Monday, February 14, 2011

In which I say "cycle" way too many times...

If I wasn’t still 15 when I started taking hormonal birth control, then I had just turned 16. I was mostly always on the pill, except for a year or so that I was on the Depo shot, which ended in having to take the pill on top of it due to erratic bleeding, causing me to be a real pleasure to be around. Aside from that, I’d never had any issues with birth control. I had regular, light 3-4 day cycles. What more could a girl ask for?

I swear to you, the day Hub and I got married, I got the baby bug. It was like something that was hibernating had woken up and it was fierce. I thought baby thoughts 24/7 and once we were back from our honeymoon, after talking it over with Hub, I stopped taking the pill. Of course, at that point he was not on board with the whole baby thing. We’d been together for 8 years, and had lived together for 5, but he still didn’t think we were ready. So I became an expert in tracking my cycle, knowing what was going on every single day of it. Knowing if I was ovulating, or was going to get my period, or anything in between. I was really good at it. So much so, that on that April night when he told me he really was ready to have a baby, I knew that it was prime time. And I didn’t know it until a regular doctor’s checkup a few weeks later, but that was the night I got pregnant. Right on our first try.

Now, after Bud was born, things were a bit tricky. I couldn’t get the timing of my cycles right at all, nothing matched up. Neither of us wanted me back on the pill though. In the months that I was not taking it, prior to pregnancy, let’s just say things were a bit more active. Birth control didn’t just stop me from ovulating, you know? It was better for both of us to have me off. And we realized that something could happen and were fine with it. And that’s how we managed to have Lucy when Bud was 19 months old.

After Lu, again, there was no rhyme or reason to my cycles, so I did use the pill again for a short period of time to regulate things. And it did, but it brought with it horrible migraines and so was out the window. But it was better this time. Hub was responsible for providing any sort of contraception, and I was back to being in tune with my body and knowing what was happening and when….which is why Liv was such a surprise, and is why when she was about 18 months old and still hadn’t (hasn’t still) slept through the night I decided that some form of birth control was necessary. I talked with my doctor about my headaches, things that had worked and things that had not and we settled on Seasonique which lets you go 3 months in between periods and offers an estrogen supplement for the week you are having your period to keep hormone levels steady and avoid the migraines and such.

It’s been about a year, and it has been fine until recently when I have had increased migraines—including those pesky ocular ones, lack of interest, and mood swings. Hub and I decided together that it has run its course and it is time to get back to the basics if you will. It’s going to take a little work, but I am up for it. Even though I keep telling Hub that my working from home arrangement seems perfect for having another child, the truth is that I am reasonably sure that I am done having babies. Hub will be in charge of the birth control, but I’m going to be all over that too.

At least for a little while.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Being a woman is glamorous in so many ways, isn't it?

Swistle said...

This whole post, I was RIVETED---and secretly hoping for a Surprise Twist at the end!

d e v a n said...

I, too, was so sure there was going to be a surprise twist at the end!

Sarah said...

Ahh... and now inquiring minds are satisfied. Thank you!
This is what we re doing, too, btw. And like you, I'm currently being super vigilant about making sure hubs is keeping up his end of the bargain, but I imagine I'll eventually slack off a bit when I feel less paranoid about an oops!