Another Two-Week Wait

I'm feeling strangely calm this cycle. I'd love to get pregnant this cycle, but I also feel like if it didn't happen this time, I'd be okay with it. Getting pregnant this cycle would mean that I would likely take the end of the school year off for maternity leave. While that sounds like a nice idea, it would probably be better to finish off the school year and have the baby in the summer.

Our goal is for me to be able to stay home after the baby is born and to not have to go back to work the following school year. My husband will be getting his M.B.A. next month, and hopefully he will get a higher paying job soon after that. We also have quite a lot of credit card debt at the moment, and I will not get another paycheck until October 1. I would like to get as much of that paid off as possible before the baby arrives.

But don't get me wrong, I would still love to get a BFP this cycle!

Round 3 of TTC - Testing Day

Kudos to Tracy for keeping me on top of things with my blogging! Sometimes I forget people out there are actually reading this! I tested today (and yesterday, and the day before if we're being honest!) and got a BFN. I've been very tired and had a couple strange new pinching pangs in the last 2 days next to my belly button. But I've basically been getting new and unusual symptoms every month, so I've been trying not to think about it. I feel like I should be experiencing more symptoms if I was pregnant.

The wierd thing is that AF should be arriving either today or tomorrow, and I've had absolutely no AF symptoms either, which is unusual for me. So I really don't know what to make of this month. I will update again when I know for sure.

If I'm not pregnant this month, I was thinking I might try PreSeed for next month...does anyone have any experience (positive or negative) with that? I'd appreciate your advice!

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?

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

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.