As new Marquette NFP users, we decided to buy the new style fertility monitor, which came out in January of this year. We figured it would be the standard eventually, and that sooner or later there would be no tech support for the old style monitor. Plus, it’s cheaper than the old one — although the old one occasionally goes on sale at Rite Aid.
the new one
In postpartum cycles before menses return, you’re supposed to create artificial cycles by setting the monitor ahead five days; but the new style monitor will only allow you to advance four days, which would give you an extra day of abstinence. Boo!
We read about a workaround, and my husband finally figured it out. I asked him to write up directions, and here is what he gave me. And for the record, the last time I was crying in the bathroom, it was about how bad the house smells, so there.
***
So you’ve decided to get a fertility monitor. There are worse ways to spend money, and maybe you finally decided that crying in the bathroom is not the best way to sort out your fertility signs.
The new touchscreen Clear Blue Easy Monitor is meant to be used by couples to achieve pregnancy, and the company seems to be annoyed by people who use it for NFP. For example, it locks users out of being able to change the time more than one hour.
Right now, with the post-partum but not yet in cycles protocol, you can’t skip ahead to day five with the new monitor when you start a new 10 or 20-day cycle. I think this is another example of the Clear Blue people trying to discourage NFPers.
How to skip ahead to Day 5, sort of, with the new Touch Screen Clear Blue Easy monitor:
- If you have already set up a cycle, you will have to reprogram the monitor to do this. You just do. I even called the company. There is no way to change the time more than an hour once it is programmed without reprogramming it. When you reprogram the monitor, do it as close to noon in real time as you can. Also, because you are reprogramming, you need to get the data on you last cycle and put it on a paper chart or a chart app.
- From the home screen, touch the wheeley gears things and follow the directions to reprogram.
- Set the time on the monitor to 11:50 p.m.
- Start a new cycle. Set the date of the new cycle back as far as you can go, which should be four days.
- Set the time of the start of the new cycle to 12 a.m.
- Set the testing window for 6 p.m. to 12 a.m.
- Go into the bathroom and cry.
***
I also recommend not getting pet mice, if you’re trying to reduce the amount of bathroom crying.