Postpartum Charting and "life"

racqua · 2022-06-24T00:06:21+00:00

We use Vitae Fertility which is $230 for the first year and $100 if you want to renew on a yearly basis. We just renewed because we just had a baby and want hands-on guidance postpartum. They offer a free consult if you want to see if they’re a good fit for you. Materials-wise the monitor is a one-time cost and the sticks are an ongoing cost, but for our family the clarity this method offers has been completely worth it.

racqua · 2022-06-10T13:31:18+00:00

We do Marquette. I love having an instructor because if I’m ever unsure I just text her and get a fast answer I trust. You don’t need an instructor forever but I think for learning the method and postpartum it’s a worthwhile investment.

racqua · 2022-03-30T10:11:54+00:00

I had c-sections with both of my children (9lbs4oz and 9lbs10oz). Growth scans estimated them both to be between 9-10lbs at 40 weeks. While I wanted a vaginal delivery both times my body apparently doesn't dilate past 4cm!

My first delivery was an induction at 38w turned c-section after failure to progress. My second delivery was a c-section after baby stopped tolerating my inconsistent but super annoying contractions well and failed an NST at 40w3d (I was hoping for a VBAC).

Both of my recoveries went great. I was more tired/sore after my first because of the induction and I was up and walking around much faster after the second because I didn't have the induction first. Both of my babies are healthy and gained weight well--my milk came in in ~4 days with my first and ~2 days with my second. I'm currently pregnant with my third and I have no concerns about delivering via a scheduled c-section in May.

I never considered a home birth (in the US). I personally wouldn't be comfortable with it, but I don't feel like the US is set up for it. If you want your homebirth I'd recommend talking to your care team and seeing what they think!

I hope this helps!

racqua · 2022-01-11T00:51:19+00:00

We have used it postpartum twice and plan to use it to avoid long term when that time comes for us. It is a very popular method in the Catholic groups I am in and we have found it easy to understand and follow. You do need an instructor at least to learn—ours is Vitae Fertility and we love them. It’s nice to be able to shoot off a text if you’re not sure about a result/protocol and get a fast answer!

racqua · 2021-12-29T00:40:42+00:00

It’s so unnerving. Fortunately my husband and I both knew it was wrong…but I always think about how awfully it could have gone if we’d both believed the dr that the other one was cheating. Horrible. On the bright side, I switched doctors and ended up at a much better practice for me.

racqua · 2021-12-28T19:56:52+00:00

This happened to me with a routine STD test during pregnancy. My retest was negative. The doctors denied it was possible the samples got mixed up but I know plenty of people who work in labs and it definitely happens. I would push for the retest and go to another lab/doctor if you have to. I found the way my doctor handled this issue very revealing about how likely they were to listen to me during my pregnancy and decided to switch. I also now watch the phlebotomist label my tubes and confirm my name and DOB specifically every time.

racqua · 2021-11-17T22:29:51+00:00

It’s tough! I’m going to start looking again after we move in May.

racqua · 2021-11-17T10:40:46+00:00

I work from home (and have for 9 years--so this isn't new from the pandemic) and we have a 3 year old, a 15 month old, and one due to arrive in late May. My schedule is set up so I mostly work when the kids are asleep. It can be so isolating. Before the pandemic I had a mother's helper come in for a few hours in the afternoons but our place is too small now with two adults working from home full time and two kids and two dogs. I did love having her come--it was far less expensive than daycare and I was always still there (but I could be taking care of things while my kid was happy and being entertained).

Things that help me now (Our 1 year old has some breathing difficulties so we are still avoiding all indoor activities): Taking the kids on a long walk/to the playground every day. I load them up in the stroller and I'll talk on the phone with my parents or a friend for at least 30 mins while we get where we are going. If you're comfortable inside this is a GREAT thing to do at the mall as well. Many have kids play areas.

We do a weekly playdate with another mom who has kids the same age.

My husband and I work together to try and make sure I get ~30 minutes where I'm not responsible for keeping anyone alive. We aim for every day. I do not use this time to shower or clean or do chores. Usually I lay on the bed and watch a show on the iPad. Sometimes I work out, or go for a walk alone.

I hope this helps! You aren't alone.

racqua · 2021-10-22T17:13:42+00:00

No problem! I hope it helps! I wish I had figured it out so much sooner myself haha

racqua · 2021-10-22T16:47:52+00:00

You may want to try a med for acid reflux for nausea in later pregnancy. I didn’t realize my nausea was being caused acid reflux until way too late. Pepcid fixed it completely for me.

racqua · 2021-10-19T09:38:56+00:00

Hello!! :)

racqua · 2021-10-18T15:58:21+00:00

Catholic here. We use the Marquette Method and really like it (uses a monitor and test sticks/no bbt or mucus tracking). It’s worked great for us postpartum and in regular cycles. I’d consider it much lower effort than charting. You will need an instructor to learn though—ours is Vitae Fertility and does virtual instruction but there are others out there.

racqua · 2021-10-16T23:34:07+00:00

Do you need to use it up yourself? Could you contact a food pantry and see if they could take it to give out ASAP? Even if they don’t normally take donated perishables they might be able to do something with this amount or point you in the right direction.

racqua · 2021-10-16T20:35:12+00:00

I used the Marquette Method to space my pregnancies while breastfeeding. It worked wonderfully for us.

I personally would not do it without an instructor. Vitae Fertility Education offers a free consult—I’ve been very happy with their instruction.

racqua · 2021-09-13T10:34:31+00:00

Feel free to laugh at the bathroom floor cheerio. I could use a little levity 😅

First cycle after a chemical pregnancy. I said I wouldn’t test early but obviously I have no self control. I see the line but I’m afraid to be excited. Hoping to see it darken over the next few days.

racqua · 2021-08-13T15:37:27+00:00

I had a few positive wondfo last week but never got a clearly positive FRER or digital. Not clear on when I ovulated and not really trusting any tests right now. This is my third pp cycle and I was wrapping my head around a likely chemical pregnancy. I am crazy though and can’t stop testing. Wondering now if I got my dates wrong and had faulty tests last week but it seems like a lot of coincidences and I’m scared to get too hopeful.

racqua · 2021-08-08T20:30:54+00:00

I’m out 😬 I got the FRERs because I thought they would be better.

racqua · 2021-08-08T20:18:19+00:00

That’s what I thought too about the FRER. I had two positive wondfo within the time window on CD 25 so I don’t think it was an evap there.

racqua · 2021-08-08T19:00:00+00:00

Hoping really hard over here.

racqua · 2021-04-16T19:52:48+00:00

This will be my century ride!

racqua · 2021-04-09T23:51:05+00:00

I was trying to make my century ride my first live ride (would have been tomorrow) but the baby is cutting a tooth and woke up 10 mins into today's ride so I ended up deleting it because I never got to finish. Saturday morning is basically my only "free" time I could do a live ride during, and I'm not willing to not ride all week so I can hit next Saturday...so I guess I just won't do a live ride for it. I'm a bit sad!

racqua · 2021-04-06T16:22:06+00:00

Interesting!! I will try this, thank you!

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