A Baby Story: The Start Of The Shortest Ride

Welcome back to one woman’s brand new journey on life’s oldest road: pregnancy! In my first post, “Getting Ready for Baby,” I talked about the various steps my husband and I needed to take before starting on the path to parenthood. In today’s article, I’ll share some great information I received during my pre-conception checkup with the doctor.

The day before my second period arrived, I finally got in to see the right doctor for my pre-conception checkup. At this point, I had been off the pill for seven weeks, and we couldn’t really say we had started trying yet because I was away on a work trip for five of those seven weeks.

Talking to the doctor

I had a great conversation with the doctor, who checked that everything was in order and took all the necessary samples. It was a good visit, and I felt empowered by the information I received. Here is some of what she told me about becoming pregnant: 

• To get pregnant, work toward having sex every other day between days 12 to 18 of your cycle (the first day of your cycle is day 1).
• The first day of your period minus 14 days was the last time you ovulated. In other words, your period comes 14 days after you ovulate.
• If you don’t ovulate, the egg will eventually come out during a period after about day 50 because it got old (I am paraphrasing here).

I also asked the doctor some questions that pertain to my lifestyle:

1. On Exercise (I had to ask about this because a lot of the women I talk to as a lifestyle coach would always tell me either that their doctors warned them not to exercise or that they don’t exercise because they don’t want to hurt the baby):

• You can do whatever you want before getting pregnant (and I actually did a CrossFit-style workout before I knew I was pregnant).
• After you know you are pregnant, you want your heart rate to go no higher than 140 during exercise.
• After the first trimester, you should do no exercises on your back and use no more weight than 20 pounds.

2. On Eating:

• Focus on fully cooked foods and clean water.  I travel a lot, so it is important for me to carry bottled water with me at all times.

3. On Flying:

• No flying after the 34th week.
• Walk around during longer flights.

Packing up again

My second period came the day after my doctor visit, and per her instructions, I counted out on the calendar the days to Day 12. Unfortunately for us, Day 12 fell right in the middle of an out-of-town lifestyle coach training. But the good news is that sperm can live in the body for three to five days, so I was covered since I was going to be away for only three days. Of course, I didn’t tell my husband all the math that I was doing, but I made sure that we did the dance at the right time, and that we both had fun doing it!

I almost didn’t go to my training because I wanted to make sure I was at home during my fertility window, but my best friend knocked some sense into me over the phone. Besides that, I realized that if things worked out the way I wanted, there would be no time and limited resources to do the training the following year. I’m glad I went ahead with the trip — I had bonding time with my other best friend who lives in the city where the training was held, and I got to walk a lot, learn a lot, coach a lot, and of course, meet a lot of awesome people!

After my training fun, my husband and I spent a few days together, and then it was time to pack up for another five-week work trip. As I packed my bags, headed to the airport, and said good-bye, I began to hope that I might be pregnant already.

That’s this week’s journey—be sure to check back next week for part 3, “Period Three or a BFP?” for exciting new developments!

Part 1:  Getting Ready For Baby