The Other Shoe

My life has been going really nicely lately. My husband is well on his way to tenure and his job is secure. My children are ridiculously cute. Megan wear "all overs" (overalls) and asks us to "Hold you me!" Charlie is developing magical reading powers. He was a bear for a month and then woke up one morning, perfectly amiable and able to identify most, if not all, of his letters and numbers and is making swift strides to writing his name. He spends most of his play time pretending to be a fire truck and a helicopter and it's all just too adorable. I have the supplies to make this ornament wreath and I think I might actually get it made sometime before Christmas THIS YEAR. I keep waiting for the other shoe, the fly in the ointment, the accidental use of salt rather than sugar...

As you know, we decided that we wanted to have another baby in July. There had been some debate. I liked some of the logistics of having them very close together so there was discussion of aiming for a February baby but then Megan didn't sleep and I just couldn't face another sleep deprived pregnancy (note: Megan still doesn't sleep through the night but is significantly more on the ball than she was 6 months ago). There was then the April discussion. I adore the concept of a new baby in April. April just seems like such a very fresh and new month full of warm spring rains, hazy green mists in the trees, bulbs popping from the ground, and the wonderful possibility of it all. However, April and early May is also the time of exams, thesis defenses, and graduation and April in the mountains can mean lovely weather but can also mean high winds and snow flurries. Babysitters are scarce on the ground in this college town and preschool is winding down. And, our dog died in July so, and August "start date" it was.

And then the other shoe dropped. While Megan and Charlie both happened far faster than expected, this pregnancy was much more of a challenge. Every month I would experience the fatigue, hunger, and passing nausea for a week or so only to be feeling suspiciously better a couple of days before my period. I decided to start tracking my basal body temperature. I discovered that the time between when I ovulated was rather later than I thought and that the time between ovulation and completion of my cycle (to put it delicately) was not terribly compatible with implantation. I decided that I was ready to put things on hold until I could see my OB. I couldn't take another month of symptoms and temperature rises only to see it all go awry. Luteal phase defects are among the easiest of fertility problems to fix, especially in my case. I was fairly certain the problem was simply that my thyroid levels needed tweaking. And then my temperature began to rise and I missed my period.

I'm due in early August!

It is still quite early and I'm still worried that my thyroid medication needs tweaking but I was assured by the nurse that once you cross the initial threshold of pulling off the implantation in time to thwart your cycle, the LPD shouldn't be a major concern and my thyroid levels, while off, are not currently incompatible with life. The line has been getting darker and my temperature has stayed higher and mornings are starting to get dicey. Fingers crossed and prayers please but for now, I'm calling myself pregnant!