By the numbers
Months ago, I blogged about how the church was encouraging newly-married Catholics — like me and Darling Husband — to track fertility.
The idea is that by … um … daily hoo-ha inspection and recording, you can figure out the “safe” times to have sex (if you don’t want kids yet), and the “good” times to have sex (if you are trying to conceive).
Darling Husband dismissed the “scientifically-proven” method as total crap. I was sucked into it at first, but had to agree that it could not qualify as birth control. So we Trojan-ed it up until we were in the clear.
However, learning about cycle tracking was helpful — even if we’re not going to trust it as birth control. I started tracking when I went off the pill in February, so that when we began trying to conceive, I would know which days were “good.”
Enter my handy-dandy calendar …
I started by making a red mark on my FDLP — first day of my period. That would officially be “Day 1.”
Then I would use smaller markers to track how long it lasted. Although, unless you are doing the try-this-as-birth-control junk, I don’t think you need to track that …
Then it’s all smooth sailing, until you are almost two weeks past the FDLP, when you start to get that … you know, slippy sensation …
Without getting too graphic — or have I already? — you make a bright blue mark on the day you suspect you are ovulating (egg whites … I’m not saying more). And continue to mark the couple of days after that, because you also have a chance to conceive then.So blue dots = lots of action. Got that?
The next mark you make is another bright red (or pink) one on the first day of your next period — about four weeks after the first day of your last one. Everyone’s different, but these days are usually 28-30 days apart. This is the next official “Day 1.”
You can continue to mark the days of your period, if you feel like it.
Now that you know how long your cycle is, you can make a little pink-and-blue mark about five days before your FDLP. This mark shows you when you are clear to take a test.
Once you do this for a few months, you can “estimate” when you’ll get your period, and then work backwards five days to see when you can test.
My super-cool counter says I can take a pregnancy test on Sunday, but this calendar says I could have taken one yesterday. The First Response commericals do say you can take it five days before your period is set to begin.
Between the possible cravings, the blahness, the nausea, the dizziness, the metal-mouth, and the saliva overload …
… I think I know what I’m buying after work tonight!
My Husband Rocks
Dear Darling Husband,
You didn’t get one of these posts last week, since we were both so busy with Best Friend’s wedding. You checked my blog all day Friday, looking for it, and finally announced that you supposed you weren’t getting a “My Husband Rocks” this week. Well, this one counts for two … 🙂
On the Saturday before last, I woke up with a plan. It felt like the whole summer was going to be gone before we knew it, and I was determined to get to the beach at least once. I wanted to walk on the sand, build a castle, and get at least my feet in the water. You had to work in the afternoon, so it would need to be a quick trip. I pounced on you and begged you to get up, and we started packing for the drive.
The drive to the beach was fun. You laughed at me when the winding roads made me feel sick, and we both exclaimed at Little Dog — sticking her head out the window, thrilled with the salty sea air.
When we hit the sand, she took off as fast as she could. She had never felt the sand under her paws before, and she was wild. You were crazy enough to get in the freezing water, and she cried when you ducked under the waves and disappeared from her sight. We stood shivering, up to our ankles, and grinned and waved as you got deeper and deeper. I couldn’t believe how brave you were, to bear that cold!
We don’t own pails and shovels yet — not until we need them for little hands — so we brought Tupperware and a plastic popcorn bucket from our Transformers date. You helped me make a castle, and we just laughed when Little Dog tromped straight through it, oblivious.
Thank you for a wonderful morning.
Love, your wife
xoxo
xoxo
Twin talk
I have always wanted twins.
Some people think I’m crazy, but it’s true. I do. Twins fascinate me. I used to wish desperately that Little Sis and I were twins, instead of being four-and-a-half years apart.
Ever since my dream about the twins — Emma and Hannah — I have been thinking long and hard about twins. My limited knowledge of twins was that I thought fraternal twins ran in families, and identical twins could just randomly happen to anyone.
Well, thanks to Wikipedia, I’ve got the 101 on twins — for anyone looking for/hoping for Double Trouble:
- They don’t really use the word “fraternal” anymore. It’s just “identical” and “non-identical.”
- Identical twins are when a single egg divides. This does not appear to be herititary (woohoo!), and can happen to anyone.
FraternalNon-identical twins are when two eggs are implanted on the wall of your uterus. If it runs on your (the woman’s) side of the family, you have a good chance.- Women undergoing fertility treatments have a greater chance of conceiving non-identical twins — or even three or more babies (see: Gosselin, Kate)
- Women over 35 also have a greater chance of having non-identical twins, because their eggs get anxious and start shooting out more (or something scientific)
Well, twins do not run in my family, unfortunately. And I’m not 35. So I guess I can keep my fingers crossed for the it-can-happen-to-anyone identical twin egg division.
What do you think? Am I crazy for wanting twins?
Emma and Hannah
I have re-discovered my obsession with the public library — which, admittedly, is cheaper than my obsession with the used bookshop.
When I took out a book the other day — OK, 12 books — one of them had the most amazing surprise tucked inside the pages …
An index card, adorned with penciled hearts, that read:
Emma,
Thank you for passing me the markers!
From: Your Friend, Hannah
Not surprisingly, that night I dreamed of twins named Emma and Hannah. They were two years old. Emma had blonde hair like Darling Husband, and Hannah had dark hair like me, but they had very similar faces. They were perfect little girls, with perfect little names.
Maybe it’s a sign!
Food for thought
In the interest of posterity, I feel the need to say …
- Even though I was running late this morning, I insisted — insisted — that I re-heat some bacon and scramble an egg.
- So I did. I ate it off a paper plate on the drive to work.
- A few minutes after the last forkful, I turned to Darling Husband and said, “I really want a chocolate-dip doughnut.”
- He kept driving.
- Even thought I have never been a white chocolate fan, after lunch today, I had to have it.
- I slipped out of the office to the grimy convenience store across the street.
- The only option was a Hersey Cookies’n’Creme bar, which I tried about 10 years ago and hated.
- I am eating it right now, and it is fantastic.
Could this possibly be the first hint of cravings? Or, am I just craving chocolate because my period is going to arrive next week? …
Ah, the waiting game …
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