Current Method: Marquette
Previous Method: Frankenstein Method of Billings, Natural Cycles and Kindara
Previous Method: Billings Ovulation Method
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- Tell us a little about yourself.I'm a skeptical optimist living in San Diego, all about film/media/digital arts. Graduated from and now teach part time at John Paul the Great Catholic University. Mom of 3, chill music, coffee, outdoors, hiking, gym, laughing. Laughing at how absolutely basic I am on paper ๐
- What effects has fertility awareness had on your relationship?Ugh total test. It's the absolute worst. My husband is totally supportive (he is very convicted about not using artificial BC) but all the actual responsibility is on me to chart.
- First Method: Marquette - How did you find your instructor?Instructor was referred by a friend, and that friend actually covered my costs, so I'm not sure how much it was. I would guess 200? My instructor gave initial instruction and tons and tons of text follow ups, she is very accessible for questions (especially since I'm Post-Partum).
- Describe your daily charting routine.I pee in a cup when I get up with my baby around 2 or 4 am. Later in the morning, once the day has started I dip my stick and put it in the monitor. At some point that day or night, I check the monitor and then update my app (Kindara). I track only the primarily the hormonal reading, and casually track mucus. Marquette does require more abstinence than the other methods I've used, which is sad, but TBH my libido is so low post baby that I don't personally mind (although I am sad for my husband).
- What made you choose this method?The Marquette method has been a game changer for me, in a good way. I've used other methods in the past and it has always been a HUGE stresser and very unpleasant. With Marquette, I don't think about it other than for a couple minutes each day and I have no worries about whether I am 'reading' the biomarkers correctly. It has helped me feel much more calm about family planning. We have had three kids in four years and I am very serious about taking a break due to pure exhaustion. We had a surprise baby while using Natural Cycles, and I absolutely hated the Billings method so I switched to Marquette. As I said above, my favorite part is the objectivity and clarity and ease of the method. My least favorite part is how much waste it produces (plastic sticks daily, batteries over time).
- Has charting helped you to understand your overall health?It has helped me understand my mood swings and TBH why I get mad at my husband more during parts of the month than others.
- Did you switch to this method from another one? If so, why?I switched because the other methods I had used were so subjective, and I had constant stress that if I was reading my mucus wrong we would have a surprise pregnancy. I had a pregnancy and birth between switching methods, so it didn't feel like much of a transition between methods. Although, I do think having used sympto-thermal helped me to have a pretty robust understanding of my cycle to start well on Marquette.
- Second Method: Frankenstein Method of Billings, Natural Cycles, and Kindara - How did you find your instructor?I had taken Billings from a friend of a friend. The cost was $100 and that included an initial instruction, a follow up meeting and availability for telephone follow ups.
- Describe your daily charting routine.I honestly can't remember how long I used this method for, it was for several months between baby 1 and 2 and then between 2 and 3.
- What made you choose this method?I wanted something more robust then Billings so I added temperature taking to it.
- Did you stop using this method? If so, why?This method felt very chaotic, probably because it wasn't a real method. I also absolutely hated taking my temperature in the mornings, I would have trouble sleeping because I was worried about taking it first thing, and the thermometer took so long, especially when my alarm clock was a crying baby. It just didn't fit in with the lifestyle of a new mom of two. And again, I can't emphasize enough how much stress I felt trying to make sure I was interpreting mucus correctly and checking daily and being specific in my charting.
- Third Method: Billings Ovulation Method - How did you find your instructor?My instructor was a friend of a friend. She charged $100 for an initial instruction, 1 follow up, and then phone call follow ups were available.
- Describe your daily charting routine.I used Billings for 3 months before getting pregnant with my 1st. We were newly married and 'experimenting' with the fertile window.
- What made you choose this method?I chose this method because it sounded like the least involved and simplest.
- Did you stop using this method? If so, why?Too subjective, too stressful.
