FAM Method and a *Little* Something Else

This past summer my sister-in-law blogged on her cloth diapering site about Natural Family Planning. I had heard her talk about this method of birth control before, but never really thought much about it. But when I read her post this summer, I just kind of went, 'Wait a minute. What am i doing? Why would I take hormonal birth control when my body can very easily and naturally do the same thing on its own?'

So I got on ebay and bought the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. I admit, I did not read the whole book. I looked at the table of contents and skipped to the parts I was most interested in. Your body tells you each month when you are ovulating. I wanted to know what signs to look for. So I skipped to that part and was anxious to start checking myself for these natural occurrences. I'm not going to get into the details of this method, but they encourage you to chart your daily symptoms. Well, it was July when I was ready to start charting, but they encourage you to wait until you have your period so that you have a more accurate chart.

So it was August that I first started. There are two basic types of charts that you can use as a guideline. One is for if you are trying NOT to get pregnant, and one is for if you are. You're still looking for your body to indicate that you are ovulating or nearing ovulation, but obviously, if you're trying NOT to get pregnant they recommend that you abstain from intercourse with your partner during the ovulation period. Duh. And on the other hand, if you ARE trying to get pregnant, well, get busy during that peak time!

Josh and I had been kind of going back and forth about whether or not we were ready to start trying for another child. We were both really ready, but anxious about finances mostly. After several discussions, we decided we were ready. I had already stopped taking the hormonal birth control that I was on when I decided to try the FAM (Fertility Awareness Method - what the above book focuses on). But it was after this decision that I was able to start charting using the pregnancy guideline chart rather than the birth control chart.

So my first official day charting was August 6th. From there I would chart my cycle, noting any changes occurring in my body (I'm being pretty vague here, because I'm fairly certain my dad, brothers and male friends don't need any more details about what exactly I'm looking for here - that is if I haven't lost them already. If any of you would like more information about this method, either click on Lauren's post above, check out the book, or send me an e-mail and I would be more than happy to share what I know.)

A normal cycle is around 28 to 32 days. Once you ovulate, it is generally 12 to 16 days after that that you'll begin your next menstrual cycle. Well, It was clear on my chart when I ovulated, and I started checking off the days after that. Days 1, 2 and 3 went by, then we were to 12 and 13, a little later I was to day 17 past ovulation and still no period. The book did say that it is common to have a late ovulation if you are stressed, traveling or sick. I had been pretty stressed that month due to a few different things, and we went to St. George Island that month with Josh's family. So, no big deal.

Well, by day 22 after I ovulated and I still hadn't started, I got suspicious. Okay, okay, I was suspicious after day 13, what can I say? I was hopeful. I was ready to be pregnant again, and excited for Bennett to have a sibling.


But it wasn't until day 22 that I took this:





Oh yes. That is a big ol' POSITIVE sign you see there.

I AM PREGNANT!

I've known for so long and have been dying to tell everyone, but wanted to wait until my 12 week appointment so that I knew everything was looking good. Well, that was this morning and I heard that tiny little heart beat coming from my abdomen and now I'm ready to shout it from the rooftops! Well, write about it on the internet anyway. *what has this world come to?* :)

I have heard of so many pregnancies in the last couple of months. A friend from high school, my second (third?) cousin on my mom's side, and my first cousin Ashley who was in mine and Josh's wedding! She wrote me and told me of her news only days after I had found out my own, and it was all I could do not to tell her that my baby is going to be a couple weeks younger than hers!

We are so very excited and at the same time so very curious about Bennett's reaction. Because let me tell you, it is ALL about him right now. We'll see how he does when he has to share the spotlight.

So my due date is May 12th, but because I am (most likely) going to have to have another C-section, a more accurate date is between May 2nd and 5th. !!!