congratulations, slammerkin! * 

We are on our 4th cycle of CTA, and I am loving it.  Just thought I'd throw that out there - infinitely better than the mini-pill, and I love how much more involved we are in the process (some months we end up abstaining, or just being extra careful with back-up) - we are always talking about it and making joint decisions, without riddling my body with hormones without thinking.  I'm not stressed about missed pills or getting to the pharmacy.  We have alot more freedom.  It just feels natural and great. 

[slammerkin]

Thanks ladies!!

[lactatinggirl]

I love the fact that it's a joint decision too. There's a lot of "we're not technically safe, but probably safe" for us right now since my cycles still haven't adjusted postpartum, but we decide together whether or not to risk it. We wouldn't be quite so cavalier though if we weren't already planning on having a third. :-P

[tm0sweet]

Is there a thread for February yet?

[MelissaMarie]

Hello all! I'm interested in joining this list.  I have two older kids ages 6 and 4.  I have a 22 month old who is still breastfeeding and have had cycles return starting September 2012.  At first it was a bit irregular, but the last few cycles have been pretty regular.  I'm having problems with charting because I can't do temps - with three little ones I don't consistently get a nice solid block of sleep to get a good temperature reading.  I tried doing temps for a few months, but it was just so frustrating.  My charts were all up and down all over the place, because I couldn't get my temp at the same time every morning.  It was also making me get even less sleep, because on days when my kids did manage to sleep in, my alarm went off to take my temp.  So I've been doing a mucus only method, but it's still a bit difficult because I seem to have continuous mucus.  I can easily distinguish between less-fertile and more-fertile mucus, and have been following the four-day rule (abstaining until the evening of the 4th day of less-fertile mucus).  I am wondering if there is a reliable mucus-only rule that is less restrictive, as it seems like this amount of abstinence might not really be necessary.  Any tips? I've heard of the TwoDay Method, but there rules say two days of NO secretions and I'm unclear if that means two days of my less-fertile mucus would be equivalent.  Thanks, and happy to join the group!

[JMJ]

MelissaMarie, you might consider looking into Creighton, or alternately Billings and taking a class. Creighton especially has ways of analyzing the quality of CM in order to determine fertility based on much more than just CM being absent or present, but the detail is far more extensive than can just be described in a forum like this. Creighton users who receive private instruction enjoy about a 98-99% method effectiveness for preventing pregnancy. Billings is also CM-only. It is not quite as detailed, but it has about 95% effectiveness for CM-only. You can also look for more information on the Billings website. There's a lot of great CM information there with rules for determining quality and fertility/infertility. Creighton is similar, just more standardized.