pondering contraceptive choices...grrr

[babyphat]

now my baby sleeps in the evenings and can entertain herself for more than 5 minutes, i might actually get laid this year.

had vaguely thought would have 6 months of freebie sex and then would have a bash at natural family planning with temperature charting etc. but i am still BF a lot incl at night and so doubt that is an option (i have had one period since starting on solids but not been long enough to know if that will be a regular occurrence, also not sure would consistently have a long enough uninterrupted period of sleep for temping to work).

i don't want the minipill because of the hormones and BF

i am wary of mirena due to lots of horror stories
ditto the copper coil - also scared of getting pg on either and having a m/c, as i had one while TTC dd

i used a diaphragm for a bit but the spermicide is so...frothy...and um...noisy! and think it stung dp - other than that, didn't mind it though

i don't mind condoms but dp not keen, and suspect i won't get much action if they are our only option

really don't want to get pg again for 2-3 years for work reasons

sorry for massive post but anyone successfully used natural family planning while bfeeding? or have any other suggestions?

Crikey.

I take it the normal combined pill is out of the question? Can you have the injections or progesterone rod things? I don't know if they are ok when breastfeeding.

Can you get some kind of non-frothy spermicide?!

Everyone I know who tried natural family planning while BFing ended up preggers very quickly.

What horror stories have you heard about with the coil? maybe you'll be a successful user?

Alternatively fool around with DH, but no condom, no penetratve sex!! Play hard ball (pardon the pun).

I was amazed when my DH said that condoms wouldn't work if we'd played around for a bit, then put it on. Did he think I was that gullible?!!!

Why do you not want hormones? May seem an obvious question, but is it for health reasons ie- you are worried over side effects?

Ditto the coil- some people I know are thrilled with theirs- you really need to see if it works ( in all ways) for you. I do know someone who doubled up she had a coil then used condoms on what she thought were the unsafe days each month as well.

Do you not like the effect of the minipill hormones on you, or is it the bf aspect you're concerned about? The minipill is the one routinely prescribed for bf women and I'm not aware of any evidence suggesting it's harmful for the baby.

You could try the implant, perhaps? Hormones, but at a lower dose because they are continuous-release.

What about Persona machine - you can buy it at Boots - bit expensive because you have to pee on a stick 8 every cycle but has good success rates. In my local Boots at the weekend, i noticed they were selling the machines at a reduced price - I paid £50 or £60 for mine several years ago...

see link!

Persona tells you not to use while breastfeeding (or possibly not to use while breastfeeding if you don't have regular cycles yet -- I forget which, just know I can't use it).

Ah, ok!

i've not tried the minipill, not too worried about the effect on me, my concern is more over it passing to dd through into my milk and possibly affecting my supply. i should probably do some reading...

ooh persona looks perfect apart from the BF issue, damn

thanks for all the responses will have a think...