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Archive for the Tag 'Pregnancy'

Finance Girl on Oct 13th 2009 Children

An Update

Hello again. Didn’t mean to be away for so long, but I guess that happens sometimes (to me, anyway)…

I am still pregnant (hurrah!) and due in April.

Let’s just get into some Q&A, shall we?

When did you get over your miscarriage fears and start telling people about the baby?
Probably too soon. I started feeling more confident around Week 7, and that’s when we started telling close friends and family. I told some more friends after my 10 week appointment when we heard the heartbeat and saw an ultrasound. My work found out at almost 12 weeks.

I say this is probably too soon because it’s become apparent to me that people do have miscarriages even after 11 weeks or so. My sister was pregnant and due a few weeks after me, but miscarried at 7 weeks, so it has been a sad/awkward, especially since many people heard about both pregnancies at the same time.

How did you stop drinking so much Coke Zero?
This was actually pretty easy. It disgusts me now. I occasionally drink one now, but when I was having morning sickness, that is the last thing I wanted to drink.

So you are having morning sickness?
God, yes, and it’s terrible. I hoped I wouldn’t be one of those people who complained about pregnancy when there are so many who would kill to be able to get pregnant, but I am. I had all-day morning sickness starting in Week 6 and ending just recently, though I still have problems once in a while (yesterday, you might have seen me driving down the highway while puking in a airline sickness bag - attractive). I have taken several kind of medications for it, and I’m glad it’s gone (stay away!). I have also had a cold and possibly the flu, which was lovely.

What have you been doing the past two months, besides puking?
Basically nothing. Sitting on the couch and watching TV. Which is why I’m really excited that the Apartment Therapy Spring Cure starts this week, now that I have the energy to do it! Plus my house is like a toxic dump.

Is it a boy or a girl?
I don’t know yet, but you can bet you’re sweet ass I’ll be finding out next month.

Do you want a boy or a girl?
I want a baby with a small head. A girl would be nice, but I’ll take a boy too (sorry future son).

Do you have any names picked out?
I do, but my husband hates them. And I hate his. So we are waiting until we know the gender of the baby before we revisit this topic.

Is the basement finished yet?
No, it’s not, but it’s getting there. We should be ready to put in the floor pretty soon, which means we’ll be able to move the office down there so we can start getting the nursery ready.

Is the basement more expensive than you thought it would be?
Um, yes. I think we’ll end up having spent around $10,000.

But you’re still making extra debt payments, right?
Full disclosure: No, we’re not. We stopped a few months ago in order to cover the remaining cost of the basement project. We are also hiring a lawyer to legalize our current custody/child support arrangements, which is going to be about another $2,000. I’m hoping we will be able to start our full extra payments again in January.

What about the cost of baby?
I’ve begun stocking up on diapers and wipes, and am planning on using some of our new extra cash flow to cover the cost of furniture, car seats and other major expenses. The kicker, of course, is daycare. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to pay the entire cost of daycare without reducing our $2,000 monthly extra debt payment. Luckily, my stepson will not have daycare costs when the baby is born because he’ll be entering 6th grade. So that saves us about $300/month, but daycare for a baby is probably at least $600/month. We’ll see.

Well, that’s my update! I have another doctor’s appointment tomorrow morning, so hopefully things will go as well as the last one!

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Finance Girl on Aug 6th 2009 Children, Personal Progress

Guess I Didn’t Need Infertility Insurance After All…



After a year (on and off) of trying and two cycles of charting, I am finally pregnant!

I personally think that taking 50 mg of vitamin B6 to lengthen my luteal phase is what pushed things over the edge for us, but I can’t say for certain. Either way, I am 4 weeks and 5 days pregnant (you get two weeks “extra credit” for the time between your last period and ovulation). My due date is April 10.

While we’re ecstatic and relieved that things occurred naturally, I didn’t realize that my fears about being unable to conceive were about to be replaced by a bigger fear: fear of miscarriage.

Approximately 25% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage, which is most common in the first trimester (especially the first part of the first trimester). Knowing this, we haven’t told anyone except my stepson about the pregnancy, and I’m regretting doing even that.

I’m feeling a little bit better these past few days though because I asked my regular doctor to give me a blood workup to check my progesterone levels (low progesterone is often a cause of short luteal phases, and can result in miscarriage if you don’t get progesterone supplements early in pregnancy). Luckily, all my levels are good so far. We go in for my first prenatal appointment next Thursday, and hopefully we will be able to see the heartbeat on an early ultrasound. If so, I’ll feel more comfortable telling our families at that point (plus, I can’t expect a 10-year-old to keep a secret very long!).

I also need to wrestle with the decision of whether to continue taking my antidepressant during pregnancy, and am already working hard on kicking my caffeine habit.

My symptoms so far include extreme fatigue (which could also be related to sudden lack of caffeine), tender and larger breasts, increased sense of smell, more frequent urination and backache. I haven’t had any food aversions or nausea, but those symptoms become more common in week 6.

For those of you who have been pregnant before, how did you keep yourself from becoming anxious about miscarrying (or were you able to)? And, random question, if I am 4 weeks and 5 days pregnant, am I already considered 5 weeks (because I’m in the fifth week), or am I considered 5 weeks at the end of the fifth week?

Here is my chart from the successful cycle. You’ll notice there is a temperature drop today, which is freaking me out a little - I might have to stop temping at some point, just to avoid the anxiety :)

10 responses so far

Finance Girl on Feb 19th 2008 Children, Debt

Pregnant with Debt

When I was younger, I figured I’d have a baby when I was 24. Then, it became 25, 26, etc., and now I’m hoping to get to it before I’m 30.

What happened? Well, student loans, credit cards, cars, a house..plus, I wasn’t really ready until recently. So now that I’ve started seriously thinking about it, I’m not sure when the best time would be. And while I know there’s no “perfect” time, my husband and I have a goal of getting completely out of debt (including the house) within five or six years so we can explore lower-paying, more fulfilling careers.

Will having a baby ruin our plans? It might create a few detours, given the cost of daycare these days. But there’s no way we’re waiting five years for a baby. So our target date for the baby being born is December 2009, when we should have most (if not all) of our non-mortgage debt paid off. Then, I’m hoping my mom might want to watch the baby, since she only works part-time a few days per week. I’d like to pay her more than she makes now, but less than the cost of daycare. But I need to talk to her to see how she feels about it (although I hate the idea of people knowing we’re “trying” - it grosses me out).

I’m sure everything will work itself out. But I’d rather have a plan that goes awry than no plan at all.

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