You are subscribed to this thread Charting, Trying, Hoping to Avoid: March/April

[firstwomantomars]

Hello everyone!

I've bumped up our old thread for those of you looking for a thread on charting while breastfeeding...

And I just had to share... I finally got my first pp af after 15 months!!!

I started temping in January when I felt (for the second or third time!) that I was pregnant, but my temps were still similar to my pre-pregnancy pre-ovulation temps.

Then I temped here and there and it was still the same...until two weeks ago when it finally went up!

I thought: fever, af or pregnancy? and continued temping. Sure enough, I got my period this weekend. I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!! I don't know why it feels so great but I'm really happy.

I am VERY glad also that I had read here on MDC that that first period would be VERY heavy because it really is. However, I have no pain and feel good...

How is everyone else doing with charting?

[catballou24]

hi everyone..

here is a bit of background and all that...

dd#2 is 6 months old and so far no ppaf yet. i've had some super light spotting last week though, but now nothing. i am starting to chart my body's signs just to get back in the rhythm of it. we got pg with the baby exactly when we wanted to, but i did alot of natural remedies to get my cycles regular. i have a history of very irregular af's (after depo it was almost 3 years until she showed up again). we had a really rough time getting pg with dd#1. as i said, with dd#2 i had 3 regular cycles before getting my bfp. i was bfing dd#1 still and she was 18 months when they started getting regular. i'd had maybe 3 between her birth and then though.

anyway, to make a long story short...we are not sure we want to be pg anymore, but are not so against' it that we are doing anything permanent yet..lol but i don't want to be pg just yet either. i want more time with my babe in arms now.. i'll be 41 this year and am thinking 1 more is enough for me.. we hate condoms and i refuse to do anything hormonal after the depo experience. so charting is the way we want to go... right now we are just crossing our fingers...lol

[Alison]

Just subscribing. We've been successfully charting and using withdrawal during fertile times for 2 and a half years now.

Alison

[*Devon*]

I have always had very irregular cycles and was on Depo as well until this September. I got af for the first time in January, then I had a 50+ day anovulatory cycle with some spotting in between, now I am on charting cycle #2. I have finally gotten my temping routine down, so we'll see what happens this month.

I wonder if I have low estrogen or something because years ago before I was on the pill or anything I used to get af only about every 3 months. This is great because af is so annoying, but I am worried that when I eventually ttc (I don't have kids yet) I will have trouble.

catballou-- what remedies did you use to get regular? TIA!!

[MizLiz]

subbing here...

I've been charting since last summer and I find it amazing how much better I understand my cycles.

I've been kind of bad for the past few months, though. My dd hid my thermometer for a few weeks and I was determined to find it before buying another one. I did eventually turn up, but the battery ran out and I keep forgetting to buy a replacement for it : . So I've basically just been using the (unreliable) calendar method and watching my cm (more reliable). I really don't want to get pg right now so I guess I should be a bit more responsible! Well, I actually would very much love to get pg now but it wouldn't work so well for my family at the moment.

[Natalya]

Hi! I've just started to chart, so I have a lot to learn, but I am loving the awareness it is awakening.

I have been using fertility friend, BUT I've read that doing the opposite of TTC is not a good way to avoid pregnancy. Alison- what have you been doing to avoid?

[*Devon*]

I think they just say that on FF because they don't want to get yelled at if you accidentally get pg. When I started, everyone told me that's what they use (including Alison-- she's kind of my chart guru).

Did you read Toni Weschler's Taking Charge of Your Fertility book? It gives you all the info you need about avoiding.

Meanwhile, Alison, I can't believe you pull-and-pray during your fertile times and it works!! You're so lucky.

[catballou24]

devonc - i actually drastically changed my diet. i went veggie again, cut out all refined sugar, drank raspberry tea 3x a day, drank green tea 3-4 times a day, took mega prenatals, fish oil and flax seed oil. that seemed to do the trick for me...after all those years of being irregular, i finally was able to see and feel my body working right.. with dd#1 i took chlomid for a year, progesterone, etc.. it wasn't until after i stopped the chlomid and stopped stressing that i got pregnant with her. so i figured with dd#2 that i would try a natural approach to it all, and it worked like a charm.. i'm hoping that once i get af again i'll be able to do it again to prevent (or not..eheh).

oh, with ds i was on the pill...faithful to it. that was a long time ago..

[Alison]

Honestly, the pull n pray works because I have a wonderful DH who has learned to have great self control during those times. However, it's not something I would recommend as birth control if you really didn't want to get pg. We use it cause it we did end up pg, it wouldn't be the end of the world, it would just be a bit sooner than planned. If I really didn't want another pregnancy, I would be using something more during fertile times. Probably my diaphragm, certainly NOT anything hormonal. The mess that I was the last time I went on the pill (the doc was talking meds for ppd, but it didn't start til I went on the pill at 12 weeks post partum, and I felt better within the first two weeks after I stopped taking the pill) is the reason that we're using only charting.

BTW, I wouldn't look to me as a charting guru! Like I said, I wouldn't really mind if I ended up pg, so I'm not nearly as diligent as I should be about charting CM and cervical position, although I know how to do both, you'll see lots and lots of blanks on my chart! Honestly, CTA really works for us due largely to DH's self control, and that fact that he's extra careful for both of us. Left to my own devices, we'd probably have an oops in my sig line by now!

Also, I'm blessed with an almost clockwork cycle, have been since my 3rd period in my teens. 26-27 days, with O within the same 2-3 day span every time. Since AF returned when DS was 6 mos old, I've only ever had 1 cycle that wasn't 26-27 days. That cycle was when I switched workplaces, and I cycled after 16 days and came into synch with the girls at my new workplace (well, really my old workplace that I went back to after 6 mos elsewhere). Wierd things the body can do, but we were really close at that workplace, and there were some pretty strong hormones going on !

Alison

[mamato2boys]

I've gotten totally lazy about charting; truthfully..I haven't temped for at least a month: I have been monitoring CF though, but not recording it. Not much to worry about though; my youngest has decided that it's best to wake 5-6x a night and then stay up for quite a while, so I'm way too tired to do anything that could make PG even a remote possibility

[*Devon*]

Originally Posted by Alison

BTW, I wouldn't look to me as a charting guru!

Well, you know more than I do I can't decide if I'm jealous of your clockwork cycles or not... I hate af so I like my long cycles but it's annoying when it's such a surprise. Once I starting ovulating it will be nice to have an af timeframe.

[witchymama2b]

I have started to chart again this past cycle after taking a break. Since I am TTA right now I have gotten lazy with charting my temps after I have o'ed though. I need to get back on the ball!

[Alison]

Originally Posted by devonc

Well, you know more than I do I can't decide if I'm jealous of your clockwork cycles or not... I hate af so I like my long cycles but it's annoying when it's such a surprise. Once I starting ovulating it will be nice to have an af timeframe.

If you're anything like me, your temp will drop the day AF starts. I know I'm pretty regular, but any time I haven't been, I've known it was coming because that was the day my temp dropped.

Alison

[flapjack]

subscribing here. We started using NFP a year past October, conceived first cycle of trying after our wedding and had a baby last November: now, having had babies close together before I'd rather not this time around (though like Alison it wouldn't be the end of the world. Just harder work than I want it to be.) Just got the thermometer out because my CM and position are doing some weird and interesting things.
Here's a question: the cycle before I conceived Skye, I had a really, really short luteal phase: literally, 5 days. Anyone got any idea what might have happened? I thought luteal phases were meant to be pretty stable in length- have I got that wrong?

[texaspeach]

My chart is tricky this cycle. I've been ill but not running a fever, so I don't know if I should trust my temps as far as a shift is concerned. I am so sad that I decided to go back on the pill for one cycle when I started nursing school, three cycles ago (I'm obviously off it now)! It didn't really screw things up, but I know I can't use any of the past cycle rules (doering or 21/20 rule). I've been getting lax in my interpretation. Here's my chart if you're wondering: http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/6ff0d
It can be kind of frustrating when you have two over lapping goals in mind! Part of me knows that we should try if there is no real reason to avoid, but the other part of me is selfish and wants to wait until I am done with my degree. *sigh* I just needed to vent I guess!


(subscribing again too!)

[cking]

texaspeach- I think your chart looks totally normal. I wouldn't worry about the two temps that are off - that is common too. That is only a very slight dip below the coverline. I am not familiar with the doering or 21/20 rules, what is that? I usually just wait until the 4th high temp (as long as cm and cp have fallen back also) until we are in the clear.

IKWYM about over lapping goals. We are supposed to start ttc this fall (originally fall of '07, but I bumped it up )....but at this point I am starting to run out of reasons for waiting. For now I am still holding on to the *idea* of conceiving in the fall....not sure why.

Oh, and I am now on cycle 40 of (successfully) avoiding.

[Alison]

Yeah, we're supposed to ttc in August, DH has this idea that May is the best time for birthdays. But honestly, the only reason we're waiting is that he wants a baby with a May birthday? What's so great about May? It just doesn't seem like a reason to wait to me! Oh well, we're still waiting to ttc until then anyway. I just wish I had some more important seeming reason to put it off, then it wouldn't be so frustrating!

By the way, I see finishing your degree as a valid reason to wait. I'd have failed classes if I'd had to take them through 5 months of morning sickness!

Alison

[bethy]

Frustrated Newbie

Hi,
I'm subscribing to this thead because I need all the help I can get. My brief story is that I am totally frustrated with the lack of birth control options out there! Argh!

I've used the Pill and the IUD extensively in my past but have come to learn about the fact that they don't always prevent ovulation. That really, really bothers me and I can't even bear to think about the number of cycles I've had where such a thing might have occurred due to my BC method.

So now I'm 9 months post partum with my second child and our plan is not to have any more children (or at least not intentionally.) Actually DH is more gung ho about stopping now than I am. I am still on the fence and today I'm leaning toward stopping with 2 children.

That said, we are NOT in a good place to be considering Vasectomy since we (I) are not sure. Luckily DH is a bit freaked out by the idea of a V and I worry about the potential risks involved as well.

DH is highly mainstream and conventional. He trusts pretty much any medication since it's been tested by the FDA. He is a very laid back and trusting person. I am the paranoid one and the conspiracy theorist. Because of all this, plus the fact that he feels we are done having children, DH is putting a lot of faith in me by agreeing to eschew traditional BC methods and use FAM. He understands my moral issues with the Pill/IUD even though he doesn't totally share them. In deference he is willing to take a leap of faith here. He is even willing to get edcuated about FAM and the whole nine yards. He's set to read TCOYF cover to cover while on vacation next week and we'll do classes if we feel they are necessary. He understands the necessity of his involvement.

What is the issue then, you ask? I am breastfeeding a lot and plan to continue to do so for at least 2 years. I am passionalte about it. Unfortunately though, I have had copious EWCM for the past 5 months PP. Nearly every day. Then I got AF back a month ago and just today finished charting my first cycle. Ack! The EWCM started up while I was still spotting at the end of AF and continued straight through "O"!! I had some confusing CM/temps right after and then about 3 dry days. Then AF! A 9 day Luteal phase! 3 "safe" days in a cycle! Ack!

Now I know that the LP does tend to be shorter in the beginning due to the BF. It's another way our body spaces children I guess. But tell me how we are going to handle FAM if we only get a few days per month of safety. I was kind of counting on about two weeks. I am praying that the EWCM issue will improve and that it's influenced by the BF. But then if it were influenced by BF then I would think there would be less EWCM rather than more of it. Since I plan to BF for a long while and possibly even do Child-led weaning I am at a loss. I have researched charting while BF a LOT on the internet and everything pretty much revolves around CM.

Did I mention that DH would rather not have sex than have sex with a condom? Did I mention that I am highly sensitive to spermacides?

Tell me my cycles will get longer and that the dang EWCM will taper off. It's no wonder I got PG so easily with both girls (a blessing, I know.)

Sorry, I guess that wasn't so short after all. Thanks so much for letting me vent. Hugs to anyone who's read this far!

[cking]

Bethy, welcome. You've come to the right place. There are a lot of women here who have been using FAM successfully while BFing. I haven't yet, so I can't really give you advice on that aspect of it (sorry ), but I know my sister has been using it successfully for 19 years, with two beautiful daughters (and I think they're done ).

I have been using it since just after I was married. I was on the pill for a while before that, and my DH was also skeptical of me coming off it. It is usually pretty hard to convince him of anything. One of his biggest 'concerns' was that he wanted to be able to dtd at any time, be spontaneous. Well, the thing he didn't realize at the time is that women aren't really capable of doing it whenever he wants (we were pretty young at the time), and that I pretty much had no sex drive while on the pill anyway. I also explained that, to me, taking my temperature every day was comparable (and even easier) than taking a pill every day.

I hope that your luteal phases will eventually become longer. I have heard that some women take vitex/chasteberry to lengthen their luteal phase. I have also had a really good experience using the 'lunaception' theory (sleeping in total darkness every night except for two nights, CD14 & 15, to encourage ovulation --mimiking the full moon). I believe she talks about it in TCOYF. I also started out reading The Art of NFP, which I found a little preachy, but it also has a lot of good infomation on charting while breastfeeding (and lunaception/night lighting as well).

on avoiding vasectomy. I hope we never decide to go that route. I don't care what PP or the medical industry says, a risk is a risk. All that sperm is still being made, with no where to go....that can't be healthy.

[Alison]

Originally Posted by cking

I pretty much had no sex drive while on the pill anyway. I also explained that, to me, taking my temperature every day was comparable (and even easier) than taking a pill every day.

Yes, this was something that amazed me when I came off the pill. It was like I hadn't been myself for those years at all. My moods were better, I had a much healthier sex drive. Every little thing used to seem like such a big deal when I was on the pill. And I never knew it until I came off. Now I'm myself, and I like myself much more. I feel balanced, which I never did when I was on the pill. Not something that I ever thought about when I went on the pill, and not something anybody ever told me.

Alison