To start using cycle tracking as contraception a few months before TTC?

[user0101]

Me and DH are excited to begin trying for our first baby, the only problem we have is that we need to wait!

If we got pregnant soon it would not be an issue apart from financially. I started a new job at the end of last year and need a certain amount of service before I could be eligible for contractual maternity pay meaning the earliest we could start TTC is September. Hubby also needs a couple months more service before he’d be able to have 2 weeks off fully paid paternity leave.

I’m currently on the combined hormone pill (about to take my last week of pills next week and have my break the week after) and researched cycle tracking apps as I thought due to September only being 5 months away, I could stop taking the pill and use this as contraception and then use it in our favour whilst TTC.

We are both considering it, I reassured him I would take ovulation tests to ensure my red days as I would not like to be pregnant now (SMP is utter sh*te and I would lose so much money monthly)

Am I being unreasonable for not waiting to start cycle tracking (as there is a slight risk)? Should I be waiting to do this later on or could I manage just under 5 months of cycle tracking as contraception?

I mean, if you really dont want to be pregnant in the next 5 months, I'd seriously wouldn't stop contraception. Could you not use condoms for a few months and track ovulation? That way you have a good idea of your cycle without the risk. Take it from someone who had a blip one cycle and ovulated a couple of days after my period finished.

The result of that blip is now 2 and a half, by the way.

@MouthBreathingRage we did say we’d use condoms/pull out method as a back up also alongside ovulation tests! Such a hard decision as I’d love to come off the pill and get to know my natural cycle so when we TTC I have a deeper understanding of my body. Currently been on the pill for years and can’t remember what my cycles were like pre hubby!

No, I would carry on on the pill and come off when you're ready to try. I tracked my cycle each time and I stayed on the pill right up until I was ready to try. If you have healthy normal cycles, you'll bounce right back and there is no advantage to tracking early. I was pregnant in the 2nd month after coming off the pill and the first month the next time (one of those pregnancies was a mc though; I was 31-37 at the time). Your cycles may be wacky, but that's just how they are, learning out to track them in advance will just be frustrating - and you risk an unplanned pregnancy. There is also some belief that the first month or two after you stop the pill is a very fertile time (certainly proved to be the case for me), so might as well use that to your advantage.

I came off the pill and we used condoms for 3 months.
I wouldn't do the pull out 'method'.

pull out method

Seriously? You may as well buy your pram now if you're going to rely on that.

We sort of did this but used condoms as well. I had an irregular smear on Aug 17 which required a LLETZ treatment on my cervix and I had a little wobble worrying about my fertility, so I stopped taking the pill then. We then used condoms and cycle tracking from Sep 17 - Mar 19 when we started trying. Generally to be safe (once id established I had 32 day cycles) we’d not use condoms on the first 10 days and last 5 days of my cycle, and would use them from day 11 - 27. I felt it was good to let my body adjust to being off the pill, and the ‘cycles’ you have when on the pill aren’t real cycles, they’re induced by the hormones you’re taking.

It actually took us 9 months to fall pregnant even with me being off the pill for 18 months before that, so I’m glad I came off when I did as it meant that was 9 months where I had a good understanding of my cycles and could make sure we weren’t missing the best opportunities - nothing too regimented but, for example, Id have assumed day 14 was ov day when in actual fact for me it was always day 21. So I had that knowledge from the start rather than having to pick it up while trying.

I'd come off the pill but not rely on pulling out. Use condoms and track using temperature/OPKs/charting etc.

I did exactly that. Came off the pill and tracked my cycle for 6 months before our big holiday which I did not want to be pregnant for. Didn't use any other contraceptives. Then got pregnant the first month of trying afterwards. Obviously I can't promise it will work this way for you but did the job for me.

I would continue using contraception until this shitstorm is over. The NHS is overwhelmed st the moment.