And So It Begins

Hello there!

Theresa here, happily reporting for duty. The first blog post is always the most awkward, so let's be straight forward, shall we?

This is not my first blog, and I have come to terms with the fact that it will most likely not be my last. That's okay. This particular blog has a very special purpose: To log mine and Scot's journey to creating another human being. This is the first blog that I have created that is entirely for me and not at all anyone else.

I've been around the baby-makin' block before. Scot and I have two awesome daughters, Scarlett (7) and Cecilia (5). However, this is the first time in the history of our lives that we are intentionally trying to conceive. Let me tell you what: This is a whole different ball park. I would say that just -whoops!- finding out you are pregnant is infinitely easier than trying to get pregnant. The leg work has all been done for you. You pretty much just hunker down into acceptance that WOOHOO! We have another little person coming into the family.

But choosing to bring a person into this world? It's a hefty decision. One that we have not taken lightly and regularly get cold feet about. I mean, there's the obvious concerns like being financially ready, emotionally ready, considering how existing children will handle a new little one (most kids beg for dogs, my kids beg for babies). But there's even more to it than that. We are a nation that has only very recently left a decade-long war and still has its hands in some very risky business. I've even considered my carbon footprint and how Scot and I are two people who have produced two people and that doesn't seem so bad. But once we have produced three, our carbon foot print in the world will be much greater. This is the crazy shit I think about while falling asleep not falling asleep at night.

These things are all valid. Then there is also the fact that I'm in school and we are in the process of trying to rent our home out and move to another state. Yeah. So is the timing ideal? Nope. But will it ever be? Probably not. We have decided to throw caution to the wind and do it anyway. We certainly were no better suited to become parents when our daughters were born, but they have turned out marvelously.

I realize what a big deal this is. And so I want to track every little bit of this journey. Starting today.

I have never had any trouble getting pregnant, so I don't imagine this will be a "trying to conceive" blog for very long. However, since I am in school, Scot and I are working to get pregnant in a very confined window of time: September or October. This is because I tend to deliver a month early and getting pregnant in these months would set us up to have a baby sometime between May-July. This would be ideal as I won't be in school over the summer and can still go back part time in the fall. Because we are working toward this specific goal, I've decided to be proactive about conceiving. Today I am on cycle day 5 and took my very first OPK (ovulation predictor kit).

At first I was excited: TWO LINES! In the pregnancy test world that means "You are totally having a baby!" However, in the OPK world it means... Negative. Absolutely nothing. I am told, however, that the magical faint little line will get darker... and darker... and darker... Until it is finally darker than the bold line underneath the "C". THAT is when you want to get to the baby-making. So even though we aren't planning to try this month, I still want to see around when I ovulate in my cycle. Then next month... We will be ready!

I will be back tomorrow with another OPK update :)