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So…it’s been a while. What can I say? Life has been hectic. Working all summer, then trying to get my classroom up and going while volleyball was going on was a bit more of an undertaking than I had originally planned. But that’s water under the bridge.
Here’s what’s new now:
After lots of discussion and planning, Clint and I have decided to start trying for a baby. I’ll give everyone a moment for their personal happy dance. I’m super excited! All of these urges for motherhood are getting pretty strong. And after a summer with the wackadoos, I’m pretty sure I can even deal with the orneriest of children and not beat the snot out of them on a daily basis.
And since, I’m such a blabbermouth-can’t –keep-it-to-herself kind of gal, I’ve decided to share this journey on my blog. For all of you to read. Don’t worry; I won’t go into too much detail because that could get weird. But I will be blatantly honest with how I feel during the whole shebang because it makes me feel better to get it out (and has the possibility to be mildly entertaining). So here it is, the good, the bad, and the slightly inappropriate.
I think the best way to get everyone up to speed on our adventure so far is the classic fairy tale beginning.
Once upon a time, there were two amazing people named Clint and Carlei. They met at a local establishment called the Fishbeak in Glasgow, MO (classy, I know). They fell in love and nearly 3 years later got married. Almost 2 years and about 5 dogs later, they decided to add to the craziness by deciding they wanted a baby.
Rewind to April 2010. After totally stressing through all of the school budget cuts and realizing that they liked me enough to keep me in Boonville, I got my contract. Whew! Now, this contract wasn’t just about teaching. It was about much more. Since I knew I would be employed at least another year, it was the start of us trying to get pregnant. Or at least stopping trying not to get pregnant.
Goodbye pill. Hello acne! Ugh! Hello cramps! Blech! Hello naproxen!
Those were the downsides.
Upsides were that I saved $10 a month.
Now, I’m not going to lie to you, I went to my OBGYN and said, “What do I have to do to have a baby on April 15?”
She replied, “You must be a teacher.” Hmm, maybe she’s heard this before.
So she basically told me to go off the pill, take prenatal vitamins, and have lots of sex. Glad I spent my $25 co pay on that visit.
So, I assumed that I was a fertile Myrtle and we’d be pregnant soon. Not so much.
Fast forward to July when I find out that many of Clint’s extended family are expecting (but remember he’s one of like a million grandkids so it wasn’t much of a surprise). I’m starting to hate the arrival of my period because it’s starting to get disappointing. One of Clint’s cousins told me about a book called Taking Charge of Your Fertility. I went out and bought it the next day.
This book is pretty informative and is about watching your basal temperature and checking your…wait for it…are you sure you’re mature enough for this…cause I’m not…CERVICAL FLUID! Ewwwwwwwww! And there were pictures!
I understand that seeing pictures of cervical fluid is just the tip of the iceberg for this whole pregnancy thing, but it is gross. But let’s just say I believe in this book (and would gladly like to try to gross you out by showing you the pictures if you come by my house). I never claimed to be mature. Besides all that, it’s pretty informative about your body and all that good stuff.
So I go to my annual in July and my doctor asks me how it’s been going with trying to have a baby. I let her know that we just took it up a notch and I bought the book and a special thermometer. I believe what I said was something really cool like, “We’re getting serious. I got a book.” I’m sure she was really impressed.
All summer, I took my temperature and recorded it in an app I have on my phone. I even figured it out to see if I got pregnant each month, when I would be due. We didn’t really stress during the summer. I have been noticing that since we are ready to be pregnant, I’m really wanting kids around. I’ll admit it; I have been known to cry when one of my nieces does something super sweet like hold my hand with their precious tiny hands or give me a hug. Like I’m a crazy person…
So here we are in September (which I believe would give me a June due date, just FYI), and I find myself starting off many conversations with, “I’m not pregnant, but…” Also, everyone and their sister seem to be getting pregnant right now. And I’m not.
I even already gave up soda and most caffeine. My drinking has been subsiding over the years to barely a glass of wine a week, and I’ve been trying to stay in shape so when I actually do get pregnant, I can attempt to do some kind of exercise through the pregnancy.
I know I need to just relax and be patient. I know that some people wait years to get pregnant. I also know that some people can’t even get pregnant and have to live without children or adopt. But I just want what I want, when I want it. Who doesn’t?
Not only that, but we really want a boy. Don’t bust me on this, you just have to understand that we have all nieces and Clint really needs some testosterone to relate to and to go trapping and hunting with him (not that girls can’t because Sam goes along as much as she can). And Clint told me once that it was up to me. Umm, excuse me? Were you absent that day in biology when they said it was the male whose business decided the sex of the baby? Well, obviously he was because I had to Google it to prove it to him.
After the 500th person on Facebook announces their pregnancy (don’t get me wrong, I’m ecstatic for them, just jealous), I decide to take matters into my own hands. I go shopping. I have this theory that I don’t have the greatest luck, so I start to tempt it. I was wary about buying back to school clothes because I may never fit into them again. My plan was to buy dresses, skirts, and leggings so everything would fit better when I was pregnant and probably after. And I did buy a few skirts. But what my tempting fate buy was were two pairs of pants. That fit perfectly. I’m still waiting for it to get cool enough to be wearing them, because I’m going to wear them all the time until they stop fitting.
Then, I make the decision to go back to school for my Ed Specialist degree. I do this fully knowing that a baby takes up a lot of your time and I probably wouldn’t be able to go through the program without any breaks.
I’m a badass, I know. Just not a pregnant badass.
So that’s where I’m at right now. Busy as hell, tempting fate in my own little way, and still not pregnant. Time will tell if this is going to change.