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Attachment Parenting
rboisvert
member
NFP and a toddler
rboisvert
member
My two year old does not STTN yet. She's up anywhere from midnight to 3 am and I bring her to bed. I've been tracking CM since I got my IUD out last month. I have infuriatingly long cycles (conceived DD on CD 35). I haven't been temping since it seems like an exercise in futility given my sleep situation but I'm wondering what other moms have done. Did you temp, was it even close to accurate with an erratic sleep pattern? We are hoping to TTC soon but are waiting till June or whenever my next cycle happens.
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Re: NFP and a toddler
Oh, and FWIW, we cosleep and I am woken up by DS frequently throughout the night. It still works!
Have you considered using OPKs too? I know that can get pricy. We don't use them, though this is my very first PP cycle. We may get some in the future.
My daughter wakes up 1-2xnight and we use the sympto thermal method. I take my temp and try to take it at the same time every morning. It's still really useful information even though I'm not getting the 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep required for 99.6% accuracy. I also note my CM, which helps. I generally find that I'm able to figure out, at least with hindsight at the end of my cycle, when I ovulated. Look, it still tells you something, it's just not as much of a guarantee, but since you want to TTC, then a good chance of ovulation is reason enough to try, right?
I also have super long cycles with a very short luteral phase. I ovulate anywhere from day 12 to day 36. We're trying to avoid at this point, so we abstain starting on day 10 until I can confirm that I've ovulated. We haven't had any surprise pregnancies yet, so it seems to work. If you're TTC, then I'd get busy two days before my earliest ever ovulation date and then every other day until I can confirm that I have indeed ovulated - for us, that would be like every other day for two weeks. If your cycles are more regular, then maybe it'll take a little less effort.
I temp with a toddler and have been since January - through nights he slept and nights he didn't. My charts are gorgeous and depicts a very obvious shift. Here's how I work it.
You need 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep to temp. I set my alarm for 5am every morning, wake up, temp and go back to sleep. Which is fine for the nights he sleeps through.
When he doesn't sleep through, I'll get up with him all wakes before 3:00. Then it switches to daddy duty. As long as I can be back in bed by 3:30, I can just change my alarm to 6:30 and temp then. It's not ideal, but it doesn't seem to make a difference in my chart. Any wakes after 3am means I might not be in bed by 3:30, so DH gets up with the babe.
I still wake several times a night to breastfeed ds, go to the bathroom, whatever, and wake at different times each morning. I may or may not be getting 3 hours of un-interrupted sleep before I temp. and I don't record time when I temp, since it does vary. We also have wacky heating, so it may be very chilly at night in our bedroom, or too warm.
I have found that I can still temp and see a definite pattern on my charts. So, while I might get much more accurate temps if I wasn't having those variables, it stills works for me.
This may not be the case for everyone, I know.
It definitely can't hurt to try it for a cycle and see what your chart looks like. You should be able to tell if it's accurate enough for you to detect ovulation. Especially if you are tracking cm too.
GL to you!
DS born via unplanned C-section at 40w6d
The Couple to Couple League offers a postpartum course which was really helpful for us. They have an additional set of rules to follow while you're waiting for your cycle to return to normal - might be helpful as you come off the IUD.
I was also going to suggest a CM only method with no temping. CM only methods sound like they would be less effective but the CM observations are way more detailed than in a STM chart (temp and CM).
If you are looking for simplicity I would look into the Billings Ovulation Method (99% effective at preventing pregnancy).
If you have long cycles like OP and may think you might benefit from medical intervention I would look into Creighton Model (also 99% effective at preventing pregnancy). The Creighton Model has medical consultants that are able to treat many reproductive issues with your chart as a jumping off point in diagnosing.