Attn Young Married Couples:Pls Share your experiences with NFP

[StratusRose]

My fiance and I are learning the Sympto-Thermal Method. We have completed 2 out of the 4 classes. Our last class is 3 days after the wedding!

If your fiancee has charted 6 or more cycles then she can apply the 3 rules that the STM teaches. Like the 21/20 day rule. You take your shortest cycle and subtract either 21 or 20 and that’s when phase 2 (fertile phase) starts. Surprisingly, my fiance is really into the NFP class, he’s learning all the rules and asks if I’ve had my thermal shift, etc…If you know the method and know how to apply the rules there should be NO reason why you should only be intimate once a month. Phase 3 is virtually zero chance of getting pregnant.

I like STM because it checks just about all the fertile signs; temperature, mucus, and cervical position.

 

[cathyt]

When by husband and I were married almost 4 years ago, I was unemployed and he was underemployed with a college degree and a job at a fast food restaurant. I was very nervous about NFP.

For the first six months of our marriage we were about as conservative as we could manage in our use of NFP. Obviously, this was a challenge for us but I have to say it was well worth it. Our marriage has benefited significantly from the good things and even from the challenges that come with NFP. Our trust in God has been tested at times through the difficulty and we really have learned a deep love for each other and a recognition of Him in control.

The use of NFP in a challenging time of our married life made us stronger. The lessons we learned using NFP early in our marriage also helped us with later stuggle with getting pregnant. Communicating and praying together, taking on hardships together, and together coming to a conclusion that God’s will is ultimately better than our own were invaluable lessons to us early in marriage as I’m sure they will continue to be.

God bless you!

 

[annb]

I just wanted to say to those that are doubting it, that it may be 1x a month is all that can be done for some months, while not being overly conservative but just following the rules. Hopefully not for the long term, but with something like a hormone imbalance, breastfeeding, a continuous & changing mucous pattern, or health issues, it can lead to a lot of abstinence until the situation is resolved.

 

[rasmussen]

My DH and I have been married for almost 3 years. We have been practicing NFP for about 2 after seeing the woes of our previous ABC ways. Well, here is our story.

Overall, the NFP is easy once you get in a habit of taking your temps. In the beginning, my DH was afraid to get pregnant and we went through a period of time (about a year) where he always withdrew at the last moment. I told him not to do this and why and he talked to a priest and since then has stopped withdrawing. Well, now, he is super careful and we make love less often than I would like because of his fear of pregnancy. (BTW his fear is financial. I make more money than him and he is afraid that if I got pregnant, he could not support the 2 of us-fair enough, right?) Well, so there is more abstinence than I would like going on, but I would be ok with a baby, so I am practicing patience at this time. Best wishes. For every couple, I am sure it is different.

 

[SDMom]

My DH & I also use the Creighton model of NFP and I just wanted to share my story with you. We began taking classes prior to our wedding, so I was charting for a few months before our actual wedding day. Just to show you that God indeed is in control: I was fertile on our honeymoon, but we didn’t get pregnant until 4 months later, when we became “sloppy” with charting.

We continued to use NFP very successfully after our 1st was born. It worked both for times when we were avoiding pregnancy, as well as when we wanted to achieve pregnancy. That’s the greatest thing about it: it works both ways, and women start to understand their bodies so much more. Our 2nd son was born early this year

We have our struggles at times, but are continuing to practice NFP. ** It’s what the Lord calls us to do, so we do it.** Through the use of NFP, the Lord has allowed me to really understand our role as husband and wife, and our call as a married couple. May the Holy Spirit bless you and your fiance, and may your lives together truly be blessed!

Feel free to send me a PM if you have other questions!

 

[EsclavoDeCristo]

We have our struggles at times, but are continuing to practice NFP. It’s what the Lord calls us to do, so we do it. Through the use of NFP, the Lord has allowed me to really understand our role as husband and wife, and our call as a married couple. May the Holy Spirit bless you and your fiance, and may your lives together truly be blessed!

Feel free to send me a PM if you have other questions!

Thanks for sharing your experiences and your well wishes. God is good and I too pray that he would bless us. I might look into the Creighton model. We are currently using the one with taking temps and checking out mucus. Well, not using, but charting. I call her every morning bright and early at 630am for the “take your temperature” reminder and she observes her mucus stuff. PTL (Praise the Lord), she has a very regular and consistant 26 day cycle (I think 26 day, but I know it is very predictable). We both can’t wait to have children though. It is just with me working my way through school and the whole financial situation that has led us to decide to use NFP to postpone children for a year or so (God willing of course)!

God is good!

 

[goravens]

DH and I have been married three years and used NFP from the start, CCL method. I was nervous before we got married that I’d mess it up or we would end up abstaining a lot because of worry…but that really wasn’t the case at all. I charted several months before we got married and had the basics figured out and it really came pretty easily once we were married (it also gave me some peace of mind that my cycles were pretty regular.) It was hard sometimes when we wanted to be intimate but couldn’t because we had decided it wasn’t a good time to start a family. But, it really strengthened other areas of our relationship. And it made us talk a lot more about what we thought really needed to happen for us to start a family, pray more about it, etc. We knowingly used NFP to conceive on our second anniversary, so we’ve found it helpful for postponing and achieving pregnancy.

Now that we’re postpartum, we decided to learn the Creighton method which for us has been a little more specific and tangible. We’re in a new phase altogether, since I have yet to have a cycle since our daughter was born six months ago. But nfp has been helpful in determining that I’m not fertile right now, either.

Best wishes to you in your upcoming marriage!

 

[armywife]

Well, we’ve been married six years and have four children. I have to admit that we weren’t very serious about the rules…obviously. I am very serious about it now since our kids are 5, 3, 2 and 3 months. That isn’t to say we didn’t know the rules, but we just took the chances. (When your husbands been gone for a year, you don’t want to wait three to five more days just to be sure And we were one of those newly-wed couples that didn’t want to use the schedule.

My advice is to not worry about money. As my handle states, my husband is in the Army and we don’t make much money at all. We are lucky to have our medical coverage taken care of, and that helps a lot. But really, we live on about 2500 a month before taxes and are functioning.

I do have to say these message boards are very helpful and supportive. Some days I really just want to have my husband get a vasectomy, so prayer is really important.

I believe NFP works, but as a newly-wed couple don’t be surprised by a surprise