Okay, I have been temping and charting, and I do appear to have ovulated! I wasn't sure at first as my temps rose gradually rather than one big spike the day after ovulation, but I got my coverline today and I am 3 days past ovulation. The parsnips was the night before I ovulated! If my luteal phase is anywhere near 10 days then I think we might have a very good chance of actually (pause to breathe!) being pregnant this cycle! Two things though - my LP is actually very UNlikely to be near 10 days yet, but I honestly have no idea (frustrating!) as I haven't been charting! I wish I had been now! Last cycle, the one that was really long, my last patch of EWCM indicates that if I DID ovulate (I may not have in the end), I could have had an 8-day luteal phase. That's one of the reasons why I am not convinced I really did ovulate, because 8 days seems longer than I would expect for my 2nd/3rd cycle postpartum. I'm usually 4 days for a couple of cycles and then maybe 6 at best on the 3rd. But then, who knows! Things are rather different already this time, compared with the other three times!
The other thing is that I typically have a chemical pregnancy before a normal one, so I am a bit apprehensive about that. I should not not not be thinking of a little bundle of cells dividing rapidly as it rolls along! But sometimes I confess I wonder... Anyway, we'll see. I just wanted to update that I have ovulated and now it depends on my LP as to whether I could have a chance of being pregnant again or not.
Other weird things of note (weird because it's WAY too early, and when they started I didn't even think I had ovulated yet) are that I am abnormally hungry all the time, today, yesterday and the day before. So literally since the day after I ovulated really. I wonder if Benjamin is having a growth spurt, although he isn't feeding more than usual at the moment. My tummy is scrunching with hunger a good hour before all my meals, and when I do eat my meals they feel like starters in my tummy and I feel like I could eat a whole 'nother meal!
Last night and the night before I have woken in the morning from crazy vivid dreams, which I know are hormone-related. Usually they are pregnancy related (later on than this, obviously!) but occasionally can be just cycle-related in my LP for me too, so I think it's that my hormones have changed after ovulating. I have some spots on my face too, which for me is hormone-related. When my period is about to arrive (in a couple of days) I get them on my neck, but I don't have any of those, just these ones on my face. So I know they are hormone-related but not my usual. I'm not sure what to make of those this early in my LP.
I am on the lookout for signs that my period is about to start - even this early. If I have a 4-day LP for example, I'll get my period the day after tomorrow, so pre-period signs could well be starting today. These weird signs have been here a few days since I ovulated though, so I think they're just an indication of my hormones changing after ovulation.
I'm fairly excited, though also disbelieving and not REALLY expecting pregnancy as a result. I love the chart-stalking and symptom-spotting stage though, so I'm excited, and it IS a definite possibility with the parsnips. Just have no idea about the LP though. I will update again soon! Maybe my temp will drop soon to indicate that my period will come? I will have to wait and see! I added a link to my chart at the side after requests! ;) Thanks for the comments last entry! I will keep you posted!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Temping
Just wanted to note here that I have decided to temp this cycle, but only once I notice the first fertile signs, so that I can see if I ovulate after EWCM. Last cycle was so long and drawn out, and I had various patches of EWCM throughout the cycle, most (or all?!) of which never did end up resulting in ovulation! So I think I would prefer to know one way or the other this cycle. I just like to know what is going on with my body.
So I'm on CD21 today and already day 4 of EWCM! Much more like my norm - well, as normal as it ever gets postpartum for me! It's also much more "definite" than some of the EWCM last cycle. I just mean that it's looking to me like what I usually get in the run-up to ovulation, so perhaps I will?
Sooo with that in mind, I have just started temping again! I find it so much fun, and it's really NOT that exciting, so I have no idea why it just IS for me, lol! But it is :) Maybe it's remnant of "the chase" from previous times hoping or trying for a baby?! I am doing what I did after my other babies - I wake several/many times a night with the baby to feed him, and he ends up staying in bed with me from somewhere or other in the middle of the night, so I don't have to really wake up all that much when he feeds. Around 6am he is more persistantly fidgetty and usually I wake up enough to realise he's not taking the 7th or 8th breast I'm pushing towards him about 10 minutes later! ;) So that's when I temp. Once I know it's the "up for the day" feed, that's when I do it. Even if I was also up at 5am. For me, it doesn't appear to skew my chart, it has always given me a clear biphasic ovulatory pattern even with the night wakings or less than an hour's sleep before temping, etc - all those rules that you're not meant to break! ;) Thankfully it works for me to do it anyway.
So I started temping! And, um, something else...! ;) Now, it LOOKS like we timed that, I know, but we really did not think about babies at all, honestly! It's good to get back to parsnips, and I really think we should have a lot sooner than this! Now, God has made my hormones so that it's precisely when I'm fertile that I will be likely to partake of the aforementioned root vegetables, and we have no intention of even thinking about birth control this time. I mean, I didn't last time (before Benjamin), but Neil did. This time it's not even in our thoughts, which is lovely lovely lovely! :) So, I'm pretty sure that my luteal phase is still very short. I'm only 6 months postpartum, and that is when (all the other times!) I usually get my FIRST postpartum period! This is my third cycle now. I'm not particularly planning to "chart watch" (Oh who am I kidding??!?! You know me! (lots of you do, anyway, lol!)) but I will be interested to see a) when I ovulate this cycle, and b) how long my luteal phase is. I'm looking forward to temping to see for sure too! :)
I can't think of anything else of relevance right now... Oh except my mum said on the phone the other night that if I DO ever get pregnant again, it will of course be an ACCIDENT. Because after 4 babies, a fifth time would HAVE to be an accident. Even though she knows that isn't how we feel! *sigh*
And I am waiting to be an auntie again! :) Bennie (my brother) and Sarah are expecting their second little one around Feb 4th!! Excitement! She was almost 2 weeks past her due date last time, so it may be a while yet, but yay how exciting!!!! I can't wait for newwwws, and gender and name (they're keeping it a surprise!), and newborn snuggles! They came over here last weekend to pick up an infant carseat and my TENS machine and some Moses basket sheets. And my Hugabub (and Shannon's homemade baby sling, by the way - thanks Shannon, it'll be put to good use!!) too! Sarah looks really well. Soooo much smaller than I ever am at the end of pregnancy, but she carries so much more neatly than I do! Thea is their first, and she's 2 and a half now. She is as tall as Matthew (3.5 and very petite!) and talks more clearly than he does too. She seems closer in age to Arthur than Matthew, in many ways, but she's actually in between Matthew and Nathan. She is potty trained too. Arthur amused me after they went, commenting that Thea will be getting a baby brother or sister "at last", haha! I guess for him, it isn't normal to "have to wait" till you're two-and-a-half before you become a big brother or sister! ;) He doesn't know it's the average normal age-gap, hehe!
Okay, must go to bed now. But I wanted to update about the temping and chart-related stuff tonight. I'll post again another time probably!
So I'm on CD21 today and already day 4 of EWCM! Much more like my norm - well, as normal as it ever gets postpartum for me! It's also much more "definite" than some of the EWCM last cycle. I just mean that it's looking to me like what I usually get in the run-up to ovulation, so perhaps I will?
Sooo with that in mind, I have just started temping again! I find it so much fun, and it's really NOT that exciting, so I have no idea why it just IS for me, lol! But it is :) Maybe it's remnant of "the chase" from previous times hoping or trying for a baby?! I am doing what I did after my other babies - I wake several/many times a night with the baby to feed him, and he ends up staying in bed with me from somewhere or other in the middle of the night, so I don't have to really wake up all that much when he feeds. Around 6am he is more persistantly fidgetty and usually I wake up enough to realise he's not taking the 7th or 8th breast I'm pushing towards him about 10 minutes later! ;) So that's when I temp. Once I know it's the "up for the day" feed, that's when I do it. Even if I was also up at 5am. For me, it doesn't appear to skew my chart, it has always given me a clear biphasic ovulatory pattern even with the night wakings or less than an hour's sleep before temping, etc - all those rules that you're not meant to break! ;) Thankfully it works for me to do it anyway.
So I started temping! And, um, something else...! ;) Now, it LOOKS like we timed that, I know, but we really did not think about babies at all, honestly! It's good to get back to parsnips, and I really think we should have a lot sooner than this! Now, God has made my hormones so that it's precisely when I'm fertile that I will be likely to partake of the aforementioned root vegetables, and we have no intention of even thinking about birth control this time. I mean, I didn't last time (before Benjamin), but Neil did. This time it's not even in our thoughts, which is lovely lovely lovely! :) So, I'm pretty sure that my luteal phase is still very short. I'm only 6 months postpartum, and that is when (all the other times!) I usually get my FIRST postpartum period! This is my third cycle now. I'm not particularly planning to "chart watch" (Oh who am I kidding??!?! You know me! (lots of you do, anyway, lol!)) but I will be interested to see a) when I ovulate this cycle, and b) how long my luteal phase is. I'm looking forward to temping to see for sure too! :)
I can't think of anything else of relevance right now... Oh except my mum said on the phone the other night that if I DO ever get pregnant again, it will of course be an ACCIDENT. Because after 4 babies, a fifth time would HAVE to be an accident. Even though she knows that isn't how we feel! *sigh*
And I am waiting to be an auntie again! :) Bennie (my brother) and Sarah are expecting their second little one around Feb 4th!! Excitement! She was almost 2 weeks past her due date last time, so it may be a while yet, but yay how exciting!!!! I can't wait for newwwws, and gender and name (they're keeping it a surprise!), and newborn snuggles! They came over here last weekend to pick up an infant carseat and my TENS machine and some Moses basket sheets. And my Hugabub (and Shannon's homemade baby sling, by the way - thanks Shannon, it'll be put to good use!!) too! Sarah looks really well. Soooo much smaller than I ever am at the end of pregnancy, but she carries so much more neatly than I do! Thea is their first, and she's 2 and a half now. She is as tall as Matthew (3.5 and very petite!) and talks more clearly than he does too. She seems closer in age to Arthur than Matthew, in many ways, but she's actually in between Matthew and Nathan. She is potty trained too. Arthur amused me after they went, commenting that Thea will be getting a baby brother or sister "at last", haha! I guess for him, it isn't normal to "have to wait" till you're two-and-a-half before you become a big brother or sister! ;) He doesn't know it's the average normal age-gap, hehe!
Okay, must go to bed now. But I wanted to update about the temping and chart-related stuff tonight. I'll post again another time probably!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Wacky cycle!
Well my endless cycle finally came to an end! ;) My last cycle was a crazy 63 days long! I have never had a cycle like that before, even after having a baby. I am not sure if I ovulated at all, but I did have EWCM vaguely in a window before getting my period, so I could have ovulated at that time. I think if I did, it would have given me roughly an 8-day luteal phase, so that could be about right for me? Maybe.
Anyway, I am currently already on CD17 of this current cycle, and hoping this one is less wacky and long! By the end of last cycle, I was tempted to start taking my temperature again in the mornings, just so I would have a better understanding of what my cycle was doing as it went along, but I'm not sure if I want to get back to that yet. I guess I could do if I start to get fertile signs, just to see if I do ovulate or not after those signs disappear again. Then at least I'd know if I was waiting for my period to show or just waiting for ovulation still! Now, there's no real point getting too interested in my chart (and I'm talking to myself here) because with Neil's extra hours and stress at work (LOTS of stress, ugh), and me just being tiiiired and busy and tending to wakeful littlies through the evenings, there is still no PP parsnips (still!). Need to fix that, but yeah, no chance of another pregnancy yet in any case! ;)
Lately I have wondered about how fertile my body might be - as in, whether my luteal phase is starting to lengthen, how many more cycles it might be before it is back to normal, etc. And the thought of getting pregnant again RIGHT NOW was unexpectedly scary! It just feels so soon! I mean, it IS so soon, and there's is no chance right now anyway, but still. I'm reassured by the (hopefully accurate?!) memory that I had this same feeling at this stage postpartum after the others, but by 9 months postpartum was not feeling so scared any more. I get nervous about my milk supply, but last pregnancy gave us our shortest age gap (just under 18 months) and Nathan was only just 9 months old when I got pregnant. My milk tends to dry up in the first few months so I was anxious about Nathan getting enough breastmilk so as not to need to supplement before he could start cows' milk at 12 months. I prayed that God would let my milk supply be enough until then, and God is so faithful - it was plentiful, more than usually at that stage of pregnancy until the day of his first birthday! The very next day it seemed to dry up, almost overnight. I was so amazed about that, and so thankful to God! So I guess I would do the same thing, and I should have no fear about it especially with that experience, but I do still worry about the milk supply issue, if I get pregnant more than a couple of months before my baby's first birthday.
Anyway! I am currently blissfully (for the most part, lol!) enjoying my four little children, squeeeezing and snuggling my squidgy little baby boy as often and as long as I can, and cherishing pretty much every moment I can. Nursing Benjamin during the night, waking up next to him in the morning, holding his limp little body against my chest trying to burp him when he's too unconscious to care about having wind! Smoothing sleepy little ones' hair away from their faces at bedtime, kissing soft soft little cheeks, seeing my children sleeping peacefully at night time, some of them snuggling a beloved soft toy.... it just warms me to the very tenderest part of my heart, and I don't focus on desiring to do it all over again and feeling eager for another baby soon. I'm too busy loving my children with everything I have! But I know if I had a moment to stop and think about more babies, underneath the busy love-filled stuff, I know I am eager and longing for more of this bliss! It passes so fast, and I wouldn't wish it away for anything! I told my mum on the phone the other day that I am loving my 30s (I'll be 34 next month) and have looked forward to them from a young age, simply because I knew they would be about raising and having children. I told her that I hoped I would still have little tiny ones around me when I start my 40s, and she did a sort of horrified gasp (*sigh*) but it's TRUE. I hope I do. Only God knows what is best for us, so I will have to wait and see how God will bless us. Right now I am working on loving my children and learning to manage and discipline them better. And school and house stuff, and so on! There's plenty to keep me busy! I don't NEED another baby. But I really do hope God will give me one, when the time is right, according to His wisdom and love!
Anyway, I am currently already on CD17 of this current cycle, and hoping this one is less wacky and long! By the end of last cycle, I was tempted to start taking my temperature again in the mornings, just so I would have a better understanding of what my cycle was doing as it went along, but I'm not sure if I want to get back to that yet. I guess I could do if I start to get fertile signs, just to see if I do ovulate or not after those signs disappear again. Then at least I'd know if I was waiting for my period to show or just waiting for ovulation still! Now, there's no real point getting too interested in my chart (and I'm talking to myself here) because with Neil's extra hours and stress at work (LOTS of stress, ugh), and me just being tiiiired and busy and tending to wakeful littlies through the evenings, there is still no PP parsnips (still!). Need to fix that, but yeah, no chance of another pregnancy yet in any case! ;)
Lately I have wondered about how fertile my body might be - as in, whether my luteal phase is starting to lengthen, how many more cycles it might be before it is back to normal, etc. And the thought of getting pregnant again RIGHT NOW was unexpectedly scary! It just feels so soon! I mean, it IS so soon, and there's is no chance right now anyway, but still. I'm reassured by the (hopefully accurate?!) memory that I had this same feeling at this stage postpartum after the others, but by 9 months postpartum was not feeling so scared any more. I get nervous about my milk supply, but last pregnancy gave us our shortest age gap (just under 18 months) and Nathan was only just 9 months old when I got pregnant. My milk tends to dry up in the first few months so I was anxious about Nathan getting enough breastmilk so as not to need to supplement before he could start cows' milk at 12 months. I prayed that God would let my milk supply be enough until then, and God is so faithful - it was plentiful, more than usually at that stage of pregnancy until the day of his first birthday! The very next day it seemed to dry up, almost overnight. I was so amazed about that, and so thankful to God! So I guess I would do the same thing, and I should have no fear about it especially with that experience, but I do still worry about the milk supply issue, if I get pregnant more than a couple of months before my baby's first birthday.
Anyway! I am currently blissfully (for the most part, lol!) enjoying my four little children, squeeeezing and snuggling my squidgy little baby boy as often and as long as I can, and cherishing pretty much every moment I can. Nursing Benjamin during the night, waking up next to him in the morning, holding his limp little body against my chest trying to burp him when he's too unconscious to care about having wind! Smoothing sleepy little ones' hair away from their faces at bedtime, kissing soft soft little cheeks, seeing my children sleeping peacefully at night time, some of them snuggling a beloved soft toy.... it just warms me to the very tenderest part of my heart, and I don't focus on desiring to do it all over again and feeling eager for another baby soon. I'm too busy loving my children with everything I have! But I know if I had a moment to stop and think about more babies, underneath the busy love-filled stuff, I know I am eager and longing for more of this bliss! It passes so fast, and I wouldn't wish it away for anything! I told my mum on the phone the other day that I am loving my 30s (I'll be 34 next month) and have looked forward to them from a young age, simply because I knew they would be about raising and having children. I told her that I hoped I would still have little tiny ones around me when I start my 40s, and she did a sort of horrified gasp (*sigh*) but it's TRUE. I hope I do. Only God knows what is best for us, so I will have to wait and see how God will bless us. Right now I am working on loving my children and learning to manage and discipline them better. And school and house stuff, and so on! There's plenty to keep me busy! I don't NEED another baby. But I really do hope God will give me one, when the time is right, according to His wisdom and love!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Baby blessings...
It's New Year's Eve! Only 14 minutes to go till midnight, actually! :) I just wrote my Facebook update and it got me thinking and feeling thankful.
I was reminded afresh how very very blessed I am - how incredibly generous and kind God has been to me. He has opened my womb four times in four years! I think He's wonderful! :)
We started trying for our first baby in 2003. It took 9 cycles and that's not really long but it felt like forever at the time, not knowing why it wasn't "working" or when it might. Or not. But, looking back, I know it wasn't long at all, when it comes to trying for a baby. So, no pregnancy in 2003. Praise God that He did open my womb and enable us to conceive! In February 2004, Arthur was conceived. He was born in November, so my whole pregnancy fitted into 2004.
Then in September 2005, Matthew was conceived. Arthur was 10 months old. Matthew was born in June 2006, 19 months after his brother. The rest of 2006 was difficult for me - the adjustment, I think, and the hormones. I didn't cope too well, and I think it was mild postnatal depression. Thankfully it lifted when I ovulated for the first time over Christmas 2006 - hooray! :)
Nathan was conceived in May 2007, just a few days after my brother became a Daddy for the first time. I remember holding Thea, at just a few days old, and thinking, "Awww!" My heart went mushy! Matthew was 11 months old and she seemed soooo tiny compared with my own little ones! Well, I ovulated a few days later, and that's when Nathan came to be! :) Nathan's pregnancy was scary in parts because I had torrentially heavy bleeding at 11 weeks, and lots of lighter bleeding throughout the first and early-second trimesters. But PRAISE GOD!! He survived and was born, albeit 5 weeks early, perfectly healthy in January 2008.
Nathey was 9 months old in October that same year, when Benjamin was conceived. We did not plan and try that time, having decided after Nathan to let God control when (and how many!) our babies were conceived. Sweet baby boy number 4, Benjamin, was born in July 2009 and is now nearly 6 months old.
So, to recap:
2004 - Pregnant with Arthur! Arthur born.
2005 - Pregnant with Matthew!
2006 - Matthew born.
2007 - Pregnant with Nathan!
2008 - Nathan born, and pregnant with Benjamin!
2009 - Benjamin born.
Wow. How God has blessed us! I'm so joyfully in awe of His goodness to me! I pray and pray that He will enable and equip me to nurture and mother my little ones enough - I don't want to fall short, with so many to care for. I want to do the very best I can for my children! I want to be a GOOD steward of my blessings so that God will consider blessing us again and again!
So now I have taken a short break to watch Big Ben bonging the New Year in, on TV! :) Happy New Year! It's 2010!! :)
I am excited about 2010! The BEST part is giving everything to God and having NO IDEA what will happen. We are not in control. We relinquished it to God. That's EXCITING!!! :D I am wondering if God will bless us again with a baby this year. I know that sounds a bit crazy since I feel like I've just had one, but so far I have either been pregnant or had a new baby every year, so I wonder what 2010 will bring! Maybe no babies? Perhaps God's plan for our family is four little boys close together and that is all? God chooses when to close my womb, and I just pray that He will not close it yet! I love having my babies and seeing my little ones grow and develop.
I just want to say here that I don't set my babies aside in my heart or my thoughts or my energies when I think ahead to more babies. I know people have said in the past to enjoy the ones I've got rather than looking ahead hoping for more. Well, I do both! :) I eagerly hope for more, because it's such a precious blessing. But it doesn't take a thing away from enjoying my little ones and soaking up every smile and cute chipmunky new word, every hurty finger kissed and sleepy head nuzzled on my shoulder. The less rose-tinted aspects (!) are harder to see the joy in, like ennnndless discipline over issues that seem like they'll never change, ever! Or night wakings every night for 5 years. Except that last one I am actually warming to. My little ones are just as precious and snuggly at night, sometimes more so than usual! And I love co-sleeping and breastfeeding at night.
So, being eager and excited for more babies, if God chooses to bless us that way, does not detract from my attention towards my children. Just to say! :)
Well I am currently on Cycle Day 58 or something!!!! I have never had a cycle like this in my life before - and spotting a couple of weeks ago too! Weirdness. Still getting occasional signs that I might be ovulating, but it comes to nothing, it seems. Right now I have no fertile signs, and I feel crampy today and a bit hormonal, so I wonder if my period will come soon. I have had times throughout my cycle so far where I've felt crampy though, so who knows! I guess one way or another my period will show up in the end. It's just strange for me to have a cycle this long, but then I did start my periods much earlier than usual postpartum. Maybe this one is just a bit wacky for that reason?
I STILL plan to hurry up and write Benjamin's birth story, but in the run-up to Christmas and New Year I haven't had chance to sit down and write any of it. Hopefully soon! :) Thanks to Melanie and Nicola for commenting! I know I'm not pregnant or with a brand new baby, so it's not exactly an exciting read here at the moment, and I really appreciate the comments! ;)
I was reminded afresh how very very blessed I am - how incredibly generous and kind God has been to me. He has opened my womb four times in four years! I think He's wonderful! :)
We started trying for our first baby in 2003. It took 9 cycles and that's not really long but it felt like forever at the time, not knowing why it wasn't "working" or when it might. Or not. But, looking back, I know it wasn't long at all, when it comes to trying for a baby. So, no pregnancy in 2003. Praise God that He did open my womb and enable us to conceive! In February 2004, Arthur was conceived. He was born in November, so my whole pregnancy fitted into 2004.
Then in September 2005, Matthew was conceived. Arthur was 10 months old. Matthew was born in June 2006, 19 months after his brother. The rest of 2006 was difficult for me - the adjustment, I think, and the hormones. I didn't cope too well, and I think it was mild postnatal depression. Thankfully it lifted when I ovulated for the first time over Christmas 2006 - hooray! :)
Nathan was conceived in May 2007, just a few days after my brother became a Daddy for the first time. I remember holding Thea, at just a few days old, and thinking, "Awww!" My heart went mushy! Matthew was 11 months old and she seemed soooo tiny compared with my own little ones! Well, I ovulated a few days later, and that's when Nathan came to be! :) Nathan's pregnancy was scary in parts because I had torrentially heavy bleeding at 11 weeks, and lots of lighter bleeding throughout the first and early-second trimesters. But PRAISE GOD!! He survived and was born, albeit 5 weeks early, perfectly healthy in January 2008.
Nathey was 9 months old in October that same year, when Benjamin was conceived. We did not plan and try that time, having decided after Nathan to let God control when (and how many!) our babies were conceived. Sweet baby boy number 4, Benjamin, was born in July 2009 and is now nearly 6 months old.
So, to recap:
2004 - Pregnant with Arthur! Arthur born.
2005 - Pregnant with Matthew!
2006 - Matthew born.
2007 - Pregnant with Nathan!
2008 - Nathan born, and pregnant with Benjamin!
2009 - Benjamin born.
Wow. How God has blessed us! I'm so joyfully in awe of His goodness to me! I pray and pray that He will enable and equip me to nurture and mother my little ones enough - I don't want to fall short, with so many to care for. I want to do the very best I can for my children! I want to be a GOOD steward of my blessings so that God will consider blessing us again and again!
So now I have taken a short break to watch Big Ben bonging the New Year in, on TV! :) Happy New Year! It's 2010!! :)
I am excited about 2010! The BEST part is giving everything to God and having NO IDEA what will happen. We are not in control. We relinquished it to God. That's EXCITING!!! :D I am wondering if God will bless us again with a baby this year. I know that sounds a bit crazy since I feel like I've just had one, but so far I have either been pregnant or had a new baby every year, so I wonder what 2010 will bring! Maybe no babies? Perhaps God's plan for our family is four little boys close together and that is all? God chooses when to close my womb, and I just pray that He will not close it yet! I love having my babies and seeing my little ones grow and develop.
I just want to say here that I don't set my babies aside in my heart or my thoughts or my energies when I think ahead to more babies. I know people have said in the past to enjoy the ones I've got rather than looking ahead hoping for more. Well, I do both! :) I eagerly hope for more, because it's such a precious blessing. But it doesn't take a thing away from enjoying my little ones and soaking up every smile and cute chipmunky new word, every hurty finger kissed and sleepy head nuzzled on my shoulder. The less rose-tinted aspects (!) are harder to see the joy in, like ennnndless discipline over issues that seem like they'll never change, ever! Or night wakings every night for 5 years. Except that last one I am actually warming to. My little ones are just as precious and snuggly at night, sometimes more so than usual! And I love co-sleeping and breastfeeding at night.
So, being eager and excited for more babies, if God chooses to bless us that way, does not detract from my attention towards my children. Just to say! :)
Well I am currently on Cycle Day 58 or something!!!! I have never had a cycle like this in my life before - and spotting a couple of weeks ago too! Weirdness. Still getting occasional signs that I might be ovulating, but it comes to nothing, it seems. Right now I have no fertile signs, and I feel crampy today and a bit hormonal, so I wonder if my period will come soon. I have had times throughout my cycle so far where I've felt crampy though, so who knows! I guess one way or another my period will show up in the end. It's just strange for me to have a cycle this long, but then I did start my periods much earlier than usual postpartum. Maybe this one is just a bit wacky for that reason?
I STILL plan to hurry up and write Benjamin's birth story, but in the run-up to Christmas and New Year I haven't had chance to sit down and write any of it. Hopefully soon! :) Thanks to Melanie and Nicola for commenting! I know I'm not pregnant or with a brand new baby, so it's not exactly an exciting read here at the moment, and I really appreciate the comments! ;)
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Update at 5 months postpartum
Well, I know it's been a while (thanks for the reminder Melanie!), but I felt a bit uneligible to post here, since I'm not pregnant or trying to become so! ;) But I wanted to come and write a quick (possibly, you know me, haha!) update since it has been a few months. I think it was October when I updated last time, to say that I had my first postpartum period just under 3 months after having Benjamin!!!
I am now waiting for my 3rd period. The cycle that followed my first period was typical and uneventful for the way things go with me after having a baby (as I have learnt by now!). I had a normal 30 day cycle, but didn't ovulate till CD26 and thus had only a 4 day luteal phase again, which is perfectly normal for me at this stage after having a baby. I have wondered if my luteal phase my stay incredibly short for longer this time, since my periods have started back earlier than the other times? Or if they'll lengthen at the same time span as the other times, and so be fully back to normal (fertile) sooner than the other times? Who knows.
BUT, this cycle is weird! The weirdest cycle I think I have ever had! I am not bothered about it, just keeping an eye, and charting here and there to keep track. I am not temping at all because there's no real need. Just noting CM when it seems "of note" and any crampy or particularly headachy days, especially if I feel a bit hormonal or something with it. I have had EWCM but just a bit here and there, and clearly it hasn't led to ovulation. This has happened before, but not so drawn out as this. I am now on Cycle Day FORTY NINE!!! I know lots of women have gone way past that as a norm for them, but for me this is waaaaay outside of the norm, and I have never had a cycle this long, let alone not ovulated yet! Perhaps this cycle will be my first ever anovulatory cycle? Or maybe my body is trying (hence the signs here and there along the way) but not getting around to ovulating yet?
Another totally weird thing is that last week I had spotting - seriously! Again, I know spotting is perfectly normal for plenty of women mid-cycle, but not for me. The only spotting I have ever had is implantation spotting (or right after a smear test), when pregnant, so this is very odd to me! I had it with a lot of EWCM so I wondered if maybe I was ovulating, but I don't know if I really did. I had no cramping of any sort around that time, and I usually cramp with ovulation. Other times during my cycle I have had EWCM and cramping, but nothing came of that. I'm sure one way or another I will eventually get a period, so I'm not concerned about it, it's just weird to think I still haven't had my period after like 50 days! Crazy strange for me! If I DID ovulate with the last EWCM (with the spotting) then I am maybe 6DPO and I wouldn't expect my luteal phase to last any longer than that, so perhaps I will get my period for Christmas or something? Who knows! :)
I AM feeling a bit crampy this evening, and I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed with life, like I can't keep on top of things and I'm more down on myself than usual, which I notice easily because it's so unusual for me to feel that way about myself.
Once in a cycle after Nathan, I didn't ovulate till CD thirty-something, as I had the same delayed ovulation thing then too, but this is really really late of me!
Anyway that is the update on my cycles and such! Still not really thinking at all about another baby because it seems so detached from now, you know? My cycles aren't fertile as far as I know, and Neil and I are not getting quality time, so to speak! ;) I'm just enjoying (soooo very much!) my current gorgeous squidgely happy baby boy, marvelling that he's five months old already, and busy busy with my other lovely children. I eagerly LONG for more babies in the future, and my heart turns towards international adoption too. I am excited to see what God will bring! Many times I feel sure He won't bless us again because we SURELY are not being good stewards with the blessings He has already given us, and that is important if God is going to allow us to receive more, I think. We do need a bigger home, but I don't concern myself with that as much because it's materialistic and really doesn't matter a whole lot. It would be MUCH better for us all if we had more space, but it isn't a reason for us to prevent sweet baby blessings that God may have in store for us. God is our provider, and we trust in Him. If he blesses us with more children, we fully believe that He will provide for our needs as we carry out His will in that! :)
I am thinking ahead to more children occasionally, just the odd day-dream, nothing concrete! ;) Only because I love the thought so much, and I hope so much that we have more children in our future. Our current children are actually eager for more siblings, at least Arthur is certainly eager, and Matthew and Nathan ADORE Benjamin (no jealousy issues at all since his birth with any of the boys) and seem very open to us having more. I don't think we've given them cause to believe that families PREVENT God opening the mummy's womb again and again according to His perfect will, though. That's what we tell them, and that's what they believe and accept happily. Arthur still asks when we'll have another! ;)
I can't help but think that if we DO have another baby, it will be another boy, haha! ;) I know I had this twin-girl feeling, well, more than a feeling, when I was praying when Nathey was a newborn and God told me that the next baby would be Benjamin. I don't know whether to trust it, in case it was my own head! Twin girls seems awfully unlikely unless it actually IS God making it happen! ;) I am getting comfortable with the idea of having 5 little boys close in age. I so hope we can have five close in age! I don't know what we'd call him, but we almost used Noah last time so perhaps that, although sometimes Neil wasn't too keen. We also liked Micah.
I'm scared to have twins but also weirdly hopeful that we will one day! I have been praying about it since Nathan was tiny, and it has never left my mind. It's probably a bad idea to be thinking about it over a long time like it could happen, because I don't want to be going down a wrong path in my thoughts or anything. But the thought won't disappear over all this time - nearly 2 years now. I have gone from feeling too scared to ever want to have twins, to looking forward with hope (and fear, lol!) to the day God may bless us that way. I have even actually - dare I admit this?! - started to PRAY that God will bless us with twins, though I am really scared of potential complications, difficult pregnancy and the type of birth that may result, and then HOW in the wide world would I care for newborn breastfeeding twins and four small boys?!?! We would (OBVIOUSLY!) be in a different, bigger, house. But still, it scares me! But ohhh how blessed we would be! What favour God would have shown us to allow not one but two precious babies to grow and flourish inside me! Incredible blessing. Sometimes phrases pop into my head randomly like, "My twins..." or "the twins", or even, "the GIRLS" without me intending them to be there. They surprise me! I squash them down quickly, feeling slightly embarrassed lest some nearby mind-reader hears my probably-daft thoughts! ;) I don't see myself being disappointed if we never have twins, or never have girls, because I am overjoyed to be a) mother of many, and b) mother of boys. It's so wonderful! I couldn't possibly complain or want a different "set" of children! I just want to have more BABIES, and will happily let God choose their gender.
You know I will be MADLY ECSTATIC if He chooses a girl (or two) though, don't you?! ;)
I know the names I would personally use for girly twins, but they're just my names, and Neil will quite likely not want to use them, going by our history, hehe! I may put my foot down somewhat over one of those names in particular though :) Neither of the names are Georgia, strangely enough! After all I have said since trying to conceive Arthur, about that being my favourite name EVER for a girl! ;)
Okay it's late, and I've updated and must go to bed. Oh but Benjamin is doing wonderfully. He had plagiocephaly (flat head) and a twist down his neck and spine into his pelvis (when we saw a children's osteopath), and he had one treatment and was then prayed for and HEALED by God! Yayness! So he is fine now. He rolls both ways, back to front, front to back, and started sitting (non-tripod!) unsupported tonight, for 2 minutes straight! He had done 10 seconds or so during the last week, but tonight he just took off, so to speak! He's desperate to play with his brothers and loves all their vehicles to watch, handle and mouthe! ;) He is gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous, and I could kiss him all day long if I didn't have a lot of other things to do as well, haha! ;)
His eyes are still greyish (not blue, but not clear or slate grey either - non-descript really) and I am sort of waiting for them to turn hazel or brown but nothing so far. Arthur's eyes were fully grey until 4.5 months old when they gradually went brown in splotches over a short period of time. We'll see! His hair is growing in well and fast, the fastest of all my boys so far. It is the same brown as Arthur and Nathan's hair. I don't know what he weighs as I haven't had him weighed in months, but he is hefty! He looks so big and chunky and I'm sure he's still up near the 90th percentile like he was before. That might make him around the 18lb mark? He is starting to outgrow 6-9 month clothes and size 3 Tesco nappies. He breastfeeds on demand night and day, and still wakes once during the evening and then 2-3 hourly at night still. That's okay. I am tired! But it's okay :) He sleeps in his Amby hammock (yes I did see the recall in the States - no news of anything here but I'm somewhat concerned about it!) for naps and at bedtime, and I put him back in it for all his evening/night wakings if I have stayed awake to do so! Otherwise we both go to sleep while he's breastfeeding in my bed, and he always wakes up next to me with a big smile (which is PRICELESS!!) and I adore this arrangement! :) He wears baby sleeping bags (grobags) in the Amby.
Benjamin is longing to eat food! Hehe! He munches his chops, reaches out and stares at my food on its way to my mouth, and so on. He is as ready as can be, but I will not give him anything till he is six months on the dot - that is my way, as most of my readers will already know. I do not believe a baby's digestive tract is mature enough to deal with solids until the age of six months. If they're five months and 3 weeks and 4 days, they're not six months old yet! ;) He is not lacking. While he is incredibly eager and longing, he is not in need of anything other than breastmilk yet. He may WANT that food, but he doesn't need it yet. He is well satisfied when he nurses and won't take a second side usually because he's full. He is huge and chunky (the rolls people, the ROLLS!!!) and happy. He will be super thrilled when I finally hand him a half-peeled banana on January 9th, but he can watch and learn for now! :) I am actually feeling a little sad about the fact that he'll only be exclusively breastfed for a few more weeks! I can't believe how fast it has gone by, and now it's almost GONE, that stage! :( It's definitely the fastest out of all my babies so far. But I am excited that in only a month or two, he will have made some drastic changes - eating with us, crawling, and sitting to play all the time with his brothers! How exciting that will be to behold! :)
Okay I MUST go to bed! And much of that was supposed to be part of a Benjamin update at my main blog with photos, but oh well! I will probably repeat myself a bit when I get around that update, but I'm glad to have it here for prosperity all the same!
I WILL (will will will will...) finish writing Benjamin's birth story soon and post it here the instant I have finished. I have written early labour so far, and I have notes for the rest of it so hopefully it won't be too hard to piece together and write! I am excited to write it, because it was a wonderful positive experience (that I can't WAIT to share with you all at last!), but I just never seem to have the time. Soon! :)
I am now waiting for my 3rd period. The cycle that followed my first period was typical and uneventful for the way things go with me after having a baby (as I have learnt by now!). I had a normal 30 day cycle, but didn't ovulate till CD26 and thus had only a 4 day luteal phase again, which is perfectly normal for me at this stage after having a baby. I have wondered if my luteal phase my stay incredibly short for longer this time, since my periods have started back earlier than the other times? Or if they'll lengthen at the same time span as the other times, and so be fully back to normal (fertile) sooner than the other times? Who knows.
BUT, this cycle is weird! The weirdest cycle I think I have ever had! I am not bothered about it, just keeping an eye, and charting here and there to keep track. I am not temping at all because there's no real need. Just noting CM when it seems "of note" and any crampy or particularly headachy days, especially if I feel a bit hormonal or something with it. I have had EWCM but just a bit here and there, and clearly it hasn't led to ovulation. This has happened before, but not so drawn out as this. I am now on Cycle Day FORTY NINE!!! I know lots of women have gone way past that as a norm for them, but for me this is waaaaay outside of the norm, and I have never had a cycle this long, let alone not ovulated yet! Perhaps this cycle will be my first ever anovulatory cycle? Or maybe my body is trying (hence the signs here and there along the way) but not getting around to ovulating yet?
Another totally weird thing is that last week I had spotting - seriously! Again, I know spotting is perfectly normal for plenty of women mid-cycle, but not for me. The only spotting I have ever had is implantation spotting (or right after a smear test), when pregnant, so this is very odd to me! I had it with a lot of EWCM so I wondered if maybe I was ovulating, but I don't know if I really did. I had no cramping of any sort around that time, and I usually cramp with ovulation. Other times during my cycle I have had EWCM and cramping, but nothing came of that. I'm sure one way or another I will eventually get a period, so I'm not concerned about it, it's just weird to think I still haven't had my period after like 50 days! Crazy strange for me! If I DID ovulate with the last EWCM (with the spotting) then I am maybe 6DPO and I wouldn't expect my luteal phase to last any longer than that, so perhaps I will get my period for Christmas or something? Who knows! :)
I AM feeling a bit crampy this evening, and I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed with life, like I can't keep on top of things and I'm more down on myself than usual, which I notice easily because it's so unusual for me to feel that way about myself.
Once in a cycle after Nathan, I didn't ovulate till CD thirty-something, as I had the same delayed ovulation thing then too, but this is really really late of me!
Anyway that is the update on my cycles and such! Still not really thinking at all about another baby because it seems so detached from now, you know? My cycles aren't fertile as far as I know, and Neil and I are not getting quality time, so to speak! ;) I'm just enjoying (soooo very much!) my current gorgeous squidgely happy baby boy, marvelling that he's five months old already, and busy busy with my other lovely children. I eagerly LONG for more babies in the future, and my heart turns towards international adoption too. I am excited to see what God will bring! Many times I feel sure He won't bless us again because we SURELY are not being good stewards with the blessings He has already given us, and that is important if God is going to allow us to receive more, I think. We do need a bigger home, but I don't concern myself with that as much because it's materialistic and really doesn't matter a whole lot. It would be MUCH better for us all if we had more space, but it isn't a reason for us to prevent sweet baby blessings that God may have in store for us. God is our provider, and we trust in Him. If he blesses us with more children, we fully believe that He will provide for our needs as we carry out His will in that! :)
I am thinking ahead to more children occasionally, just the odd day-dream, nothing concrete! ;) Only because I love the thought so much, and I hope so much that we have more children in our future. Our current children are actually eager for more siblings, at least Arthur is certainly eager, and Matthew and Nathan ADORE Benjamin (no jealousy issues at all since his birth with any of the boys) and seem very open to us having more. I don't think we've given them cause to believe that families PREVENT God opening the mummy's womb again and again according to His perfect will, though. That's what we tell them, and that's what they believe and accept happily. Arthur still asks when we'll have another! ;)
I can't help but think that if we DO have another baby, it will be another boy, haha! ;) I know I had this twin-girl feeling, well, more than a feeling, when I was praying when Nathey was a newborn and God told me that the next baby would be Benjamin. I don't know whether to trust it, in case it was my own head! Twin girls seems awfully unlikely unless it actually IS God making it happen! ;) I am getting comfortable with the idea of having 5 little boys close in age. I so hope we can have five close in age! I don't know what we'd call him, but we almost used Noah last time so perhaps that, although sometimes Neil wasn't too keen. We also liked Micah.
I'm scared to have twins but also weirdly hopeful that we will one day! I have been praying about it since Nathan was tiny, and it has never left my mind. It's probably a bad idea to be thinking about it over a long time like it could happen, because I don't want to be going down a wrong path in my thoughts or anything. But the thought won't disappear over all this time - nearly 2 years now. I have gone from feeling too scared to ever want to have twins, to looking forward with hope (and fear, lol!) to the day God may bless us that way. I have even actually - dare I admit this?! - started to PRAY that God will bless us with twins, though I am really scared of potential complications, difficult pregnancy and the type of birth that may result, and then HOW in the wide world would I care for newborn breastfeeding twins and four small boys?!?! We would (OBVIOUSLY!) be in a different, bigger, house. But still, it scares me! But ohhh how blessed we would be! What favour God would have shown us to allow not one but two precious babies to grow and flourish inside me! Incredible blessing. Sometimes phrases pop into my head randomly like, "My twins..." or "the twins", or even, "the GIRLS" without me intending them to be there. They surprise me! I squash them down quickly, feeling slightly embarrassed lest some nearby mind-reader hears my probably-daft thoughts! ;) I don't see myself being disappointed if we never have twins, or never have girls, because I am overjoyed to be a) mother of many, and b) mother of boys. It's so wonderful! I couldn't possibly complain or want a different "set" of children! I just want to have more BABIES, and will happily let God choose their gender.
You know I will be MADLY ECSTATIC if He chooses a girl (or two) though, don't you?! ;)
I know the names I would personally use for girly twins, but they're just my names, and Neil will quite likely not want to use them, going by our history, hehe! I may put my foot down somewhat over one of those names in particular though :) Neither of the names are Georgia, strangely enough! After all I have said since trying to conceive Arthur, about that being my favourite name EVER for a girl! ;)
Okay it's late, and I've updated and must go to bed. Oh but Benjamin is doing wonderfully. He had plagiocephaly (flat head) and a twist down his neck and spine into his pelvis (when we saw a children's osteopath), and he had one treatment and was then prayed for and HEALED by God! Yayness! So he is fine now. He rolls both ways, back to front, front to back, and started sitting (non-tripod!) unsupported tonight, for 2 minutes straight! He had done 10 seconds or so during the last week, but tonight he just took off, so to speak! He's desperate to play with his brothers and loves all their vehicles to watch, handle and mouthe! ;) He is gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous, and I could kiss him all day long if I didn't have a lot of other things to do as well, haha! ;)
His eyes are still greyish (not blue, but not clear or slate grey either - non-descript really) and I am sort of waiting for them to turn hazel or brown but nothing so far. Arthur's eyes were fully grey until 4.5 months old when they gradually went brown in splotches over a short period of time. We'll see! His hair is growing in well and fast, the fastest of all my boys so far. It is the same brown as Arthur and Nathan's hair. I don't know what he weighs as I haven't had him weighed in months, but he is hefty! He looks so big and chunky and I'm sure he's still up near the 90th percentile like he was before. That might make him around the 18lb mark? He is starting to outgrow 6-9 month clothes and size 3 Tesco nappies. He breastfeeds on demand night and day, and still wakes once during the evening and then 2-3 hourly at night still. That's okay. I am tired! But it's okay :) He sleeps in his Amby hammock (yes I did see the recall in the States - no news of anything here but I'm somewhat concerned about it!) for naps and at bedtime, and I put him back in it for all his evening/night wakings if I have stayed awake to do so! Otherwise we both go to sleep while he's breastfeeding in my bed, and he always wakes up next to me with a big smile (which is PRICELESS!!) and I adore this arrangement! :) He wears baby sleeping bags (grobags) in the Amby.
Benjamin is longing to eat food! Hehe! He munches his chops, reaches out and stares at my food on its way to my mouth, and so on. He is as ready as can be, but I will not give him anything till he is six months on the dot - that is my way, as most of my readers will already know. I do not believe a baby's digestive tract is mature enough to deal with solids until the age of six months. If they're five months and 3 weeks and 4 days, they're not six months old yet! ;) He is not lacking. While he is incredibly eager and longing, he is not in need of anything other than breastmilk yet. He may WANT that food, but he doesn't need it yet. He is well satisfied when he nurses and won't take a second side usually because he's full. He is huge and chunky (the rolls people, the ROLLS!!!) and happy. He will be super thrilled when I finally hand him a half-peeled banana on January 9th, but he can watch and learn for now! :) I am actually feeling a little sad about the fact that he'll only be exclusively breastfed for a few more weeks! I can't believe how fast it has gone by, and now it's almost GONE, that stage! :( It's definitely the fastest out of all my babies so far. But I am excited that in only a month or two, he will have made some drastic changes - eating with us, crawling, and sitting to play all the time with his brothers! How exciting that will be to behold! :)
Okay I MUST go to bed! And much of that was supposed to be part of a Benjamin update at my main blog with photos, but oh well! I will probably repeat myself a bit when I get around that update, but I'm glad to have it here for prosperity all the same!
I WILL (will will will will...) finish writing Benjamin's birth story soon and post it here the instant I have finished. I have written early labour so far, and I have notes for the rest of it so hopefully it won't be too hard to piece together and write! I am excited to write it, because it was a wonderful positive experience (that I can't WAIT to share with you all at last!), but I just never seem to have the time. Soon! :)
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
PPAF!! Already!!
Just a quick follow-up (more for my own records - sorry if this is boring!) from my post last night, where I was wondering if I might have my period (already! How crazy!!). I definitely do! It's really light, but a period, without a doubt. Today I have been reminded of that hot achy ball in the pit of my stomach that I haven't experienced in a while. It has been okay, but I am crampy and definitely have more than spotting, though it's very light. Other things are starting to make sense now that I look back - other than the EWCM (which I've charted as best I can remember it - yay, charting!! :) ) - like the weirdly queasy tiredness I had since Friday, and the irritability (though not that bad for my usual PMS!) which I put down to tiredness. My milk supply is holding up well (it's common for it to take a hit when you're breastfeeding and ovulating, or breastfeeding and having a period), though I think it's down a little on the norm because Benjamin woke at 9.50pm and had a big feed, when he normally goes till about midnight. I know he could be starting another growth spurt or something, but it's a bit too much of a coincidence, so I think it's having my period that is affecting the milk supply a tiny bit. Thankfully my milk is plentiful so I am not noticing too much trouble.
I am not sure what to think about my period returning less than 3 months postpartum!! Nor is Neil! I keep thinking, "What is my body DOING?!" and then remembering that it's GOD who controls the timings of everything that occurs within my body. So then asking, "What does God think He's DOING?!" doesn't sound too good to say! ;) I do get my periods back every time while still exclusively breastfeeding day and night on demand, before solids are introduced, etc, but this is so markedly earlier than the other three times, so I'm really surprised.
I have gone back to Fertility Friend to chart again, because I want to keep an eye on my cycles, and also I am sure I will have really short luteal phases for a while again, so I want to see how those go. I don't think I will temp - it seems crazy early to be whipping out a thermometer every morning! I JUST HAD A BABY!! This is so surreal! But I will definitely chart CM if it's of note, and mayyybe temp during EWCM so that I can see if there's evidence of ovulation or not after it. I am not sure if I should expect a long gap before another period, or if I'll get right back to cycling as usual. Usually when my periods first return, the cycles are long and ovulation occurs late (then the luteal phase between ovulation and my period arriving is only days long). We'll see how it goes this time. I'm not really sure what to expect now! :)
When I went back to FF to start a new chart, I saw the last one I charted (when Benjamin was conceived) and noticed that the last period I had started on September 24th last year! So close to being only a year between the last one and the return of them!! It seems such a crazy short gap to me, and I admit I was hoping for a bit longer without cramps and hormones every month! ;) Exactly a week from today, Benjamin will have been conceived exactly a year ago. It boggles my brain to think that it has been a whole year already since he has existed! It is all going by sooooo fast.
Melanie, you asked if I'm having any twinges for another baby soon! :) I have to say it was not on my radar at ALL at this stage, to be thinking of such things! ;) But I admit I miss being pregnant and having a teensy little flopsy newborn who snuffles and roots like a baby bird at the slightest touch to his little cheek. Awwwwww, my insides turn to mush at the very thought! :) I have already been praying (as last time, after Nathan!) that God will open my womb again and bless us with more babies yet. I adore having little ones and really hope our family is not complete yet! With my periods returning so much sooner than I expected, I admit I am suddenly a little scared that it could possibly be sooner than I feel equipped to handle! But Neil and I are going to pray about it. God knows way better than we do what is best for us and for our family. He knows which little persons he has already planned, and for when. My periods returning this early might still mean nothing as far as fertility goes. God could have us wait even longer than our previous age gaps, ironically! ;) But I know if we pray about it, then either He will hear our prayers and not open my womb until we are able to manage another pregnancy/baby, OR He will equip us and our children to handle it sooner than we think we can! God is good. All the time. I trust Him completely over this. I hope soooo much that He still plans to bless us with more children!
Arthur seems eager for more siblings (as always!). He asked with with a great gasp of excitement if I had another baby in my tummy a few weeks ago, at lunch! I was standing up handing out yoghurts while they sat at the table, and he was looking at my tummy. I explained that my tummy still hadn't finished going DOWN from having Benjamin, and his shoulders dropped with disappointment! He just looked down at the table, and all he said was, "Oh." He tells me now and then that he hopes God will give us more babies, and last week told me that he thinks we should get a double decker bus to hold all the babies God blesses us with, when we change our vehicle next, hahaha! We are considering changing our car (AGAIN!!! It's getting silly, lol!). If we have more children, even one, we'll be way more comfortable in something bigger. Right now we have a Citroen C8 which seats 7. I think you can buy a bench with 3 seats on it to replace the back two captain's chairs though. There is not enough space in the boot to store our tandem pushchair and extras (one captain's chair has to stay folded down to fit it) and currently when we go out as a family, I drive, the three boys are across the middle row behind me, Benjamin is in the infant car seat in the front passenger seat (with the airbag deactivated), and Neil sits in the captain's chair in the very back. We discovered that anyone sitting in the back row has to clamber in over the pushchair in the boot to get into it, and then I have to shut the boot door on them! I don't like that, for my little ones. If I needed to get them out in an emergency that just doesn't feel safe enough for me. I had hoped the sliding side doors would open far back enough for people to climb into the back row through the side doors, but no. So, strangely enough, we feel as though we have already outgrown it! Anyway, the next thing up from a minivan is (gulp!) a minibus!! A 9- or 12-seater vehicle, yikes! We don't think 9 will suffice because it's still just the two rows of 3 behind the driver, although that back row might be easier to access from the side, in a minibus.
We ARE interested in 12-seater vehicles because we would essentially take the back row out semi-permanently and have a HUGE storage space for pushchairs and bikes and so on, whilst also having six individual seats for children which will each be big enough to hold a child's car seat. If we end up super-duperly blessed by God (!!) then we can always reinstate the back row, so we shouldn't outgrow it so fast as we've managed to outgrow the other cars we've bought! :) It's an exciting thought, having to buy a vehicle that big because God has blessed us with enough children to need one! I LOVE that! Praise God! :) We don't NEED one just yet, but we'd certainly be more comfortable in one even now, even if we end up not having any more little ones.
Neil is surprisingly open to allowing God to bless us with more children at the moment! I have been praying and praying about this over the months, and I am overjoyed to see encouraging answers to prayer! :) He would like us to move house (obviously, we will need to!) and also to be financially more settled, ideally, but he seems open to endless possibilities if those things are set. I pray that God will help us move to just the right place to raise the number of children He has in mind for us, and also that He will answer Neil's prayers for financial stability, not because we NEED it to "manage" the blessing of lots of children (the only thing we NEED to rely upon is God, whatever our circumstances and family size), but because it's important to Neil. It isn't important to me. It would be GOOD, but it isn't necessary if we are trusting God. I totally understand why it means a lot to Neil though. Men are providers for their families - it is how they are wired! :)
Sooo I am definitely eager to have more babies if God sees fit to bless us that way! :) I'd be anxious (and need to pray about that a lot!) if we were to conceive very quickly, but I am not expecting that to happen. No PP parsnips as yet, so no likelihood for a while yet anyways! ;)
I will update here whenever there's anything relevant to write (or I feel like rambling, haha!). I can't BELIEVE I'm back here only 7 weeks after closing it, hehehe! Craaaazy.
I am not sure what to think about my period returning less than 3 months postpartum!! Nor is Neil! I keep thinking, "What is my body DOING?!" and then remembering that it's GOD who controls the timings of everything that occurs within my body. So then asking, "What does God think He's DOING?!" doesn't sound too good to say! ;) I do get my periods back every time while still exclusively breastfeeding day and night on demand, before solids are introduced, etc, but this is so markedly earlier than the other three times, so I'm really surprised.
I have gone back to Fertility Friend to chart again, because I want to keep an eye on my cycles, and also I am sure I will have really short luteal phases for a while again, so I want to see how those go. I don't think I will temp - it seems crazy early to be whipping out a thermometer every morning! I JUST HAD A BABY!! This is so surreal! But I will definitely chart CM if it's of note, and mayyybe temp during EWCM so that I can see if there's evidence of ovulation or not after it. I am not sure if I should expect a long gap before another period, or if I'll get right back to cycling as usual. Usually when my periods first return, the cycles are long and ovulation occurs late (then the luteal phase between ovulation and my period arriving is only days long). We'll see how it goes this time. I'm not really sure what to expect now! :)
When I went back to FF to start a new chart, I saw the last one I charted (when Benjamin was conceived) and noticed that the last period I had started on September 24th last year! So close to being only a year between the last one and the return of them!! It seems such a crazy short gap to me, and I admit I was hoping for a bit longer without cramps and hormones every month! ;) Exactly a week from today, Benjamin will have been conceived exactly a year ago. It boggles my brain to think that it has been a whole year already since he has existed! It is all going by sooooo fast.
Melanie, you asked if I'm having any twinges for another baby soon! :) I have to say it was not on my radar at ALL at this stage, to be thinking of such things! ;) But I admit I miss being pregnant and having a teensy little flopsy newborn who snuffles and roots like a baby bird at the slightest touch to his little cheek. Awwwwww, my insides turn to mush at the very thought! :) I have already been praying (as last time, after Nathan!) that God will open my womb again and bless us with more babies yet. I adore having little ones and really hope our family is not complete yet! With my periods returning so much sooner than I expected, I admit I am suddenly a little scared that it could possibly be sooner than I feel equipped to handle! But Neil and I are going to pray about it. God knows way better than we do what is best for us and for our family. He knows which little persons he has already planned, and for when. My periods returning this early might still mean nothing as far as fertility goes. God could have us wait even longer than our previous age gaps, ironically! ;) But I know if we pray about it, then either He will hear our prayers and not open my womb until we are able to manage another pregnancy/baby, OR He will equip us and our children to handle it sooner than we think we can! God is good. All the time. I trust Him completely over this. I hope soooo much that He still plans to bless us with more children!
Arthur seems eager for more siblings (as always!). He asked with with a great gasp of excitement if I had another baby in my tummy a few weeks ago, at lunch! I was standing up handing out yoghurts while they sat at the table, and he was looking at my tummy. I explained that my tummy still hadn't finished going DOWN from having Benjamin, and his shoulders dropped with disappointment! He just looked down at the table, and all he said was, "Oh." He tells me now and then that he hopes God will give us more babies, and last week told me that he thinks we should get a double decker bus to hold all the babies God blesses us with, when we change our vehicle next, hahaha! We are considering changing our car (AGAIN!!! It's getting silly, lol!). If we have more children, even one, we'll be way more comfortable in something bigger. Right now we have a Citroen C8 which seats 7. I think you can buy a bench with 3 seats on it to replace the back two captain's chairs though. There is not enough space in the boot to store our tandem pushchair and extras (one captain's chair has to stay folded down to fit it) and currently when we go out as a family, I drive, the three boys are across the middle row behind me, Benjamin is in the infant car seat in the front passenger seat (with the airbag deactivated), and Neil sits in the captain's chair in the very back. We discovered that anyone sitting in the back row has to clamber in over the pushchair in the boot to get into it, and then I have to shut the boot door on them! I don't like that, for my little ones. If I needed to get them out in an emergency that just doesn't feel safe enough for me. I had hoped the sliding side doors would open far back enough for people to climb into the back row through the side doors, but no. So, strangely enough, we feel as though we have already outgrown it! Anyway, the next thing up from a minivan is (gulp!) a minibus!! A 9- or 12-seater vehicle, yikes! We don't think 9 will suffice because it's still just the two rows of 3 behind the driver, although that back row might be easier to access from the side, in a minibus.
We ARE interested in 12-seater vehicles because we would essentially take the back row out semi-permanently and have a HUGE storage space for pushchairs and bikes and so on, whilst also having six individual seats for children which will each be big enough to hold a child's car seat. If we end up super-duperly blessed by God (!!) then we can always reinstate the back row, so we shouldn't outgrow it so fast as we've managed to outgrow the other cars we've bought! :) It's an exciting thought, having to buy a vehicle that big because God has blessed us with enough children to need one! I LOVE that! Praise God! :) We don't NEED one just yet, but we'd certainly be more comfortable in one even now, even if we end up not having any more little ones.
Neil is surprisingly open to allowing God to bless us with more children at the moment! I have been praying and praying about this over the months, and I am overjoyed to see encouraging answers to prayer! :) He would like us to move house (obviously, we will need to!) and also to be financially more settled, ideally, but he seems open to endless possibilities if those things are set. I pray that God will help us move to just the right place to raise the number of children He has in mind for us, and also that He will answer Neil's prayers for financial stability, not because we NEED it to "manage" the blessing of lots of children (the only thing we NEED to rely upon is God, whatever our circumstances and family size), but because it's important to Neil. It isn't important to me. It would be GOOD, but it isn't necessary if we are trusting God. I totally understand why it means a lot to Neil though. Men are providers for their families - it is how they are wired! :)
Sooo I am definitely eager to have more babies if God sees fit to bless us that way! :) I'd be anxious (and need to pray about that a lot!) if we were to conceive very quickly, but I am not expecting that to happen. No PP parsnips as yet, so no likelihood for a while yet anyways! ;)
I will update here whenever there's anything relevant to write (or I feel like rambling, haha!). I can't BELIEVE I'm back here only 7 weeks after closing it, hehehe! Craaaazy.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Nearly 3 months postpartum!
Well, I know I JUST closed this diary like 6 weeks ago or something! ;) And then over the last maybe couple of weeks I have been having some "cycle-ish" signs that I don't think I'm used to having this early. I have had a lot of EWCM on and off, and have also felt a bit crampy on and off too, but then I DID read after I had Arthur that it's common for breastfeeding mothers to have EWCM here and there due to high oestrogen levels (despite not having that experience myself. I think!).
Anyway so I had some a few days ago for a few days running, and also about a week before that for a few days running. Not just maaayyybe EWCM, but definitely EWCM. And then today I noticed some more. When I went to the toilet after Neil got home from work tonight (pretty much my best opportunity to pee all day long, haha!), I noticed brown spotting which REALLY caught my attention since it's so early after having Benjamin and I have never had any spotting or much (if any) EWCM before about 5 months postpartum before. So I put a pantliner on and did the bedtime routine with the boys, and then was desperate to check my pad - it has just been playing on my mind, because I'm thinking, "Surely not?! Periods returning less than THREE months postpartum when I'm exclusively breastfeeding?!" especially with my pretty predictable history of starting my period at 5 or 6 months postpartum all the other times, with ovulation occuring first (EWCM being one of the signs).
So, I finished putting the boys to bed and kept wondering if I felt a bit crampy, and I checked my pad, and lo and behold - pink/red! Not very much, but I do wonder if I might have started my periods again already?! Which is surely CRAAAAAZY!! Benjamin is a big boy and feeds hungrily. My milk supply is plentiful and I leak like crazy. He is the first baby since Arthur not to use a pacifier/dummy at all. He feeds on demand around the clock and nurses several times during the night. He's not even 3 months old yet!!! What in the wide world is my body thinking?!?!?! I am crampier than I was 20 minutes ago, so I am guessing it's the real thing. I'm not disappointed - it's actually quite exciting to see signs of re-appearing fertility again, but I admit it has caught me a little (read: TOTALLY) off-guard! I am never fertile enough to conceive for a good 4 cycles usually, as my luteal phase is too short (quite aside from the non-return of postpartum parsnips as yet! ;) ) - well maybe I shouldn't say NEVER any more??! I *tend not to be* fertile enough to conceive until my luteal phase gradually lengthens. I intended to chart the EWCM but never found time to do it - how I wish I had done so now!!! Tsk! So I have no idea what kind of a luteal phase I've just had (if any, and if this is indeed a period). Maybe it's just breakthrough bleeding like sometimes happens when breastfeeding, early on? Except that's typical at around 6 weeks postpartum, not 13... Hmmm.
Anyway, this was the obvious place to come to express these kind of rather personal ramblings! I feel a bit stunned and surprised really! I guess I should go and see if I have any sort of sanitary protection and try to find my hot water bottle?!?! This is rather surreal - so much sooner than I expected it.
Benjamin is waking so I have to dash. All is well with the boy though! He's delicious! :)
Anyway so I had some a few days ago for a few days running, and also about a week before that for a few days running. Not just maaayyybe EWCM, but definitely EWCM. And then today I noticed some more. When I went to the toilet after Neil got home from work tonight (pretty much my best opportunity to pee all day long, haha!), I noticed brown spotting which REALLY caught my attention since it's so early after having Benjamin and I have never had any spotting or much (if any) EWCM before about 5 months postpartum before. So I put a pantliner on and did the bedtime routine with the boys, and then was desperate to check my pad - it has just been playing on my mind, because I'm thinking, "Surely not?! Periods returning less than THREE months postpartum when I'm exclusively breastfeeding?!" especially with my pretty predictable history of starting my period at 5 or 6 months postpartum all the other times, with ovulation occuring first (EWCM being one of the signs).
So, I finished putting the boys to bed and kept wondering if I felt a bit crampy, and I checked my pad, and lo and behold - pink/red! Not very much, but I do wonder if I might have started my periods again already?! Which is surely CRAAAAAZY!! Benjamin is a big boy and feeds hungrily. My milk supply is plentiful and I leak like crazy. He is the first baby since Arthur not to use a pacifier/dummy at all. He feeds on demand around the clock and nurses several times during the night. He's not even 3 months old yet!!! What in the wide world is my body thinking?!?!?! I am crampier than I was 20 minutes ago, so I am guessing it's the real thing. I'm not disappointed - it's actually quite exciting to see signs of re-appearing fertility again, but I admit it has caught me a little (read: TOTALLY) off-guard! I am never fertile enough to conceive for a good 4 cycles usually, as my luteal phase is too short (quite aside from the non-return of postpartum parsnips as yet! ;) ) - well maybe I shouldn't say NEVER any more??! I *tend not to be* fertile enough to conceive until my luteal phase gradually lengthens. I intended to chart the EWCM but never found time to do it - how I wish I had done so now!!! Tsk! So I have no idea what kind of a luteal phase I've just had (if any, and if this is indeed a period). Maybe it's just breakthrough bleeding like sometimes happens when breastfeeding, early on? Except that's typical at around 6 weeks postpartum, not 13... Hmmm.
Anyway, this was the obvious place to come to express these kind of rather personal ramblings! I feel a bit stunned and surprised really! I guess I should go and see if I have any sort of sanitary protection and try to find my hot water bottle?!?! This is rather surreal - so much sooner than I expected it.
Benjamin is waking so I have to dash. All is well with the boy though! He's delicious! :)
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