 Schedule your free chat to learn how Nested Mama's virtual doula support can help you find ease in your fertility journey. The first time I dug into reading and learning about signs of fertility, charting, and what that could mean for me, I was in my early twenties. A few years on hormonal birth control - supposedly to "fix" issues with ovarian cysts and eventually for family planning - resulted in a symptom after symptom that required more medications just to keep me functional enough to attend graduate school. While my providers initially dismissed the connections between symptoms and the pill, I now know that my some of my symptoms indicated that I could be at increased risk for stroke when taking hormonal birth control. At that point, I knew there had to be a better way. While jokes about natural family planning abound - I remember a midwife telling me it was "naturally planning to have a family" - there are a wide variety of methods to chart and interpret fertility. These methods can be leveraged for a variety of purposes - to understand your body, to conceive a child, or to prevent pregnancy. So here's a little bit more about fertility charting and why you may love it, too. 1. Understanding your body When I first dove into research concerning various methods of fertility charting at age 23, my initial reaction was one of extreme frustration. Why had no one provided this education to me 10 years ago when I went through puberty? Beyond noting the difference between healthy and problematic discharge, I had NO IDEA that the variations in cervical mucus I observed when going to the bathroom had a rhyme and reason connected to my cycle and fertility. Charting your fertility allows you to connect more deeply with yourself and your understanding of your own biology. Regardless of whether or not you employ this to plan your family, it is a powerful tool simply in that - knowing they whats and whys of your own body. 2. This isn't your grandmother's rhythm method. A lot of the jokes and assumptions you'll hear about any mention of charting your fertility or a variety of approaches to natural family planning assume that you are discussing the rhythm method - an approach to family planning where you time your intercourse around the assumption of a 28 day cycle, where ovulation is predicted at day 14. While these numbers of 28 and 14 are often cited in a discussion of how fertility works, in actuality many women experience a large spectrum of variation in the length of their cycle which in turn means that ovulation does not occur when a simple counting of calendar days would put it. So if counting doesn't work, how do we chart fertility? Much more reliable than simple generalizations is an observation of your OWN particular signs of fertility. Here, several approaches to fertility charting fall under the umbrella of Symptothermal Methods - that is, methods that rely on charting your basal body temperature as well as other signs of fertility such as cervical mucus and the position of your cervix. 3. Timing conception. Charting your fertility can allow you an understanding of your fertility window - the time in which conception is likely to occur - as well as confirming that ovulation occurred. Instead of aiming for day 14, you can tailor your plans directly to the specific indications of fertility given in your own cycle. If you've been trying to conceive for a few months and are starting to feel frustrated, fertility charting can be a noninvasive approach to gaining more information. 4. Trouble Shooting The data gained in fertility charting can also aid you in trouble shooting potential issues. Wondering if you are ovulating after going off hormonal birth control? Your basal body temperature can help you confirm whether or not an ovulatory event occurs. Some data could indicate a variety of natural supplements to explore, while other aspects of charting could indicate if their are concerns with hormone levels. All in all, it provides a host of data points to bring to a knowledgeable medical provider if and when you have questions about your cycle. 5. Family Planning When I discuss the family planning aspect of fertility charting with clients, I'm always reminded that choices around this topic are intensely personal and should always be in tune with a client's values, needs, and preferences. Recently, the CDC changed its view on the efficacy of Fertility Awareness Based Methods for contraception - citing a failure rate of 2%-23%. Why such larger variation? This big span in numbers is due to the wide variety of methods that fall under the umbrella of this category, with some offering more efficacy than others. And, when you consider the failure rates cited for a variety of common birth control methods - condoms (13%), pill/patch (7%), shot (4%) - those looking for an alternate tool for family planning may find a fertility awareness method with a lower failure rate appealing. Regardless of your plans for conception or family planning, fertility charting allows you to connect with your cycle in a new and helpful way. I hope I've piqued your interest to learn more. Do you already chart your fertility? Share about your experiences in the comments! *This post contains an affiliate link. This link gives you a small discount and me a commission that helps keep the Nested Mama blog up and running! A good deal all around! Are you interested in learning more about fertility charting? As a fertility doula, I offer preconception support as well as charting education and support. Read more about these services here. Sign up for a discovery call, and we can have a quick chat to see if Nested Mama services are the right fit for you!
 From Memorial Day to Labor Day in the Corridor, it is officially splash pad season! While my kiddos certainly have their favorites, we love to pack a picnic and set off to explore a new-to-us location to get our splash on. Here, I'm highlighting some of our favorite splash pads to frequent, as well as offering an extensive list of places to splash as you make your way around Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and surrounding communities this summer. Enjoy! And, share your favorite in the comments! Looking for a way to get your splash on without the crowds? Check out this list of awesome creek stomping locations in the Corridor!  Enjoying small water features at Hayes Park in Cedar Rapids.
With a fence surrounding it, the Tiffin City Park splash pad makes it easier to keep an eye on little ones as they play. The pad is very sunny, but a nearby picnic shelter can offer some shade.
Do you have a favorite place in the Corridor to cool down in the summer heat? Share with us in the comments below!
And, if you are looking for the scoop on outdoor adventures in the Corridor, check out Nested Mama's options for Local Family Fun!  Schedule your free chat to learn about Nested Mama's holistic approach to family sleep.It may surprise you that as a Sleep Educator, I do not suggest “routine” or “bedtime routine” as the be-all-end-all for a peaceful life with littles. And, to be fair, I’m not anti-routine at all. I think we all - babies, kiddos, and grownups, too - benefit from predictability and cuing our bodies that it is sleep time with restful, relaxing steps. But, at the same time, if your routine is so ironclad that it doesn’t make space for adaptability and flexibility when competing needs for various members of the family come up - then does that routine truly serve you? Often on social media, I see responses to posts about infant or toddler sleep struggles that follow along the lines of “we’ve had a routine from day one and bedtime has never been an issue.” While those individuals do have a routine that works for them, more than likely it is a combo of parent and kiddo personality or sleep inclination - not the specifics of the routine - that result in this situation. And, if you have a routine that you love and serves you - that’s awesome. But, comments like these always make bedtime routines take on a vaguely mystical quality - as though with the right recipe for lotion/books/jammies/bath/song/what have you, children no longer wake at night or need parental support to fall asleep. When, as recent research tells us, it is more than likely that your child will need you at night. So, if I don’t advocate for rigid routine, what do I suggest? I’m a big fan of looking at sleep - and life, in general - in terms of a family rhythm. That means taking into account the ebb and flow of everyone’s day, everyone’s needs, and the things that bring you joy - together. It may mean little one is napping on the go while you enjoy time with your older children at the park. It may mean after a day of fun outside, you all come home and nap together - and then stay up late enough to see the fireflies. It may mean that even though “they” suggest an early bedtime, a late afternoon catnap such that littlest can see the parent who gets home latest at night works better for your family. And, here’s the thing, it is YOUR family. Therefore, the rhythm has to work for you- to serve your needs, rather than keep you locked into only one possible way of being day and night. Sometimes implementing a rhythm that works for your family is hard to do. I get that, and in my one-on-one consultations I’m thrilled to help you sort out what kind of rhythm can work best - how to balance everyone’s needs and find rest and peace. But, I’m also not going to tell you there is only one way to be - one schedule to have, one rhythm to find. Because then, you’re looking at MY rhythm, not yours. And, in many ways, that’s the best part of this work - helping you follow your intuition and letting it guide you in your choices. Because at the end of the day, that’s the only thing that matters. Looking for sleep support for your infant or toddler? Check out Nested Mama's infant and toddler parent workshops and one-on-one consultations.
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AuthorJohanna received a Ph.D. in English in 2014. Now a postpartum doula and educator of childbirth, breastfeeding, and infant sleep, she blogs about pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and parenting. 
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