If you've read this blog before, then you know my husband and I do not use artificial contraception. We choose to allow God in the mix and practice NFP. I can remember friends joking with me before Chris and I got married about how we would have a honeymoon baby if we chose to use NFP...and we didn't. When we didn't get pregnant for close to a year I mistakenly thought, "man, we have this NFP thing DOWN!" And then, less than a year after getting married we prayed and decided we were done "not trying" to get pregnant. We foolishly thought it'd be a sort of, we want, we pray, and BAM next cycle we'll be pregnant! Little did I know we'd be on way more of a journey than that. We tried for about 2 years before my OB/GYN recommended we look into the Creighton method of charting and NaPro technology. So we did. And became way more friendly with cervical mucous than you probably even care to think or hear about. We charted, had meetings with our practitioner, and after one...count it ONE cycle we had something to work with. A Dx of "limited mucous." Someone once asked me why this was a big deal - well, the short of it is that without good cervical mucous, the sperm has a harder time making it to the egg and the egg does not have a good environment for fertilization. So what did we do? I started taking a high dose of vitamin B6 which helped. A lot. I then came down with a cold during one cycle and started taking Mucinex for my cold not thinking that it would also help. Which it did. A lot, a lot. [Did I mention this may be a little TMI? Cause...TMI]
About 60 days, give or take, after we began charting we met with out doctor who gave us all the forms we needed to have blood work and other tests done the following cycle to see what was going on. In the mean time we were in the process of selling our old house and buying a new one. And then moving in to said new house.
And lo and behold, a week after moving in to our new home...positive pregnancy test.
Yup, you read that right.
Two years of tears, heartache, the most supportive husband, and pretending like this is what we wanted all along led us here. Psh. Let's be real. God led us here. I am not naive enough to think that we "had it rough," because I know that 2 years is a blip on the radar compared to the sufferings of others...but when you desire with every fiber of your being to be a mother...any amount of time is hard. Whether it's one month, 6 moths, a year or more.
I truly believe we have NFP (God first of course) to thank for this miracle growing in my belly. If I were not charting I would not have learned that I had limited mucous and would not have started the B6...which I believe, in combination with the Mucinex, is what helped us to get pregnant.
Now, this is not to say that NFP is always fun, easy, and full of babies. On the contrary. It takes work! Work?! You're telling me I need to do work?? Yes. There's charting, abstinence, talking to your spouse, praying etc. I'd be lying if I said part of what I'm loving about being pregnant is the fact that I don't have to chart. I don't need to check for mucous every. single. time. I go to the bathroom. I don't need to decide which sticker, which color is appropriate for the day.
But, bottom line, is it all this NFP stuff worth it?
Is life worth it? Because I'd say the one currently snuggled up in my belly is most definitely worth it.
There have been some pretty bangarang NFP week posts that you should most def check out
I love how Carolyn at Svellerella writes - makes me feel like we'd have fun sippin' coffee and talking
I feel like Kendra at Catholic All Year is a Catholic mom I'd aspire to be (and this post is just so. spot. on.)
Haley of Carrots for Michaelmas has a great round up of some NFP posts you should definitely check out. I think her husband's post is one of my favorites
PS. I'll write more about the pregnancy in another post, don't you worry
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