My friend Heather has been telling me all along that I need to employ her successful baby-making method of "trying" every other day. For all this long while, the idea of undertaking such an endeavor has been downright laughable. Between work and exercise and commitments and errands and chores and stress and tiredness, we're generally doing a victory dance if we have sex during the work week at all. But every other day?! That's cute. That's impossible.
However, I'm starting to approach something like desperation. 80 percent of couples who are going to conceive do it within the first six months. Within the second six months, that amount goes up by only 5 percent (i.e., 85 percent of couples trying to conceive succeed within the first year). I don't know if it's statistically accurate to say we have a 5 percent chance of conceiving between now and April, but it's something like that. So at this point, I'll try just about anything. (I even spent one afternoon researching fertility-enhancing supplements like FertilAid; I was scared off by the negative reviews, but I wouldn't be surprised to find myself blogging about my personal experience with it in a couple months' time.)
It was really awesome timing to try the every-other-day thing in December, a dizzying month of trimming the tree,
baking cookies, sending out cards, gift shopping and attending holiday parties. And this year, in addition to my
annual holiday hallmarks, the to-do list is a bit longer than usual, including but not limited to the following items: participating in a tourism panel in
Panama City Beach, planning and co-hosting a bridal shower and bachelorette
party in Bradenton, and helping my sister- and brother-in-law move into
their new house.
So, amid all that noise, we set out to fit in some whoopee every other day. Here's a breakdown of how it went.
12-1: Period is over; we have a Christmas date planned to the SPCA holiday party/fundraiser -- game on. Success!
12-3: We are invited for the first time to a holiday party at the house of our wealthy, plugged-in neighbors. I'm intimidated, but I figure it'll be an adrenaline rush to mix with their cultured friends, and once we get home, things will flow from there. That is not how the day goes. I botch the cheesy artichoke triangles I attempt to make; we rush to find a replacement hors d'oeuvre at the grocery store, where I have a total insecurity meltdown; Philip is initially patient but finally reaches his threshold with my deflated attitude; an argument ensues; we don't go to the party; we are lucky we end up in the same bed for a restless night of sleep. Fail.
12-5: We are supposed to have Bible study, but I make an executive decision that getting back on the sex train is a higher priority. We skip and have a very nice night of making up. Success!
12-7: My flight to Panama City Beach leaves at 3:50 p.m. We plan for Philip to come home for a little afternoon delight before taking me to the airport. Success again! We're on a roll!
12-9: I fly from Panama City Beach into Tampa, because I'm attending a bridal shower in Bradenton in the morning. Philip makes the drive over to pick me up from the airport; we've planned to rendezvous at a Courtyard Marriott for the night. When I arrive at 7:30 p.m., we're both tired and hungry, and we don't have a plan (dinner first? check in to the hotel first?). We're bickering before we've even left the airport. The evening continues to deteriorate from there. By the time we go to bed, we're able to civilly watch cable TV together, but ain't no sex gonna happen tonight. Fail.
12-10: Today is supposed to be an off-day, but time is now of the essence, so get up on your horse, cowboy. We cram in a quickie before I have to be at the shower at 10 a.m. Success!
12-11: I have just successfully helped pull off a bridal shower and bachelorette party in the same day. After getting five hours of sleep, vomiting in the toilet, and taking a miserable two-hour car ride back to Orlando, I finally arrive home, where the only thing I can think about is a shower, my pajamas, and a nap. I sleep for four hours and still feel hungover when I wake up. Philip has also just endured a marathon bachelor day at Epcot, and we're not only tired of having sex, we're just TIRED. I decide to take an ovulation test; if there's no smiley face, there's no chance in hell we're going to do it. But alas. There's that happy little face, taunting me. What ensues has to be similar to what it would be like if two paralyzed people tried to consummate their love. Success. Five hours later, Philip gets up to catch his flight to Tucson, where he'll be on a work trip for the next three days. If no baby was made, people, it was NOT for lack of effort.
Merry Christmas and happy New Year!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Saturday, December 03, 2011
ANNA MARIA ISLAND
Though our getaway to Anna Maria Island wasn't fruitful in the baby-making sense, Philip and I had a wonderful weekend connecting. It pretty much requires us leaving town in order to carve out time for recreation and relaxation. Here are some photos from our excursion.
Abbi doesn't want us to go ... Or maybe she wants to come with. Sorry, Sweetie, Mom and Dad don't need any distractions, even really cute, furry ones.
The first full day, it was pretty chilly, so we rented bikes and cycled around Robinson Nature Preserve, which was gorgeous -- we saw loads of tropical birds, a snake, mangroves, and lots of fish in the estuaries.
Here's me at our lunch spot on the waterfront.
The preserve also has a really cool lookout tower that affords a bird's-eye view of the bay. This is a photo taken from the top.
One of our favorite things about the Gulf is the beautiful sunset, so we made sure to watch every night. Our rental house was only 100 steps from the beach, which made it easy. We walked this little path to access the beach.
The second day was warmer, so we relaxed on the sand with a couple of books to read. We really had the best time. With all of our responsibilities far away in Orlando, we were free to focus on each other, which made our baby-making attempts frequent, natural and intimate. I wish we could go away every month during ovulation!
I have to admit, my hopes were pretty high that this break from the norm was all we needed. Not so. As we enter month eight of trying, it's hard to remain hopeful; clearly I'm no Fertile Myrtle. But it's still a blessing to be able to enjoy little trips like this and to spend time in the wonder of creation.
Abbi doesn't want us to go ... Or maybe she wants to come with. Sorry, Sweetie, Mom and Dad don't need any distractions, even really cute, furry ones.
The first full day, it was pretty chilly, so we rented bikes and cycled around Robinson Nature Preserve, which was gorgeous -- we saw loads of tropical birds, a snake, mangroves, and lots of fish in the estuaries.
Here's me at our lunch spot on the waterfront.
The preserve also has a really cool lookout tower that affords a bird's-eye view of the bay. This is a photo taken from the top.
One of our favorite things about the Gulf is the beautiful sunset, so we made sure to watch every night. Our rental house was only 100 steps from the beach, which made it easy. We walked this little path to access the beach.
The second day was warmer, so we relaxed on the sand with a couple of books to read. We really had the best time. With all of our responsibilities far away in Orlando, we were free to focus on each other, which made our baby-making attempts frequent, natural and intimate. I wish we could go away every month during ovulation!
I have to admit, my hopes were pretty high that this break from the norm was all we needed. Not so. As we enter month eight of trying, it's hard to remain hopeful; clearly I'm no Fertile Myrtle. But it's still a blessing to be able to enjoy little trips like this and to spend time in the wonder of creation.
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