r/FAMnNFP

I have been doing Sensiplan for almost 5 months, self taught (!!!), and I’m just still shocked and amazed how effective it is. Five months of having sex regularly and managing to avoid pregnancy, it feels like I’m cheating the system.

When I got married at the beginning of the year, I was so stressed about FAM. I do not want to get pregnant within the first year of being married and I only want to have one child. I’ve read countless stories of Catholic women falling pregnant over and over again because it simply just did not work for them. Not just the Rhythm Method, but a variety of the up-to-date methods that report high effectiveness. But I decided to trust the science over various anecdotal reports and I’m so glad I did.

I have never been on birth control, never had an IUD, and never used condoms or any type of barrier in my life and I am so grateful. I have only ever known sex in its most natural state. It’s insane how few women know that there are options besides this! Sex education has got to get better at informing women and girls about their bodies because I would not have thought this was possible before a year and a half ago.

I am currently learning about the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) while exploring different fertility apps, and honestly, I’ve been surprised by how misleading some recommendations can be.

For example, today Natural Cycles marked me as “likely infertile” even though I had five negative LH tests only a couple of days ago, my temperature shift is still not confirmed, and I currently have a significant amount of egg white cervical mucus. In other words, ovulation is probably about to happen, not safely passed.

It made me think about how easy it would be for someone to completely miss their fertile window if they trusted the app without understanding the underlying signs and physiology.

I’m really grateful that I started learning FAM more deeply instead of relying only on algorithms. I still think apps can be very helpful tools, but they should support body literacy, not replace it.

Hi everyone, I am hoping to get some advice from those more experienced in FAM and NFP then I am! I am 4 months postpartum and just started using Billings (was just abstinent before, and I wasn’t ovulating yet). I have been combining cervical mucus observation with lh test strips. The problem is that my period is now three weeks late, and I have no idea what’s happening😂 My husband and I thought we were in the clear on April 26 because it was around when my period was supposed to be due and had unprotected sex, but then on May 1 I had ovulation pains and lots of ewcm. So, sex five days before suspected ovulation-not great, but a 90 percent chance of not conceiving. At the same time I saw my lh rising from about the 28th until it finally peaked on the 5th of May. We then had UP the day after (so May 6) because it was a dry day and my lh was significantly lower that morning. Was I wrong? What day do you even think I ovulated on? I’m very confused and also anxious that I am pregnant (both husband and I are young and very fertile, two babies back to back on first try).

I used the Marquette method with no issues for a couple of years 7 years ago. Then I took a break and came back to it about 4 cycles ago. The fertility monitor has failed to catch my last two peaks (it just reads high straight through ovulation). I know because I also use a temp drop to track my temperature and I have clear shifts in my charts. I don't remember ever missing peaks 7 years ago. Is this normal? Do I need to look into another method? I want the peace of mind of Marquette as I get closer to menopause, but I don't want to go through most of a box of sticks only to get a bunch of highs because peak already passed.

Hi there! We are currently TTA on month 9 postpartum , with limited BF now. Using Marquette cycle 0 protocol, and all I got were low readings until 26th april when we had IC and the next morning the monitor showed High. Then on may 3rd (the last day of the artificial cycle) it read Peak. My instructor says she doesn´t know of any cases resulting in pregnancy in this situation given the days passed since IC to Peak. The LH peak was later confirmed that day with test strips and also the following morning...what do other users think about this? Thanks!!

Hey everyone 👋

With admin approval, we wanted to introduce the new official Tempdrop Reddit account 😊

We know there are lots of Tempdrop users in this community, so we’d love to create a space where you can ask questions, troubleshoot issues, and learn more about wearable BBT tracking & charting, especially for those without a specific method or using the app interpretation.

If you have:
• Tempdrop-related questions
• Questions about Tempdrop temperatures or charting
• Charts without a defined method/ruleset
• Questions about sleep disruptions & temping
• General fertility awareness questions

…feel free to post them here and the Tempdrop team will do our best to help answer 💙

We can’t provide personalised medical advice or replace instruction in a fertility awareness method, but we’re happy to help point you in the right direction and support where we can 😊

Hello, folks. Apologies if this should go elsewhere.

My fiance and I are planning to use TCYOF when TTA after we're married. I've been preemptively charting for 10 months at this point and I have PCOS that I manage through nutrition and exercise.

I know the first rule for TCYOF is that you are safe on the first 5 days of the menstrual cycle if you have had an obvious thermal shift about 12 to 16 days before.

However, my thermal shift usually happens about 10 days before my period begins. The longest space between my thermal shift that I've recorded thus far is 12 days.

How ought I apply this rule given the nature of my thermal shifts?

i have been temping using sensiplan rules for two cycles now and have noticed that whenever i share a bed with my partner i wake up and my BBT is irregularly low to the point where it dips and im not sure what could be causing it or if its just a coincidence? google was no help and i don’t sleep any later/differently with my partner. for reference i temp orally at the same time every morning

Plan A was to abstain all of cycle 0 which was only ~5 months with our first, but our 2nd is now 8 months old and we're still in cycle 0. We used and loved Marquette for 2 yrs but stopped due to increasing costs.

We learned sensiplan, but we didn't plan on using it starting cycle 0. The postpartum protocol in the guidebook mentions breastfeeding, so is it a no-go for us? (We combo feed and started solids 4 months ago) Thoughts/recommendations?

Edit to ask: I assume Cycle 1 postpartum resumes regular protocol?

I’m 6 months postpartum and have not ovulated yet. I frequently get strings of highs, which is so frustrating because it leaves my husband and I with very few usable days if we are following the protocol to a tee. If the baby sleeps more than usual, I will often get a high reading. I also will often get high readings on days that I work if I’m pumping. Sometimes this can be on day 10 then when I reset, I’m back to lows. Sometimes it‘s day 2, which sucks because the monitor will automatically read high for the rest of the cycle.

So I’m wondering if there’s any reason for starting a new cycle every 10 days. Would there be anything wrong with resetting every 5 days to possibly get more usable days? Or if I know the monitor will read high regardless for the rest of the cycle, could I switch to the cheap lh tests to catch a potential peak and save money?

I‘m just really losing patience with Marquette and wondering if anyone has found a way to hack the system.

I’m on cycle 2 of sensiplan. Last month’s temps were picture perfect with all low temps until a sharp rise after ovulation. Then the day my period started I had a sharp drop like usual. However, on CD2 my temp shot right back up again? I couldn’t really explain it and thought maybe I’m coming down with a cold or something and it will go back down. However both CD3 and CD4 (today) are also high. I’m a bit stumped because last month’s period temps were all really low. I do still have my copper IUD in for now (getting it out soon) and I know that causes uterine inflammation, and how inflammation raises your temp but is that a reasonable excuse for the temps seeing as it was fine last month?

Currently pregnant and considering Marquette postpartum (specifically Mira because I have irregular cycles and would like more granular data), but my husband and I plan to use barriers or non-PIV on fertile days rather than abstaining. I want to be able to be honest with my instructor about this, but also don’t want to feel pressured to align myself with Catholic teaching (my husband and I are Protestant). Does anyone have any recommendations for instructors who would be willing to work with us? Thanks

Edit: I’ve looked at the RYB directory, and have seen Marquette instructors who “encourage abstinence but accept other choices,” but it seems hard to figure what exactly that means in practice. And I haven’t found a way to sort for instructors versed in the Mira protocol.