Ok - so our pregnancy wasn't exactly planned. Ira (my husband) and I knew that this would one day happen—we just didn't think it would happen so soon. We had thought 5 years was a good marker, we'd been married just over 2 years in May, when I peed on the stick. The pee that changed our lives...
Our Contraception Plan...
Yes, we did have a "let's not get prego" plan in place. It was 98% effective (if you do it correctly)—which is quite comparable to other birth control methods: The Pill (around 99% effective), The Condom (I think in the neighborhood of 96% effective), etc. We opted for The Billings Ovulation Method of Natural Family Planning (NFP). I didn't really want to mess with my horomones, or have to use a device all the time. So in our minds, this made sense—and we decided that if God blessed us with a little baby, that we would warmly accept it as His plan.
Rather than bore you with all the gory details of how this plan works - you can check out www.woomb.org for details (did you know there's really only a 72 hour window that you can actually become pregnant in each month?). The cool things that struck me about it though was that it has 98% effectiveness in 3rd World Countries where it's taught! And I could use it with my super irregular cycle. So we took a 6-session class through an NFP teacher. But there is always that 2%...
What We Think Happened...
Because the Billings method is based on your current symptoms, you gotta check them out on every trip to the potty throughout the day, and chart them on a calendar to keep track. Really not that difficult. But here's the trick (and what we think happened)—there is a slight chance you could be on the verge of starting your ovulation and not know it yet because you haven't checked in a few hours (did you know that sperm live only 3-5 hours in your normal conditions, but when your ovulation symptoms begin, and they have the right conditions—they can live 3-5 DAYS until your egg actually drops?!)... So we're pretty sure his little guys lived a few days—waiting for my egg to drop. And Ta-Da! Pregnant!
How We Found Out...
My boobs had been hurting for weeks, and I was pretty sure they were growing too. And when you're a "barely-A" sorta girl, this is big news! I went out jogging, and was surprised that my cammy wasn't doing the trick for support. Since when did that happen? So that shoulda been my first clue. But I didn't know that your boobs hurt during pregnancy...
Work was really stressful—I had taken on a second job responsibility for the time being, so I thought that maybe my period was just late because of stress (even though Billings was telling me that I was pretty sure I'd ovulated). I blamed my mood swings on the period that should be starting any second...
But any second turned into a few days. And there was a question growing in the back of my mind... "What If...?" But no, impossible. Still—I went to the store and picked up a test.
I peed on it the next morning while Ira was in the shower. Two lines appeared almost immediately. I checked the stick—“Two Lines = Pregnant." Huh?! I showed the showering husband—who looked at me with the widest eyes I've ever seen. "It's gotta be a mistake" I kept thinking—“There's no way!" Oh but there was—and going to the doctor later that day confirmed it. Our due date was January 19, 2007.
My First Response...
I was absolutely stunned in unbelief. I think Ira was the same way. Our lives would very soon be changing. I would have to share him, and he would have to share me—with a new little person, who didn't seem very real yet. I have to admit that I was very upset about this. I had an almost selfish desire to have my husband all to myself for longer—but I wasn't going to get that. It didn't seem exactly fair somehow. So there were some tears, and a few inquisitive prayers towards God. And finally, acceptance.
We began coming to terms with our news—and we started getting excited about all the things a baby would mean to us. Probably the most exciting thing to me was beginning family traditions and planning family trips. It will be so exciting to introduce a new little person to all the things and people we love so much—and watch this little soul experience it all for the very first time. It just seems so amazing that we get to be part of that. I was excited about Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Easter, the 4th of July—and knowing that those holidays would take on such a different spin in 2007.
These were my very very first reactions, and my emotions and thoughts about bringing this baby into the world are much more intense, deep and developed now.
Just the Beginning…
This was the very beginning of our journey—of which we’re now in the 23rd week (at the beginning of the 6th month). I hope that you will continue along with us, as I recount some of what the first few months were like—and bring you up to speed on where we’re at now. It’s been quite the experience! And I look forward to sharing it with you very much.
Blessings for a happy pregnancy,
Christy
