Friday, April 29, 2011

Five Question Friday

I almost forgot it was Friday and time for 5QF!




1. If you could buy any car, money not an option, what would it be? Cadillac Escalade. Drool.


2. What was your worst first date ever? I went out with a guy I worked with in college, he took me out to an Italian place, and as we got into the car after dinner, he reached over me, pulled the little lever that made the seat go back, and tried to make out with me. First off, it was a first date, so I had no plans to kiss him, second, the conversation at dinner was not great, so I had no plans to go out with him again. It was freaky, rude, and highly uncomfortable. And he had garlic breath. And I still had to work with him. Worst. Date. Ever.

3. How old were you when you fell in love for the first time? Well, if you're referring to the first time I THOUGHT I was in love, I was 17. The forever kind- 21. Married him:)

4. When was the last time you reconciled your checkbook? Oh gosh, I hope my father never, ever reads this- it was probably back when they tought us how to do so in highschool. Financial Fail.

5. If you were going to fashion a "Wanted" Ad for a best friend, how would you word it? Wanted- fun, loyal friend with great listening skills. Must understand that I'm a little bit crazy, but love me anyway. Should get along with Husband (but not too well haha). Laughs at my stories, and returns phone calls. Kindred spirit needed:). Should like shopping more than I do, and always willing to let me borrow! Similar taste a plus, but has her own things going on as well. Must love sushi, chick flicks, and cheap wine.

The Royal Wedding

I know I'm a total sap, but I'm loving all the Royal Wedding coverage today. I set my alarm for about 20 mintues earlier than normal, thinking I'd just get up and get a glance at the goings on, but I woke up at 5:30am and figured- once in a lifetime, might as well tune in!

I think they're perfect together- Catherine is just gorgeous, and they seem so very much in love. I know there's no such thing as a fairy tale ending, but I do hope they have a long and happy life together.

I just love love.


I'm betting they have babies soon!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Letter to baby

Letter to our future child.

April 26, 2011

Dear baby,

Daddy and I have been doing a lot of soul searching lately about what we want our lives to look like over the next five years. It has made me think about what I will want for you in the future as well. First of all, I want you to have big dreams. I want you to know that anything you want to do is possible.
But I also want you to experience life with all of its ups and downs.

Perhaps it is because I'm not yet a mother that I don't have the urge to protect you from every bad thing in life. Maybe I will change my mind on this, but right now, I want you to fall down, so you can gain the courage to get back up. I want you to get a bad grade in a class so you learn to work hard. I want you to fight with a friend so you can see what it means to compromise and value differences. I want you to not be good at everything so you can figure out your passion and pursue it wildly. I want you to get your heart broken, so that you will know that real love is messy, and imperfect, and worth it. I want you to question God, so that the relationship you have with Christ is your own, and not just a result of watching us.

As the saying goes, you can have anything you want, but you can't have everything. Only through the bad can you figure out what's good. I hope the good outweighs the bad, but I know you're bound to stumble. Always remember I'll be there to help you get back up.


Love,

Mama

Monday, April 25, 2011

National Infertility Awareness Week

Myth: If you just relax, you will get pregnant.

Busted!:
If only it were that easy! The fact is, the vast majority of individuals who have infertility have a medical reason, not a stress-related one. Upwards of 90% of all infertility cases are caused by physical problems. In the female partner, the major causes of infertility are absent or irregular ovulation, blocked fallopian tubes, abnormalities in the uterus, and endometriosis (a chronic painful condition where tissue from the lining of the uterus migrates into the pelvis and attaches to the reproductive organs). The male partner can have issues with sperm production which can lead to too few sperm, sperm which can’t swim correctly, and abnormally shaped sperm.

In case you hadn't noticed, I'm a girl that likes a plan. I have planned how our budget can work with a baby down to the penny. I have lists of what we'll need to purchase when we have a kiddo, and I've already started laying out a nursery. One of the things that attracted me to the Fertility Awareness Method was the fact that it allows you to follow the natural signs of your body and see what to expect. Charts, graphs, due date calculators- me likey. But if there's one thing I've learned from this wonderful world of blogging, it's that you can have perfectly laid out plans, you can do everything "right", and it may not result in what you want most- a baby.

As far as I know, Husband and I do not have any looming fertility issues ahead of us, but I am certain that most people do not expect to suffer from infertility. I have already heard from some people that my planning, timing, and stressing will end up in us having fertility issues, and that is why I chose this myth to bust. Now, stress may not help the situation in cases of people with "normal" fertility, but as stated above, it does not result in infertility. To say anything different to anyone, especially to someone that has a physical problem resulting in infertility is not only incorrect, but also hurtful.

My biggest fear about motherhood is that it won't happen naturally for us. I know how selfish that sounds as we have not even begun to try, and I am more than open to the idea of expanding our family in other ways. But this blog is about having a place where I can share our journey, and think about all things baby, and that is one of the things I think about most. I pray that we get pregnant soon, and have a healthy baby.

I pray that same prayer for all of those that deal with infertility.

National Infertility Awarness Week is April 24-30. Click to learn more, or to bust a myth yourself.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

This morning

Husband and I went out to dinner last night after work, and I shared with him my concerns about not getting accurate temps because of the dogs. This morning, as I herd the first whine I also heard Husband hopping up out of bed to take the pooches out. Love him.

We'll see how long this continues, but I definitely appreciated the effort this morning. Speaking of this morning, today marked my second high(er) temp, which if I get another high one tomorrow, would indicate that I ovluated on day 13 (April 19)!


This would make sense, as on April 18, I experienced severe pain in what must have been my uterus. It lasted for about an hour, I took some ibuprofun, and that seemed to help. I had some pain for the next couple of days (though nowhere NEAR what I experienced that night). I'm thinking that had to be ovulation pain, but here's where it gets a little confusing: I used those ovulation predictor sticks I bought off Amazon when I started feeling that horrible pain, tested each day since then, and all have been negative.


I don't know if I started testing too late? If I'm just weird and didn't have a high enough "surge" to be detected? Or maybe I haven't really ovulated yet...


This fertility stuff is confusing.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Unreliable chart?

I have officially been off my BCP for about two weeks now, and while week one went well, this week- notsomuch. My dogs have decided that I don't need a consecutive 3 hours of sleep before taking my temp at 6am and they like to wake me up to go outside at 4:30, 5:25, and ALL OTHER RANDOM HOURS OF THE NIGHT. Grrr. I love my pooches, but this is not only annoying, but is also starting to freak me out that my temps aren't going to be trackable. I guess it's preparing me a bit for less sleep when we have a little one, but it is NOT helping me chart.

Husband sleeps through the dogs whining. The only times he gets up with them is when I physically elbow him in the back a couple of days a week and say, "It's your turn to let them out." Sometimes he gets up after that, but often he says "sure", rolls over, and goes back to sleep.


When we were first married I figured it was easier for me to just get up with them than do the whole elbow thing, plus I wanted to be a "good" wife and let my hubby sleep. This resulted in resentment, and also made me so tired and grouchy at the end of the day that I told Husband he needed to step up- and he did. For about 3 months, I swear that boy woke up to every whine and got up immediately so I could sleep a bit longer. This convinced me that somewhere in his brain is a "hearing the dogs" switch that he can apparently turn on and off.

Husband is usually in the start TTC in July camp (he thinks we'll get preggo the first go around). Being unable to track my temps could result in a baby faster than Husband would like. I wonder if this info could turn that switch back on?

Monday, April 18, 2011

The best part of my weekend

For some reason, I was in a Git R Done mood all weekend. I rearranged our laundry room (still more work to do in there), finished up a project in our dining room, and started working on a gallery wall that I've been envisioning in my head for a few months. I also finished up editing on a session, and began editing another. But the best part of my weekend? Finding and telling Husband about this artwork:


And waking up to Husband making pacakes for the first time ever on Sunday morning.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Working on the Bucket List

When I put together our Baby Bucket List, the first thing on our list was travel. Seeing new places, and experiencing new things togther is a priority of ours, so even on our limited pharmacyschoolcostsabuttload budget, we've traveled. The most exotic place we've been was St. Lucia for our honeymoon, which was our wedding gift from my in-laws. Loved it. Gorgeous, relaxing, delicious- loved it. In the 3.5 years since then, we've also visited San Antonio, TX, Pagosa Springs, CO, and Atlanta, GA. These trips were tons of fun and fairly budget friendly.

We took a 3 day weekend in TX, pricelined our hotel, and road tripped it down in my car. We stayed on the Riverwalk, ate at delicious restaurants, saw the Alamo, and visited Mission San Jose. This trip began our love affair with books on cd while traveling.

Pagosa Springs was also a road trip, shared with some of my family, and we got an awesome deal on the condo we stayed at through some work connections of my brother's. We skied for 4 days, packed lunches, cooked dinners at the condo, and had a ball. It was my first time skiing since a bad experience when I was about 5 and I loved it. Hubby was happy because he loves to ski and knew this meant there would be more ski trips in our future.


We flew to Atlanta, but we drove to the cheapest airport, and stayed with family there as well. We saw the Coca Cola Factory, the Georgia Aquarium (amazing), and the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. We also ate at some of the best restaurants I've ever tried (eating is usually my favorite part of every trip).


A few days ago, we booked what will (hopefully) be our last pre-baby getaway! We're visiting Washington DC in May before Husband's rotations start! We got a good deal on tickets out of the town where my aunt lives, so she's going to take us to the airport and drop us off. We are staying with some friends of ours in Alexandria, and plan to hit up as many free places as possible. We already have on our list the White House, Smithsonian, National Mall, and Mt. Vernon. If you've been to DC, what else should we plan to do?

Five Question Friday

Linking up for another round!

1. What is your favorite sign of spring? Warmer temps! I'm ready for grilling weather.

2. What was your best birthday ever? I would have to say my 21st birthday- so much fun with all of my sorority sisters! 3. What is your favorite dessert? Chocolate Fudge Cake. Or Ben and Jerry's Fudge Brownie Ice Cream- I see a trend here.

4. What is the best excuse you've ever used to get out of a ticket? I've never gotten out of a ticket dangit. I got two before the age of 18, and havent been pulled over for speeding since. I have been pulled over for having a headlight out, and once for having the light that illuminates your license out, but both times the officer had no intentions of giving me a ticket- probably because it was obvious I had no idea the lights were out!

5. Do you wake up before your alarm, with your alarm, or after hitting snooze several times? I wake up for the first time to my basal body tempurature alarm, take my temp, then go back to sleep. Then it depends on the morning- sometimes I wake up before my next alarm, or the dogs get me up, but 9 times out of 10, I still hit snooze for a few extra minutes.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Is a baby boy in my future?

I dreamed last night that I had a baby. I've dreamed about having kids before, but it was usually accomanied by something that made it pretty obvious it was a dream- like I'd look up and discover I'd given birth on a beach while floating in space (I have weird dreams). This dream was very different, very real. Almost like I was seeing a glimpse of my future child. That future child was a little boy. He had a head of dark hair, chubby little cheeks, and skinny legs. When I was looking at him I could feel myself loving him. We named him Owen.

This is the first time I've ever eally thought that our first child could be a boy. I mean logically I understand that we have a 50/50 shot either way, but in my head, I always pictured us with a little girl. I have three nieces, I'm used to girls. Little girl nurseries sucked me in, and we talk about girl names more than boys. I've even found myself ordering more "girl" props for my photography business because in the back of my head I think, "I'll need more girl props because we'll have a girl". And I'm not even pregnant, so yes, I completely understand how crazy that sounds.

When my mom was pregnant with me, the doctor was convinced I was a boy. And he tried to convince my parents of this as well. However, my mom says that she KNEW she was having a girl. She refused to even discuss boy names (even though both of my brothers had potential alternative girl names). This was all when she was actually pregnant with me, and I see a lot of women having feelings one way or the other when they're preggo, but what about beforhand?

Am I as crazy as I think I am?

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

I was never that obedient.

Against my Dr's orders, I quit taking my birth control pills last week. I hope I'm wrong and my cycle returns to normal the first month off, but in an effort to be as ready as possible when we want to start TTC, Husband and I decided it was the right move for us. I will be using the Fertility Awareness Method, along with a backup so I can continue to take my medication.

So yay for charting! Even though right now it's confusing as heck, I'm glad to feel like we're doing something to move towards TTC. The day I stopped my pills, I ordered the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility, AND a set 20 cheapo ovulation predictors and 4 pregnancy tests. What? They were only $9.87 on Amazon!

Check out my chart and let me know if you have any advice... My Chart

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Master Cleanse

I've been doing some research and found this blog post on narcolepsy and pregnancy. I'm thinking about giving the Master Cleanse a shot. I don't need/want to loose weight, but anything that could help with my symptoms would be very much appreciated. Anyone out there that's tried this cleanse? What were your results?

Nursery Inspiration

I heart nursery decor. Here are a few more I'm loving right now.


This room is so feminine, and elegant, yet has just enough whimsical qualities to make it perfect for a baby girl. I love, love, love the details- the pom poms above the dresser, the yellow print on the chair, the tree over the changing station. She mixed patterns like an expert, something I'm not very good at doing, but would love to learn. I'm not really big on modern, bare nurseries, I like when there's a lot to look at in a room, and this one definitely fits the bill!


(source and more images)


I found this next nursery from a link on Young House Love, and after seeing the nursery, I proceeded to read through most of their blog because I loved their style in general. This room is one that would age well with the child, and it just screams BOY to me! I like that they took a fairly common theme (Woodland Creatures) and put a very unique spin on it with the cabin-like wall, and custom artwork.


(source and more images)


This last nursery also has a bit of a bird theme (I'm not sure if birds are becoming more popular, or if my eye is just drawn to them). Sounds like the baby's grandmother is an interior designer and looks like she's a really good one. Again, I love all the details in this nursery, and the mix and match of the furniture gives such a nice variety. Any interior designers out there was to volunteer to help when I need a nursery?


(source and more images, original blog)


Monday, April 11, 2011

Practice makes perfect

Get your minds out of the gutter- not that kind of practice haha!

Over the years, Husband and I have gotten to "practice" our parenting skills on our three nieces. We've had weekend visits, helped with feedings, planned lots of activities, changed diapers, and had the opportunity to watch my brothers and sisters-in-law parent. We've learned a lot from them, and various other parents we're friends with, and we both find ourselves observing "how it's done" more and more carefully.

I've learned there is no practice makes perfect, because each child is so different that you're constantly learning and adapting. I've learned that a sweet smile from a newborn usually means something not so sweet is coming out the other end. I've learned that boxes are better presents than the elaborate toys they hold. I've learned that no matter how many times you get up in a night, or tired you are, nothing compares to feeling the weight of a sleeping child in your arms.

I may not be as sentimental when it's night after night, but I hope I'll have the chance to come back to this post and laugh about how much I was looking forward to a lack of sleep.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Five Question Friday


I hope I'm doing this right- I've never done a 5QF, but thought it looked fun! Here goes...


1. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be? I would be more patient, and better about putting away clothes. My poor Husband.

2. Write about a time when you got lost.

I wasn't actually lost, but when I was around 5, I got very mad at my parents and told them I was going to run away. I climbed up into a tree and sat there for hours, watching my parents run around frantically looking for me. I finally came down when I heard them say they were going to call the police. I feel horrible about this now, I hope our children take after Husband (who was apparantly the perfect child).

3. Camping or 5 star hotel?

If I had to choose where to stay for the rest of my life- 5 star hotel, heck yeah! Every now and then it's fun to camp, if the conditions are right. I do love me some airconditioning.

4. Have you donated blood?

I have never donated blood because I'm not allowed! My dad was in the Air Force and we lived overseas for a few years, which makes me ineligable.

5. Do you have a budget or do you 'fly by' most months?

We have a budget, but we aren't very good about following it. Mostly we have guidelines, we're not Dave Ramsey strict about it- if we eat out too much one month we try to make it up in another area.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Natural vs Medicine: Pregnancy Prevention

I started taking Birth Control Pills (BCP) nine years ago, to regulate my cycle, and help clear up my skin. When I began my narcolepsy medicine (Provigil) last year, I started looking into the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM), which involves checking your basal body temeprature, and signs of ovulation, since my medicine made BCP less effective. Husband had some reservations, and we've always used extra prevention, so I just kept poppin' my pills and left it at that.

Baby plans have brought FAM vs BCP back to the forefront in our efforts to be as ready as possible when we start TTC. While I understand your cycle CAN return to normal right off the pills, for many women, it takes a few months- and patience is not one of my virtues. I've also had some underlying concerns about the long term effects of hormonal birth control, mostly just a bad gut feeling, but I've learned to trust my instincts and I'm doing more research on FAM in an effort to chuck my pills.

Now, in general, I embrace the medical community and medications as a whole. Husband is a pharmacist to be, and I have every faith in his level of knowledge and his intentions when he tells me what medications to take. I also know that everyone is human, including doctors, and no one has all the answers except God. Husband will be the first person to tell you that every medication has side effects. The question is: do the benefits outweigh the risks? When it comes to Provigil in my everyday life- yes, absolutely. Provigil while preggo- no. Birth control pills for a few years when we were 100% not ready for a child- yes. BCP long term or leading up to TTC- not so sure.

Lately, I've noticed what seems to be a trend in viewing the medical community as the enemy, with more and more people acting like doctors are out to get them, or are only interested in money. While there are always exceptions to the rule, I have never experienced this and do not believe to be true. Something I have witnessed is people taking medications with unrealistic expectations- they want a full cure with zero side effects at little to no cost. Without this result, they look for someone to blame.

I know there are cases where doctors or medications don't do what they should be reasonably expected to do and you should never just take what any one person says as gosple. Ask for a second opinion, do your own research, and make the decision that you feel is best for you. In terms of pregnancy prevention, what was the decision you made, and why?


Wednesday, April 6, 2011

So why now?

In my last post, I talked about some of my fears about motherhood. I've also shared our Baby Bucket List that probably will not be completed before we start TTC. I'm in my twenties, so my biological clock is not ticking like a time bomb. This next year will be very full with Husband completing school, taking his liscensing exams, and looking for a job. We may try to sell our house next year. With everything coming up, why start trying this year?

Because we're ready. There are things with my job, our insurance, and our plans for after pharmacy school that initially started the "what ifs", but the truth is, it's something we both want and we're willing to sacrifice our old plan to get us to where we really want to be.

I will always dread giving up sushi. There will never be huge amounts of discretionary income (trust me, pharmacy school aint cheap). I will always have narcolepsy. We will never get our fill of "couple time", and we plan to still make it a priority no matter when we have kids.

Life never slows down. And there are some things worth more than sushi:)

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Fears about motherhood

So obviously, I want to be a mother. Husband is on board with idea, and as far as we know, we're good to go in the reproductive area. So, what's holding us back?

1. I don't want to give up sushi- OK, it's not just sushi, it's also wine, sleeping in, cold turkey sandwiches, bladder control, soft cheeses, and discretionary income. Which brings me to...

2. Money- Husband is in school, which means we live off of my income and student loans. Our bank account does not runneth over. We're not poor by any means (hello sushi habit), but I also know that having a baby costs more than raw fish.

3. I'm narcoleptic- Gosh, I feel like I've already posted more on my blog about narcolepsy than I've ever said before in my life. But while my Drs have agreed to a plan to take me off my meds and manage my narcolepsy, I'm still scared. After all, I won't just be responsible for myself if I fall alseep while driving, I'll also be responsible for a baby and everyone else on the road.

4. Couple time- Husband has been in school for 3 of our (almost) 4 years of marriage. Which means we've not had much of a chance to have a normal "before children" marriage. We both wanted to travel more before having children, and we sometimes wonder if we'll wish we had waited a few more years.

These are some of my fears about getting pregnant/ having a child. Do you know what Husband said when I asked him what his greatest fear about having a kid was?

That the house will never be clean again.

(
source for image)

Monday, April 4, 2011

Narcolepsy + A Baby= ???

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that causes excessive sleepiness and frequent daytime sleep attacks. (source)

I have fallen asleep in class, church, at family gatherings, movies, and friends houses. Rarely could I ride in a car for an extended time without also falling asleep, and while I've never actually fallen asleep while driving, I have had to stop on trips to take naps, and I'm constantly listening to books on cd or talking with a friend to keep my mind active. I actually have a (fairly) mild case, which is why I attempted to ignore my symptoms for years, even when the two other narcoleptics I know told me they thought I also had the disorder. Finally, my symptoms became too much to ignore, and I also experienced the one cataplexy attack I can actually identify (sometimes they are so brief they go unnoticed).

I was diagnosed in 2009, and my doctor prescribed me Provigil. While part of me hated the idea of a disorder that will cause me to be on (expensive) medication the rest of my life, it was also a pretty big relief to finally understand what was going on with me, and to stop trying to hide sleep attacks when they happened at inopportune times (like at work).

The medication has worked wonders. I take it every morning, and have not experienced any attacks while on the medication. Sleeping at night is not a problem, and I can still nap with the best of them, but I actually have control over when it happens. The downside of the medication is that it is what is known as a Class C drug, which means that no tests have been performed to indicate that the drug is safe for a pregnant person to take. Now, there haven't been any tests that say it's not, but my OBGYN and my General Practitioner have both said they do not want me to be taking my medication while trying to conceive (TTC) or while pregnant. Actually my GP said at least not for the first trimester, but he would prefer it if I could be off the medication the whole time.

So what does that mean for our baby plans?

Because my case is mild enough that I went for years without a diagnosis, my GP wants me to try to manage the disorder with the same techniques I used before (air conditioning on full blast or talking to a friend while driving, taking naps, etc). He's also having me cut back on the amount of coffee I drink right now so that when we actually become pregnant, I can add it back in (in safe amounts as advised by my OBGYN) and have it be a bit of a shock to my system. This is my plan, worked out between me, my Husband, and my two doctors, so if you happen to think all caffeine during pregnancy is evil, please don't share. If, however, you happen to be a pregnant narcoleptic and have other suggestions, please DO share.

Because my work, family and friends are all aware of my disorder, I'm not really worried about falling asleep at strange times around them, but I will admit, driving has me nervous. I'm also very afraid of experiencing another cataplexy attack because let me tell you, that was scary. Going off my medication is probably very near the top of the "Fears about having a baby" list, but some people have actually said their symptoms lessened while pregnant, while others have taken Provigil thoughout their pregnancy and been fine, so we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Nursery Inspiration

One of the things I love dreaming about is decorating a nursery. The room we plan to use for baby is currently being used as my at home photography studio. Husband built me some shelves last November to display some of my work and we specifically sized and placed them to be able to use above a changing table. Other than that, the room is basically a blank canvas, and while I'm not crazy about giving up my studio space, I am excited about what it will become! Here are just a few of my inspirations...

I love the furniture in this room, the bottom part of the wall, and the images above the crib. I really like how she used pages from a book as art.
(source and more images)

I love the bright colors in this room (especially the wall color), as well as all of the fun prints. I also love the lights above the rocking chair.
(source and more images)

Again, I LOVE the wall color in this nursery, the fun wall hangings above the dresser, the handmade touches. Also, if you click on the link for more images, the mobile and letters above the daybed are also beautiful.

(source and more images)

This is quite possibly my favorite nursery of all time. Just when I'm convinced I love super bright, bold colors in a nursery, I come back to this gorgeous room and love the soothing atmosphere these colors create. The bird theme is adorable, but not overpowering, and I love the furniture, rug, and little birdhouses. I also like the bookcases on each side of the crib and the windows of prints above the bed. Really, there's nothing I don't love about this space.


Anyone have any gorgeous nurseries they'd like to share?

Friday, April 1, 2011

Mama Needs Sushi- Ultimate Blog Party

Ultimate Blog Party 2011

I'm so excited to participate in this years Ultimate Blog Party! If you'd like to participate as well, click on the banner above!

As you may see from my history of posts- this blog is brand spankin' new! And, while I'm not a Mama yet, I hope to be very soon and have been trying to gather as much info as I can to lead up to that day. Blogging is an AWESOME way to do that, so I'm thrilled to have the chance to make new friends and pick their brains on everything to do with babies, baby gear, cooking, house decor, and photography!

I'm excited to hear from all of you as well as visit your blogs! To get this party started, let me know the number one thing I need to know/do before Husband and I start trying to conceive!

When doctors don't agree

Fun little fact- one of my good friends (I'll call her Jane) and her husband are also thinking about TTC later this year! She's not quite the planner I am, and goes back and forth about this year or next, but it has been awesome to have someone in the same boat as me, to share ideas and fears with. Yay for not feeling alone in my craziness!

Not only do we have each other to share nursery ideas, we also get to hear what the other person's doctor is telling them to do when the time comes to try, and right now, our doctors are not on the same page- which kinda freaks me out. We both went in to our OBGYNs in the last few months and asked about what to do to start TTC this year. Don't get me wrong, we're not idiots, we know what to do but we weren't sure when to do things like start taking prenatal vitamins, stop using birth control, etc. We've both been rock stars about preventing pregnancies so far, and wanted to make sure that we would be in the best position possible when it was time to stop preventing. We're overacheivers like that.

I had done some research on BabyCenter (love that place), and felt confident going into my in February appointment that my Dr would tell me to go off my birth control pills, but use an alternative means of prevention until we were ready to TTC. This way, I'd have a chance to start charting and see what my normal, birth control-less, cycle would be like, and I'd have a good idea of when our best baby making time was. After all, this is what Jane's doctor told her to do, and she is planning on going off the pill 3 months before they started TTC (pleaselordletitbethisyearsowecanbepregnantatthesametime).

My doctor did not prescribe this course of action. He prescribed more birth control pills. During my appointment he repeatedly told me you can get pregnant your first month off the pill, and even said that he believes there is an increased fertility that first month because your body is in a bit of shock to finally be able to start ovulating naturally. He also did not want me going off the pill until we were ready for me to stop taking my narcolepsy medication in case we got pregnant on accident.

I left the appointment feeling really letdown. You see, I wanted it to be time to start doing something different. Even if it wasn't actually TTC, going off my pills would feel like another step towards a baby. Has anyone out there gotten pregnant their first month of trying after going off birth control? Has anyone's Dr told them to do as Jane's and go off their pills a few months before?