Count Me In (Wk 10: TRYING TO CONCEIVE)

May 10, 2005

"Pardon me, ma'am. I don't know you, but I was noticing you and your kids, and I wonder if you could tell me about their conceptions. Were they planned? Did you try for a long time? Did you want to be a mother very badly?"

No, I haven't done it yet, but it's all I can do to keep duct tape over my lips.

It's the same scene every time: the first child, boogers encrusted on her upper lip; the second child, whining in a stained t-shirt; the mom, looking more annoyed than enthralled with her offspring. After vowing that my child and I will always clean-up before leaving the house (yeah, right), I wonder how the stranger's children came to be. I wonder how the mother found out she was pregnant, if she had worried beforehand that she had fertility problems.

It stuns me that nearly half of the pregnancies in the United States weren't planned. It suns me that all three of my sisters-in-law had at least one surprise baby.

How? Don't they know the complexity of creating life? Is it their thoughtlessness to the process that frees sperm to meet egg in the quietness of unwatched performance? What I really want to know is whether I'm slowing the process by watching for my pot to boil!

But Half Were Planned

Okay, so nearly half of all pregnancies aren't planned. But that means that over half were waited, watched, and prayed for!

Since 10,000 babies are born daily in this country, that means roughly 10,000 women find out they are pregnant every day. And over 5000 of them were yearning just like me! Why should't I be in their number? Here's to my joining that count in eleven days!

Two-Week Wait, Round 2

Yep, eleven days until testing time. That means that I did (drum roll please) ovulate in a timely fashion this month.

In fact, when I got my first real, non-evaporation line, positive on the OPK kit, you'd have though it was a pregnancy test. "Tom! Tom! Come quick! Look at this! TWO LINES. See? See how dark? I can't believe it. Finally."

After Tom peeled me off the ceiling, we sealed the deal. For several days.

All my body's signals converged to match the OPK, giving me confidence that, for once, we've timed things right. This makes for an easier wait, knowing we've done all we can. I find myself regressing to some old habits. Fake baby registries, planning how to break the news, brainstorming themes for late January birthday parties...

Well, if we didn't make a baby this month, I'm going to be devastated no matter how I spend these two weeks. May as well enjoy the daydreams!