I have to say, I was a little worried when I went off it, after being on it pretty much consistently for over 4 years.

I was worried about getting pregnant in the first month, about my first period off birth control, how my skin would react, other methods of birth control, etc.

Well… a month it, I’ve laid some of those worries to rest.

I’m not pregnant!  Yay!  (Although hopefully in a few months I’ll be excitedly announcing the opposite!)

My period arrived on time, give or take a day.  This makes it easier for our charting and current birth control method.  Condoms don’t work for us.  Never mind how much AMP hates them, I can’t stand them.  We’ve tried a few times, and each time, it ends in frustration for both of us.  So, I voted on giving up.  Which is fine now that I know that my cycle is staying within the 26 to 32 day time frame needed for our Standard Days Method to work – just requires a little patience, self-control and creativity on our part.

My skin has basically stayed the same.  Even on birth control, I’d get breakouts, and it’s been the same off of them.  About a week before my period arrives is probably the worst, but nothing a little Tea Tree Oil overnight treatment doesn’t clear up.

BUT…. my cramps?

On the pill, cramps were manageable without pain killers.

Off the pill – my cramps cause me to double over in pain crying, leave work early to lie for 12 hours on the couch with a hot water bottle and popping pain killers every 3 hours.  I felt like I was dying.  I forgot how bad my periods used to be before the pill.  The last time I had cramps this bad was 2 years ago when I miscarried.  So, yesterday, I was cursing my decision to be off the pill… but I’m doing better today.  And, hopefully I only have a few more months of this before I’m period-free for a good nine months and more. 

Oh, and I’ve realized that a ‘natural’ Epidural-free delivery is probably not going to happen!

An acquaintance, yesterday, was talking about her 8 week pregnancy.  A friend of mine asked her if she was planning on finding out the gender, to which she replied no. 

Personally, I think that’s great, for them. 

But she chose to follow it up with two ignorant statements:
1. Well, God didn’t intend for us to know.
2. My friend and I are having completely opposite pregnancies, and she thinks she’s having a boy so I must be having a girl.

Um… First off, God didn’t intend for a lot of things – including for us to get sick and die, or to even need an epidural for pregnancy (thanks Eve!!). 

Second, every single pregnancy is different, even for the same woman and has no real relation to the sex of the baby. 

For example, here are some common “sex revealing” myths:
Carrying high/low
Heart beat rate
Cravings
and other myths…

I have a friend who was carrying high with a low heart rate and craving salty things (all supposedly pointing to a boy!) and had a beautiful baby girl.

I had a friend whose pregnancies were exactly the same at the beginning, and each time she gave birth to a baby of the opposite sex.

The truth is it’s a fifty-fifty chance that your unborn child will be a boy or a girl, and instead of focusing on random things that mean nothing at 8 weeks, maybe people should be doing more research on pregnancy and parenting.  And tact…

And to reset it, you have to send them two copies of ID.

No, thanks.

But, I don’t want to give up my Facebook account for this blog, so I’m going to be setting up a new page.

Which means setting up new EVERYTHING… including e-mail and Reader… This should be fun.

So, if anyone gets a facebook request from a Ms. Dee Austen, that is me! :)

AMP has always been a video game nerd – I knew that when I married him.  And, honestly, I don’t mind, because unlike some who complain that their husbands never spend time with them, AMP is perfectly capable of shutting down the game to snuggle up and watch a movie without a complaint – and sometimes even it’s his idea.  So, him spending a few evening drowning out some stress in his make-believe video world is fine by me.  Especially since his latest game is a computer game, leaving me all access to the one television in the house.

This sounded great, until I realized that whenever I sit down and watch TV there is absolutely nothing good on.  We have a handful of shows we DVR and watch together.  But, other than that, there’s only so many Storage Wars or House Hunters re-runs I can watch before I’ve seen them all.  And, I have a problem with watching random episodes of a show halfway through the second season.

Image via CrunchBase

But, last month we signed up for a free month of Netflix, and I’m in love.  I love the access to the movies, but my favorite part is the TV shows.  I love being able to sit down and watch episode after episode all in a row till I need a break, or I finish.  So far, I’ve finished two short series, Arrested Development and Accidentally on Purpose.  Last night, I started watching Life Unexpected, about a teenage girl in foster care who tracks down her biological parents to get their signatures to be emancipated and ends up in their joint custody.  I’m a few episodes in and so far I am hooked.  The main character’s name is Lux, and I really like the name.  Unfortunately, it goes against all my naming rules (yes, I have rules, but that’s for a later post), but I’m kind of thinking it might make a nice middle name?

I’m almost hoping AMP is planning on spending another evening playing video games for a few hours after dinner so I can watch another episode or two.  Though, snuggling on the couch sounds really good too.

What are your favorite shows?  Anything I can find on Netflix for my next obsession? Haha. 

Not a sponsored post.  Netflix did not ask me to write this post, nor am I being compensated for it.  I just wanted to share my love! :)  Though another free couple months would not be turned away.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

2012 didn’t really get off to the greatest start – seeing as half-a-day in, I was sick with a stomach bug, which luckily lasted only 24 hours.  But, I have high hopes for this year anyways.

2012 is the year we’ll change our lives forever.

2012 will be good.

Last month we decided that my last pack of birth control pills, well, would be my last.  Which means that yesterday, when I was set to start a new pack – I didn’t.  I’m officially off the pill.

I’m excited (I hate the little suckers), but also a little anxious.  I wonder what effects it will have on my cycle – if I’ll lose the predictability of every fourth Monday.  I also wonder what effect it’ll have on my skin – if I’ll start breaking out again, or if finally at 26 acne will be something of the past.

I’m also a tad anxious because, while I’m off the pill now, we do not plan to start trying to conceive till late spring.  Which gives us a good 3 or 4 months where we need to be careful.

So, for the first time in our marriage, contraception has become an issue. 

Given my predisposition to bladder infections and the like, I’m a little wary of female contraceptives.  The husband prefers not to use condoms — and, besides that, they are ridiculously expensive.  Well, maybe not, but at least in comparison to me being on the pill, which would equal $0 after insurance.  We picked up a pack anyways yesterday, and they come to $0.75 a condom, which adds up quick.

All this led me to research natural family planning.  And to buy a basal thermometer.  And to research charting and graphing.

All complicated, time-consuming stuff. 

But, I also found another option, the Standard Days Method*, which basically means that if you have a 26 to 32 day cycle, you abstain from day 8 to 19 of your cycle.  Which seems like an awful lot of abstaining… but at least it should work till I figure out the rest of this charting and temperature taking business.

Any one have any experience or helpful information on natural family planning?

* Unfortunately, WordPress is being a pain in the a**, and won’t let me link to the website with information on Standard Days Method, so here it is: http://www.irh.org/?q=content/standard-days-method-sdm

We want a girl.

For a firstborn.

My husband, especially, is determined (and very very hopeful) that we have a girl first.  And, for the second, he would like either a girl or boy.

To clarify: we would absolutely be head over heels in love with a son OR daughter.  But, if we had a choice, we would want to have a girl first.

So, is it wrong to try and tip the scales in our favor?

After an impossibly long time waiting, 2012 is just about upon us. 

2012 is the year we start trying for a baby. 

Obviously, trying for a baby requires preparation…

• exercising
• improving my diet
• prenatal vitamins
• folic acid
• etc, etc…

But, it also requires making the decision of when to go off birth control.  The birth control I’ve been taking for the past 5 years, every single day. 

So, when do I go off it?

We are hoping to get pregnant in the late spring, early summer, but I’ve been throwing around the idea of going off birth control next month.

But, then that requires being ‘careful’ for a whole 5 months… and in a house where condoms are apparently not an option, I’m not sure how to do that.  We’ve only ever used the pill for protection.

Anyone have any experience with non-hormonal female birth control and can give me any advice?

The last few days leading up to the appointment I’ve been a bit emotional.  I did a lot of research and decided that having him neutered was the best decision for us, but he kept looking at me with these sad, knowing eyes, and I would feel horrible.

And, then this morning, he was all sweetness and cuddliness – and the guilt kept building up.

But, I dropped him off at the vet this morning.  I’m expecting a call around 3 to be told how surgery went and what time I can pick him up. 

I keep picturing him, sitting sadly in the kennel with no one playing with him all morning, and then laying on a table all drugged up and ….

Makes me worried about what I’ll be like if any child of mine needs to undergo any sort of procedure.
 

I’ve never…

1. done drugs
2. had sex in a public place
3. made out with a random guy
4. been to Asia
5. travelled across the Equator
6. skinny-dipped
7. smoked a cigarette or a cigar
8. sang Karaoke in public
9. gone bunjee jumping
10. said no to a roller coaster ride
11. watched the Goonies
12. wore leg warmers
13. lived on my own
14. cheated
15. ran away from home
16. sneaked out in the middle of the night
17. finished reading Anna Karinena
18. given birth
19. owned a rat/hamster/gerbil/etc
20. been arrested
21. swam with dolphins
22. played hockey.