contraception

One Pregnancy Scare Too Many!

Written by Lisa on Tuesday 13 June 2006

It is coming up to that time, when Rachel and Jake where 9 months old, my periods returned. Within another 3-4 months I was pregnant again. Daniel is now 9 months old and the feelings of panic are beginning to rise.

I have already explained my feelings on birth control and contraception, so at the minute we are relying on good old condoms. However we used them religiously after Jake, and I still got pregnant, so I don't have a hig level of faith in our chosen method.

Two weeks ago I began to get period cramps. I had been expecting them for a while, so i stocked up on sanitary products and waited for the inevitavble. But it didn't come.

Five days of cramps and mood swings later I began to panic. For the first few weeks of all my pregnancies I have suffered with cramps of this kind, so I began to suspect that I was pregnant once more.

At first I was relatively calm. "It must be meant to be" I thought, I was nervous when I was first pregnant with Daniel, but I wouldn't change him for the world, and after all didn't I want a sister for Rachel? However as the hours began to pass and I pondered the future I began to get frantic. Daniel wouldn't even be 18 months old when the baby was born. I would be bound to get severe SPD again, how would I cope without being able to walk and still look after 3 young children? I missed a whole nights sleep just worrying and worrying.

First thing last Monday I went to the pharmacy and got a pregnancy test, though I was sure what the result would be......Guess what, I was wrong. The test was negative.

I am still getting the cramps, but I am hoping that it is just my body's way of getting itself into gear once again. After all I haven't had a period since before I was pregnant a year and a half ago.

Gerard has been ordered to the GPs in a bid to get his vastectomy moved forward. I couldn't cope with this panic every month!

Birth Control, Contraception...Or Rather The Lack Of It!

Written by Lisa on Sunday 23 April 2006

I don't like The Pill. Never have. I don't want to pump hormones into my body, I don't want to increase my chances of getting breast cancer, I don't want to put on a ton of weight.

For these reasons and also the fact that it can be so ineffective I have never used The Pill as a method of birth control.

We have always relied on charting my time of the month and condoms. My first two pregnancies were planned but my third was a complete surprise and evidence that condoms can be useless too!

We now find ourselves in a bit of a dilemna. I don't want to take the pill, especially as I am still breastfeeding Daniel. Gerard has been on the waiting list for a vastectomy for the last year and is not likely to get an appointment with the consultant for at least six months and then he will have to wait just as long for the actual operation.

So what do we do. Daniel is now 8 months old, by the time both Rachel and Jake had turned one I was already pregnant again. I am starting to panic about history repeating itself. Not just because I don't want another baby, but also because due to my tendency to develop severe SPD I don't think my body could cope with another pregnancy.

I would like to try some natural means of contarception, something that doesn't involve hormones being pumped into my already unhealthy body. I would feel much more at ease if I had some added protection instead of just condoms. But what? My GP hasn't any good suggestions, maybe I'll google it when I get a minute.