Difficult pregnacy.....birth control after?

[annabeth]

I am now 36 weeks pregnant with hyperemesis. The whole pregnancy I have has bad nausea and vomitting. It has been hard with a 4 and 5 year old to look after. With my first I was also very ill but I could sleep when I needed to and had no one but me to care for. Now with the second I threw up 9 months only once a day and the nausea wasnt as severe.
My dilema is is that it took us 8 years of prayer to finally become pregnant and we were blessed with our first and when she was 2 months old I got pregnant by surprise. SInce then it has been 4 years and we just never have used birth control and just wanted whatever was Gods will. I never thought that if I got pregnant again it would be so bad. I have been in an out of the hospital for dehydration and extremely ill. It is and has affected my family very much. Although I would love more children I dont know if I can risk it again. What if it is even worse next time? I cant imagine having 3 kids . I dont have family near or any help as DH is barely holding his own trying to keep the family restaurant running and we are losing our home.
I dont know what to do. I cant do the NFP because my periods are expremely irregular .
What do I do?

 

[ChristinaM]

You don’t need to have regular periods to use NFP. Have you tried taking an NFP course?

I know we have had a thread or two on hyperemesis, hopefully some ladies will be around to weigh in on that.

Prayers for your pregnancy and your family’s financial situation.

 

[Em_in_FL]

I recommend looking in to NFP… find classes, read lots of books, study it and live it… it will work, even for irregular cycles (mine are too!.. never the same from month to month.)…

I definitely sympathize. I threw up each and every day of my recent pregnancy (my 3rd child), even while taking Zofran (anti-nausea medication). I also worked full time the entire pregnancy, and had 2 older children to care for… so I DEFINITELY sympathize. If you’ve prayerfully discerned to avoid having another child right now then NFP is a wonderful solution. It’s worked flawlessly for me for almost 8 years now (none of my pregnancies have been “surprises” or “unplanned”)…

First off… check your local diocese for local NFP classes.
Other resources:
ccli.org/
nfpandmore.com/nfphowto.shtml
tcoyf.com/

Those links are all for the sympto-thermal method of NFP (which I use)… but there are other methods out there, so google these:
Creighton Method
Marquette Method
Billings Method

HTH a little and good luck to you. I hope you have a safe and healthy delivery and are holding your new little bundle soon!
God bless!

 

[Socio_Momma]

you can still use NFP if you have irregular periods, it is NOT the rhythym method/calendar method so there is no need to have textbook 28 day periods. my own periods range and i went through a while were i had some really wacky reproductive health problems (i.e. endo related) but during it all i was able to use NFP.

there are a lot of different methods out there, modern NFP relies on you charting your fertility signals day by day so you always have up to date fertility information when prayerfully diserning God’s call in relation to your family planning.

here is the method i have been using, it’s the Marquette Method (MM) though Marquette University. using cervical mucous charting & a ClearBlue Easy Monitor (off label use) via the protocols they have developed. you find cheaper monitors on ebay or amazon to save money. MM does have a protocol for all different special circumstances like breastfeeding, long/short cycles, etc… it was very easy to use and get help from their staff when learning, they even have an online forum where you can get your questions as a user answered by a NFP trained medical profressional (drs & nps). here’s their website: nfp.marquette.edu/index.php

i am sure other posters will offer some more links and info on other methods out there [looks like the pp gave some awesome ones!] i personally just found this method to work best for me, but you should check out different methods and see which one clicks/fits best with you.

prayers for you, your pregnancy, little one, and family!

 

[annabeth]

Well years ago I did try NFP in reverse to get pregnant since I suffered infertility for years and it didnt work at all but then again my body wasnt working very well. I do know how to do it and have taken all the classes. I have books on it too but I do need a refresher course since it has been years. Since I had my first I just never planned on birth control and just having as many kids as the Lord blessed me with. That is why I am having such a hard time so I think prayer in order here also. I have had such a hard time praying ever since I got pregnant. I do pray daily but not the rosary and not like I used to. I really need support through this and being new here I appreciate you all.
In my heart of hearts I want more children but cannot see going through this again. No meds have worked for me and it has been torture.