Pavlovian Pee Sticks

TWW (Two week wait)

2010-01-28T19:37:00.001-08:00

The night before last, I woke in the night with a searing sharp pain in my lower left abdomen.

Yep. Ovulation.

I'm in the TWW period, friends.

Cross your fingers!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-27T08:43:00.000-08:00

Maybe, baby?

2010-01-25T16:31:00.000-08:00

I feel disgusting today. And exhausted.

Maybe it's MORNING SICKNESS!!

I COULD be that i haven't eaten like anything today, and I stayed up until 2 am...nah. Couln't be that.

Something Silly For Sunday January 24

2010-01-23T19:53:00.000-08:00

You know you're TTC when...

2010-01-23T00:21:00.000-08:00

You know you're TTC when...

- the Big 'O' no longer refers to orgasm, but instead to ovulation
Yes. Yes it does.

- you show everyone who will look at your bbt charts
Yeah, DH. No one else cares since I've had 3 already. The first one was exciting, with the second, everyone feared for my health because they thought my babies were too close together (15 mos.) and the third one was just the 'norm' for us...so, yeah, until I'm actually knocked up and my doctor is there once a month to revel in the glory of my sticky bean with me- I pretty much keep it in my own bathroom.

- every twinge is a potential sign: ovulation pain OR perhaps implantation
Absolutely. Sometimes, I can feel the baby KICK!!!

- it no longer strikes you as the least bit odd to check out at the pharmacy with both HPTs and tampons in your cart.
Yeah, I think I have like a lifetime supply of tampons now. I don't think I'll EVER have to buy any more.

- you schedule your social events around your ovulation day
Yes. Last October, I canceled a trip to Texas because DH couldn't go, and I was ovulating that weekend, so I didn't want to miss our chance. Obviously, it didn't matter, and I probably should have just gone on the trip.

- if your OPK comes up +, you cancel all social engagements that night so you can BD & lie with your legs elevated and butt up in the air afterwards
I'm the mother of 3 kids under 4. I have a very small small small social life. So I don't really have to worry about this one.

- you talk using mysterious acronymns that only your ttc buddies understand: ttc, BD, ewcm, bbt, opk, 2ww
For those who don't know: Trying To Conceive, Baby Dance (as in sex), Egg White Cervical Mucus (fertile fluid.) Basal Body Temperature (<--I had to look this one up.) Ovulation Predictor Kit, and 2 Week Wait. Yeah.

- your morning motto is: "Don't talk to me until I've taken my temperature"
No, actually, my morning motto is "Don't wake me up."

- you take your temperature more than once a day (committed TTCer)
No, but I do sometimes take two ovulation tests a day.

- you refuse to finish decorating that 3rd bedroom in your new house, because you can't stand the thought of getting it just the way you want it only to have to tear it apart next month in order to make room for the nursery you'll be needing.
i'm actually trying to finish our basement so that my oldest can move down there when our new baby comes.

- you put off buying any fall/winter clothes, because you hope they won't fit by the time the weather gets cooler.
Absolutely! I have actually already bought some summer/year round pregnancy clothes in anticipation. Can't help it. (see previous post. )

- you clip coupons for OPKs and HPTs
No- I don't clip coupons for anything.

- your doctor says, "Now take these home and inject this needle into your stomach every day" and you don't even flinch.
I've never had to do this, luckily...but if I don't get knocked up soon, then i'm going to ask for drugs. then maybe I'll end up with 8 babies and become famous like Octomom. But cooler. WAY cooler.

- you spend more on OPKs, HPTs, and fertility supplements than you do on clothes
Yes. I do. A LOT more. Seriously, when you pee on 5 sticks per month? And those are just the pregnancy tests, not the Ovulation tests. Yeah-- it gets pretty expensive.

- the thought of nausea makes your heart skip a beat!
Yeah! Last week I got sick last thursday, and even though it was like 5 days after my period started, I was all like "maybe I'm just extra sensetive to the hormones" and stuff. Yeah, I know. I'm kidding myself. Excessively. Because i've done this 3 times before, and I don't get sick for about a month.

- you make a mental note of what day of your cycle it is before you say "ok" to a drink
I don't drink anyway, so...no, not really.

- you get sick but make sure you can take the medicine in case you are pregnant...and would rather stay sick if you can't take the medicine..
Absolutely. In fact, I stay out of hot tubs when I'm ttc too, even though i'm like a day past my period...

- you finally look forward to mornings! Another opportunity to take and record your temp!
No, I NEVER look forward to mornings...but yes, I do look forward to peeing on more sticks.

- you refer (and think) of your husband, not as his real name, but as the letters "DH" in real life
I have, on more than 10 occasions, refered to my husband as DH before. To his face. Yeah. That says something, doesn't it? Did I mention that I swore off of Chat boards? This was only ONE reason, but it was a contributing factor.

- you suffer silently from Infertility Vision (IV) - defined as the ability to see pink lines that nobody else can see. It's a very common condition among POASers during the days leading up to the official test day. Research is still being done, but at present there is no cure for it!
I am very blessed to not have any infertility problems, but the vision still applies. I see pink lines daily (or blue lines, or a half line, etc.)

Reference: http://www.twoweekwait.com/web/stories.php?category=21

Maternity Clothes

2010-01-21T13:18:00.000-08:00

Have you ever noticed that there stores only sell cute maternity clothes when you're NOT pregnant? Like, you spend hours looking for clothes that look hip and young and make your belly look like a baby instead of a bulge, but all you ever find are mumus?

OR, you finally get the guts to take your new baby out with you to the store, and the first thing you see is some chic little thing that would have looked darling on you...A MONTH AGO.

Well, having had 3 pregnancies so far, i have notice this in abundance. So i'm doing my shopping now and I hope I'm not jinxing myself. Hopefully I'll get to wear them eventually.

So far, from Old Navy and Gap I have purchased:

Yeah! I'm stocking up! If anyone knows a good place to buy maternity evening gowns that aren't entirely too expensive, let me know!!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-20T23:05:00.000-08:00

There is nothing that I can say that she hasn't said

2010-01-19T09:50:00.000-08:00

And she says it better than I can. Today, I'm lazy, and out of time, so let my new hero, here, entertain you.

PLEASE visit:
http://missedconceptions.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/please-help-them/#comment-2091

Thank you.

E-Book in the works!

2010-01-18T13:13:00.000-08:00

So, I happen to the mother of 3 children, all of which slept through the night by 6 weeks. I'm not 'lucky' this wasn't an accident.

I will be working on an e-book over the next little while about how I did it, and how you can too. We all know mommy is happer when she's well rested. Baby is too, because not only is she well rested, but mommy's not cranky.

I'm hoping to have my book available by early June at the latest. For questions, or comments concerning the topic, or just to offer your own tips (to be properly credited if I find them appropriate) leave me a comment. I'd be happy to hear them!

Chores.

2010-01-17T23:08:00.000-08:00

What is it, exactly, about TTC that makes sex such a chore? I mean, I've got drawers full of lacy, black and red and white and every other color imaginable lingerie, and my husband is lying in bed next to me, smelling of soap, toothpaste, and he's clean shaved.

DTD every night is the only way to guarantee that you hit that elusive little egg. So it will be done. Begrudgingly. Even though, on a normal night, having my insanely good-looking husband smelling so good would get me going in an instant, I just can't muster up the gumption to care.

Guess all those pretty little things were over used on our other three children.

Something Silly For Sunday

2010-01-17T16:31:00.001-08:00

You remember Pavlov and his dogs, right???

2010-01-16T14:23:00.000-08:00

So, we're trying to conceive (TTC.)

It's a long hard process.

I had my IUD out in October, and now it's January. I am already the mother of three death-defying children, and beautiful, entertaining and nerve wracking as they are, I happen to want another (several more, in fact, though I'll happily take them one at a time. Or two. But PLEASE not three.)

For the last four months, it's been ovulation tests twice a day, and pregnancy tests every day from 5 days before my missed period until old Aunt Flow shows up, all perky and red and completely disappointing.

Lots of money.

Lots of effort.

Lots of pee.

It's gross, I know, but every woman who has ever TTC has done it.

Do you remember Ivan Pavlov? If you don't, I'm sure you'll remember him when I relate his story. Pavlov's dogs are probably the best known example of Classical Conditioning ever.

Essentially, Pavlov discovered that dogs salivated naturally when presented with food (unconditioned response). What ended up as a significant phsychological breakthrough was that every time he fed the dogs he would ring a bell, and over time, when the dogs would hear the bell, weather or not food accompanied the bell, they salivated. (Conditioned Response.)

In many ways, I have become one of Pavlov's dogs. I have peed on so many urine-test strips that now, when I walk down the Feminine Hygene isle at the grocery store, where all those test strips lean outward, promising hope and a posetive answer, I immediately have to pee like a race horse. Even if i just went.

Yes. I have been conditioned.

~Sigh~