My experince with Natural Family Planning

As a newly wed, I did not think much about natural family planning or birth control. When we were still dating, my hubby and I often pictured only us two for the first couple of years and then 4 kids that are 3 years apart of each other.

In reality, family planning is a hard thing to do. In marriage preparation course, we often heard the advice to learn Natural Family Planning as early as possible. Yet, lack of interest and connection (any newlyweds we know got their kids at least after 6 months or 1 year after being married without contraception) make us believe that we too will have kids after 6 months or 1 year of marriage. Boy, are we surprised when a month after our wedding, I was pregnant with my first-born, Alicia Regina Thio named after Mother Mary, mother of Jesus.

During my 9-months pregnancy, I started searching for articles about NFP, asking other people who I know practiced it, etc. But, as soon as my pregnant belly disappeared, so did the motivation to learn family planning. Guess what, after only 8 months of being a first time mommy, I found myself pregnant with my 2nd child!!!!

I was devastated.

How can I manage 2 young kids with so narrow spacing?

But, my hubby and I know for sure that God will not abandon us, and that each child he gave into our lives will surely bring blessings. It's true, my hubby always got a higher paying new job with each of our 2 kids. Sometimes I joke with him if I need to get pregnant first so that he can get a new job :)

Well, my second beautiful baby, Emily Josephine Thio named after St Joseph, was born in April this year. Similar to what happened after I gave birth to Alicia, I procrastinated from learning about NFP.

But, our Father in heaven really knows his kids inside out. He knows that this particular daughter of his will not learn NFP if not threatened. Two months ago, I thought I was pregnant again. Embarrassment, monetary constraints, etc came over me. My coworkers will surely make fun of me (when I got back from my maternity leave a few months ago, they joked and asked me if I was pregnant with my 3rd already).

Yup, God never let his people be embarrassed. It turned out only a late period. But, it was a huge turning point for me. From that day on, I promised God and myself that I will not be ignorant of my body again. That day on, my passion to understand better about my own fertility cycle begins.

Next thing I did was to find books to read. I found two (see my separate blog entry titled source) that was really good and very informative.

Now, I just completed my first cycle, and was very thrilled about it. It was not as difficult as I thought (or as other people complained). It will seriously be a second nature to you once you get that first cycle going. I promise it will not be harder than taking your degree!!!!

Sources

The information on this blog is taken from :

- Natural Family Planning: The Complete Approach by John and Sheila Kippley

- Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health by Toni Weschler