NFP question - long

TerriandJoe

Hi! I'm ot sure if I ever posted on the Catholic weddings board before, but I have been lurking for a while. Anyway, FI and I are getting married in a month and a half! We went to pre-cana in November, but it had no segment on NFP, as the person who talks about it wasn't feeling well.

So we started two weeks ago. and have a follow-up class tonight.

I'm concerned about my chart/cycle.

We started our classes on Thurs. April 8. My period was from Monday, March 29 until April 2. Because I have been keeping track of my period, our teacher let me use that as the start of our first week. With no stickers on the 3rd though the 7th. And to start the stickers on the 8th.

Is it possible to have been green from the 8th until today? (ok, there were 3 days that might have been white 13, 14 and 15 but the book says if you are damp to mark it as green)

Since I have been tracking my period, I'm expectingg to get it around April 27 or so.

When would I ovulate? I noticed it before when it happened, but before NFP wasn't paying attention. Does the 13 days of green in the middle seem normal?

We have class tonight, just trying to get an idea.

Thanks!

Riss91

Hey! Fellow HV girl here ;-)

Are you temping? How are you tracking CM - internally or externally? It's really difficult to say for sure unless we have all the info. Generally, the time period from the day your period starts to the day you ovulate can vary cycle to cycle so it's tricky to tell for sure when you're fertile unless you're tracking everything. That being said, I generally consider anything after my 8th cycle day (in your case (April 5th) to be a fertile (or green) time. And we abstain until 3-4 days after my temperature spikes/fertile CM is gone. For the past 7 months, I've O'd between the 14th and 17th day, so that's why we hold off after day 8.

I highly recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility, it really explains alot. Also, many people use fertilityfriend.com to track their cycles. There is a free version available.

Feel free to keep asking questions - there are many knowledgable ladies on here!

agapecarrie

It sounds as if you are doing Creighton method, which there is no temping and only external obesrvations. Please take note, Sympto method users have different rules, please do NOT use sympto rules for Creighton charts. They are different and get you messed up.

Ovulation cannot be predicted. It can be estimated when it might happen, but God designed a woman's body intelligently-- so that when she is sick or under stress, ovulation is delayed so that a conception doesn't occur under bad conditions.

The textbook cycle is period, short time of green stickers, then fertile time, then green stickers. Ovulation can change every single cycle, and that is healthy. Ovulation can be delayed a decent amount of time.

Other things to consider: if you are on allergy meds, antihistemenes, that can dry you up a bit. It's possible, if you haven't been diligent in your observations that you missed it.

When in doubt, talk to your teacher about it.

TerriandJoe

Hi! Thanks! We are studying the Creighton method - so external checking and no temps needed. I'm at day 24 now, and that's why I'm concerned, thinking that I would have seen something by now. I have observed CM before charting, just never paid attention to what day. I will ask tonight. Thanks!

ocprincess

I have not practiced NFP formally as I do not cycle, but the basic principle was explained to us in high school. Our health teacher also teaches NFP.  One thing that she said about NFP vs the rythem method is that different women have different cycles.  Sure, the most typical woman ovulates in the middle, but not everyone does.  Some do more toward the end of the "month."  Also, with wedding stress, you may have skipped a month due to stress and everything, or you may have missed the CM for reasons other posters stated.

Calypso1977

i take temps so i cant help you as i dont really know creighton method.

i appear to ovulate between days 12-15 each month.  my cycles usually are 26 days, but ive had some as short as 24 and one as long as 28.  but as OC said, everyone is different and a variety of things can delay or prevent ovulation all together.

good luck!!  keep at it.  i'm just starting my 13th chart.  this past year has been amazing as far as learning how this all works.  once you get the hang of it, start seeing patterns, etc. its so easy!! 

TerriandJoe

So, I have to be more careful with my checking becaus our instructor said that I should check before and after going to the bathroom. I wasn't always doing it both times. She said that CM sometimes only appears once a day, so I might have missed it. But since bot yesterday afternoon and today are white days, maybe not. 

Thanks for all your help!

Calypso1977

yes, def check your fluids before you  bathroom.  sometimes it can come out with your urine and its gone before you can check it.  you can often tell alot by your underwear, too.

odiloveslegos

We just went to our first Creighton session and she showed us a woman who was green for about that long.  I think you'll be ok