Trying to Conceive - TTC

Let me preface myself here by saying yes I do have 2 children but I think I can only really say that we tried to conceive one of them. With that said I will give you some insight into how I actually became a mother (not getting into TOO much detail! ;) ) 

I got pregnant with Taylor our first baby in 2008 shortly after Garrett and I moved into our first apartment together (about a year after) we had always talked about kids literally almost from day one. We always knew we wanted a family so the decision to ditch the birth control (I was on the patch and my god it made me sick) was a very conscious one. We were not TTC per say not in the sense of charting my cycle or keeping track of things we were just kind of going with it. We did this for about a year (from what I believe) and then I got pregnant. I don't want it to seem like I had it easy to get pregnant or make it seem like trying to have a baby is an easy process because it most definitely isn't. For me, this time, it seemed that way. I went on to have a relatively normal pregnancy- with the exception of the couple of hiccups I spoke of in my first blog- and a normal labor and delivery. So the decision to have another really was a no brainer....plus we wanted a boy ;)

Now deciding to get pregnant a second time again was a pretty easy decision and knowing that we had a relatively easy time getting pregnant the first time we hoped that we would have that same ease this time around. We used an app to track my cycle. At this time we had an iPhone but I cant for the life of me remember the name of the app. There are MANY out there I would just search cycle tracker and just check some out and see what you like. All of them have different features and some are better than others. In any case, we decided to start trying. We tracked my app and month after month I would HOPE and PRAY that I would be late and I would take a test and see 2 lines. But month after month nothing was happening. Now we were only a few months in so I didn't think it was a problem. Some people try for YEARS to get pregnant so I wasn't worried. The first time I got pregnant I just had that feeling I was, I just KNEW I was pregnant. The 2nd time I thought I was out of the game the month I actually did get pregnant. I felt like I got hit by a truck and had some slight bleeding but that only lasted for a couple of hours so I thought...Hey maybe this IS IT!! this was 2 days before my period was due. I was due for my period the day before Super Bowl Sunday. The morning of the super bowl I just had a feeling I was, so I took 2 tests and yup I was right! :) so after 6 months of cycle tracking and symptom spotting I was finally pregnant. 

The average time (before Dr's start to get concerned) to try to get pregnant is 1 year. Once you've hit a year it is recommended that you talk to your Dr. and see what they have to say about it. I would say this is probably for a woman who has a normal cycle and no reproductive issues (that they know of) for women with PCOS or Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome where you can go months and months without having a cycle this average time may be different. I don't have this but I know a few people that do but for this blog I will be referring to some online sources to be able to gather my information and give it to you here. I have a board on pinterest for this blog as well so if you want to read further then you can find what I refer to on there. If you're not following me just search by my name :) 

I wont get into the technical terms for what PCOS is because I dont want to sound like a book. But getting pregnant if you have this can be a very difficult process and it CAN be done naturally but sometimes you will have to seek fertility treatments to be able to conceive. I am a big stickler for natural ways to go about things for EVERYTHING so that is usually my first route for anything. 

From what I have read a good first place to start when TTC regardless of if you have fertility issues or not is to get your lifestyle in check. Diet changes may help in getting pregnant. also ditching any bad habits like smoking or drinking for a while before even deciding to get pregnant is a good idea as well. Give your body time to detox and clean up which may also help with any cycle issues as well. Also go to your dr and just get a checkup. Blood work and any tests to rule out any issues would be a good thing to do just for peace of mind. Starting some vitamins is good for you also since most women don't know they're pregnant until they are at least 4 weeks or so and from the moment of conception it is a good idea to have some sort of vitamin boosts flowing through your system, most importantly folic acid and here is where I will get technical only because it is the best way to explain the importance of folic acid. 

Folic acid, sometimes called folate, is a B vitamin (B9) found mostly in leafy green vegetables like kale and spinach, orange juice, and enriched grains.

Many studies have shown that women who get 400 micrograms (0.4 milligrams) daily prior to conception and during early pregnancy reduce the risk that their baby will be born with a serious neural tube defect (a birth defect involving incomplete development of the brain and spinal cord) by up to 70%.

The most common neural tube defects are:

• spina bifida, an incomplete closure of the spinal cord and spinal column
• anencephaly, severe underdevelopment of the brain
• encephalocele, when brain tissue protrudes out to the skin from an abnormal opening in the skull

All of these defects occur during the first 28 days of pregnancy — usually before a woman even knows she's pregnant.

Again, I am not a doctor so I am only just relaying what I have read on here so that you can read it for yourself. 

I want to move away from the technical stuff and just try to bring it back to how I want this blog to be. For me, deciding to TTC wasn't an issue like I said before we just went with it. We got an app on our phones to track my cycle, which before getting pregnant was like clockwork every 28 days almost down to the time of day no joke! Now after being pregnant the 2nd time and breastfeeding for 15 months my cycle is a little out of whack to say the least. I was about 9 months post partum when I got a period back it was a nice break but my body is still wacky from it. We are not in the TTC boat ourselves right now but maybe one day we will be and I hope that my cycle gets back to where it was before. 

I'll say this, definitely go see a doctor and get yourself in check completely before jumping on that boat. Some women need a prescription prenatal vitamin that has more iron in them to make sure you're not anemic. But some women are just fine with a regular prenatal vitamin or even just a couple of chewable flintstone vitamins. A lot of prenatals are hard to swallow both in the literal and figurative sense. Some of them look like horse pills no joke they're HUGE!!! and many women have to deal with morning sickness and the vitamins don't sit well. My suggestion is try a few out and see what works best for you. My medicine cabinet is full of half used jars of vitamins because nothing sat well with me just the gummy ones for a while then the chewable ones. I have an issue with swallowing pills too a tylenol is about my limit :) But get healthy for you so you can be healthy for your baby. Many women don't realize the toll pregnancy can take on your body. Its a hard thing to do 9 months is a long time to have your body working overtime. But believe me its all worth it! :) 

Again, I hope this blog wasn't too all over the place and I hope that it shed some light on TTC for you. Hoping my next entry to be about pregnancy itself because it would be nice to sort of go in order of things ;) but we will see I am open to suggestions :) Thanks for reading! 

The Thoughtful Mama <3

oh my ramblings ;)

First post! wow! well thanks to a friend of mine I decided to join the blogging world. I have had a few people ask me things about parenting, pregnancy, breastfeeding anything to do with babies and I am glad to answer! They have told me they love what I have to say so I decided to take it to the blogs and share it with everyone. I'm glad that when people think babies they think of me. I love everything that has to do with pregnancy, breastfeeding and parenting. So I'm glad to help. Perhaps I should give you a little back story about myself. 

I'm Gina and I'm 27 (ill be 28 in July) I am married, have been for 4 years (in May) to my amazing husband Garrett who I met when I was 14! (Believe it or not!)We are madly in love even after all these years! He is amazing and I truly am blessed! We have 2 beautiful children together. Taylor May (4) and Chase Michael (17 months). We work as a team to raise our children. We rarely disagree on anything even in the 13 years we have known each other we rarely have had a fight. Now we are by no means experts when it comes to parenting ( I really don't think anyone is) and we are still learning every day. But that's what I love about parenting, as you're teaching your children things, they're teaching you just as much.

Now some back story into how I became a mama! My pregnancy with Taylor came as a bit of a surprise. Well, she just came earlier than expected that's all. A very welcomed mother's day surprise :) with her I experienced the norms, morning sickness, being extremely tired and cravings ( OH MY THE CRAVINGS!) but I also experienced gestational diabetes with her and my experience with that I can now turn into advice and guidance for anyone that is going through it and scared about what they're hearing from their Dr. I went 5 days overdue with her. and my goodness was I big and READY for her to be born! I had an induction and being a first time mother I was scared hearing all of that, Gestational Diabetes, overdue baby, induction it can strike fear in even the most seasoned of mothers. But it was all in my head. I had a medicated birth with her (Epidural and my goodness was it a good one!) and 11 hours later my 6 lb 3 oz baby girl was born! But her birth didn't come without some surprises. I had waited 40 weeks and 5 LONG days to hear what any mother wants to hear...her baby's first cry. I didn't get that right away. I was so scared because I wasn't hearing my baby. She was born with the cord wrapped around her neck AND body which meant she would retain some fluid in her lungs. They managed to clear her out a bit and she let out the weakest little cry but she let her mama (and daddy) know she was here and she was going to fight! As soon as she was born they let me see her and kiss her for a second and say I love you then they whisked her away to the NICU. Another experience I can turn into advice or guidance for anyone going through that situation. I was able to go see her a few hours after I had recovered. Once the epidural wore off and my blood pressure was normal(ish) again. I had blood pressure issues the entire time I was there which got me a 4 day sentence...I mean stay in the hospital ;) but Taylor was hooked up to oxygen machines for a little bit and I was able to feed her (formula) and do kangaroo care with her (skin to skin time). As a first time mom I didn't think to do my research and it wasn't until 3 days later that a nurse saw me feeding her formula and asked me why I didn't try breastfeeding...WOW WHY DIDN'T SOMEONE HELP ME WITH THAT?!?! unfortunately by that time I was competing with a bottle. Now 4 years later I realize I COULD'VE started breastfeeding even after formula feeding. Again another experience...well you know the rest :) so after 4 long days we were both ready to go home and start life as a family of 3. With me being a Stay at home Mom (oh I wish I could go back!)

Fast forward 2 years and low and behold after 6 months of trying to get pregnant and using every cycle tracker app on the market...I had in my hand 2 yes 2 positive pregnancy tests! :) baby # 2 was on his way. He would make his presence known via those pregnancy tests on Super Bowl Sunday....destined to have a boy I'd say :) My pregnancy with Chase was pretty much the same not as much morning sickness but boy was I tired...I had a 2 year old to chase after and NO NAP TIME for this mama I was a full time working mama so yeah I'd say I was pretty tired. This pregnancy wasn't NEARLY as easy as my first. I had the stress of work to add to the mix. I had blood pressure issues as well (which i believe is due to anxiety because Id test it at home and it was normal, walk into the dr's office and it went SKY HIGH) but there was another commonality between these pregnancies...Gestational Diabetes....AGAIN!!! I hated it I'm a sweets kinda girl and for someone to tell me not pregnant I cant have sweets I'd freak so add in the hormones of pregnancy oooo boy you're messing with the wrong girl. But I took it in stride anything to make sure my babies were safe. But GD allowed me to get more ultrasounds and see the growth of my little boy and he sure was little! I saw the specialist on top of seeing the normal dr. and I had a non stress test towards the end of my pregnancy (38 weeks and 4 days) and he was very sleepy on the monitor and I was spilling protein in my urine so they said are you ready for a birthday today...I said COME AGAIN?! They booked me in the hospital for 7 pm that night to start my induction ::Insert shocked face here please:: Now being that I was 38 weeks and 4 days I was in the "safe zone" to deliver but I was still scared out of my mind my baby boy still had time to grow in there. But when I walked into my induction much to my surprise I was in active labor...this boy was gonna come whether I was being induced or not....which now makes sense as to why he was so quiet on the monitor..my boy was getting ready to be born! I was having contractions 2 minutes apart and not even feeling them my nurse was SHOCKED I was even carrying on a conversation with her. I went about 8 hours before getting an epidural (only because I had back pain and needed to sleep) which wore off by the time he was born and as soon as they broke my water I HAD to push! I had no pain medication and I FELT EVERYTHING ( I even said that while pushing...I had my very own "Knocked Up" moment) and about 3 pushes later my 5 lb 3 oz baby boy was born also with the cord around his neck but not badly. He was a screamer :) he let me know for sure he was here! Now, before his birth I did my research because I was DETERMINED to breastfeed. So once he was born I asked to have skin to skin time with him immediately and he nursed right away!! I was ECSTATIC! this was the one thing I wanted and I got it! I had my beautiful girl and my sweet baby boy and he was a nurser! :) he then wound up in the NICU too just like his big sis due to spitting up on formula that the nurses pushed me to give him and possibly aspirating. He was there for 8 LONG days. He kept losing weight from spitting up formula and then developed Jaundice... another experience (again you know the rest) but after 8 long days and nights of pumping religiously every 3 hrs (yes even through the night) I was able to bring our baby boy home! and we could now begin life as a family of 4!

Now if you've hung on long enough I thank you so much! What I want to do with this blog is have it be a place where if you have any questions or concerns about getting pregnant, being pregnant, breastfeeding, parenting or anything else and want answers from a mama whose been through her fair share of things I can hopefully answer them here. Or if you just want me to be an ear to listen I want that here!  As a mommy of 2 I will do my best to keep up with blogging and of course as you can see I'm new to this so bare with me :) again thanks for reading as long as this was and hanging on until the end! I hope this turns out as great as I think it'll be!

The Thoughtful Mama :)