Change of Plans

To close out the year, hubby and I discussed all of the things that may or may not happen on our road to a 2011 pregnancy. We agreed to a plan concerning what we were willing to do (and when) in order to become parents. 

For those of you who are interested, the plan was to meet with a specialist and begin testing in January, get the test results back in February, and try to conceive again come July. The reason we decided to wait so long to try again was because hubby is going back to school this semester and was planning on graduating in the spring of 2012. His dream was that he would graduate and immediately find a job, leaving me the opportunity to take a year off from work and stay home with our baby. It sounded like a dream-come-true, so it became 'the plan.'

Unfortunately, we recently discovered that there is an ungodly number of prerequisite courses in hubby's degree program, leaving him with no choice but to enroll in only a couple of classes each semester. While it clears up his schedule a bit, allowing him the chance to get a part-time job or just enjoy being a college student (an opportunity he was not given the first time around), it does delay his graduation until the fall of 2012. The delay is not too big a deal, seeing as how I make enough to support us, but it does beg the question: Why wait until July to try to conceive again when the original plan (a year off for me) is no longer feasible?

Hubby and I sat down and discussed our options this morning. 

We talked about what we would do if all the tests the specialist ordered came back negative or inconclusive. [In that case, hubby and I have agreed to try again the next cycle. It will definitely be scary, seeing as we will have little reason to believe that, after two losses and zero answers, we will be blessed with a healthy pregnancy and our take-home baby. But maybe, just maybe, we will be one of those couples who have two miscarriages and then learn that the third time is the charm. If not, at least there will be a fetus to examine during Round 2 of testing. (I have always heard that if there is a fetus to test, there is a better chance that a doctor can discover the reason for the loss.)]

We also discussed what we would do if the tests came back showing a problem with one (or both) of us. At first, hubby thought we would stick to the original plan and try again in July, thereby allowing me a chance to stay home with our baby during the summer. (Not as long of a maternity leave as originally planned but still a blessing.) After further discussion, however, hubby and I agreed that, once the specialist clears us to try again, we will. (Skipping April, however, to avoid a baby with a beginning-of-the-semester EDD.) We figured there is no real point in waiting when, regardless of when we get pregnant in the next year, I will be working full-time and hubby will still be in school when the baby arrives. 

So I have decided to scrap the first week of the year. It was not very successful (seeing as I had no time or energy to accomplish my daily goals), and I did not foresee the following week to be any different if I stayed in the same mindset. But now I have a different plan, a different deadline for my goals, and I am going to try our change of plans as an opportunity for a fresh start.

I have my heart set on our next pregnancy, but until then, I will put my everything into reaching a happy, healthy, pre-baby place.