TTC

I’ve written before that we’d like to have more than one child- “More than one and less than four” was what we settled on before we got married- and I’m certainly not getting any younger. Given that it took a long time for Patrick to arrive, I’m not going to take any chances and believe that crap about “it’s easier next time” and “clearing the pipes”- I’ve been reading Julie’s blog for too long for that (Yay! She’s full-term!). I’ve been taking Folate since January, and am slowly weaning Patrick- this is the hardest part, because, despite a tough beginning, I really enjoy breastfeeding now. I had thought that it would be best to give up before he could ask for it by name, but its wayyy too late for that. If you’re ever in our Coles at 6pm and hear a small lad calling out “Booo-Beee!” at the top of his lungs, you will have found me. It’s not that this embarrasses me- it doesn’t at all- it embarrasses other people.

But we’ve now launched ourselves into full ttc mode. That means I now know to the hour, just about, when I should be fertile, and when to expect “AF”. I had thought I might have been knocked up when we were in Vanuatu, because I was irredeemably tired and nauseated, but it wasn’t to be. I know I’m not pg now, because I got all weepy when David Tennant said to Kylie Minogue “You’re not falling, Astrid, you’re flying” and, hell, a corny moment like that deserves to be derided, not given the approbation of tears UNLESS one happens to be irrevocably pre-menstrual. And then it’s Kleen.ex by the boxful, eh.

I have also been to see my GP about what to do with my meds- her thinking is that I shouldn’t ditch the antidepressants just yet, especially as I’m now pretty much convinced I had pre- as well as post-natal depression. She’s organised me a referral to the lovely –christ how much does it spook me to say this- psychiatrist I saw for PND (one of the world’s Eilis’s- only lovely people are Eilis, it seems) but my Obstetrician says “everyone” takes Sertraline through their pregnancies with no problems, despite it being a category C drug. I’ve also started taking aspirin- it may have made a difference in letting me stay pregnant with Patrick, it may not, but it will do no harm, so there’s no point in not taking it.

I wish I could say I’m eating healthily and getting plenty of rest and exercise, because, seriously, if I couldn’t do that without a toddler, how the hell am I going to do it now?

It was also great to visit my family in Melbourne and realise that more than one child is do-able. It did feel like herding cats, but even if we were to fall pg right now, Patrick will be old enough to not require as much attention as he needs now (I can hear the titters from here, by the way). Or so I’m telling myself. Certainly my youngest niece who is about 3 months older than Patrick seemed to have no trouble coping with her mum attending to her siblings, so I guess Patrick will do the same. Moreover, the middle child interacts so well with the youngest- and they are the same gap in age as Patrick and a prospective sibling could be- that it gives me comfort.

So there you have it. I’m seriously not expecting anything to happen for a while- not until I stop confusing my poor pituitary by both lactation and ovulation, but we have “shown the goalkeeper the red card” (as one of my friends said) for the time being, and thrown caution to the wind… but don’t hold your breath or I might have to come over there and resuscitate you- and I haven’t brushed my teeth yet today.