Condoms for the first year - then I had to work nights and it upset my cycle, panicked me terribly (though I wasn't pregnant, just the disrupted routine knocked my pattern awry). Went on the pill. My bf was reluctant because of the scares at the time, but quite honestly I would have rather have died than had to tell my mother I was pregnant!!!!! Stayed on the pill for 4 years, during that time, married my bf. Another pill scare did the rounds, so now that I was safely in wedlock, decided to try the cap (it is hard to go back to condoms after the 'freedom' of the pill.) The cap was horrible as it had to spend more time in and out and (sorry if this is tmi) I loathed the smell of the necessary spermicide. Decided after a couple of months of that I would rather be pregnant anyway, and soon was
Had ds1, was breastfeeding........ back to condoms. Then had ds2 (also planned) and then back to condoms afterwards, though we came to a point when he was 18 months and our circumstances meant that another pregnancy would have been really, really difficult (job and house move, I needed to be earning still, etc etc) - he showed no signs of weaning, so I wanted to try the coil (though personally didn't like the fact I could still have conceived, ethically it troubled me, but I had to make a hard decision.) However, the clinic insisted on taking a smear first, waiting for the result, and then making an appointment to fit this coil, by which time I managed to force him to wean (I still regret this and he is a man now.) As I was no longer breastfeeding, I felt I could go back on the pill (incidentally, the progesterone-only pill was not acceptable to me as a method because of taking hormones whilst bfing worried me too.)
Spent the next 6 years on the pill again, till one day I had a pain in my calf and thought 'what if this is a dvt??' and came off the pill. Decided to use Persona for the next year and a half or so, until we decided to have another baby. When dd was born, it was back to condoms, or more often , the withdrawal method, which although successful in that we didn't have an accidental conception was thoroughly unsatifactory to me, it felt awful - dh hated condoms more though! Then when our dd was about 18mths I became ill and had to take medication which was not compatible with pregnancy, and we were advised the if we had completed our family, then sterilisation was the best solution, so dh had a vasectomy.
Many changes over the years, same partner throughout the past quarter century - sorry it has been such a long post but maybe I'm an interesting illustration of the changing needs through your life! Good luck with the class - do we get feedback??