We Got the Green Light!

Today Nils and I went to our preconception appointment with my new doctor, Dr. Campbell, who I really liked right from the start. I have read that couples looking to conceive should get a preconception appointment to double check for any health issues the mother might have that could prevent her getting pregnant or might interfere with a pregnancy when she does get pregnant. Its like the women that find out they have breast cancer while they are pregnant- they would have benefited from an appoint like this.

They did many of the same test they do when you go in for your yearly exam- checking your weight, blood pressure, breast and pelvic examination. Dr Campbell said they would normally do a PAP at that time too but since I am not technically due for one until about April, he felt we would be okay to skip it since he didn't know if my insurance would cover it or not. But the good news is everything looked good and based on my health and previous pregnancy history, there was nothing to make him there would be any reason to have to wait. The only thing he thought might be of concern was that coming right off the pill might make my cycles off and I might not ovulate right away. That is why many women coming off the pill wait about 3 months (3 cycles) to establish when they ovulate.

Oh yeah, and the fact that women who ovulate coming right off the pill DOUBLE their odds in conceiving TWINS! Yikes!

He explained that birth control pills basically keep you from releasing an egg (ovulation) so women that go off the pill might ovulate right away and some women's bodies jump into overdrive and might release more than one egg that can be fertilized, hence doubling their odds for conceiving fraternal twins from 1 in 80 to 1 in 40! Needless to say, this made Nils and I both raise our eyebrows in apprehension. It made me think back to when I was pregnant with Shaylee and one of my first vivid early pregnancy dreams was my doctor telling me I was going to have twin boys (however, the day before my ultrasound appointment to find out the sex I had a dream that it was a female nurse who was performing the ultrasound and told me it was a girl- what I really wanted and now I have Shaylee!)

But then again, he said the majority of women don't ovulate right away either so getting pregnant could take longer. I basically look at it this way- it's in God's hands. One baby or two...boy or girl......or no baby at all. It's all His plan. And whatever He gives me, I'd be happy with...( but God, if you are listening, I'd like a single, healthy baby boy!).

Bring on the Baby Making!

End of birth control pill pack. Check. FINALLY!

Appointment with OB/GYN for preconception examination. Check.
 

Bottle of prenatal vitamins. Check.

Basal body temperature (BBT) thermometer for fertility charting. Check.
 

The book “What To Expect Before You’re Expecting: The Complete Preconception Plan” by Heidi Murkoff. Check.
 

Twenty pack of First Response Ovulation Tests. Check.

Membership to various TTC (Trying to Conceive) websites such as BabyCenter.com, FertilityFriend.com, WhatToExpect.com. Check, check, and check.

We Have An Announcement....!!!

After much discussion, Nils and I have decided to begin trying for baby #2, hopefully a boy!!

I will be going off my oral contraceptives on February 11th (funny because not only is that the end of my pill pack, not including those placebo "reminder" pills, but also because it's our wedding anniversary!). We will be charting my fertility for a while...how long exactly, we haven't decided. We may begin actively trying straightaway or we might just hold off and continue charting for a few months to get a better look at my cycles to pinpoint ovulation. Sorry if I get too personal! Anyhow, we'd like to try the Shettles Method as we are wanting a boy.

It is the sperm that fertilizes the egg that will determine the sex of your baby. Some sperm carry the X-chromosome and some sperm carry the Y-chromosome. If an X-chromosome-carrying sperm fertilizes the egg, the baby will be a girl. If a Y-chromosome-carrying sperm fertilizes the egg, the baby will be a boy.

The idea behind the Shettles Method of sex selection is based on the premise that the X and Y chromosome carrying sperm have different characteristics and that under different circumstances either X- or Y-chromosome-carrying sperm will be more likely to fertilize the egg.


The Y-chromosome-carrying sperm are said to:

• be faster and smaller than the X-chromosome carrying sperm.
• die faster than the X-chromosome-carrying sperm.

The X-chromosome-carrying sperm are said to:

• be slower than the Y-chromosome carrying sperm.
• be better able to withstand the acidic cervical environment before fertile cervical fluid is produced.

Based on these premises, according to Shettles, you can time intercourse, choose a sexual position that favors conception of your preferred sex and influence the reproductive environment to increase the likelihood of conceiving your preferred sex, which of course, in our situation, would be a boy. Of course, God has the final say in what we have, when and if we have anything, but it certainly isn't gonna hurt to try, right?

Last night I went out and bought some prenatal vitamins (gonna get my body as healthy as possible from the start) and  a BBT thermometer which to me looks like a regular digital thermometer but came with a ovulation tracking chart. I am kinda familiar with fertility charting as I briefly begun charting when Nils and I were planning on having Shaylee. I signed up to receive lessons, 20 in all, emailed me directly from FertilityFriend.com, the site I am using for charting. You can learn more about charting by checking out these series of short educational videos which introduces you to the basics of fertility charting by clicking here.

So that's all for now. We will keep you posted with the updates on how we are doing as we begin this adventure!