NFP Questions

[IesusDeus]

Hello all

My wife and I have started NFP last night! (My wife was on pills before.)
I have read through some litterature but I still have some lingering questions.
(We want to try a combination of Billings and Temperature.)

1. I have printed some charts where you write down your observations/temperature.
   When does the cycle starts? (Day 1)
   Is it the first day you have your period? (Or a different day?)
2. Please don’t laugh at my ignorance. I thought she had to take her temperature in her female part, but she took it in her mouth. Does it matter? What is the correct way?
3. If my wife becomes pregnant, will her temperature cycle change?

That’s it for now.
Thanks in advance for the answers.

God bless.

 

[Chovy]

Hello all

My wife and I have started NFP last night! (My wife was on pills before.)
I have read through some litterature but I still have some lingering questions.
(We want to try a combination of Billings and Temperature.)

1. I have printed some charts where you write down your observations/temperature.
   When does the cycle starts? (Day 1)
   Is it the first day you have your period? (Or a different day?)
2. Please don’t laugh at my ignorance. I thought she had to take her temperature in her female part, but she took it in her mouth. Does it matter? What is the correct way?
3. If my wife becomes pregnant, will her temperature cycle change?

That’s it for now.
Thanks in advance for the answers.

God bless.

Congratulations on taking this big step! I’m not a teacher, but I do use NFP and I’m happy to help. Because your wife was previously using BCP, her cycles may take some time to go back to normal.

1. Day 1 is the first day of her period. I use Creighton method, myself, and in that method, it’s the first day that you actually require a pad or tampon.
2. She could actually take her temperature in her, ahem, vagina, and some people feel that is more reliable as it won’t fluctuate due to snoring, or drooling, or sleeping exclusively on one side. Most people take their temperature in the mouth and find this to be reliable as well.
3. Many women see their chart go tri-phasic if they are pregnant. Some do not. If at 18 days after ovulation, her temperature has not gone back down and her period hasn’t started, it’s likely she is pregnant.

Good luck! I hope you are also getting some help from a professional trainer on this. I’m curious, and you don’t have to answer this at all, but are you hoping to avoid conception right now or are you trying to conceive.

 

[Jennifer_J]

Did you take a class? That’s the most effective way to learn.

To answer your questions:

1. Cycle day 1 is the first day of your wife’s period
2. You can take the temp either way. If she sleeps with her mouth open, then taking her temp vaginally is certainly a choice. Most people, I imagine, take the temp orally
3. Pregnancy is indicated with 21 days of temps 4/10 of a degree above the basal body temp

Please check out these links for teachers and more info
ccli.org
bomausa.org
nfpandmore.org/index.shtm (online learning)
creightonmodel.com
omsoul.com

Jennifer

 

[masondoggy]

(We want to try a combination of Billings and Temperature.)

.

Congrats on your new journey.

I believe that it is recommended that you do not combine methods, but choose one method and stick to those rules. If you want to use the temp sign, you have several choices (CCL, TCOYF…). I highly recommend taking a class right away or at least take buy the book The Art of Natural Family Planning (that’s how I learned).

Good luck.

 

[aurora77]

I just wanted to add that if there is some confusion about what is day one for your wife, have her get a check up with a gynecologist. I spent the last year or so spotting for several days before my actual first day and only found out within the last three months that that isn’t completely normal. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but it’s worth getting checked.

 

[IesusDeus]

Thanks for all the responses.

We did not take a class. We try to read through a lot of litterature I got on various Web Sites.

I think we need to get more familiar with the methods.
Will check out the Web Sites links.

Thanks.

 

[Jennifer_J]

I do want to correct myself, for the first chart, you might have to count day one as the first day of her period. After that first chart, the first day really is the day her temp falls back down to her basal level after the phase 3 rise. Sometimes your temp falls first and then the period starts a day later, the first day of that cycle, though is when the temp actually falls. Hope that’s clear (as mud, lol)

Jennifer

 

[IesusDeus]

I do want to correct myself, for the first chart, you might have to count day one as the first day of her period. After that first chart, the first day really is the day her temp falls back down to her basal level after the phase 3 rise. Sometimes your temp falls first and then the period starts a day later, the first day of that cycle, though is when the temp actually falls. Hope that’s clear (as mud, lol)

Jennifer

Thanks for the precision. It helps.
(For now, we started as day 1 of her period.)

 

[masondoggy]

Thanks for all the responses.

We did not take a class. We try to read through a lot of litterature I got on various Web Sites.

I think we need to get more familiar with the methods.
Will check out the Web Sites links.

Thanks.

Reading through web site literature is NOT enough information to adequately practice NFP. You must either take a class, buy the home study course, or at least buy the book. You can buy The Art of NFP on Amazon really cheap.

Unless, of course, you don’t mind getting pg right away. lol

 

[preisinger]

My wife and I have been teaching the STM method for over 4 years.
At the minimum do purchase a book. However, I do strongly still recommend a full class taught by a certified NFP teacher. We have had several students come to our classes after purchasing an at home study kit. There is just something better about having an experienced person assisting you that makes it much better to understand especially when learning mucus observations.

FYI: CCL is updating their course to include more mucus observations than the current course. Over several years, I have heard many couples wanting to combine methods and I think this new course will help satisfy those people with the improvements that CCL is making. I agree, do not try to combine the material on your own. Let those they do the extensive research handle that for you. Hopefully by the end of the year the new course should be out.