Post It Tuesday

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Baby Shower Blues and Venting: Read With Caution

Is it wrong that I RSVPd a big fat NO to a friend's upcoming baby shower because I don't want to feel sad about the fact that I'm not pregnant?

Not to mention, I have been married for almost 2 years and have been trying for a couple months to get pregnant, and she and her husband got pregnant on their wedding night (if not before!) and they were totally not prepared to get pregnant.

Or so she said...she asked me a few times last year, including on her wedding day, when my husband and I were going to start trying and I, very honestly, told her we weren't ready. When I asked the same thing about her, she said they were going to wait also and she was going to find a steady job first since she was unemployed. The last time we spoke about this was in October (a month AFTER her wedding). A week later, I found out via a mutual friend's Facebook update that Friend #1 was pregnant! wtf?

I texted her to ask if it was true and she said she had found out a couple days earlier, and she was "just about to call" me. She also said they "didn't plan on it happening so soon." So I asked if they had been using birth control, and she did not answer. So that basically answered that question...

Fast forward a few months, and she sends out a mass text saying it's a girl. I responded by asking if she had picked out a name, and there was no response. A few weeks later, I found out the baby's name via an update on her Facebook page (not directed toward me). From the context, it seemed she had known the baby's name for quite some time.

So that is just about the only contact I have had with this friend in the past 5 months. I forgot to mention, she was my maid of honor when I got married in 2008. At this point, I would feel very out of place and uncomfortable at her bridal shower. Am I totally off base here?

BFP? Apparently not...

We are now entering our third month of trying to conceive. After much speculation by myself, my husband, and many online well-wishers, it appears that I am indeed NOT pregnant! AF started today, and I am more disappointed than I was last month, since I have been having slight spotting for a few days (unusual) and EPT gave me some false hope. The picture on the left is my test from when I was 11 dpo (days past ovulation). Note the faint blue vertical line (which was not present in my previous pregnancy tests).

I'm usually not one to analyze a pregnancy test too carefully--I see the result in 30 seconds and move on with my day. But this time I thought, just maybe, this was a faint positive and my next one would be darker and more filled in. I wasn't alone: Here are several comments from people who agreed with me. But no such luck. I followed this test with a First Response test at 12 dpo and that was a definite BFN.

It has come to my attention that some tests with a + sign like EPT are more prone to false positives than others. I found really useful info on BabyCenter.com: apparently the blue dye in EPT leads to false positives, or at least results that look like faint positive lines. So spread the word: Don't pick up EPT tests with blue dye in them!! Next time I'm sticking to FRER or something similar.

Possible BFP? Please help!

BFP? BFN? I'm not sure, and I need your help... Do you see a faint blue line on the left side of where the vertical blue lines would be? My husband sees it too, and I wanted some input as this is the closest to a positive pregnancy test I've seen before. Could this be a positive? I'm not sure if it's supposed to be all or nothing. I will, of course, continue to test if AF doesn't arrive tomorrow. But I'm going back to the vertical lines of First Response. These dotted lines on the EPT are annoying. Please tell me what you think!

Vivid Dreams Part 2

I dreamt about about a pregnancy test for the second night in a row last night. In this dream, I woke up to find that my husband had placed a pregnancy test on my pillow so I wouldn't forget to take it when I woke up (as if that would happen). Later in the dream I was looking at it and it had a + sign on it. I immediately took a test this morning and it was a BFN (big fat negative). My husband was quick to point out two little blue dots that were above the horizontal line in the center of the EPT window. Maybe there will be more dots tomorrow? I think it's interesting that the night before last, I dreamt about the specific test strip I would be using when I woke up (it was the kind with two parallel lines). Yesterday I used the last of that box of tests, so this morning I used EPT, which was the test that was in my dream last night (it shows a plus sign when positive).

In another dream last night, I was pregnant and headed for the hospital but had not packed a single thing to take with me. I was very stressed out.

In a completely unrelated dream last night, I was in the middle of a war zone and I had to stay inside the house I was in because I would be shot if I stepped outside. The war lasted 3 days and by the time it was over 1 million people had died. Lol, I have no idea what any of that dream meant.

Free Stuff for Moms

I have seen quite a few giveaway blogs, but I haven't really been excited about any of their products until I came across TicTacDough. Tic Tac Dough has tons of useful giveaways for pregnant women and babies. (Did you know they make maternity lingerie? I didn't.)

Today I entered to win a baby bouncer by Bright Starts. It looks really comfortable and it got great reviews online. I also love that it comes in a neutral color so it won't stand out too much if it's in the living room. I think I may actually register for this if I don't win it. Is it too soon to start registering if I'm not pregnant yet??

Vivid Dreams

The past few nights I have had many short but very vivid dreams that have left me feeling like I didn't get a great night's sleep. Early this morning, I dreamt a very clear positive pregnancy test. There were two distinct lines, and then I woke up and had to pee. So I thought, "this is it!" But no such luck. BFN (big fat negative).

Then I went back to sleep and dreamt about buying a Care Bears comforter to use while playing with the baby on the living room floor. It was blue and green and yellow, and had a different design on both sides. One side was too bright, so I decided I would use the back side, which was more pastel. I have had dreams before in which I was pregnant, but nothing detailed about pregnancy tests or shopping for the baby.

Just for the hell of it, I searched online for Care Bear comforters when I woke up to see if I could find the one in my dream. I didn't, but I did find this metal lunch box that I had when I was a kid. Ah, nostalgia...

Implantation Pain?

I'm at 8 days past ovulation. The last 3 days have brought dull cramps off and on. Last night I had a brief sharp pain in the center of my lower abdomen. That was something I've never had before. Earlier today I had some sheer light pink spotting. I had the same thing last month at 12 dpo, but then got my period that night. I'm hoping since this is 4 days sooner, it's implantation bleeding. I took a pregnancy test today and it was BFN (big fat negative).

I'm happy to say that this two weeks is going by a lot faster than the last time. I have been keeping busy and trying not to think about my symptoms. Then again, I experienced more pregnancy symptoms last month than this month.

I would like to surprise my husband when I do find out I'm pregnant, but he is so damn attentive that he practically stands outside the bathroom door when I'm peeing on a stick. How did you tell your significant other you were pregnant?

Mommy Bloggers

I'm still new to blogging, but I've seen some great blogs so far. Even though I'm not a mom yet, I've joined Mom Bloggers Club and a few other sites, and once a week or so I will be posting links to blogs I enjoy.

Today I found Brittany's blog at http://www.mommywords.com. Brittany's posts are humorous, and she is easy to relate to. My favorite part is her "how-to" section, where she tells you step by step how she made fabulous furniture, toys for kids, and more. I'm not that crafty, but there's a couple projects I might assign to my husband! Check it out.

Confusius Say...

My husband and I have ordered Chinese food twice in the last week. Here are two of the fortunes we got last time:

-"Happiness can be achieved by using your patience."
-"Luck will be yours when you least expect it."

May this means I will get pregnant if I'm patient and not thinking about it too much??

Then tonight, my husband got this fortune:

"Children's laughter, so beautiful to hear, soon will be a chance to have them very near."

Not exactly grammatically correct, but I'll take it! The funny thing is that my husband got that fortune, and not me. I'm a teacher, so I hear children's laughter everyday. Maybe this is a sign?? Time will tell...we have another week and a half before I can test. Send me baby dust! Speaking of which, I just started a new Twitter account: Please follow me at http://twitter.com/MyBabyDust

Milk Does a Body Good, Unless She's Trying to Get Pregnant

I'm 3 dpo (days past ovulation). I'm going to try desperately not to think about any symptoms for the next two weeks, but it will be hard. I think it's actually harder for my husband, as last month he asked me 5 times a day, "Do you feel anything yet?" On a side note, I'm nauseous and my stomach has just been "off" all day, but then again I've eaten nothing but crap today.

Here is a juicy little paranoia-inducing tidbit I read today: Women trying to get pregnant should limit dairy intake because "a sugar found in milk known as galactose has been proven harmful to function of ovaries." Your body needs a certain enzyme to break up the sugar, and some women don't have enough of this enzyme, so the sugar can build up to dangerous levels. Milk, cottage cheese, yogurt and ice cream should be avoided, according to amazingpregnancy.com. Whoops.

Old Wives' Tales

I'm pretty sure I ovulated yesterday, so the two week wait begins...This time, we've been trying the pillow trick (I prop my hips up on a pillow afterwards to let gravity help out). I have also read several places that Mucinex (NOT Mucinex DM) thins your fluids and produces more secretions. I have only been taking 1 or 2 doses in the evenings after work. I think it might have helped, but I'm not sure. I don't know if either of these tricks really work, but I'm crossing my fingers.

According to an ancient Chinese calendar, which figures in the mother's age and year of conception, I will be having a boy. Darn. I want a girl first. Here are some other Old Wives' Tales about gender determination I found on Storknet.com:

• Suspend the pregnant woman's wedding ring on a chain over her belly. If it swings back and forth, it's a girl. If it swings around in circles, it's a boy.
  
• Urinate in a glass jar with a tablespoon of Drain-o in it. If the mixture is green, it's a girl; if the mixture turns blue, it's a boy.
  
• If the mother-to-be trips or falls over her own feet during pregnancy, it's a boy. If the mother is graceful, it will be a girl.
  
• If you are pregnant with a girl, supposedly you will be more moody, emotional, and have worse morning sickness. You also crave salty food with a boy, and sweets with a girl.

Question

My Blogger "reading list" of blogs that I'm following shows that I'm only following 2, when I'm probably following more like 30. Is anyone else having this problem??

Peeping Tomcat

So, is it weird that my cat likes to lay at the foot of the bed and watch my husband and I have sex? Usually he jumps up on the bed because he thinks it's bedtime and he sleeps next to me. We usually have to push him off the bed several times. But the other night, we glanced over and he was laying silently at the foot of the bed watching us. He was striking a sexy cat pose, laying on his side with his paw on his hip. It was sort of creepy, and my husband and I started laughing hysterically. Does anyone else have perverted pets?

important parenting tips

I saw these today and thought they were funny:

Success!

No, I'm not pregnant yet. Hahaha.

But I have spent all day looking for free blog layouts and backgrounds, and I actually put something together that I'm happy with! You are looking at a combination of a simple Blogger layout with a background and matching header that I found online. I changed the html font color for my post titles so it would match the header title, which I added with the program Paint.NET. It took me forever to figure out that I had to type my page title into 4 different layers and mash them all together with the blank background header. Then in the Blogger layout I selected to use a picture from my computer instead of the default title and description. Once I got the hang of Paint.NET, I made myself a new button! And it has a button on it, which I just think is fantastic! Lol. Check it out on the right sidebar under my followers.

I may fork over the cash to have my blog customized one of these days (maybe to celebrate getting knocked up?) but for now I'm happy. I do want to send a big THANK YOU to Shelley for suggesting a great blog design site which I may use in the future. Shelley's blog is gorgeous! Check it out:

Pimp My Blog

I have changed the appearance of my blog a few times now, and I'm just never quite satisfied with it. I need help! How did you design your blog? Do you have a favorite blog design site? Please comment, and if I use your suggestion, I promise to add your button or give you a shoutout in my blog! Thanks so much!

Round 2

5 days til ovulation...let the baby dancing begin!

What (the Hell) to Expect

Today on whattoexpect.com I read that it takes a healthy 25 year old an average of 6 MONTHS to get pregnant! I am 30 and I'm starting to worry a little. Please leave me a comment...How long did it take you to conceive, or how long have you been trying?