Blargh.

I have a headache. It's probably not helping that S.J. is pounding on paint cans with a screwdriver right now.

*grumble*

But. On the good side of things, I got a lot done in the dining room today! It is my goal to get the dining room completely done (painted!) this week and coming weekend. Today I managed to get all the scraping done... and wiped down the baseboard. Tomorrow I sand everything then wipe it all down again.

(This is the current state of the dining room once I pulled just about everything out of it. This is basically how it was when we bought it. We've only ran new wiring in this room and added a new ceiling fan. So far, as you can see, I've scraped the trim and made a small test splotch on the wall. I really dislike the light yellow paint that's in there right now. It makes the room way too bright... and doesn't go well with the fireplace. I wanted a nice, warm color... so we're painting this room "toffee." Once everything's painted, we're going to put a nice cover over the fireplace, too, since we have no plans on ever actually using it.)

When we bought our house 9 months ago, we knew it needed work... but I had no idea we'd still be working on it almost a year later. But we've come so far with this house that it almost looks like a completely different place. And more importantly, we've made it a home. But wow... we've done lots of work... and still quite a bit to do.

Another goal of mine is to have the downstairs completely done by September. The main reason being I want to be able to help Mr. H. get the biggest portion of work done before I get pregnant (hopefully!). The other reason being that if we get everything done downstairs and put back together, we can have S.J.'s birthday party at the house instead of at the park. We had her party at the park last year and everyone was hot and miserable... and the park was already so full of people that we could only find one empty table... which didn't fit everyone. So... it would be ideal to finish the downstairs before then so we can have the party here... inside... without bugs and heat... and with plenty of places for people to sit down. (It'll also be nice to have a bathroom readily available.)

Ok. Time for me to go find some headache medicine. *ouch*

My medications.

In addition to having to wean myself off of caffeine (which is going to be a tough road by itself), I'm also going to have to wean myself off of my current medications.

My current list of medications that I take daily:

• 100mg of Lamotrigine (generic version of Lamictal)
• 1mg of folic acid
• 10mg of Abilify
• 1 prenatal vitamin
• 1 packet of Cholestyramine powder (generic version of Questran)

With the exception of the prenatal vitamin, I will have to stop taking all of those before I get pregnant. (Right now I'm taking more than is recommended in folic acid to combat any potential birth defects the Lamotrigine and Abilify are known for causing. Once I am off those, I can drop back down to the recommended dosage that can be found in prenatal vitamins.)

The Lamotrigine and Abilify (for my Bipolar II Disorder) are going to be the tricky ones to come off of. A lot of places that I've researched online speak of how big of a pain the withdrawal is from those two medicines.

When I first started taking them, the dosage was very small... and was slowly increased to where it's at right now... which, thankfully, aren't very high dosages at all. So in order to come off of them, I have to reverse the order... by slowly decreasing my amount taken over the next two months.

Today I drop down to 50mg from 100mg of Lamotrigine... and down to 5mg from 10mg of Abilify. Then, after a month of doing that, I cut the dosage in half again... ride that out for another month before completely removing it from my system. Following this schedule, I'll have all the medicines out of my system by the first of September.

(As far as the Cholestyramine is concerned, I've not read anywhere that this medication is the "weaning type." I can just stop taking this one cold turkey without any negative side effects. So I can keep taking this for the next two months for my stomach troubles related from having my gallbladder removed in March of 2005.)

So that's my plan of action for now. I'm really hoping and praying that it's an easy withdrawal... and that I don't have any of the really bad side effects I've read about. (Most people complain of severe irritability... headaches... nausea... depression...) However, I would rather experience those bad effects than potentially harm my baby.

If anyone has any advice or experience in coming off of these medications, please feel free to comment. I'd love to hear from you!

It's me again.

In addition to keeping this online journal (which I'll print out and bind after I've had the baby), I like to keep a "real" journal, too. Whenever I had our daughter, S.J., I kept an online journal... and wrote in this one, too.

This time will be no different.

In fact... I've already ordered my next pregnancy journal.

The Belly Book!

Speaking of things I've bought, I've also already ordered 25 pregnancy test strips. *grin* You can't beat the price--$6.49! That's way cheaper than the Dollar Store brand... AND... it detects a lower level of hCG (20 mIU/mL).

Since this next pregnancy will be my last, I'm going to go all out... and do the things I didn't get the chance to do with S.J. (like a belly cast and maternity pictures, for example).

I'd also like to have my mom more involved. Even though she was in the room when S.J. was born, up until that point she'd not really been a big part of my pregnancy. She didn't feel the baby move... nor did she go to any of my doctor's appointments (my grandmother went to almost every one of them with me, actually). This next time I want Mom to be there more... and be a bigger part of my pregnancy. I think it's important for a daughter to have her mother there with her... helping her and guiding her through a very important part of her life.

Just like the last time we were trying to conceive, we're not sharing the news with anyone until after we've had a (few!) positive home pregnancy test(s) and after our first doctor's appointment (that way we're sure everything is okay). But. Because of that fact, this journal is my only outlet to talk about my adventures in TTC. So it'll probably fill up quickly before I've even gotten pregnant. But that'll be nice to look back on later, I think. If nothing else, it keeps me from driving the husband crazy with constant baby talk. :)

It begins here.

My first entry into my maternity/pregnancy blog.

But I must admit. I'm not pregnant... yet.

But we're working on that.

Right now we're in the beginning phase of planning... charting... and lots and lots of praying.

We know for sure that we're going to actively start trying in September. Until then it isn't a good time for me to be pregnant... because being pregnant means I'll be sick (more than likely... since I was with our first child)... and unable to finish school like I need to. But once my final classes are over in the end of August, it's on.

Until then I plan to get familiar with my cycle by charting... eating better (wean myself off of caffeine, primarily)... starting my prenatal vitamins... and just generally getting my body ready to grow another human again.

Fun times are ahead, kids... fun times. :)