Karen Chatters » TTC

A funny thing happened on the way…

Karen — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 13:30:44 +0000

To the hairdresser.

I peed on a stick. It said I was pregnant. PREGNANT!! FOR REAL!!!! OK, it didn’t happen on the WAY to but before I went to the hairdresser.

So let me backtrack…. Paul and I have been trying to get pregnant, so this is anticipated and a hoped for outcome. But I kept getting my period. So I went to the OB and he gave me a prescription and then I went out and spent $200 for fertility drugs. That was a Wednesday, $200. On Thursday, Courtney and I were off to our weekly romper room jaunt and I was feeling a little nauseous. And the next day, a little nauseous. On a Sunday, I was supposed to get my hair straightened. You know, lots of chemicals on my head. So I thought I’d do the responsible thing and I peed on a stick. And, well, yeah. Pregnant.

I have to say, I was pretty shocked. I mean, I’d just had my period. I’d just spent $200 on drugs. I’d just spent time talking to the OB, we had a good chat. Paul was doubly shocked. He wanted to know if I’d peed on 2 sticks. I hadn’t because, well, I only had to pee once. So I cancelled the hair appointment and later in the day, I peed again. Pregnant.

I called the OB back and they got me in right away. The woman asked me how far along I was, I told her I really had no idea, maybe 8 weeks. She goes, “Really? You think so?” So they brought me in and took some blood and when the nurse called me back the next day, the word was 7-8 weeks. For realz.

It turns out what I thought was my period was implantation bleeding. Go figure.

So baby makes 4. Well, in October, baby will make 4. In the meantime, my first trimester is coming to an end and like the first go around, I feel good. Fine. No problems. I had 3 or 4 days of nausea and that’s it. This has put a serious cramp in my weight loss program, you know, as it should.

Segundo

So, another baby. Courtney and her little friend, Segundo, will be just under 2 years apart. I’m anticipating that Courtney is going to be a huge help, you know, changing diapers and helping with 3am feedings.

AHHH PREGNANT!!

To edumacate or not to edumacate

Karen — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:08:43 +0000

We’re getting to that stage where we need to start thinking about what to do with Courtney next year. There’s a lot of conversations amongst my mom friends about school for the fall. One friend of mine has looked at something like 20 schools, another is almost as active. There are so many choices. Two days. Three days. Half days. Three quarter days. This school vs that school vs preschool vs day care. I’m beginning to get a little freaked out. I’m not overly concerned that Courtney isn’t going to know algebra by the time she’s five but I don’t want her to be behind when she gets into school.

I was talking to a neighbor of mine the other day who’s already looking into their 3rd school option for their child. She’s 19 months. The mom was all, “My kid can speak 3 languages and the knows the Pythagorean theory.” OK, not really but I was feeling like it. Is Courtney going to start preschool at 3 or 4 or whatever and be so far behind that she’ll never get into college? No, I know she won’t but the pressure!

Unfortunately, she has a late birthday, it’s in November, so whatever we’re looking at for the fall won’t be ideal in terms of what age she is and where a preschool would place her. She’ll be an old 1 come September, so she’d end up in a class with a bunch of 1 year olds. Potentially a bunch of older 1 year olds but still 1′s, I’d rather she be with young twos. Right? Wouldn’t you want her to have kids to learn from as opposed to kids learning from her?

And really, do I want her in something 2 days a week? I was kind of thinking a Mom’s Morning Out would be ideal, you know 1 monrning a week. And whatever we do with her, I’m not going to spend 30 minutes in my car in the morning just to get her there, I don’t care how good the program is. And really, what is she learning at 21 months anyway? I guess that’s the problem, I don’t have a clue what she should be learning at 21 months. But, if Paul can get me knocked up (which hasn’t been going well so far) and we have 2 kids in the fall, would she be better served in a 2-day a week program? Would I be better off with her in a 2-day a week program? I. Don’t. Know.

AND THEN, ugh, I’m late with the whole damn thing anyway. Registration for these places starts right. this. minute! My friend went to one place for registration on Sunday and there were people who’d been in line since 4:30 in the morning!! FOR REAL!!! And let me tell you, I would have to think that based on the weekend temps, they must have frozen their asses off. I hope they got what they wanted.

Man, all this stresses me out and makes me think that I should be having bloody mary’s for breakfast except that I gave up alcohol for New Years and I’m NOT DRINKING!! Stupid idea. Hm, maybe the kid would be better off in a 5 day a week program…

Sometimes, I really don’t understand

Karen — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:49:33 +0000

Several months ago, I talked about my desire to have a VBAC with our second kid (still not pregnant). I understand there are risks to VBACs, although they aren’t really that high, and that many doctors won’t perform them for the fear of something going wrong and the liability associated with them. I know people that have interviewed countless OB’s in hopes of finding someone that will perform a VBAC. It’s crazy. It’s crazy that doctors won’t perform them, it’s crazy that some OB’s get out of the baby business all together because it’s too costly to them, it’s crazy that doctors even have to make such decisions because of malpractice insurance and that they just can’t afford it.

But then today, I read about a woman who’s going to move 350 miles away from her family so she can have the kind of birth she wants. She’s going to rent an apartment and move away. She has a husband and 3 kids and she’s going to leave them because the hospital in her home town has a “policy” about VBAC’s. And, the hospital will take legal action against the woman if they have to. I can’t imagine having to make a choice like that. I can’t imagine having to make such a drastic decision in order to have a baby the way that I want. AND this woman has already had 1 VBAC. I just don’t understand how we got to this point.

What is going on in our country? People are pissed that Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. I mean, really? Whether or not you voted for the guy, he is the President of the United States and why wouldn’t people be happy that an American won such a prestigious award. The other day a 4 month old breastfed baby boy was denied health insurance because he was deemed obese. Seriously???? Are his parents supposed to put him on a diet? And and and, does this kid now have a pre-existing condition and won’t be able to get health coverage in the future? And then there’s the kindergarten kid that was facing expulsion from school for bringing a Swiss Army knife type tool that contained a fork, spoon and knife. Apparently there’s a “no tolerance” policy, so what we should do is expel the 6 year old. Because that makes sense.

Of course I want my kids to be safe at school and I want to have a baby without fear of death and I want to win the Nobel Peace Prize for all the right reasons and without fear of repercussions for my fellow country men. But when did things get so out of control? When did our priorities get so screwed up? And things only seem to get worse. The laws get crazier. The rules get more unreal. How do we get things back to “normal?”

Could I be?

Karen — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 18:53:00 +0000

Well, there’s no sign of my cycle at all and it was due yesterday. I took a test on Thursday and it was negative but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m not pregnant. I could be but I’m trying not to get my hopes up. It’s hard not to get my hopes up. If I am pregnant, I’d be almost 5 weeks already!

Tomorrow….

Karen — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:53:00 +0000

I could take a test tomorrow to see if I’m pregnant. I doubt I am. I may wait another day. No sign of my cycle yet so that’s a good sign.

I do feel a lot calmer about it this month than last month. Maybe that’s a sign. What would be weird is that if I am pregnant, I’d be four weeks already.