I've been trying to decide for 7 months whether I want to go with the Mirena IUD or a pill like Seasonale (one that only gives you a period every 3 months).
I haven't had to worry about birth control in many, many years because we've been through infertility. It took 3 years of REALLY REALLY trying for my first child. Ended up doing IVF and several other procedures but eventually conceived naturally. Then, we waited until he was two and started trying again....took three more years before conceiving #2. We decided not to wait too long to try for #3. Started trying when second child was about 6 or 7 months and conceived right away. During the time between kids when we were not actively trying, we only used the "withdrawal" method. It seemed to work. My third child is due in a couple of months. I'd be happy just going back to using "withdrawal" method, but I'm a little scared that it might not work. And I don't think I can handle 4 kids. However, I don't really want to make it permanent with a tubal ligation. I probably will have a vaginal birth so I'd have to have a separate surgery if I wanted to have my tubes tied.
I decided I wanted something for birth control that would reduce or eliminate my periods. Seasonale or something like it would supposedly only give me 3 periods a year. But, would there be spotting at other times? I don't want to have to worry all the time about whether I'm bleeding or not. I don't want to have to constantly wear a panty liner "just in case". I was on the regular pill for about 6 years before we started ttc and had no problems with it.
The other option for me was Mirena IUD. My doc said there's a good chance I won't have periods with it or they'll be much lighter and shorter. However, I seem to read a lot of negative things about it here.