why i still believe in FAM.

** i ditto the disclaimer from this previous post. please refer to it before proceeding.**

ok, now that we are all comfy cozy with being real here:

when i went in for my first prenatal appointment at eight weeks, my nurse said, "so a year ago i sent you out of here with a prescription for bcp. what happened?"

"well, uhh, i never filled it...we chose to switch to a, uh, more, uh natural method." grin.

"i see. well, as you've discovered (ahem), that method isn't nearly as reliable."

hmm, thanks.

i was torn as to whether i should write this post and address the elephant on my blog. a little while ago i posted about why we chose to use the fertility awareness/natural family planning method of birth control. and here i am 27.5 weeks pregnant. so any believers i gained then, are probably suddenly skeptics again. that's you isn't it? it's ok.

when it comes to birth control i am a strong believer in choosing a method that seems best to you and your partner. so nothing i am posting is with the intent of trying to convince anyone to do things any way. but, for us, it's what felt right. and here are some reasons why i still believe in FAM:

first, i believe us getting pregnant was a small (or huge!) miracle.
second, this method is quite reliable (90%--higher if you use it most strictly) but obviously lower than your typical bcp (98%). so there's that.
third, we followed it with extreme precision and were as careful as we possibly could have been.
fourth, God (aka, creator of the universe, quite powerful) had a different plan.
five, when God has a different plan, his plan is the winning plan.

in any case, something bigger was at work here than our desires to conceive or prevent. the something bigger had a bigger plan. we are pretty dang confident that the "something bigger"'s plan always trumps ours. we are head over heels in love with this miracle of a child growing inside of me. only three months more till we meet her!

now, i will admit to this: after this sweet bambina is born, we plan to continue using FAM. we have talked through ways to go even above and beyond what is considered safe. because apparently we have a tendency to conceive against all odds...what a skill! but this is still the method that is most comfortable for us and most aligns with our priorities. so call us crazy, but that's where we stand. 

and that's all i have to say about that.

(but i am interested: has anyone else had other/similar experiences with natural family planning as we have? have you been able to use it successfully for a long time? do you still think we are crazy for having ever chosen this method?)