Am I Pollinated Yet?

Look at my horoscope from Rob Brezsny:

Libra Horoscope for week of January 31, 2008
The planet's biggest annual orgy of pollination is about to take place. A million beehives from all over America and Australia are on trucks headed to a 600,000-acre patch of almond orchards in California's Central Valley. For the next three weeks or so, 40 billion bees will be in service to almond flowers as they facilitate the mixing of male and female reproductive materials. This scene could rightly serve as your metaphor of the week, Libra. You, too, are primed for a tremendous pollination event -- a time of intense mingling in service to fertility.



I doubt I'm supposed to take this literally, but still... neat! My husband's nick name, by the way, is Crazy-Bee.

Now back to waiting another week.

TTC 2WW... WTF?

Turn to the Internet to learn more about conception and pregnancy, and you're likely to encounter a lot of nearly indecipherable abbreviations.

Many of them seem reasonable enough, but some are downright goofy.

ATAS - Abbreviations That Are Stupid:

AF - Aunt Flo(w). This means getting your period. Are we still in seventh grade, people?
DH - Dear Husband. My husband is a dear, I suppose, but I don't typically refer to him as such. Certainly not often enough to abbreviate it!
BBs - "Boobs" Oh a cute little abbreviation for my least favorite term used to refer to breasts (why not TTs, anyone?).
BD - Baby Dance. This means having sex. Baby Dance? That's a creepy euphemism if I've ever heard one.
DP - Dancing Partner. DP means something slightly different to me, and that's all I have to say on the matter.

ATEMCS - Abbreviations That Explain My Current Status

TTC - Trying To Conceive.
2WW - Two Week Wait. This is waiting to see if your "BD" efforts have resulted in a pregnancy.

And, of course, I'm having all sorts of psychosomatic early pregnancy symptoms! I am seriously sleepy for no good reason lately. I have some other symptoms, as well, but these are also the same symptoms of an impending period. Might as well not draw any conclusions so early. I don't have a deadline to get pregnant or anything, but I can't help but feel like I want to hurry up and get there.

And, of course, when I have used POAS (pee on a stick) OPKs (ovulation prediction kits) this month I keep getting BFNs (big, fat negatives), so I am not even sure if I ovulated or not. I did get BFPs (big, fat positives on OPKs in past months when I was tracking my cycle but not TTC, so I know I can ovulate. Anyway, I just keep on BDing everyday, just in case, and because it's a great pastime in its own right.

Hmm the ATAS are really bothering me, so I may have to refrain from using them. Let's hope that the TTC days are brief, and I can move on to see what the Parenting realm of the Internet has to offer.

Pre-Conception

The new year has begun at last, so I have only a few weeks until my husband and I start trying to conceive. I'm trying to avoid stressing about it all because I don't want to disrupt my cycle or do anything to minimize my chances of getting knocked up.

I'm also trying to enjoy some of the things I'll be putting aside for a year or so in just a few weeks. (That's code for "I'm hitting the hooch," mainly wine in the evenings.) I guess there are other things I'll be giving up soon, too. I think there are some concerns about eating sushi. Lots of no-no's for the pregnant and nursing woman, actually. I'll have to familiarize myself with them all soon.

I guess I'll have more to say about it all when there actually is more to say about it all.

Sugar & Spice?

I've begun to pay more attention to articles about pregnancy, so this report about how blood sugar can affect a baby's gender caught my eye recently.

Scientists studying mice in South Africa have found that low blood sugar levels at conception produced more female baby mice than male. And, don't ask me why because I'm no dietician, eating sweets lowers blood sugar somehow, therefore sugar and spice (and everything nice) that's what little girls are made of. Conversely, little boys appear to be made of salty stuff (let's face it, if I'm going to eat puppy dog tails, I'm going to salt them down really well first).

I'd love to poll moms to find out if this study rings true with them. Do mothers of girls recall snacking on sweets around the time of conception? Did salty snackers have boys?

Anyway, I learned this just in the nick of time! I think I'd rather have a girl, but I tend to snack salty rather than sweet. Not that I'm going to eat a bunch of junk hoping for a girl or anything!

The Next Logical Step... Having a Critter!

"We figured there was too much happiness here for just the two of us, so we figured the next logical step was to have us a critter."








After nearly fifteen years of practicing, next year (which is next month already) my husband Bill and I are going to start trying to conceive.


I visited my doctor for health screenings and a pep talk, recently. I did great on the health screenings, and now I'm popping prenatal vitamins daily to get a head start on everything (and I guess to see what happens when you add a stool softener to an already fiber-rich diet).

I am a bit apprehensive about all of this; I spent most of my life declaring that I did not intend to reproduce, so I feel somewhat unprepared. I'm sure everything will work out for the best, though, people have been doing it for eons. Besides, I've read 2.5 pregnancy books already. I'm going to be a qualified OB/GYN myself before this over.

Things that are on my mind now...

1. Did I wait too long? I don't seriously feel like I have waited too long. I'm thirty-four. Most of my female friends and acquaintances were my age or older when they started having children. The only concern I have is that if there are any infertility issues, I may regret having waited this long. Then again, I didn't want to have children when I was twenty-four, or even thirty.
2. Will pregnancy suck? I've heard so many different stories about what it's like to be pregnant. It appears that results will vary, so I'll just have to wait and see. I'm lucky enough to be in good health, so I have that working in my favor.
3. Natural childbirth? I still have to learn more about it. I used to find the idea of pregnancy and childbirth very frightening, but my attitude has changed over the years. Natural childbirth sounds really appealing to me. I like the idea of fully experiencing such a significant event. I'm reading Ina May Gaskin's Natural Childbirth book. I've just started reading it, but already I'm beginning to feel that this will be the right choice for me.
4. Am I cut out for this, really? I adore kids, and I guess the feeling is mutual because I am one of those people children tend to like a lot. Generally, when people see me with kids, they'll say things like, "Oh you're so good with kids, you'll make a great mother." Well, I'm not really all that sure. I'm afraid to even hold a baby under six months old! This is a concern, damn it! On the other hand, the fact that I have concerns is probably evidence that I'm going to do all right. At this stage in my life, I'm still learning that I don't have to be perfect, but that's no excuse not to try! Also, I have Bill, who will be great, as well as friends and family and Wikipedia and Google. It will be okay. Obviously, I've decided to have a child, so in a way this question is irrelevant.
5. What do I want to do with myself (careerwise) before, during, and after the pregnancy? This is a tough question. The truth is, I've been struggling with this since even before I decided that I wanted to have a child. Adding a pregnancy and child to the question makes it even more complicated. I'm going to make figuring this out a priority in the coming months. Again, not to sound all Pollyanna here, but I'm so lucky to have several options available to me, including not working. There are so many people out there who don't have that luxury.

Will becoming a parent change me, and, if so, will the change be for the better?

The truth is there are about a hundred questions going through my mind. When possible, I'll put them here, along with any answers I might find, and so chronicle my transistion from the person I am now to the person I will be, and that person just may be someone's mother.