TTC, pregnancy and pilots...oh my!
Ben's birthday is right around the corner I know I will blog about his birth story. Ah, but what comes before a birth of a baby? Conception and development of a baby. I know family members read this blog so I won't go into too much detail about the conception (haha!).
I have to admit that we were VERY blessed to have an easy time conceiving. Ben was conceived our second month trying, and CC was our first try. No joke, when I told Steve I got a + with CC, his response was "ye-ahhhh!" as if the pregnancy was all him. But I digress...
I don't remember the first month of trying for Ben. But I clearly remember that second month. I was keeping track of my cycles, so I knew when that window of "opportunity" was. Wouldn't you know it, Steve was going to be out of town. Fast forward a couple weeks and I had a breakdown. I thought I wasn't pregnant, I was pissed, I was hurt, I hated that Steve wasn't around and that we missed my window. I was emotional and upset. I was thinking the next month was going to suck having to wait it out...and hoping that Steve would be home at the key time. As it turns out I was actually pregnant!
We were lucky that Steve was around when it came to my window of opportunity. But, what about the pilots that are gone on 7 day tours. If you are gone for a solid 7 days, and that window to conceive is 5 days. What do you do if that window falls right in the middle of the trip? I wouldn't be surprised if there have been women that follow their pilot husbands around on trips when TTC. I can almost guarantee it. Or, what if your pilot was gone every time you ovulate, month after month after month? When it comes to the business of TTC, you do what you gotta do, even if that means following your husband around! I guess this is really where the mile high club comes into play!
Ok, so you get pregnant. (Me, pregnant with Ben on Mother's Day, so I guess I was around 25 weeks)
Next comes the MD appointments. All your MD appointments with a pregnancy are special, especially those first couple months before you can feel the baby kick. Hearing that heartbeat on the doppler is so great since it is your only reassurance that everything is still progressing the way it should. Steve was able to come to most of the appointments, and that was wonderful. He was there for our big ultrasounds, and for that I was very thankful. You schedule those things a good bit in advance so you just take your chances that he will be there. At each appointment, without fail, MD would ask Steve where he was off to next. Come to think of it, my MD and her family were actually on our flight to MCO when Ben was just 6 months old. Steve and I went on a cruise while grandma and grandpa watched Ben. Ironic, come to think of it. Anyway...
Late in the second trimester you really start getting your plans together. The nursery is coming together, you start making plans with family, you have your baby shower, ect. Ah, but one BIG mystery with a pregnancy is when will the baby will actually come. I think with appointment #1 I was talking to my MD about "what do we do if I go into labor when Steve is gone?"
My MD knew our situation very well and her plan for me being in labor and Steve being gone was: give me the biggest and best epidural, not break my water, and just wait. She told me that I could just wait and wait, even if I was complete, until Steve got home (assuming the baby didn't push its way out sooner). So, that was the plan. If Steve were gone, I would just wait for him, with the help of the epidural of course.
I bet this is stuff you have never thought about. And why would you, I guess? If you aren't TTC with a pilot, why would you pay attention. This is just one more thing that can make the whole pilot lifestyle that much more difficult.
I have to admit that we were VERY blessed to have an easy time conceiving. Ben was conceived our second month trying, and CC was our first try. No joke, when I told Steve I got a + with CC, his response was "ye-ahhhh!" as if the pregnancy was all him. But I digress...
I don't remember the first month of trying for Ben. But I clearly remember that second month. I was keeping track of my cycles, so I knew when that window of "opportunity" was. Wouldn't you know it, Steve was going to be out of town. Fast forward a couple weeks and I had a breakdown. I thought I wasn't pregnant, I was pissed, I was hurt, I hated that Steve wasn't around and that we missed my window. I was emotional and upset. I was thinking the next month was going to suck having to wait it out...and hoping that Steve would be home at the key time. As it turns out I was actually pregnant!
We were lucky that Steve was around when it came to my window of opportunity. But, what about the pilots that are gone on 7 day tours. If you are gone for a solid 7 days, and that window to conceive is 5 days. What do you do if that window falls right in the middle of the trip? I wouldn't be surprised if there have been women that follow their pilot husbands around on trips when TTC. I can almost guarantee it. Or, what if your pilot was gone every time you ovulate, month after month after month? When it comes to the business of TTC, you do what you gotta do, even if that means following your husband around! I guess this is really where the mile high club comes into play!
Ok, so you get pregnant. (Me, pregnant with Ben on Mother's Day, so I guess I was around 25 weeks)
Next comes the MD appointments. All your MD appointments with a pregnancy are special, especially those first couple months before you can feel the baby kick. Hearing that heartbeat on the doppler is so great since it is your only reassurance that everything is still progressing the way it should. Steve was able to come to most of the appointments, and that was wonderful. He was there for our big ultrasounds, and for that I was very thankful. You schedule those things a good bit in advance so you just take your chances that he will be there. At each appointment, without fail, MD would ask Steve where he was off to next. Come to think of it, my MD and her family were actually on our flight to MCO when Ben was just 6 months old. Steve and I went on a cruise while grandma and grandpa watched Ben. Ironic, come to think of it. Anyway...
Late in the second trimester you really start getting your plans together. The nursery is coming together, you start making plans with family, you have your baby shower, ect. Ah, but one BIG mystery with a pregnancy is when will the baby will actually come. I think with appointment #1 I was talking to my MD about "what do we do if I go into labor when Steve is gone?"
My MD knew our situation very well and her plan for me being in labor and Steve being gone was: give me the biggest and best epidural, not break my water, and just wait. She told me that I could just wait and wait, even if I was complete, until Steve got home (assuming the baby didn't push its way out sooner). So, that was the plan. If Steve were gone, I would just wait for him, with the help of the epidural of course.
I bet this is stuff you have never thought about. And why would you, I guess? If you aren't TTC with a pilot, why would you pay attention. This is just one more thing that can make the whole pilot lifestyle that much more difficult.
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