I'm new and need help!

jennferbu · #1 June 14th, 2008, 02:59 AM

I'm breastfeeding my 4 month old son and we're trying not to get pregnant. Someone suggested charting so I know when I'm most fertile, but I have no idea how to do that. I don't know what most of the abbreviations mean (I tried to look around at some of the posts on here, but I'm so lost!). I don't even know if this is the right board...it looks like a lot of yall are trying to get pregnant, but we're trying to avoid it!

I haven't had my first period since giving birth, so I don't know if that matters.

Could someone please give me a crash course in charting and/or some links to good websites or previous posts that could help me out?

Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

MamaAnna · #2 June 14th, 2008, 03:53 AM

I would try going to natural family planning. Charting your temperature will tell you when you've ovulated three days after it has occurred. It's great help in learning about your cycles such as how long they typically are, when you should ovulate if they're consistent, when to expect your period, etc. Your temperature won't really help you prevent things though. For that you want to observe things like your cervical mucus. I'm sure Shawna will post here later and she knows a lot more about this than I do. She even teaches it!

#3 June 14th, 2008, 05:15 AM

Hello there! I suggest checking out the Natural Family Planning Board, they are more focused there on preventing than trying to conceive. I'm sure ShawnaCAN will pop in with some great suggestions, I know she is charting to avoid right now I believe.

ShawnaCAN · #4 June 14th, 2008, 12:32 PM

Quote:

I'm breastfeeding my 4 month old son and we're trying not to get pregnant. Someone suggested charting so I know when I'm most fertile, but I have no idea how to do that. I don't know what most of the abbreviations mean (I tried to look around at some of the posts on here, but I'm so lost!). I don't even know if this is the right board...it looks like a lot of yall are trying to get pregnant, but we're trying to avoid it!

I haven't had my first period since giving birth, so I don't know if that matters.

Could someone please give me a crash course in charting and/or some links to good websites or previous posts that could help me out?

Any help is appreciated! Thanks![/b]

Come on over to NFP/FAM - lots of us are charting to avoid over there. But I will tell you right off the bat that in order to understand how it all works while breastfeeding, you really need to take a course if you want it to be effective. With proper training, NFP is 99% reliable - without it, reliability is hit or miss. Charting before your cycles return is a little different than when you're cycling regularly, so having a qualified instructor to walk you through the steps will make everything far less confusing! We've got a few ladies over at NFP/FAM who are either taking a course right now or are about to, and a few who have been through it back when they were breastfeeding too. There are lots of options for training (classes, online courses, correspondence courses, etc) - more info about that in the Online Resource sticky over at NFP/FAM.

P.S. I've got a 4 month old too! The Billings Ovulation Method is the system of charting we use (and I teach IRL).