When I got my IUD out a few months ago, I asked for birth control ideas.  I was surprised how many Moms recommended a BOOK as birth control!  I had to check it out.

A Book as Birth Control?

I bought Taking Charge of Your Fertility from Amazon and was excited when it arrived in the mail.  At first I was overwhelmed, because it is pretty thick!  That is a lot of information, but I only needed some of it.  A mom trying to conceive would read some parts I didn’t read.  So I am reviewing this more of a preventing pregnancy standpoint.

Knowledge is power!

I am all about how knowledge brings empowerment.  Well there was a whole lot I didn’t know about my cycles and how bodies let us know what is going on.

I had charted my temperatures before getting pregnant with T1 and T2 (I was shooting for boys – it worked!)  But I didn’t know about cervical mucus or positioning.  That adds this whole new level of information.   Suddenly I understood what all my vaginal fluid/cervical mucus was about.  It MEANS something.  It is actually really cool.

So I started charting.  I had ordered a basal thermometer when I ordered my book.  I started taking my temperature every morning.  It takes less then 30 seconds.  The first month I paper charted.

My DH wasn’t sold at first.  He wasn’t about to have unprotected sex EVER!  But after about 3 months of tracking and showing him my charts and telling him about my temperatures and mucus, he believes in the process.  At least enough that we have had unprotected sex once during a “safe” time.  Maybe he was just happy not to have to wear a condom and was willing to be risky.  But I didn’t feel it was risky at all.  Because I knew I had ovulated 8 days earlier. 

Going High Tech

Charting on paper wasn’t hard, but I thought an APP would be funner.  So I did a little research and downloaded the FemCal App.  I did the lite one first, because it was free.  But have since moved up to the paid one.

It is so fun to go in and mark your temperature.  Your moods, your mucus and if you had sex.

Seriously, you get a little heart on the days you have sex!  It is almost as great as earning a sticker for brushing your teeth!  (My boys do, not me.)

Now, don’t go thinking you can just download the app and not read the book.  You won’t know what eggwhite mucus is vs sticky.  These are important things to know.  I think the book and an app are a great team, but I wouldn’t trust one without the other.

Sharing my charts!

The super cool thing about the paid app is it saves more than 3 cycles and you can download your charts.  In case you want to share them with the world on your blog!  There are other reasons you may want to download them too.  Maybe to share with your doctor at appointments, or friends at book club.

Here is my first full cycle chart.  You can see it was pretty “normal”

Then here is my really weird cycle, that was 42 days long.  My body kept trying to ovulate, but took forever!  Seriously, if I hadn’t been charting I would have been so worried I was pregnant.  But I knew I didn’t ovulate until day 28.

Look at all those heart stickers I got! 🙂

MMM, I forgot my Mom reads my blog!  Oh well, at least DH’s mom doesn’t read it.  😉

I would say this is a MUST READ book for ALL women!

If women could understand and appreciate their fertility cycles it would be SO empowering on so many levels.  I think it would filter down (or filter up?)  into their births.

I automatically thought, we need to teach teenage girls this!  Not for birth control – but for empowerment.  Just knowing this stuff makes me realize even more how amazing your body is!  I was happy to see that Toni has written a book for teens and I will review that in a few weeks.

Buy This Book!

• if you are trying to get pregnant.
• if you are trying not to get pregnant.
• if you are female.

There you go.  A Review and a Peak into my Cervical Mucus.  Probably much more then you ever wanted to know!

Enjoy!