Alabama Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Natural Family Planning
Hello! I haven't been on here in forever...but I had a question. I thought I remember that a few girls on here have used NFP as birth control and to help achieve pregnancy.
Well, due to religious reasons I just decided to start using this method. I have the book TCOYF and have started reading but I feel like I'm starting this really fast without knowing a lot about it. I normally would start a new pack of bc pills on Sunday...but due to this situation I will not be. Needless to say I'm pretty scared!!! So any advice or tips?
Sorry for the long post!!! Thank!
Re: Natural Family Planning
LeeLee did a good explanation. I just wanted to second Fertility Friend. I have been charting since July although we took this month off due to stress levels. That is kinda the unfortunate side affect although not for everyone. But it can become stressful when you start to TTC. But it is nice knowing so much about your cycles. I know that when I finally do get pregnant that I'll go back to this method after the birth, because I am not crazy about BCP. It makes me feel wonky
Good luck!
I'm currently on my 12th cycle of using FAM (NFP) for birth control. No baby yet! We used protection (condoms) for the first 3 months off the pill. I wanted to be sure that I could recognize the fertility signs correctly before I really threw myself into it. I read TCOYF (and still reference it on occasion...I'm a science nerd and find stuff like hormonal shifts really interesting). I also use the software that you can download from TCOYF (my book came with a CD). It's a one time fee of $30 I think. I love it. I had looked into FF, but I liked the TCOYF software better. I love being off the pill. While I didn't do it for religious regions, I love not putting those synthetic hormones in my body every month. I didn't realize the difference until I was off of them because I'd been taking them for 9 years and couldn't remember what a normal cycle was like. I hope this was helpful and GL!
Thank ya'll so much for the advice! I feel better about it knowing that others have used this method successfully!
Andrea, I will probably be emailing you with a couple of questions!!
Thanks again!
I think FAM/NFP are great ways to practice birth control. I started charting almost a year ago, and it is one of the best things I have ever done for myself. We avoided for the first few months until we were ready to TTC. I love knowing where my cycle is.
Anyway, I read TCYOF and highly recommend it. I also have the book Natural Birth Control which is very similar but a little less scientific and easy to understand. I did not use any websites or software programs.
My biggest piece of advice is to be very conscientious and dedicated - it's the only way to make NFP/FAM work successfully! And take your temp as soon as you wake up before your feet hit the floor.
I hope everything works out great for you guys!
I just wanted to add that Fertility Friend is a great tool. I also used it while TTC. IT really helps you understand your cycle...or it did me.
Good Luck
I started FAM (fertility awareness method) on Dec 18, and I think the most important thing is make sure to read the book once, twice, 1000 times, even if that means going through one more pack of BCP.
It's not that scary once you get into the swing of things, but it's really important to understand the method of charting, and then just as important to understand the 4 FAM rules. I haven't been doing it long, but I know there are people on here who have done it for years and absolutely love it.
One thing I will tell you is if you're coming off of BCP, take the time to read the small portion about starting FAM from BCP. Your body doesn't automatically resume ovulating for a while (each woman's body does it at a different rate) so your temps will be a little unpredictable and you'll need to use a backup form of BCP until your body gets back into its natural rhythym.
I hit respond before I read the responses, so sorry if I'm repeating PP's
i'm been using FAM/NFP for almost 5 yrs now. it is pretty scary to start, but the more you do it, the more comfortable/confident you become. the only advice i would give is to be *very* strict with the rules in the book. i have a few friends that tried to use this method, but only "kind-a sort-a" did what the book said, and both ended up pg. also, i would recommend getting your dh to read the book too. it helped me so much that dh read the book, and supported me. just take it 1 day at a time, and you will be fine!
Wow!! 5 years! That is amazing!