Oooooh, here we go again!! Our son, Monkey, is now 27 months old which means that he and his sibling will be 3 years apart in age. Monkey was conceived on February 27th and was born November 26th--almost exactly 9 months from conception to birth. So assuming my next pregnancy lasts approximately that long, he'll be three years old when our next baby--God willing--is born.
If I got pregnant before the end of February, the pregnancy would follow the same course as Monkey's did. We absolutely do not want another November baby!! I'll be glad when February is behind us! A December baby isn't an option, either. So it would be ideal if I can make it at least one more cycle withOUT getting pregnant. When April rolls around, we're going to re-evaluate where we are (mostly The Paladin's job situation) and very possibly start "trying" then.
Here's how it breaks down, assuming the nine calendar months:
April conception, January birth
May-->February
June-->March
July-->April
August-->May
September-->June
If we got to September and weren't pregnant, I'd probably take another "break" until we could avoid having a baby in the dead of summer. The heat is not kind to me and being dehydrated causes a lot of issues and it's hard enough when you're NOT pregnant. Then the only other doable month would be January to conceive, although to be 9 months pregnant in October isn't much better. Then we'd have to wait until April again! :)
So, really, starting in April,
we've got 6 months to give it a go. And that's not six cycles for me, either. My cycles last from 35 to 45-plus days, so in six months I may only ovulate 4 times. And there's a million other factors, of course, that play a role, so--it's tricky!! And there are no guarantees.
One thing I do know--I need to start charting again. UGH! It is laborious, especially for conception. I tend to be fertile--or at least "look" fertile--for about 6 days/month. So that's usually sex every-other day for about a week. That's hard work! :) We had sex two days before conception when we conceived Monkey--I was worried we'd missed the window of opportunity!! Typcially, girl sperm swim slower so I thought we had a better chance of having a girl, but--no!!!
I am taking pre-natal vitamins now so they have a couple of months to build up in my system. I'm trying to cut back on the caffeine and sugar, too--but it's hard. I really want to be eating well and treating my body as if I were already pregnant--and even lose 3-5 lbs., too, in preparation. I'm almost exactly the weight I was when I got pregnant with Monkey, but I was about 5 lbs. over where I wanted to be at the time. Holiday weight gain, I suppose. Once I start cutting the sugar and eating better, I'll almost certainly drop the few pounds, so--it's a win-win.
A lot of this rides on The Paladin's job. He's done with his current job at the end of February and doesn't really have many prospects, nor really knows what he wants to do next. There's a lot up in the air at the moment. For us to feel good about getting pregnant again, not only does he need a good job with good benefits, but we also need to pay off Monkey's birth!! Will that happen in the next month?? That will remain to be seen.
In the meantime, I've been reading old journals I wrote when we were "trying" for Monkey, and looking at his baby albums, etc. My heart is definitely whispering, "It's time." But it's all in God's timing, of course! We'll see what becomes of all these unknowns. That reminds me, I didn't take my vitamins today!!
