Pregnancy and Vasectomies

How many valium does it take for a scaredy-cat man to get a vasectomy?  Anybody know?  Wondering what it will take to get hubby to get a little "work done", hee hee.

I've given birth to four of his children, lost a baby, and had one hysterical pregnancy.  I've done my part in the whole pregnancy area.  It's his turn now.  That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

I took a pregnancy test this morning and was scared it was going to be positive.  I turn 40 in a few weeks and the risks involved for the baby with getting pregnant at my age, plus the whole starting over thing with no sleep and diapers...not ready to do that again.  I love my kids more than anything.  I love babies too.  However, despite the urge now and then for a baby, the cons far outweigh that real brief flare of wanting a baby in my arms again.  I'm good with holding somebody else's baby and giving them back when they start to cry.

The test was negative.

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Go Away Baby Urge!!!

My five-year-old daughter is a patient at our area Children's Hospital for bladder spasms.  While there on Monday with her, there were soooo many newborn babies!  Oh...my...gosh...talk about getting the urge for another baby.  I had to get out of there!!  Every where I looked, there were moms and/or dads pushing little ones in fancy strollers, like the bob revolution se, or cooing at their little ones.

When does the urge to stop having children go away completely? I thought I'd settled to the idea that we were done with kids. I turn 40 this year and hubby is 45. We've had our kids already. We don't need to add to our family.  Eight is enough (six kids, two adults).  So, when does the urge go away?

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Too Chicken to Buy Pregnancy Test

Yikes, I still don't know if I'm pregnant or not.  I figured if I still didn't know by today, that I would buy a test.  I haven't bought one yet.  I'm a chicken.

If I am and when it is all said and done, I'd be thrilled and love a new little one into the family.  However, right now, I am worried (because of the medication I was on) and thinking about the possibility of starting all over with diapers, high chairs, breastfeeding, personalized baby gifts, and not sleeping for the first few months with a baby. 

Hubby is afraid of vasectomies.  He doesn't want anything sharp "down there" - ugh.  I've given birth to four of his children and have had "sharp" down there, among other things.  I think, in cases like this, the man should be the one stepping up to get the snip snip.

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Am I Pregnant?

I don't know the answer to that question. We weren't trying (and in fact weren't planning on having anymore children).  We use birth control. The only problem is I am five days late and sore in spots I only get sore when I'm pregnant. My major worry is that if I somehow got pregnant, it was during the time I was taking an antibiotic you are not supposed to take when you are pregnant because it causes birth defects. That really scares me.  I'm not nauseous all the time like I am when I am pregnant but I have been nauseous a few times for no reason and it is early yet "if" I am pregnant.  Though, I've not needed the best acne cream like I usually do when I should be starting...oh boy.  Where are the signs of a pending menstrual cycle? 

Oh where, oh where, has my period gone, oh where, oh where can it be? 

Between my thyroid disease and pelvic inflammatory disease, and history of having a very hard time getting pregnant (like 18 months of trying to conceive for our last little one), if I am pregnant, it would have to be some very dedicated swimmers and egg because the chances of me getting pregnant should be slim. 

I've avoided buying a pregnancy test so far.  I'm trying to hold out until I am a week late and then see how I feel.

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Sister Had A Home Birth in Water!

I think I posted about the birth of my niece who was born on the first day of our vacation as we were driving to the state where she was born to see my family. She was a sweet little thing, born at home in a tub of water (like her brother before her) totally naturally. I saw her the day after she was born and she was very alert. She'd taken to nursing within a half hour of her birth (probably due to the fact that there were no drugs involved in her birth and the less stressful birthing process).

It took weeks to get my daughter to latch on properly (born in the hospital with drugs). She was born in the hospital, under very stressful circumstances (she was almost born in the toilet at the hospital). Seeing how the drug they put into my IV made me stoned out of my mind, which confused me seeing how I'd never been stoned before in my life (seriously!), I can't imagine what it did to her little system. She was born so fast that the doctor didn't even have time to catch her. He was still trying to get his gloves on!

Anyway, I got sidetracked. I was talking about the natural birth my niece had. My sister is the ultimate crunchy mama. I wouldn't doubt if she dresses her in organic baby clothes as well. She makes her own baby food too. I'm not sure I'd have the courage to let go of the high-tech hospital to give birth at home. She did twice and it was a really good experience for her.

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Home Birth

We're going to be heading on vacation right around the time one of my sisters is due to have her baby (I have two that are pregnant). Since we'll be vacationing in their area, I'm really hoping she'll give birth before we get there so we can see the baby (yes, my own selfish reasons, lol).

If we time it just right, we may get to be there when the baby is born. My sister does home births with a mid-wife. Her last baby was born Christmas morning at home and then their other child opened his presents from Santa after their sibling was born. How cool is that? It sounded like a very peaceful way to bring a baby into the world without all the monitors and poking and prodding that occurs in a hospital.

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Pregnant or New Moms

I started this blog for new moms. It's new so there isn't a lot on it yet, but that will change. It's called Nouveau Mommy.

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Blending a Baby into a Blended Family

If you are a stepmother who has gone on to have additional children with your spouse or significant other, what has been your experience, not only with the ex but with your stepchildren as well? Was it met with more or less conflict than you thought?

In our case, the ex completely ignored it when I started sporting maternity clothes. If she didn't acknowledge it, it didn't exist (kind of like if she didn't acknowledge me the last 13 years plus, I didn't exist for her either). Let's be realistic, she still ignores my existence as well but that's OK. My stepkids' maternal aunt, on the other hand, seemed quite indignant if her behavior was anything to go by. However, my stepkids were happy over each additional sibling, though my stepson had mixed feelings when he found out he was only going to have one brother out of five siblings. He really wanted a second brother. The boys are outnumbered 2 to 4.

Bringing a baby into the world should be a time of joy (with a little anxiety all moms feel thinking about child birth, etc.), but when you bring a baby into a stepfamily, it can open the way up for a whole new set of resentments. I recently came across Stepfamily Network where stepmoms can chat with other stepmoms and get the low down on handling the ex's response to your pregnancy, as well as having a wealth of knowledge on the day-to-day of pregnancy like maternity clothes, morning sickness, hormones, and anything else that arises. I find other moms to be great sources of information. So if blending a baby into the stepfamily is a hot topic for you right now, I'll bet there are women there who would understand.

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Pregnancy Calculations

I have had four kids. I have morning sickness all day for eight out of nine months when I am pregnant. So 8 months times four kids equals 32 months of morning sickness. That was 32 months of throwing up and 24/7 nausea (that's not even including the pain of the pregnancies themselves since each child got progressively more painful to carry).

When I get sick, I don't get nursed or time off. I still have kids to make meals for and take care of. Those things don't get done by themselves.

So when my husband, who has a cold, tells me before going into work not to be surprised if he uses his last vacation day to come home early because he's sick, it is no big surprise that I have little sympathy for him (ok, I had none, absolutely no sympathy). People work all the time with colds. Unless he's feverish, um....stay at work! After 32 months of morning sickness (two of those pregnancies I worked full-time through and even went shopping after I went into labor because things weren't ready for the baby yet!) and moms never getting a day off even when they are sick, I'm going to fall over in sympathy over a simple cold? In addition, he gets to take cold medications to ease his symptoms. I can't do that when I get sick because they react adversely with my thyroid medication. I have gone the last seven years without cold symptom relief. I go through each cold and flu season with no medications at all to help ease my symptoms. So this is all why I find it really hard to feel sympathy for my husband wanting to waste his last vacation day for a cold.

I'm so cold-hearted, lol. Men are such babies when they get sick. *bring on the violins*

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Miscarriages

I found out today that one of my sisters was pregnant and had miscarried all at the same time. No matter how common miscarriages are, it doesn't make the pain any less in my opinion.

I remember when I miscarried almost 13 years ago and the feelings that were buried most of the past decade have started to work their way back up again with the news of my sister's miscarriage. It was a devastating time. That pregnancy was not to be, however, I did go on to have four children. They are all children who were desperately planned for and wanted and worked for (I don't get pregnant easy despite the number of kids I have). We tried to conceive for well over a year with most of our kids with our last child being the most difficult. My doctor was just about to give me fertility drugs when I found out I was pregnant with her. I have a hard time getting pregnant and pregnancies are rough on my physically (which is why we are done having anymore children).

However, they were worth every pain and tear shed.

LOL, though I am ready for school to start now:)

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