*this post is sponsored by Natural Cycles
*and this post is extremely personal, so if you don’t want to hear about my sex life (I’m talking to you parents), then maybe skip it.

Birth control. Something I am no stranger of, but also something that I have been avoiding since my pregnancy with Marlowe. But let’s talk about it. What are your thoughts on it? Do you use it? What kind do you use? Is this something you’re even comfortable talking about? For me, I don’t have a problem talking about it at all! (None of you are surprised, I’m sure.) I’ve actually had quite a bit of you guys reach out to me on my personal thoughts and usage of birth control.

I can fully and completely say, I will personally NEVER go back to using a hormonal birth control again. I was on ‘the pill’ on and off for years since I was a teenager. My mood and body problems went up and down with that. My pregnancy (and the end of hormonal pills) brought on the most normal feeling I felt in years. And since then, I swore, never again. Never ever again. I mean, I understand that hormonal birth control works fine for a lot of women, but it doesn’t for me. You guys know, I prefer something more natural.

So what have I been using since pregnancy? Well, if I’m being totally honest with you guys— I wasn’t using anything. We just made sure to be careful. Recently. I started using the Natural Cycles app– and I’m super happy with it and I look forward to using it every day from here on out. As suggested by my sister in law years ago, I looked into FAM (the fertility awareness method). Have you guys heard of it? I hadn’t until she mentioned it years ago. And as long as you’re properly calculating and documenting, it’s fool proof. If you mess up, that means the only fool is you, haha. So what is it? Well, it’s exactly what is sounds like– it’s a method where you are fully AWARE of your own fertility. And you can plan to have kids– or not have kids from there. It’s basically the most natural form of birth control (with the exception of abstinence of course. Seriously, look into the app– unlike FAM, Natural Cycles uses a scientific method and is more effective — download the app now and start measuring your own cycle/hormones for yourself!

I’d also totally recommend checking into a book on fertility awareness. I did and I was then able to learn the basics behind the program. I learned how our natural body and hormonal rhythm has signs and cues that we can keep track of (yay!). The problem is, making daily lists and charts, is NOT something I would consider myself good at (boo!). So unless you’re going to be diligent about keeping daily logs and creating chats, it’s not necessarily the easiest form of birth control– or family planning. Natural Cycles basically takes all the science behind the Fertility Awareness Method and puts it into one easy input app. Perfect. No hand drawn lists or charts— just a few clicks on your phone and your cycle is mapped. (yay yay!)

I’ll give you a quick run down on how the Natural Cycles app works with being aware of your fertility– but I’m going to highly suggest you learn all the details for yourself. K? Cool.

You take your temperature every morning before you get out of bed (if you miss a day here or there, it’s OKAY, but I’d suggest to do it as close to every day as you possibly can). Taking your temp every morning is key– specifically before you even sit up! Even sitting up can mess with your resting temp a few points. You must use a basal thermometer– because it has two numbers after the decimal, not just one. This makes your reading SUPER specific/sensitive. Your natural body temp will have a very slight rise when you ovulate. And you’ll be able to notice/calculate this with the app!

To be even more honest with you– pregnancy prevention hasn’t been a top priority for us lately. Getting sick really threw off my cycle and I could tell that a lot of my problems have been hormone based. So for me, hormone charting and understanding my body has been a want and need. And being able to actually calculate my body temperature/hormones everyday and then understand what is actually happening in my body has been HUGE. I would recommend Natural Cycles for this alone!

But if you’re a hormone having woman (we all are)– and if you’re looking to monitor fertility — or you’re looking to plan or prevent pregnancy then look into the app! It’s free to download and to try! But even better— it’s a completely natural method of birth control. After a while of self monitoring/measuring your body, the app will begin to calculate your cycles phases and you’ll know when you’re in the follicular stage, the luteal stage, or in ovulation. And you’ll get a big ole’ “fertile” or “use protection” sign within the app. This way, if you’re trying to avoid new baby additions to your home, you know when you’re full on good to go in the bedroom or not. Great, right?

The Natural Cycles app is designed for users 18 and up– but it’s never too early to start learning about your own body. Understanding how your body works is key. Knowledge is power. As women, humans, creatures on this earth, we should check in and be in tune with our bodies! They are the only ones we have!

Two more facts to note:

Natural Cycles is SO effective that it is a certified method of birth control in the EU. Although Natural Cycles can help in planning or preventing pregnancy it does NOT protect against STDs. So ladies, please make sure you are still cautious and protective with your lady parts, cool? Cool.

Cheers to EASILY and NATURALLY getting to know your body better 🙂

6 Comments

  1. I’ve never used any form of hormonal birth control, and I never will. It just seems so unnatural to me (but I’m also an RN who refuses to use any meds of any sort myself haha). We use condoms, because I’m honestly terrified of accidentally getting pregnant (we have an 8 year old and a 3 month old)! I’m curious to try out this method.. but scared.. haha. No more kids!

  2. Oh my! I was SO happy when I went off birth control. After my hubby and I decided we didn’t want any more kids, he got snipped and I pulled out my IUD. Best. Feeling. Ever.

  3. yay so happy you shared about this! i use the Kindara app and i LOVE knowing what’s going on with my body everyday. it is seriously so amazing! i wish i had learned all about this when i was younger before i got married and was sexually active. thanks so much for sharing!!

  4. Andrea P.

    Yes! I started using Natural Cycles a few months ago and I absolutely love it! “The Pill” did not work for me either and I was on it for a good 5-6 years 🙁 I started looking into FAM when I started seeing a holistic doctor last year and when I saw this app, I instantly tried it. I’m definitely a believer!

  5. Yes to FAM!! My husband & I have been using FAM to prevent pregnancy since 2012 when I realized my hormones were SO OUT OF WHACK from the pill (and gluten probably!). I use Kindara to track. We are super cautious and always use protection if it’s somewhat possible that I could become pregnant. So it requires a bit more work than a different method, but so much greater to be able to understand your own body and respond to it!!