I <heart> mirena, and no complaints from hubby...

non-latex condoms work best for me, although depending on where you live, you may have to order them online, not all stores carry them.

Just a note on natural family planning, I was using that method with condoms as well to avoid pregnancy since I originally never wanted children until I was finished with med school. (Got off the pill due to migraines.) The doctor told me he had several patients who had tremendous success on the program. Now I am the proud parent of two. The conversation went like this with my husband, "Ummmmmm....Honey, I took a pregnancy test and I think I failed or passed depending on how you view it."

It is like that old joke goes;
You know what they call those who use natural family planning and the pull and pray method....

PARENTS!

Oh yeah! The "natural methods" actually worked for us for four years. By then we were pretty much ready to start our family anyway. Or rather, I was ready, hubby had an adjustment. But that is why pregnancy lasts nine months, isn't it?
Just want to repeat again how happy I am to have the fear of getting pregnant gone. It is so hard for young women, I remember feeling so happy each time I got my period. Not that I did not want kids, just that I was in Medical School and Residency and needed to concentrate on that. By the time it happened, the bulk of my training was done and it was ok...
BTW, my hubby was real sore for a while after but now he is glad he did it. It was his choice, I never brought it up.

Leina-yeah, we wouldn't be doing NFP if we weren't ok with the possibility of another child. Although if the woman is regular and it is used 'correctly' it can be very effective...and I figure, since I deliver babies for a living and talk to people about fertility, I am probably the best case scenario in terms of monitoring fertility signs. The book Taking Charge of Your Fertiliy has been very helpful as well....

i have a paragard. the periods are heavier but don't have much cramping. my partner could feel the string in the beginning, but my obgyn adjusted it by wrapping it lightly around my cervix. that seemed to do the trick. a word of caution, both types of iuds predispose you to an increased chance of bv..which is very unpleasant...

thanks everyone for your great replies! I had considered NuvaRing, but I thought if I don't want to take the COCP anyway then maybe I should go ahead for a progesterone only method (no particular reason--I'm at low risk for complications of estrogen since I'm a non-smoker and under 35). I also wasn't so sure about an IUD or Mirena, mostly because I didn't like the idea of something being inserted into my cervix! (Again, not completely logical--just sounds painful!) So, I opted for Implanon, and so far so good. I'm hoping that I don't have too much bleeding with it, so fingers crossed! Thanks again everyone for all your advice.

One more thought while we're on the subject (not that this is at all relevant for me right now, but I was wondering about it)--what did you ladies use for contraception while breastfeeding? I know that protesterone-only methods are deemed to be safe during breastfeeding but it's also known that some of the progesterone does pass into breast milk. Soo..did/do you all just accept that progesterone is okay and go with it? I'm not sure I like the idea of any artificial hormone crossing into my breastmilk...but maybe I'll change my mind when I get there. Any thoughts? Thanks!

I'm breastfeeding and on the progesterone-only pill. What my midwife told me is that, while progesterone can theoretically pass into the breast milk, the actual quantities are negligible. But if you're completely uncomfortable with the idea, you could just use a barrier method while nursing. Nursing itself decreases your fertility substantially, though of course you can't rely on that alone as you ovulate before your first menstruation, and that's how many women end up with a second baby far sooner than they had hoped!

Uh, abstinence while nursing LOL! I didn't want anyone else touching me after nursing a baby all day and night!!!! Plus I had NO desire-those lactation hormones hit me hard...