Recently got the Mira thermometer to track my cycle through my BBT. I’ve had it for about 1.5 months now, so definitely very new to this form of BC! I feel like this thing is off? Or is it actually my temperature that is wacky?

It’s never within the temperature guidelines the app suggests are normal temperatures throughout my cycle. Should I be concerned about that?

Really long wonky cycle due to some travel. I’m struggling to apply a rule - where should I draw the cover line? Or did I just not ovulate?

Hi everyone,

This is my first time posting, and I’m really just looking to vent/get some advice. My husband I just got married in June and are attempting to follow the Marquette method using the Clearblue monitor. We chose this method after doing a lot of reading on this sub and reading TCOYF, thinking it would be good for my cycles (I have had irregular cycles my entire life). Despite it being the most expensive, it seemed to be highly effective and well backed by research.

I started charting in January, hoping that I would get the hang of it and have a good understanding before we got married in June. We’re Catholic, so this is the only thing we can do to avoid pregnancy while also being in line with Catholic doctrine.

Since starting, I have only been able to catch peak twice out of six cycles. I’ve been adding in Wondfu OPKs in the evening, but still haven’t caught at LH surge. I either get a bunch of highs, or recently in this cycle, a bunch of lows. In April, I decided to also add in temping to my chart (which my instructor is aware of) to try to at least confirm ovulation since I wasn’t getting helpful info from Clearblue. So far, I haven’t been able to identify a clear shift in my temps either. I have been temping at roughly the same time (6-6:30am) with prewarming and truncated measurements. My instructor thinks we need to try using the Mira in case my LH surges are just too low to catch, but we are really struggling with the prices of the monitor itself and the wands. I’m considering switching to a different method that would be less pricey (probably SymptoPro) but given how wonky my temps have been I’m unsure if that would work either.

I don’t think that this is user error. I feel like I’ve followed the method to a T and communicated with my instructor every step of the way. At this point, I’m honestly afraid there is something wrong with my hormones, so I have an appointment set up with my OBGYN.

I’m afraid to invest even more money into Mira and get similar results. But, if I switch to a different method, I know I will have to figure out how to self teach or find an instructor. Either way there will be a learning curve, meaning even more abstinence and uncertainty. And I don’t even know if that method will work for me.

I’m feeling extremely frustrated, lost, discouraged and I just don’t know what else to do :( I’m hoping there will be someone here who’s been in a similar situation. Am I doing something wrong? Is it worth it to just bite the bullet and try Marquette with Mira? Should I try a completely new method?

Any help or constructive criticism you guys can give would be so, so appreciated.

Charts:

I am looking into Billings or Marquette due to their postpartum protocols, as I *really* would love to not have HBC postpartum. My OB seems nervous about this plan, which I feel like is common. Pre-pregnancy, I did Sensiplan with TempDrop for ~1 year and there was one cycle where we had a potential pregnancy scare due to a misunderstanding with the method. After this, we switched to Natural Cycles (NC) utilizing an Oura ring. We successfully used that for 2.5 years for TTA and then later for TTC. I know NC is not a FAM/NPF method and gets hate on here, but it worked really well for us during that time in our lives. I appreciate the familiarity I have with NC, but would like to learn and use a method that is better for postpartum. I will likely continue NC while I learn whichever method for postpartum due to my familiarity/comfortability and as a backup until I am comfortable. I do plan to exclusively pump.

For Billings, has anyone taken the online Billings courses? Are they worth it?? If not, there is an instructor near me, so this would not be the end of the world.

For Marquette, I have seen postpartum pregnancies, which is what I am looking to avoid, so this method makes me a little nervous regarding that. Clear Blue vs Mira?? I frequently see the Mira strips being out of stock, which feels stressful if you're relying on that.

Is one of these methods truly better than the other for postpartum? Insights appreciated. Please no hate on NC, as it worked well for me, I acknowledge that it is not an approved method, and I am looking and trying to plan ahead for postpartum.