Natural Family Planning???

[Mommy to monkeys]

I'm 27 and I have 4 treasures. . .2 of which are in diapers. I'd love more someday, but right now. . .I'm tired and just want a little break from pregnancy.

 

Can anyone give me any NFP tips? How do you do it?

 

Thanks in advance,

mommy to monkeys

[annandatje]

You can't learn NFP by someone just giving you tips. It is based on observing the presence and consistency of cervical mucous (and possibly basal body temperature) to determine fertility. Check with the nearest catholic diocese to see if they offer a class. Check Amazon or your library for books on the topic.

 

As a longterm NFP user, it is my personal opinion that NFP is not the best method to use if you cannot handle the possibility of another pregnancy.

Edited January 19, 2011 by annandatje

[RainbowSprinkles]

Do you keep track of your menstrual cycle?

[Hannah C.]

There is a book called Taking Charge of Your Fertility which you may find helpful. That being said, I agree with the pp: if you really want to use NFP successfully, you should see if you can find an actual class in your area! It can be very confusing to try and correctly interpret the fertility signs on which NFP depends. A class can be very helpful in learning how to do this.

[Mother Superior]

Do you know what day of your cycle you usually ovulate? If not, you need to find out by either using OPK's or taking your temps every month. About three months later you'll have an accurate picture of when you regularly ovulate.

 

I'm assuming you know that sperm can live inside you for 5 days, and that an egg lives for 24 hours. These are general figures and can vary by a day (ish).

 

Typically, a woman with a 28 day cycle will ovulate around Day 14. For years, this was when I ovulated. My hubby and I followed the "Day 8 Rule:" no sex between Day 8 until Day 16. That way we were "covered" if I happened to ovulate on Day 13 or 15. It worked like a charm.

 

Now, of course, I am 40 and entering peri-menopause, and my cycles are shortening. So I am back to tracking my bbt, peeing on OPK's, and watching my cervical mucous. Fun, fun!

 

eta: for more information, or to find a class, contact the COuple to Couple League. http://www.ccli.org.

 

HTH,

Edited January 19, 2011 by Mother Superior
eta: for more information, or to find a class, contact the COuple to Couple League. www.ccli.org.

[Mommy to monkeys]

I can certainly handle another pregnancy so to speak. A baby is ALWAYS good news . ..I'd just prefer to get that good news in say a year or two ;)

 

I'll look into finding a catholic diocese around here. Do most hold classes?

[Mommy to monkeys]

I keep track of my cycles in the sense of. . .I know how long they are and when to expect them. .. .

 

Do you need a special thermometer?

 

Checking out ccli.org. . .=)

[Skadi]

You don't need a special thermometer. However, I hate charting. Hate, hate, hate. I'd recommend looking into either:

 

The Ladycomp. It's a special thermometer that keeps track of everything so you don't have to.

 

The Persona. While thermometers measure the EFFECT of rising temperatures, the Persona measures your hormones directly by taking eight urine tests a month. I've used this for the past six years and LOVE it. :)

[Mother Superior]

Friends of mine, who are a CCLI teaching couple, use the Marquette Method, which uses a fertility monitor rather than tracking temps. It works very well for them.

[tearose]

I successfully used NFP for my final year and a half of grad school after DH and I got married (while we thought it best to postpone pregnancy, we were fine with having a baby if it happened). I used Taking Charge of Your Fertility as a guide. My temps were all over the place, and I gave up on before DH and I even got married (might have been due to the erratic schedules I kept while in school). I tracked cervical fluid (cervix position is something else that you can track), but the biggest help for me was getting the OvaCue, a fertility monitor. It's normally used to aid in achieving pregnancy, and it's not FDA-approved for birth control, but I found that it worked well in conjunction with following my cervical fluid. I was very conservative, though--if either cervical fluid or the OvaCue even slightly indicated fertility, DH and I abstained.

 

The OvaCue is expensive, however, compared to other ovulation predictors, and that is its big drawback. In my case, I figured that the cost would pay for itself over 1.5-2 years, and then I could use it after grad school to aid in achieving pregnancy. On the plus side, it tests saliva, so you don't have to buy test strips to pee on each cycle. If the oral sensor gives a fertile reading, it gives one to seven bars, depending on how fertile you are. I found that there was plenty of warning to abstain. There is an optional vaginal sensor that is worth buying, since it will confirm ovulation when it happens. I have longish cycles that aren't always regular, and the OvaCue pretty much always confirmed what the cervical fluid indicated.

 

If you do track your temperatures, you'll want a body basal thermometer.

[Bird Girl]

I read and used Taking Charge of Your Fertility. It was interesting, and I enjoyed it.

 

But I'm 6 months along with our surprise little one, so may my experience be an example to you. ;)

[Crimson Wife]

Get yourself an electronic monitor. My oldest was conceived on the 3rd day of elevated BBT's. When I started using the monitor, I discovered that I sometimes ovulate on the 2nd day of elevated BBT's. Given that the egg can last for 24 hours, I'd either have to use a 4 day rule (which is unnecessarily cautious in most cycles) or risk another surprise.

[anabelneri]

There are a couple other groups that teach NFP besides CCLI... generally the Catholic diocese can help you track them down, but just in case...

 

http://www.woomb.org/ has a lot of info and can be informative

 

http://www.boma-usa.org/ has a list of teachers in the USA for the Billings Method of NFP

 

http://www.creightonmodel.com/ is the Creighton model of NFP's website.

 

I've heard that there are Taking Charge of Your Fertility teachers (usually nurses) but I've never met one.

 

:)

[jplain]

I think the CCLI method is less accessible, more complicated, and certainly shouldn't be attempted by anyone without a real life course first.

 

TCOYF by Toni Weschler is easier to follow. I would not hesitate to use it to avoid conception, but I thoroughly understand each and every sentence in the book, and I've had several years of practice using it.

 

If you're just starting out, you need to read the book cover to cover until you understand all of it. Then you need at least 3-6 months of practice charting while using a backup method at all times (condom, spermicide, abstention, etc.) before you can try using it without a backup during non-fertile times.

 

I started out charting by hand, but eventually switched to using TCOYF's software, which is available on their website. Others prefer FertilityFriend or other tools for helping to monitor cycles.

Edited January 19, 2011 by jplain

[mommaduck]

There is a book called Taking Charge of Your Fertility which you may find helpful. That being said, I agree with the pp: if you really want to use NFP successfully, you should see if you can find an actual class in your area! It can be very confusing to try and correctly interpret the fertility signs on which NFP depends. A class can be very helpful in learning how to do this.

THIS is the most wonderful book!

[rootsnwings]

We tried the NFP thing after my 2nd ds was born--worked great for about 12 months until I spontaneously ovulated twice in one month! Enters Julie. :) Now I have an IUD and love it. We will probably try for another baby later next year but NOT until Julie is out of diapers and drastically cuts down nursing. I reeeeeally don't want 2 in diapers or tandem nursers again!!! My advise, do not rely on NFP if you really don't want another baby right now.

Edited January 19, 2011 by rootsnwings

[love2read]

It's very simple to learn and if you chart you won't have surprises. Often people stop charting once they have ovulated for the month, but you want to keep right at it. It's very, very simple to use. So my tips

-take your temp at the same time every morning or evening

-chart and don't stop once you've ovulated

-read about the other symptoms of ovulation and become aware of them

You can do this! :)

[lamamaloca]

I think the CCLI method is less accessible, more complicated, and certainly shouldn't be attempted by anyone without a real life course first.

 

CCLI has recently redesigned their program, and it is much simpler and more accessible in my opinion. I'd still recommend a class, for anyone using NFP, if only to have an experienced teacher to contact if you need help, but you could probably learn just using their student guide.

[tonersl]

eta: for more information, or to find a class, contact the COuple to Couple League. http://www.ccli.org.

 

 

 

:iagree:

 

NFP is not always easy, especially if breastfeeding, but it is definitely worth learning about and trying. I have never felt better than when using NFP (no chemicals floating through my system affecting everything).

 

Good luck!

Shannon in NC

[WistfulRidge]

I took bc pills for two months - they were the worst two months of my life. Prior to our first we kind of just let things be. After DS was born I got my cycles back after 6 months and we weren't opposed to a second so close (especially because we want a larger family and there is enough of an age difference between me and my DH that he worries sometimes about getting all of his little ones to earth before he's too old to play with them). When we'd been actively trying for a few months with no results I bought and read "Taking Charge of your Fertility". For us it was instrumental in conceiving #2 because through charting and keeping track of cervical mucus and position we discovered that I ovulated late - like sometime between day 17 and 19 of a 27.5 day cycle (for as long as I can remember my period always starts between 11:30 and noon of day 28, lol). Had we been trying to avoid conception we would have been avoiding Tea on the wrong days.

 

I'm a firm believer that it works (either way) but that you have to be very diligent and very observant. And if you're using it as a preventative measure it is a good idea to use backup for the first 3-6 months until you can see the pattern of your cycles. It's not the "easy" way, but I have never felt worse in my life than when I was taking bc pills and I've had enough friends/family have problems with IUDs that you couldn't pay me to have one - so NFP was really our only option.