Not quite ready- BC questions

Izzy0927

Hi all, this is my first post here! DH and I have been married for 4 years, and we're almost ready to start trying for baby #1! We're both 26, and I've been on BC for 8 years now. For the past 3 years, I've had a BC implant in my arm (implanon). It's going to expire soon, so I'll need to remove it by August anyway, but DH aren't quite ready to start really trying until December or so. Does anyone know of any good short-term BC options? Or how long is it recommended to be BC hormone free before you start to TTC? WWYD? Clearly I'm new to this...

Thanks! Nice to "meet" you all.

Izzy0927

Thanks so much for the advice. I'm going to order that book now. I really appreciate the answers. While it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if we got pregnant before December, it would make things a whole lot easier to have a few extra months to prepare. There's so much to think about when you realistically start talking about kids!

GeorgiaWife6912

Since you will have it taken out in August and want to start TTC in December, I would say just go with condoms.  It is definitely possible to get pregnant your first cycle off birth control but many women do have irregular cycles after coming off BC. We used condoms for a couple months between coming off BCP and TTC and I hated them, but they worked until we were sure we were ready! Good luck!

JemmaWRX

We're also planning to start TTC in December.  I finished my last pack of BC pills in May.  We are doing natural family planning for now.  Simply avoiding sex during my fertile window and pull and pray (using OPKs, monitoring CM... will start temping once I can find a BBT!).  Obviously that's not a foolproof method and we are ok with the risk of getting pregnant.  If you want to be hormone free, but don't want to risk pregnancy before December, I think condoms are your best bet. 

ETA - I want to second PPs, you can absolutely use hormonal BC until you're officially ready.  You don't need to get it out of your system.  The only downside is that it might take your body a while to regulate... it might take a while to ovulate/get a period.  But everyone is different, you never know!

TUSBride22

You should look into charting.  I highly recommend the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility... It will change your life!  They definitely don't teach you that stuff in Sex Ed.

I haven't been on birth control in 9 years because I no longer have a need for it.  I know exactly what my cycle is doing, and because of charting, we got pregnant on the first try with DS!  (I thought it would take us longer but we got really lucky.)  I'm currently awaiting the results on our second first try, so we'll see how it goes... 

ETA: P.S. I was a huge biatch on BC so it was in everyone's best interest that I am not on it anymore