Conception!!

(all being well)

So. Thursday I tested – I had Friday morning and Monday off so I thought that if I was pregnant it would be very convenient for me to find out then. Nada. So then all weekend I was waiting for my period, accepting the fact that this wasn’t the month for us. I even had cramps in the night. Nothing. But, I gave myself until Tuesday because that would be six weeks since my last period started. I tested and I thought I saw a second line appeared. I called in husband. He said, yes, it looks like a second line. I agreed, yes, it was definitely a second line. We got a bit excited after that.  I even took a picture (the test ).

I called the blood test place (the doctor gave me a referral when we saw him about conceiving) but they said an appointment wasn’t necessary so I went first thing this morning before work. I’ve made an appointment to see my doctor Friday morning, so hopefully my tests are back before then. I also tested again this morning and yep, definitely two lines.

So yeh – I’m pregnant! I’ve been so many different emotions since yesterday morning – excitement, a downer, disbelief, excitement again, acceptance, more excitement, impatience. So. Yep. Wow.  

Month 1: December 2007

So, decision made, earlier in the year husband did some research (as he’s wont to do for any major purchases life changes) and decided we needed to have a pre-pregnancy check up and get into tip top physical condition (read we as in ME).  I’ve been working on the eating healthy, getting into an exercise routine thing but we also made an appointment to see my doctor together.

Armed with a mental list of what the internet said we should get checked out, we rocked up. The doctor gave us the name of some obstetricians, which hospitals were good and a script to get a blood test for when I did fall pregnant and basically said go for it. We asked about exercise and dietary supplements and if there was anything else we needed to know. The doctor said I seemed fine weight-wise and if I was generally healthy then there was no need to worry, he agreed that folate was good to take but didn’t say I needed to go on a strict diet. Apart from that I’d get any tests done once I thought I was pregnant. Husband was reassured by the professional – he’d read so much on the net that he wasn’t sure what was actually necessary. I realised that conception is a little like getting married there’s a whole spectrum of preparation you can do – there’s an extreme bridezilla-esque version at one end with a year’s worth of exercise, detox, genetic scans and folic acid supplements beforehand. On the other end is the smoking, drinking, in debt up to the eyeballs, oh just forget the condom/pill one night routine. So given that a) I don’t smoke b) I’m giving up alcohol from Jan 1 c) I’m taking folate supplements and d) we’re in a sound financial position and we’ve talked this over and actually made a reasonably informed decision to have a child – I think we’re probably at the happy medium place. Of course, that’s given that there’s no fertility problems (touch wood) – if we find we’re having trouble then we may have to move towards the bridezilla guide to conceiving.

So – this is it, my last month of drinking and cussing and selfishness. Next year we lose the condoms and go on a health kick – no alcohol, lots of fruit and vege and plenty of exercise. For his part, husband has given up jocks and is wearing boxers and he’s going to give up alcohol in sympathy but not the coffee. We’ve bought an expensive bottle of champers to have on New Years Eve as our official Last Drink. 

I’ve also started taking a folate tablet daily and have cut down on my multi-vitamins that have vitamin A in them because too much Vitamin A can cause birth defects.

Our first chance probably won’t be until the end of January anyway given my cycle. I found this neat little tool online - free for a 45 day trial. It pops up every day to tell you if you are fertile or not. I actually got it for the opposite reason – when I had a little scare last month – to see if there was any chance of me getting pregnant. I hadn’t really investigated WHEN I was fertile before – how many days etc so it was very educational and now I have some idea about when I have a chance of getting pregnant next year. We won’t be waiting for ovulation etc at this stage, just having unprotected intercourse and seeing how we go. We don’t want to get too stressed out about it, and if it takes a little while then so be it but on the other hand, I’ll know not to expect anything the first week of January since my ovulation will have long since passed.

ETA: the one thing our doctor did say was to book in for our 12 week scan asap – ie as soon as we know we’re preggers. We also called the obstetrician’s offices to find out what the process was – they also said to book in asap and they only delivered at certain hospitals. Our health insurance is fine – they should cover us at any of those hospitals, but of course there will be a ‘gap’ depending on how much the obstetrician charges.

Introduction

Current status: married 30 somethings, double income, no kids, want kids.

After much discussion we’ve decided we’re going to go for it. Next year – aka in one month’s time, we are going to start trying to conceive. So I thought I’d blog about it.

Here’s some background info about our situation. We’ve been together nearly three years, married 10 months. We’re both in our thirties so we don’t have all the time in the world. Neither of us have had children before. We both have good jobs but quite frankly, I’m ready to take some time out to be a stay at home mum.

Recently we decided to shelf buying a house in favour of starting a family first so as not to increase the pressure/stress we would be under – after all we can buy a house any old time, have a baby, maybe not.

So here it is: us trying to have a baby!