30 day countdown starts with a SHOT

I got my second round of the varicella vaccine this week, fancy term for Chicken Pox. Apparently I never had it as a child (the pox). I thought all kids of my generation had it. Mothers loved to hustle their child over to the nearest kid with the pox, expose them, and get the rite of childhood passage over and done with. I guess my mom never got around to doing it with me. I found out right before my IVF that I didn't have the immunity. You can read all about the drama that came with that here.

NO ONE in Seattle carries the varicella vaccine. Which is weird, because I guess they give it to all babies/kids now. It seriously took my Doc an entire week to track it down at the Travel Medicine department at the UW Hospital. The same place you go to get all your crazy shots if you're traveling overseas to somewhere exotic (no, Mexico and the Bahamas don't count). I felt like a total loser going there for a Chicken Pox shot. They ask, "where are you going and when are you leaving?" I really wished I could have answered anything other than "just staying home and trying to get pregnant, thanks."

The nurse was ca-razy. No wonder she got stuck in that job. Zero bedside manners or social skills. She asked me what type of birth control I was on because if you get preggo within a month of the shot, you open yourself...well, your baby, for a whole world of hurt with birth defects. She flipped out when I told her I wasn't using birth control. It was like I was a 15 year old screwing the football team without visiting planned.parenthood first.

To make a very long story even longer, in one month, after the vaccine makes its way through my system, I will be "clear" to start trying for baby #2. We've already decided that no heroic measures will be taken. The most we're willing (and financially able) to do, is acupuncture and Clomid (which was a stretch because BigB really hates the way it makes my horns come out and my head spin around).

I have one month to get my mo-jo back. The thought of "trying" seems, well, trying. I need to figure out a way to make DOING IT fun. Not all wrapped up in pee sticks and ovulation charts and hampered by dirty diapers and teething babies.

In all reality, it probably isn't the best time for us to get knocked up or to even try. We're struggling financially and relationally. But, there's that whole age-related ticking time bomb. If we don't try now, there aren't a whole lot of months left before the eggs dry up. It's a lot of pressure to know I have like 14 months left before my baby-making days are over for good. Shop closed for business. So, here we go. Perfect timing or not. I keep telling myself LOTs of families were started/expanded without everything being perfect, right? Plus, who am I kidding. The chance of me getting pregnant on nothing but a wing and a prayer (and a bottle of clomid), isn't real high, anyhow.