Hellobee Boards

I learnt about it mostly from weddingbee and then googling stuff

I started by reading TCOYF and learning from other people on FF, which was really helpful.

TCOYF worked for me! I just tracked my temps on a calendar though, I never used any apps or websites to help.

I learned through the lovely ladies here on HelloBee and also with the Fertility Friend tutorials they emailed every day haha. Sounds cheesy but I refer to them a lot!

TCOYF, HB, WB nesting boards and FF

I learned about it on Weddingbee, here, and TCOYF. However, I was a horrible charter. I found OPKs predicted my ovulation best since I always got clear positives on those.

@cascadecherub - From what I've read about charting (sleep cycles, etc.), I think OPK might be a better option. What kind did you use?

@LindsayInNYC: I read TCOYF before I started charting. This is also a great resource: http://www.fertilityfriend.com/Faqs/

I never used OPKs. I started charting 4 months before we started TTC, and we got our BFP the first month. I O'ed late that cycle, and I don't think we would have gotten a BFP had I not been temping. It takes some getting used to, but I think it's so worth it.

@LindsayInNYC: When I was tempting, I would set my alarm for the same time every day, give or take 15 mins. Turn off the alarm, take temp, and then either get up to shower or go right back to sleep. You just need to make sure you don't get up before you take the temp. I would highly recommend TCOYF as well. It was a great read and I really learned a lot. Good Luck!

The only downside to charting is you don't get confirmation that you O'd till a couple days after with the higher temps. So I did both temp and OPK's. It is helpful to do the OPK's as well, until you recognize your pattern with temp and then you can tell when you are about to O.

I initially learned through TCOYF and then took a class through the Couple to Couple League. If you are going to use charting for NFP purposes, you need to know it really well and to follow the rules really well. A class is nice because then you have an instructor to check your charts and to fall back on if you have questions later or something weird comes up. Many are run by Catholic organizations because Catholics are more like to use NFP than others (and even then it tends to be a minority of the group), so most classes won't espouse the use of condoms and so forth. There are sympto-thermal methods taught by Couple to Couple and Family of The Americas (online, I think). There are also mucous only methods (no temping) - look up the Creighton method or the Billings Ovulation Method for more information on those. You could also look up the Marquette method, which combines NFP with the use of a fertility monitor (Clear Blue Easy, I think) - you might be able to learn that one on the method's forums, which I hear are pretty responsive.

Just thought I'd throw out the class option, since it isn't mentioned a lot and can be helpful. If you're charting to avoid, don't let software decide ovulation for you - rely on your own observations and interpretations and use the software as extra data to consider. Also, be sure not to fall into a rhythm mentality (e.g. "I never ovulate before day 16 and it's only day 10- I'm sure we're fine /I don't have to chart" kind of stuff). Each day you use that day's observations if you want to be serious about trying to avoid pregnancy.

Gosh, this turned into a book! Sorry! I charted to avoid for about 2 years before conceiving LO so I just wanted to share what I'd learned through that experience. I'm about to tackle postpartum now and will be taking a refresher class, since my method has different postpartum rules, so this is on my mind. Good luck!

Like @smurfette: I would set an alarm and make sure my thermometer was right next to it so that I was always temping at the same time. Then I'd either get up for work or go back to bed. It helped keep a solid chart. I would definitely recommend some sort of protection for the first 2-3 months you chart though so that you can find out when you typically o and make sure it's fairly regular. I've seen a couple ladies who have really dramatic o date changes month to month and that could get you knocked up pretty quick if you're not careful.