Trying to Conceive: Is There a Right Way?

There are two schools of thought that I have encountered with my trying to conceive journey, and there seems to be no clear right or wrong. The first is to live like you are already pregnant, and the other, is to just live your life and if it happens, then it happens. I’ve been trying the first without success. The second method, scares me, because I don’t want to do something that accidentally creates another miscarriage. I’ve admittedly, been slowly relaxing the first method, simply because, I know the effect that stress has on the body. And quite frankly, as a person who thrives in stressful situations, I am not always the best at recognizing at what point too much is. That is a work in progress, as I discussed in my latest Medium article on Stress and Polyamory.

Stress is bad. But the clock is ticking and thus it’s difficult to just allow things to happen, but rationally I know that is the only thing I can do. Other than of course working towards getting seen by a fertility specialist, which is my next step, after the gynecologist assured me that everything is fine. My impatient self screams out, if everything is fine why am I not pregnant? Then my rational self says, this is why you are always stressed! As I sniffle “I always give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it” as quoted by Alice, in Alice in Wonderland.

Do I drink the beer, which helps me to relax and keep my stress down? Or do I not drink the beer because I want to ensure I am fully body ready to make this baby thing a reality? Ultimately the only thing I can do is to try and keep myself distracted and happy because at the end of the day, I know I need to stay out of my head. Thus it is a perfect time to keep pitching my book to agents, and to keep tackling all the projects and such that life throws my way. Which of course is much easier to do during the days right after my period when I know I cannot possibly symptom spot. Serenity NOW!!!!

Why not take a break and earn real prizes? (affiliate link)

I know there is no right or wrong way. But some days I must say, it’s difficult to see so many shows portray people having healthy pregnancies the first time they try to conceive, or when they aren’t trying. That being said, we got pregnant the first time completely by accident. So there must be something to the whole, not trying thing. But somethings are easier said than done. I can tell myself that it is what it is, but then, as I said, I get into my head, and it’s almost impossible to shut that part of my hoping, and trying off. There simply is no right or wrong way, but damn do I ever wish there was something more I could be doing. Then again, maybe less is more? Our family is already started, because the two of us already have each other, and that is huge and wonderful. And I am grateful, truly. But of course, I want more, well, we both do.

I do want to take a moment to thank all the people so far who have shared their trying to get pregnant stories. I knew writing about this subject would open that door, and I am so grateful to be able to read each and everyone of your experiences. And what’s more, to have real people to talk to about this, and share the ups and downs (hear that universe? I am ready for some ups here too!). At this point in the game, I am focusing on trying to relax, and enjoy the process, while at the same time continuing to take my prenatals, and the expertise of those in the health care system. Oh and of course doing the thing the actually makes creating a baby possible!

For access to all my writings, and behind the scenes content please consider subscribing to my Patreon page.

Miscarriage: My Poetic Rant

Questions Without Answers

It is not your fault

May I repeat it is not your fault

But what about the hot bath I took?

Or the beer I had before I knew I was pregnant?

No, it is not your fault

But what about the sex, or using my vibrator, could that be to blame?

There just must be something to blame, someone, oh it must be me

So many questions but no satisfying answers

It happens,  it is normal, your body knows what’s best

The wrong signals were sent, the womb was confused, everything was out of your control

It is not your fault

I repeat, it is not your fault

But who’s fault is it?

Why did it happen?

And how can I prevent it happening again?

You can’t, you won’t, somethings just are what they are

The numbers they swirl,

40

You are old, it is too late

20%

It is going to happen again

50%

Your quality is diminished

I cry

So it is my fault

I waited too late

I did everything wrong

I am to blame

No, it is not your fault

You are not to blame

It happens, it is OK

You will try again, you will find a way because it is what you do best

Remember, it is OK, it is not your fault

We love you

I Love You

Thank you all for the love and support on here, social media, and on Patreon. For the likes, shares, comments, and private words of encouragement. It’s nice not to be alone.

The Two Week Limbo

If time wasn’t a factor I “would love to just, “let things happen” so to speak, but I am 40. I pour over the stats saying that the old you get, the likely hood of getting pregnant reduces by not just a few points, but by entire percentages. It’s daunting. And let us not forget, that looming, very close by now, is the possibility of peri-menopause, and ultimately, the ending of my egg producing power. I tremble as I write that. It looms, ominously over my head, taunting me. I haven’t feared getting older like this before. Please body, please on please just let me pop out a couple of healthy babies before you shut that down, I plea through tears as I enter the dreaded two week limbo.

If I had met this man 10 years earlier, well, everything would be different, and if I go down that rabbit hole, the truth is, we probably wouldn’t have been as compatible as we are now. So, I won’t lament, or regret the things that cannot be, other than to say, trying to conceive would have been easier. And on that note, trying to have a baby, is so much more of everything than I ever could have imagines.

The pros of course, include sex, more sex, and intimacy that is nothing short of miraculous. Two people, coming together, trying to start a life, because we are truly in love, and want a family is more than I could have imagined as a youth. The butterflies in my stomach feeling is ongoing, and is blissful, calming, and exciting all at the same time. I love just laying in his arms afterwards, calm, fulfilled, and in an enjoyment of the silence of my wondering, pondering brain. There is nothing quite like that kind of sex. All risk is gone, and what it left is possibilities, and happiness. Oh and sweet sweet satisfaction.

The cons however, creep into my mind, very shortly afterwards. During the past 5 years, I worked very diligently to listen and react to my body, mind, and emotions. Through yoga, writing, and the ear of an amazing woman, I became more in tune with everything internal. Overall, this has brought me great strength, honed my empathy, and allowed me the permission to listen to my body cues, and rest when needed. Something that I have never been able to do before. Unfortunately, being so in tune with my inner working, I am also more susceptible to noticing changes in my body.

(Affiliate Link)

As I mentioned in my previous post, my hormones are raging, and causing nothing short of chaos during the 2 weeks after ovulation. I feel everything! And let me tell you, that ride is no fun. If you Google early pregnancy symptoms, PMS, and ovulation, there is so much overlap between them, that there is zero telling what is actually going on. And for added fun, there is simply no method of testing to tell you the truth of your body. At least nothing in a cost effective, at home, peace of mind type way. Pregnancy test only work accurately when you miss your period. Blood tests tell you thing much sooner, but, you need to see your Dr. for a referral, and that usually takes the same amount of time. There are urine test, and thermometers for ovulation prediction, but that still leaves you with the 2 weeks until your period arrives to contend with.

Some of you might be saying, “it’s only 2 weeks” that’s nothing in the grand scheme of things! But during those two weeks, your hormones are doing all of the things. And as added fun, I found out recently, that many women experience an increase of hormonal fluctuations as they grow closer, and close to menopause. For those who don’t or didn’t, I am so envious of you, because the last few months has included more emotional breakdowns than I think the rest of my PMS combined. Maybe a slight exaggeration, for dramatic effect, to drive home the point of my exhaustion.

Dearly, I would love to just stop listening to my body. To go with the flow, and say, c’est la vie! Followed by que sera, sera. But, to go full circle in this post, I am 40. Time is not on my side. Egg quality is diminishing. My chances are going down exponentially, and as my Dr. informed me, my problem is not infertility (due to my miscarriages), so… something else is going on, that I am certain time will not just fix. Argh!!! So I sit here, venting this all out in a effort to quiet the noises of hormones in my head long enough to focus on pitching my book. Fingers crossed, everything works out in my head!

If you liked this post, resonated with it, or want to help me on my publishing journey, please consider sharing, commenting, or supporting me on Patreon.

Hormones Suck!

So, it seems to me like my biological clock and my body are in cahoots to drive me absolutely mad.  It’s as if, now that my body knows what pregnancy feels like, it has realized it’s true calling.  And pregnant or not, I am inundated with symptoms.  What fresh hell is this?  Breasts doubling in size, right before my period and aching to high hell. The nausea, the exhaustion, and on my god the hormones!!! The fluctuations of it all are enough to drive a person insane. Is there a word for pre-pregnancy baby brain?

Perhaps I should be grateful that for the majority of my life, periods were a mere blip on my radar.  Well let me tell you, my body is absolutely making up for lost time.  Every time it realizes that I am not pregnant it goes into full rebellion mode.  And I am absolutely losing my mind, sanity, and whatever grace I have with people.  But the person you should feel most compassion for is my dear partner taking this all like a champ.

To be clear, we were not trying (as of the original writing of this post), as my doctor wanted me to see a gynecologist to ensure everything was in working order, as a direct result of having two miscarriages in one year.  So, the possibility of getting pregnant was extremely slim. But again, do you know who couldn’t hear that?  My body and hormones.  They do not care.  My biological clock screams, and they respond with volatile mood swings, tears, and a sore and aching body. 

No one warned me about this when we decided to start trying.  It’s maddening!  And it is exhausting.  I am tired of being told we shouldn’t try for the moment, then given the green light, rinse and repeat. And perhaps my body is echoing my sentiment of annoyance. My body is not getting any younger, and those eggs won’t be viable forever. So could we stop with the issues please? I am in limbo, with my body swinging me back and forth between sanity, and whatever the hell my current mood is. I just want a bit of time to enjoy all the baby making fun. But clearly, my body does not agree, and has taken a firm stance that it needs to put me through the ringer, perhaps making sure that I really do want a baby. Ugh… hormones suck!!!

Thank you to everyone who has supported me on Patreon thus far! For those who don’t know, that is where I post all of my writings, including my Medium articles, and the behind the scenes photos of my blog, instagram, and various projects.

Best I’ve Ever Had

In light of the change in direction of my blog, I think it’s prudent to begin this one with a little note, or disclaimer if you will. Sex, and making a baby go hand in hand, and thus, I will be doing what I do best, which is overshare, or to put it a little kinder, be real and raw. This post is a perfect example of that, and thus, me being true to myself, and putting the things out into the world that I want to, for better or for worse. I remain sex positive, while embracing all the experiences that brought me to this point in my life. So, with this little explanation firmly in place, I will continue to share my journey.

In my last post I am pretty sure I used the words “best sex of my life”, or maybe it was the post before that, or maybe I keep writing it because it’s true. Bu the more I have been thinking about it, the more weight that statement seems to have for me, and my relationship.  Yes, we absolutely fit each other damn near perfectly, and have incredible intimacy in and out of the bedroom.  So, of course I can brag that we are made for each other.  But, it’s actually far deeper than that.  I trust him with my body, and he trusts me with his.  And that is the element that sets what we have apart from anything I have experienced before.

I was previously with a man, who believed that he knew my body better than I did.  Further, he believed that he knew what I wanted, because he knew what every woman wanted.  This is tough to write, but with him, I gave up trying to argue or tell him what I wanted or needed, simply because he wouldn’t listen. Here’s an example, and admittedly, it’s difficult to just pick one as there are many!

I can orgasm from breast play, and because of that, I enjoy having my breasts touched and sucked in a certain way so I can have extra orgasms.  I explained this to the person in question, and he excitedly wanted to see it in action. So I coached him through it, we had a lot of fun, and then for inexplicable reasons, the next time we had sex, he reverted back to a move that did nothing for me.  In fact, it brought me a little discomfort.  I stopped him, told him I didn’t like that, and that it did nothing for me. His response? A bold, other woman have liked it! Followed by him stopping the sex in defiance, acting basically like I had ruined everything.

OK, fine, maybe I went about it to harshly, because admittedly, I am terrible at asking for what I want.  I would much rather people discover my body, and then we get to experience things together without words, and focus more on body language, and all the fun stuff in intimacy. 

So, the next time, I did just that, guiding his hands, and mouth in such a way that we both could see things were working.  Then boom, in the middle of things, he did the thing I had asked him not to do (which in case you are wondering is a hard tweak of my nipples). It was if he couldn’t help himself.  I was gutted.  This back and forth went on for months, of me stopping and moving his hands away, and him doing what he wanted because he liked it. Finally, I asked him to stop touching my breasts altogether.  And the odd thing was, he was fine with this.  If he couldn’t touch me the way he wanted to, he was OK with having none of it.

This is one of only many, many examples of me asking for things, which again, is something I feel very uncomfortable doing, and then being ignored, in fact told that my feelings were just wrong. I think, looking back, that is one the driving forces behind me being OK with non-monogamous exploration.  I saw it as a chance to get some sexual needs met.  I figured, if we were dating another couple it would be away to have a fresh start with people, and get to explore each other’s bodies, and I could finally be heard.  Unfortunately, the reality was often such a frenzied buildup of sexual tension that group sex, or sex with other people was more of a release. Followed by a long wait to see them again, with the sexual tension building up, rinse and repeat.  We never could quite get a stride going, whereby intimacy with people outside of us could grow, and I could get that side of my needs met. Even though I tried, so many times!

Now, enter in the man of my dreams, with every single cliché I hate and love at the same time. We listen to each other, and really want to please the other. The connection is mind blowing! And while we haven’t been together for decades, or even years, I can honestly say, he his the first person I have felt electricity with this far into things. Usually that wains, once the butterflies wear off, but with him, I still find myself catching my breath, or falling deeper in love. 

The foundation for how we talk about sex, and our intimate needs is firmly in place.  We’ve both made plenty of mistakes in past relationships, and instead of holding onto those grudges, we openly embrace the possibilities that we can create together (Ooph that phrase has a lot of extra meaning at this juncture).  And also, we satisfy each other.  No matter what, we are enough for each other.  And that is the key, my key.  That mystical thing that I was looking for all these years, and never quite found, until the day I realized to my delight that he might have been flirting with me. And when we slept together that first time, I knew that he was by far, the best I had ever had.

As promised, this post has a behind the scenes photo up on my Patreon! Or if you are looking for other way to support, why not take a look at some of my affiliate links on my home page? Thank you for the love and support, mostly though, for just reading.