Everything I Need to Know About Life I Learned From Ovulating

The hubby and I decided to start actively trying a little sooner the next time, now that I have somewhat of an idea of when I ovulate. In our extensive research online, we have learned that sperm can live inside a woman's body for up to 5 days or so while waiting for the egg. I would imagine the sperm hang around like tools at a bachelor party, just waiting for the stripper to arrive. The egg, on the other hand, waits for about 24-48 hours and then bails if she does not find a sperm. She has more important things to do with her time than wait around for some guy. She will not be made a fool of. And isn't it just like a woman to keep her guy waiting while she gets ready? But a woman waits for NO man.

So, to sum up, here is what ovulation has taught me:

A woman can always arrive fashionably late. She is worth the wait. But a man better damn well get there when he says he will.

According to my due date calculator, my next estimated conception date would be March 10, and my due date would be December 1. I found this at PlanningFamily.com--They have a lot of good health info and free baby samples, magazines, etc. And it's free to join, which is nice. Check it out:

Thanks, Mother Nature. We're cool.

Day 3 of my new cycle. I have come to the conclusion that the nausea I was experiencing was because of the prenatal vitamins I've been taking, and maybe the breakouts were from coming off the pill? I'm not really sure what to make of the sore boobs and sudden-onset sore throat and congestion, but I'm not dwelling on it. It will happen when it's supposed to happen, and this gives me another month to finish projects around the house and do all the errands and things I wanted to get done before getting pregnant.

Screw You, Mother Nature!

The morning welcomed me with painful cramps and nausea. Thanks, morning. Peed on another stick at got a BFN (big fat negative). I had some faint spotting a few times today, but nothing major. Then tonight things changed and well, apparently I'm not so pregnant after all. Really, Mother Nature? Really? Why the sore boobs? Why the week of nausea? Why the random food obsessions? Screw you, Mother Nature.

Waiting...

I am 11 dpo (days past ovulation) and I stayed home sick today. I had planned to be productive and grade papers and do planning, but I was exhausted and slept most of the day. This cold is really kicking my ass. Tonight my husband came home with 4 more pregnancy tests and refused to let me wait until morning--BFN again (big fat negative). Something has to happen soon, right?

It's all in my head

This two-week wait is killing me. This morning I woke up at 3am and took a pregnancy test. It was another BFN (big fat negative), but it's probably too soon to tell. My sore throat continued today and I am getting a terrible head cold. Not sure if this is related at all to pregnancy, but I sure feel awful.

Donating My Uterus for the Advancement of Science

I'm 9 dpo (days past ovulation) and was mildly nauseous this afternoon. Food does not sound good at all today. Even if I'm hungry, whenever I open the fridge or pantry, I feel an overwhelming feeling of repulsion. By 5:00pm I could hardly keep my eyes open and I had a sore throat. Took a nap on the couch for a couple hours. When I woke up my throat was killing me and I had the chills and a runny nose. Where the hell did this cold come from? I was miserable. My husband Googled "sore throat" and "pregnancy" and, what do you know? It's a symptom. Not only that, but sore throats and runny noses are most common on...wait for it...9 DAYS PAST OVULATION! Are you freakin' kidding me?!? Turns out chills are also a symptom. I told my husband when I die he should donate my body to science since I seem to have every symptom in the book (forgot to mention that my face started breaking out a couple days ago also). Here is the site where we found the symptoms info: http://www.countdowntopregnancy.com/earlypregnancysymptoms/

Better Luck Next Time

Took a pregnancy test this morning and it was a BFN (big fat negative). I'm not really surprised since it's pretty early, but I thought I might as well try since I've been having a lot of symptoms. I will test again on Monday.

Bananas are the Devil

I was tired and nauseous all morning. Bananas (which usually calm my queasy stomach) are the devil. On the other hand, I've found that munching on honey-roasted almonds and sitting down makes me feel much better. I have been craving protein like crazy--more so than junk food, which is unusual. I am also incredibly thirsty and can't seem to get enough water.

After my nausea went away today, I had tons of energy and was in a spectacular mood. I seem to have 3 distinct moods lately: giddy & goofy, extremely tired, and nauseous & unmotivated. I am only 6 dpo (days past ovulation), but I'm thinking I might take a pregnancy test this weekend for the hell of it.

Time to Raid the Cupboard

I've taken enough psychology courses in my life to understand that constantly thinking about certain symptoms will actually cause those symptoms to appear. The strange thing is, I completely forget I'm TTC (trying to conceive) until a new symptom makes its debut. Then I Google it, and lo and behold, it's a symptom of early pregnancy.

Today at 1:45pm, I was sitting at the computer when a dull ache began to spread across my stomach. I was hungry, so I didn't think much of it. After I got home from work and ate, however, the pain progressed into what felt like pre-period cramps. Nothing excruciating, just sort of a dull, bloated pain, mostly in the left side of my stomach.

I've also noticed that I'm eating a lot. Not a large quantity...just a lot of little amounts of different things. Usually, when I'm craving cookies, for example, it's not a pretty sight. I will down half the package in one sitting. Today, I ate 2 Chips Ahoy and then I was over it. I was satisfied, but then I moved on to eating an apple. Now as I'm typing this, I'm craving cookies again...what the hell??

"Random and Unorganized"

3dpo...nipples are still sore, boobs seem fuller, and I'm peeing ALL. THE. TIME.

Today out of nowhere I said to my husband, "I want hummus." This is not completely new for me, as I love me some hummus. Since we didn't have any, I decided to microwave some sort of frozen meal. I found something that looked somewhat appetizing and took it out of the box. When my husband walked into the kitchen, I was staring at the Lean Pocket and frowning. I absolutely could not get myself to go any further with the process. I hadn't even taken it out of the plastic. I did not want this Lean Pocket. I wanted hummus.

My husband asked, "What's wrong?" I simply said, "I don't want this." To which he replied, "Let's go get hummus." *swoon*

I had not been outside yet today, and I got very lightheaded on the way to the store and had a headache. I felt loopy and indecisive as we browsed the aisles. Later, my husband described my behavior today as "random and unorganized." Oh, if you only knew how ironic it was that HE was calling ME that today! I'm thinking today that I'm either pregnant or in need of a neurologist.

A Very Crabby Valentine's Day

I am 2 days past ovulation (dpo) and this evening my nipples are very sore. This is not the normal overall soreness I get right before my period...it's only my nipples that hurt. I've never felt anything quite like this before. My husband is convinced I'm pregnant, but isn't it too soon for symptoms? It seems too easy for it to happen on the first try...

Yesterday I felt a strange tension in my lower abs (but it felt deeper than the soreness I would feel after a lot of crunches--almost like it was the backside of my abs that got a workout). This could be from my new Pilates Power Gym (love it btw!). But anyways, the feeling I had was like a rubber band, or plastic wrap being stretched over a bowl. Strange.

Today at brunch I had crabcakes benedict. Yummy! But now I'm worried because I don't know if pregnant chicks are supposed to eat crab...I'm not that far along in What to Expect When You're Expecting! I wish they made a Cliff's Notes version.

Yada, Yada, Yada

For those who do not get the Seinfeld reference, I am editing out the details of the "baby dancing." Stay tuned...

It all started with peeing on a stick...

Many women document the stages of their pregnancy from the time they test positive with a bun in the oven. I've decided to start sooner than that. Here is the story of me, from TTC (trying to conceive) to delivery, and possibly beyond. Who knows...blogging may be obsolete by then.

A year and a half into our marriage, my husband and I decided "it's time," and I stopped taking the pill at the end of January and purchased a Babyprep ovulation test kit. The test comes with 7 days worth of test strips. They test for a surge in the Luteinizing Hormone (LH) that occurs just before ovulation.

By my 6th day of testing, I was starting to think that maybe I wouldn't ovulate normally because I had just come off the pill, when - SCORE! - the LH was flowing and ovulation was approaching. The picture below shows my tests from 2/10/10 on top (negative) and 2/11/10 on the bottom (positive).

The ovulation kit is supposed to test positive 24-48 hours before ovulation. Since I took it at 7:00 this morning, I would guess that I will ovulate some time tomorrow. Wish me luck!