NFP - New Technology I Want to Try

Hey - If you don't want to talk shop about Natural Family Planning, body temps and cycles, then click away right...now.

I warned you, here we go.

I was using my ovulation monitor this morning, as part of the Marquette Model of NFP, and I realized I had only three test sticks left.  I logged onto amazon.com where I had been ordering them as a subscriber for years, and therefore not truly paying attention to the cost, and was shocked to see how much these test sticks now cost!  A box of 30 tests (which is 1.5 cycles' worth for me) is $45.00!!!  That means each year, I spend $360.00 on test sticks, or about $1 a day.  Now I know that might not seem like a lot of money to some people, but when you realize that most types of NFP are basically free after the initial purchase of a basal thermometer, or the cost of a class or book that explains the techniques, the Marquette Method is quite expensive.  Not to mention that the monitor itself costs a lot, which I was able to get for free as I was part of the initial study of women using this method.

I will say that the Marquette Method truly helped me finally figure out my long, irregular cycles, and has helped us tremendously with being able to space out our children a bit.  We have been using this method since Alexander was born four years ago, and while I love what I've learned I'm pretty confident in my ability to stop using it and going back to either the Sympto-Thermal Method or Creighton.  But honestly, it's a little scary!  The monitor helped give me that pat on the back that I was reading my signs correctly, and when it's left for just me, myself, and I to interpret the signs, we can get a little overwhelmed and filled with self-doubt.  

So what's a budget-conscious baby-spacing girl to do?

I think this next piece of technology might be the answer.  Let me be clear, I am in no way affiliated with this but I do like to shop around and when my friend told me about the YONO Fertility Friend, I was very intrigued.  

The YONO is a wearable ear bud that measures your basal body temperature while you sleep, then once placed in the monitor, transmits the data to your smartphone!  It is made (as are ovulation monitors) to try and help women achieve pregnancy.  But the flip side of the coin is that in identifying your best dates to conceive, you are also identifying your best dates to abstain if you are trying to avoid a pregnancy.  

With the YONO, you are able to get an accurate basal body temp without having to wake up at the same time each day and take your temp!  We all know how hard that can be as moms who need to wake up at various times during the night or morning to tend to kids, and the YONO does it for you while you sleep!  Then based on the data collected after a while, the YONO can even start predicting your future cycles.  How cool is that?  NFP without taking a temperature, without charting, all while using science as that pat on the back to confirm everything you're tracking.  

I think I'm sold!  Right now, YONO is raising money to finish product development and you can pledge $119 to get one earbud and one monitor.  Or you can pledge $169 to get two earbuds and two monitors.  These are supposed to be delivered in December and I just want to help spread the news about this device, and then leave it up to you, your spouse, and God to determine if it's right for your family :)