I probably could've saved so much money on Plan B in college...

In college, any time a mishap occurred during a sexual encounter with my then-boyfriend (now-husband), I'd run my ass down to the Health Center and get some Plan B, back when it wasn't OTC yet; if I remember correctly, each pack of pills was $50. I swear I spent at least several hundred dollars on that pill pack when it was all said and done. (I realize that makes me sound like an irresponsible harlot who didn't practice safe sex...well, it was college and if I'm being honest, I was drunk most of the time. But I did use condoms and eventually got on the pill, so there) But I wanted to be absolutely sure that I didn't disrupt my scholastic endeavors (ha!) with an unplanned pregnancy, because again, I figured I was at risk of getting knocked up EACH AND EVERY TIME I had sex. (nope, not the case at all) 

(Note: adequate sex ed is so needed in all schools and definitely in private schools so stupid Catholic girls like me can have premarital sex with confidence and competence)

Fast forward about fifteen years and instead of throwing cash at pills to prevent pregnancy, I'm throwing my money at pregnancy tests and ovulation predictor kits. A LOT OF THEM. While my body was regulating itself after being on the pill for so long, I had to figure out when I ovulated in my cycle, since the birth control suppressed it. It took about eight months for my body to reset. That doesn't necessarily seem like a long time in the grand scheme of things, but for someone who was ready to get pregnant right then and there, it was an unforseen eternity. The good part of an entire year...just to have a regular menstrual cycle. Yikes. 

During that time, I relied heavily on fertility apps and the internet to guide me in my quest to get pregnant. I took my basal body temperature every morning and entered it into my app, pretending that I could discern any real useful knowledge from those numbers (I couldn't). I typed in info about my moods, my cervical fluid appearance and consistency, my physical activity, any physical/mental symptoms of note, results from peeing on an ovulation or pregnancy strip, etc etc. It was kind of exhausting and tedious, but it gave my brain something to focus on for the months of negative pregnancy tests that passed. It was also a nice distraction at work when I didn't feel like doing my job. Casual observation: based on some of the topic forums on these fertility apps, I realized just how many women out there are INSANE when it comes to the task of getting pregnant. I mean, I thought I was a little obsessed with tests and lines and symptoms, but it seems I wasn't even close to some of the other women I observed online. Yowza. 

I shouldn't complain; after months of regulating my cycle, recording every little period symptom and mood swing and peeing on a few thousand ovulation and pregnancy strips (actually, I peed in a cup and dipped the strips because I was way too uncoordinated to pee directly on those strips without peeing all over myself), I not only learned a lot about ovulation, but I ended up getting pregnant for the first time. Whew, finally! In hindsight, I consider myself lucky that it happened pretty easily despite feeling like it took an act of God for me to get there.  

My takeaway at this point:

• you're never too old to learn something new about the various fluids that come out of your vagina every month
• "baby fever" is a real phenomenon and can lead you down a road of obsession 
• Amazon is your best good friend for buying ovulation and pregnancy tests